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Introduced in March 2007, Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000: Scholar's Edition is available as an upgrade to the Basic Edition. In addition to the features of the Basic Edition, Scholar's Edition subscribers enjoy access to the landmark five-volume reference work, Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary from Harvard University Press, available for the first time in electronic form, and all publications by Commissions on the Status of Women in the U.S., 1963-2005. The Commissions database includes 90,000 pages of publications by federal, state, and local Commissions on the Status of Women. The Commissions publications, Notable, and all the regular WASM resources are accessible in a single, integrated database with extensive full-text searching and indexing capabilities.
Commissions on the Status of Women
In December 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Eleanor Roosevelt to chair the President's Commission on the Status of Women, a bipartisan organization whose goal was to examine discrimination against women in the United States and to study and make recommendations on policies designed to enable women to fulfill their potential in American life. When the President's Commission completed its work in 1963, it issued a series of final reports documenting, among other topics, labor policies and practices relating to women, educational opportunities available to women, and the legal status of American women. In addition, the commission recommended that states and localities establish their own commissions on the status of women to continue research and advocacy to promote the equality of women in all aspects of American social and political life. Today, there are approximately 270 state and local women's commissions around the United States.
These federal, state, and local commissions have produced a wealth of primary materials documenting conditions in the lives of American women over the last four decades of the twentieth century. Collectively, these reports and publications provide in-depth information that is unmatched by other primary materials from this time period. Not previously accessible as a collection and never before indexed, these materials are now fully searchable. Our goal with the Women's Commission Reports has been to compile in one place, for the first time, the complete text of every report on the status of women issued by these bodies during this time period. The collection provides 90,000 pages of materials documenting women's issues over more than four decades in all fifty states and territories of the United States.
Complementing the Commissions collection are scholarly essays that describe the assembling of the collection and explore the research possibilities of the publications. As of March 2009, the following essays are accessible through the Scholar's Edition:
Thomas Dublin, "Constructing the Database of Commissions on the Status of Women."
Kathleen Laughlin, "Introduction to the Women and Social Movements State Commissions Database."
Dorothy Sue Cobble, "The Labor Feminist Origins of the U.S. Commissions on the Status of Women."
Marjorie Spruill, "The Conservative Challenge to Feminist Influence on State Commissions on the Status of Women."
Cynthia Harrison, "State Commissions and Economic Security for Women."
Carrie Baker, "How Are Issues Related to Sexuality Treated in Publications of Commissions on the Status of Women?"
Gerda Lerner, "Midwestern Leaders of the Modern Women's Movement."
Keisha Blain and Kathryn Kish Sklar, "How Did the President's Commission on the Status of Women and Subsequent State and Local Commissions Address Issues Related to Race, 1963-1980?"
Notable American Women
Between 1971 and 2004, Harvard University Press published Notable American Women, a five-volume biographical dictionary that has become a leading reference work in the history of women in the United States. In more than 3,500 pages, leading scholars in the field offer 2,284 biographical sketches that span four hundred years. In publishing these essays as part of the WASM Scholar's Edition, we take advantage of the online medium's capability of tracing hyperlinks between the document projects, full-text sources, and the biographies. The Browse People function permits a user to look up any individual found in the database and to link seamlessly to all documents written by or about the individual.
| Document Projects and Archives | Teacher's Corner | Scholar's Edition | Primary Source Collections | About Us | Contact Us | | <urn:uuid:effcd4ca-8f9e-4dcc-8388-af3ddc59ed95> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/scholars/mainscholars.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922406 | 880 | 2.859375 | 3 |
August 26, 2005
Scientists Try to Harness Wave Energy
GARDINER, Ore. (AP) -- As the price of a barrel of oil continues to surge, scientists are turning to the ocean as a possible source of alternative energy.
The potential for harnessing the power of waves has drawn serious study by Oregon State University, federal and state agencies, and communities along the Oregon Coast."There's a real good chance that Oregon could turn into kind of the focal point in the United States for wave energy development and I think that would be a boon to the economy," said Gary Cockrum, spokesman for the Central Lincoln People's Utility District.
Groups hoping to begin work on experimental technology are considering the International Paper mill site in Gardiner.
"We have a lot of momentum going for it, I think, but we still have to work out lot of details," said Alan Wallace, Oregon State University professor of electrical engineering.
The plan is to take over the site to make it a showcase for a "renewable ocean extraction system," he said.
Last Friday at the Port of Umpqua office in Reedsport, officials from Oregon Department of Energy, Oregon State University, Electrical Power Research Institute and other federal and state officials gathered to explain the fledgling project to more than 100 southern Oregon Coast residents.
"There is tremendous potential in the oceans to supply energy for the world," Annette von Jouanne, an Oregon State electrical engineering professor told the crowd. "A 10-square-mile wave power plant could supply the entire state of Oregon."
The electric institute and the Bonneville Power Administration identified the Gardiner site as the ideal place for the project in their feasibility study.
The former mill has an outflow pipe already in place - a structure that could reduce the cost of building a power plant. Electricity from the Gardiner site could be transmitted to other stations up and down the coast.
Money is the biggest obstacle. It will take about $5 million to complete the project's initial phases. But the recently passed federal energy bill could reduce much of that burden.
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who is visiting the southern Coast this week, called the project "intriguing." He added: "I would definitely be supportive."
At first, he was skeptical that a system could function along the Pacific Northwest Coast, famous for its rough seas. But he said he's seen a similar system operate successfully off the coast of Scotland.
How much energy could be generated from the water is still unclear, but those involved with the project say the possibilities could be limitless.
"I read something involved with this that said if 0.2 percent of the ocean's energy were harnessed, it could produce enough energy to power the entire world," added Cockrum, the utility district spokesman.
Information from: The World, http://www.theworldlink.com | <urn:uuid:4bdceb70-5b76-48bd-bb77-d106fbbded19> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/220865/scientists_try_to_harness_wave_energy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957655 | 600 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Wheelwright, John, c.1592–1679, American Puritan clergyman, founder of Exeter, N.H., b. Lincolnshire, England. He studied at Cambridge and was vicar (1623–33) of Bilsby. Suspended by Archbishop Laud on a charge of nonconformity, he emigrated to New England in 1636. While pastor of a Puritan church at Mt. Wollaston (now Quincy), Mass., he alienated himself from the parent church in Boston by publicly defending the views of Anne Hutchinson, his sister-in-law. The General Court in Boston banished him from the colony in 1638, whereupon he formed a settlement at Exeter, N.H. When the new town was claimed as within the limits of Massachusetts, the minister, with part of the church he had established, moved in 1643 to Wells, Maine. The next year, upon his acknowledging some error on his own part, the sentence of banishment was withdrawn. He held a pastorate in Hampton, N.H. After visiting England, he returned to America; his last pastorate, from 1662, was at Salisbury, N.H.
See memoir by C. H. Bell in the 1876 ed. of Wheelwright's works; biography by J. Heard, Jr. (1930).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:d8568ef4-8dea-4b8c-acb0-3c53daa5eec2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/people/wheelwright-john.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00166-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979159 | 301 | 3 | 3 |
This essay, appearing as a chapter in Feminist Legal History: Essays on Women and Law (N.Y.U. Press 2011), uncovers groundbreaking court innovations employed by Judge Anna Moscowitz Kross (right). To date, Kross's work has gone largely unexamined by legal historians and court reformers. This essay describes how Kross, one of the nation's first women judges, sought to rethink the role and goals of criminal courts in order to meet and address social realities. Beginning in the 1930's she expanded the boundaries of criminal courts to permit female volunteer caseworkers and lay probation officers, as representatives of the larger community, to play a role in court operations. Her lay volunteer armies, which were seen as controversial and at times came under official scrutiny, continued their efforts over the course of several decades. What is more, many courts across the country replicated Kross's experiment without crediting her for her ideas. While this essay celebrates this largely forgotten historical figure and her work as an early judicial innovator, it also warns that social engineering efforts in criminal courts at the hands of lay counselors, both then and now, raise important questions that are worthy of further exploration. This essay, therefore, concludes by suggesting that today's criminal justice reformers might learn important lessons from Kross's attempts at judicial creativity that relied on private funding and private citizen participation in criminal court proceedings.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Quinn on Feminizing Courts in Twentieth-Century United States
Mae C. Quinn, Washington University in Saint Louis School of Law, has posted “Feminizing” Courts: Lay Volunteers and the Integration of Social Work in Progressive Reform, a chapter in Feminist Legal History: Essays on Women and Law, ed. Tracy A Thomas & T.J. Boisseau (NYU Press 2011). Here is the abstract: | <urn:uuid:627f7bd2-939c-48a1-a0a9-9552ef764244> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/quinn-on-feminizing-courts-in-twentieth.html?m=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95033 | 382 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Eric A. Friedman | Leave a Comment
This blog was jointly prepared by Eric A. Friedman and Lawrence O. Gostin.
The world having agreed to universal health coverage as a key target of the Sustainable Development Goals, a basic question becomes: Coverage of what?
A traditional approach to answering this question is to focus on cost-effectiveness. Start with a given resource envelope. Then choose the set of health interventions that will buy the most health for the population. Under this approach, health is typically measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Run the numbers – the cost of different interventions, the expected benefits in DALYs – and include the most cost-effective interventions within the funds available. There is your universal health coverage benefit package.
A human rights approach differs dramatically. The first difference is the question we ask. It is no longer a straightforward matter of determining how to get the greatest health gain for the dollar based on straightforward formulas. “Coverage of what?” is only one question of many. The questions extend to the very process of answering this question, and include such questions as how are the benefits distributed across the population, how health systems can deliver on the chosen priorities, what are the resources available, and more.
As we explore here all that a human rights approach adds, we recognize that cost-effectiveness is itself an element of a human rights approach, part of the rational, evidence-based approach that the right to health incorporates. People will not enjoy “the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health” – the right to health – if states fail to spend resources effectively and efficiently. Moreover, in general, the more cost-effective interventions will be ones that benefit large numbers of people, including poorer, disadvantaged people who previously may have been unable to access even low-cost interventions. In this way, cost-effectiveness can promote equity. As General Comment 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states, “investments should not disproportionately favour expensive curative health services which are often accessible only to a small, privileged fraction of the population, rather than primary and preventive health care benefiting a far larger part of the population” (para. 19).
Yet even here, under a human rights approach, neither cost nor effectiveness is a fixed variable to be plugged into an algorithm. Cost may be negotiated down, in effect expanding the resource envelope, enabling more services to be covered. And how effective an intervention is depends not on theoretical constructs but on such factors as how well, in real life, patients adhere to the intervention and health providers follow proper protocol. As welcomingly recognized in a WHO and World Bank report on tracking progress on universal health coverage, preferably progress on universal health coverage will be measured by such indicators as whether people’s hypertension is under control, not simply whether people are prescribed medicine to control their blood pressure.
The ways that a human rights-based approach to universal health coverage improve upon straight-forward cost-effectiveness continue:
- Beyond discrete interventions
- A strong health system: Cost-effective interventions will do little to help people if the health system cannot deliver them. The human rights approach looks beyond individual interventions to the overall health system, with the right to health demanding health services that are available, accessible, acceptable, and of good quality (para. 12).
- Public health measures and underlying determinants: A cost-effectiveness focused approach, often used to define a discrete benefit package to which a person is entitled, with associated financial protections, risks giving short thrift to population-based public health measures, such as tobacco and alcohol control, and vector abatement. Yet these are critical to people’s health (and indeed, are often highly cost-effective), and so prime considerations under the right to health. A rights-based approach also opens up the conversation to such underlying determinants of health as clean water, decent sanitation, and nutritious food, all of which should be universally guaranteed and are under the right to health and related rights (as well as the SDGs), yet are typically considered outside the scope of universal health coverage.
- Expanding the resource envelope: Cost-effectiveness takes the funding available as a given. The right to health does not.
- Domestic: The right to health demands that states dedicate “the maximum of [their] available resources” to health and other rights. The level of funding must be carefully interrogated, and if the state could provide more funds (such as by mobilizing greater revenue and increasing the share of the budget to health and other social sectors), it is obliged to do so, thus making more health available to its people.
- International: All those who, fifteen years ago, said that AIDS treatment was simply too expensive for Africa would not have considered it a cost-effective treatment. What a tragedy it would have been if people living with HIV/AIDS had accepted that. They did not. Instead, they demanded treatment as part of their right to health, and they forced the world to listen.International funding, primarily from PEPFAR and the Global Fund, combined with lower drug prices to bring AIDS medication to millions. This illustrates another element of the how to increase the funding available under the right to health: the international obligation to provide assistance, and the obligation of countries in need of external support to seek it. The ICESCR obligation to provide and countries to make use of “international assistance and co-operation” (article 2), the UN Charter commitment of all states to cooperate towards achieving the universal observance realization of human rights, and the long-standing UN target of economically advanced countries to dedicate at least 0.7% of their gross domestic product to official development assistance all point to this obligation. A determination of the health services to be ensured for the entire population should include not only domestically available resources, but also those that might be secured from the international community.
- Core obligations and a robust standard for all: Under a cost-effectiveness approach, the extent of coverage is determined by the level of resources. For a very poor country, absent significant external funding, this might mean a minimal package, leaving many health needs still unmet. Under a right to health approach, this is unacceptable. While the exact floor is necessarily indeterminate at a global level – it must take national factors into account, including the needs of vulnerable and marginalized populations, and be developed through an inclusive, participatory process – General Comment 14 (paras. 43-44) provides some guidance. Core and comparable obligations include, among other health services, providing essential medicines based on WHO’s essential drugs list; ensuring reproductive, maternal, and child care, and; taking measures to prevent and treat epidemic and endemic diseases. Core obligations also encompass the underlying determinants of health. Moreover, states must develop and implement national public health strategies that addresses the concerns of their whole population.
- Progressive realization: People’s needs change over time, as does a country’s epidemiological profile. And as countries’ economies grow, health systems improve, and policies evolve, countries can expand the level of health services available to all. Whatever level of services a country initially ensures for its entire population, that level must improve over time based on the human rights principle of progressively realizing the right to health and other rights. A cost-effectiveness approach lacks this dynamism, saying nothing about how frequently services covered must be re-examined, and so may lag behind a country’s epidemiological, economic, social, and other realities.
- Equity and non-discrimination: Except through the happenstance that cost-effective interventions will generally disproportionately benefit poorer populations, cost-effectiveness is neutral as to the distributional effects of the choice of interventions. We should not be. All people share equal dignity, and are entitled to the same level of health. Justice requires that health systems are designed to guard against discrimination, and beyond that, to proactively respond to the health and societal inequalities that lead to inequitable access to health services and disparate health outcomes.This is precisely what the human rights approach requires. At the most basic level, whatever health services guaranteed for one part of the population must be ensured for all; different sets of services for the well-off and the poor, or formal and informal workers, are unacceptable. So is discrimination of any sort, such as against undocumented or other immigrants. Beyond this, the selection of health services ensured through universal health coverage – as well as the health systems designed to deliver them – must be made with priority to the needs of marginalized and vulnerable populations, even if this entails greater expense (for example, possibly expensive rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities). Critically, the core obligations also include “ensur[ing] equitable distribution of all health facilities, goods and services” (para. 43).In other words, universal health coverage must be a mandate for combatting entrenched inequalities within the health sector and, to the extent they affect people’s health, beyond the health sector as well, helping to foster social inclusion that could in turn empower people in all facets of their lives. The health sector could drive social transformation.
- Valuing people’s perspectives: Health matters not simply because enabling people to live longer, healthier lives is an abstract good, or even that from economic productivity to the protection of the public health, we all benefit from healthy populations. Health also matters because people value it. This basic truth has little connection to a cost-effectiveness approach to universal health coverage, but is central to the human rights approach.
- Participation: Respecting people’s right to health means ensuring their central role in their health and the decisions that affect it, from informed consent as to their own personal treatment to helping shape national and global health policies. People’s priorities may affect what services are guaranteed through universal health coverage, ensuring that the health issues that most affect their well-being are addressed. Furthermore, people’s right to participate entails a comprehensive system of participatory mechanisms, from the community level on up. Achieving universal health coverage is unlikely to be possible without such mechanisms, through which people can identify barrier, and associated solutions to effective coverage, such as language barriers, lack of transportation, distance to health facilities, inadequate clinic hours, absent health workers, and so forth. A human rights approach insists that these participatory mechanism enable meaningful participation – where not only do people talk, but authorities listen – and that all people, including the most marginalized, are able to participate.
- A people-centered approach: People-centered health services, integral to a rights-based approach (p. 42-43), will entail actions that may receive little attention when universal health coverage is viewed through a narrow cost-effectiveness lens, yet are needed for effective health services. Health workers need to be trained and sensitized to ensure non-discrimination and cultural competency, for example. The quality of patients’ experiences, affecting whether they access health services and affected by such factors as wait time and whether they are treated respectfully, must be considered and shortcomings improved. Drugs may be cost-effective, but only if people take them properly. A people-centered approach would include improving prescription drug labeling so people understand when they are to take which medicines, leading to better adherence.
- Life beyond health: Human rights looks beyond DALYs to the real world impact of ill health and efforts to prevent and ameliorate it. Considering how poor health affects people’s lives – including any number of rights – may capture benefits that a straightforward cost-effectiveness analysis would miss, possibly underestimating the benefits of expensive treatments, such as AIDS medication. For example, as HIV/AIDS primarily strikes people in their economically productive years, not providing medication (whether for treatment or post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent the disease) on purported cost-effectiveness grounds would leave families unable to afford children’s education, infringing upon the right to education, and if the family is impoverished, harming rights such as to nutritious food, decent housing, and an adequate standard of living.
- Accountability: Policies to provide universal coverage of cost-effective interventions, however many, will do little to improve people’s health if these policies are not implemented. Human rights demand mechanism to ensure that policies are implemented and interventions delivered, that money is not squandered or stolen, that cost-effective drugs are not false or adulterated, that health workers are accountable for discriminatory behavior. From local health committees and community scorecards to judicial remedies, parliamentary hearings, and national human rights commissions, a rights-based approach to universal health coverage will establish a robust, comprehensive regime of accountability, with particular attention to the participation, needs, and experiences of marginalized populations, to whom governments might otherwise be least accountable, whose voices governments are least likely to listen to, and who face the greatest obstacles to health services.
Beyond all of these benefits of a human rights approach to universal health coverage, though, is what our colleague Mark Heywood at SECTION27 in South Africa taught us: activism is a social determinant of health. Indeed, it is one of the most important, because it has the ability to shape all others. The right to health, and the social movements that can – and have – coalesced around it can ensure that the road towards universal health coverage is a transformative one, igniting political and social change.
Social movements will determine whether the commitment to universal health coverage catalyzes incremental progress or a revolution in health, achieving a little more health for a few more people or, decades after the Declaration of Alma-Ata (1978), finally brings health for all. Committing to universal health coverage as a means towards the right to health is one of the surest steps we can take towards true transformation.
With this importance of the right to health, we must use the right to health platforms that we now have, even as we build upon them to construct even stronger ones – such as a new global treaty, a Framework Convention on Global Health, to reinforce the right to health, to clarify its standards, to provide for the pathways to towards this transformation – and in so doing, to further unleash the awesome power of human beings who will not be content until they succeed in claiming their rights.
Global Health, Human Rights, National Healthcare ;
Tagged: cost-effectiveness, fcgh, Framework Convention on Global Health, right to health, UHC, universal health coverage. | <urn:uuid:cedaa8de-3e72-4761-bfa3-7e00139dba24> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oneillinstituteblog.org/beyond-cost-effectiveness-why-we-need-a-human-rights-approach-to-universal-health-coverage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00106-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946483 | 2,979 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Using auditory or tactile stimulation, Sensory Substitution Devices (SSDs) provide representations of visual information and can help the blind "see" colors and shapes. SSDs scan images and transform the information into audio or touch signals that users are trained to understand, enabling them to recognize the image without seeing it.
Currently SSDs are not widely used within the blind community because they can be cumbersome and unpleasant to use. However, a team of researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed the EyeMusic, a novel SSD that transmits shape and color information through a composition of pleasant musical tones, or "soundscapes." A new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience reports that using the EyeMusic SSD, both blind and blindfolded sighted participants were able to correctly identify a variety of basic shapes and colors after as little as 2-3 hours of training.
Most SSDs do not have the ability to provide color information, and some of the tactile and auditory systems used are said to be unpleasant after prolonged use. The EyeMusic, developed by senior investigator Prof. Amir Amedi, PhD, and his team at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) and the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada at the Hebrew University, scans an image and uses musical pitch to represent the location of pixels. The higher the pixel on a vertical plane, the higher the pitch of the musical note associated with it. Timing is used to indicate horizontal pixel location. Notes played closer to the opening cue represent the left side of the image, while notes played later in the sequence represent the right side. Additionally, color information is conveyed by the use of different musical instruments to create the sounds: white (vocals), blue (trumpet), red (reggae organ), green (synthesized reed), yellow (violin); black is represented by silence.
"This study is a demonstration of abilities showing that it is possible to encode the basic building blocks of shape using the EyeMusic," explains Prof. Amir Amedi. "Furthermore, the success in associating color to musical timbre holds promise for facilitating the representation of more complex shapes."
In addition to successfully identifying shapes and colors, users in the new EyeMusic study indicated they found the SSD's soundscapes to be relatively pleasant and potentially tolerable for prolonged use. "In soundscapes generated from images," notes Prof. Amedi, "there is a tendency for adjacent frequencies to be played together. Using a semitone western scale would then generate sounds that are perceived as highly dissonant. Therefore, to generate more pleasant soundscapes, we used the pentatonic musical scale that generates less dissonance when adjacent notes are played together."
While this new study shows that the EyeMusic can enable the visually impaired to extract visual shape and color information using auditory soundscapes of objects, researchers feel that this device also holds great promise for the field of visual rehabilitation in general. By providing additional color information, the EyeMusic can help facilitate object recognition and scene segmentation, while the pleasant soundscapes offer the potential of prolonged use.
"There is evidence suggesting that the brain is organized as a task-machine and not as a sensory machine. This strengthens the view that SSDs can be useful for visual rehabilitation, and therefore we suggest that the time may be ripe for turning part of the SSD spotlight back on practical visual rehabilitation," Prof. Amedi adds. "In the future, it would be intriguing to test whether the use of naturalistic sounds, like music and human voice, can facilitate learning and brain processing relying on the developed neural networks for music and human voice processing."
Additionally, the researchers hope the EyeMusic can become a tool for future neuroscience research. "It would be intriguing to explore the plastic changes associated with learning to decode color information for auditory timbre in the congenitally blind, who never experience color in their life. The utilization of the EyeMusic and its added color information in the field of neuroscience could facilitate exploring several questions in the blind with the potential to expand our understanding of brain organization in general," concludes Prof. Amedi.
Explore further: How blind can 'read' shown in new research
More information: "EyeMusic: Introducing a "visual" colorful experience for the blind using auditory sensory substitution," by S. Abboud, S. Hanassy, S. Levy-Tzedek, S. Maidenbaum, A. Amedi. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 2013. DOI: 10.3233/RNN-130338
A demonstration, "EyeMusic: Hearing colored shapes" is available from the AppStore. | <urn:uuid:680a0ee3-0249-4cd9-90f7-8a758707510b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-02-eyemusic-sensory-substitution-device-enables.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922106 | 952 | 3.609375 | 4 |
Trials have begun in Kansas on a "green" production method for succinate, a key ingredient of many plastics, drugs, solvents and food additives. Developed at Rice University, the technology uses a genetically modified form of the bacteria E. coli that metabolizes glucose and produces almost pure succinate.
Finding "green" methods to make key chemical intermediates like succinate is a high priority for the chemical industry. Green technologies use renewable resources like agricultural crops rather than non-renewable fossil fuels, and they produce less waste.
"Succinate is a high-priority chemical that the U.S. Department of Energy has targeted for biosynthesis," said process co-developer George Bennett, professor and chair of the department of biochemistry and cell biology at Rice. "One reason for this is succinate's broad utility -- it can be used to make everything from non-corrosive airport deicers and non-toxic solvents to plastics, drugs and food additives. Succinate's also a priority because some bacteria make it naturally, so we have a metabolic starting place for large-scale fermentation."
The centerpiece of Rice's succinate technology is a mutant form of E. coli that makes succinate as it's only metabolic byproduct. The bug contains more than a half-dozen genetic modifications. It was created over the past four years by the research groups of Bennett and collaborator Ka-Yiu San, the E.D. Butcher Professor of Bioengineering and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.
The technology is taking its first step from the lab to the marketplace this month with the start of industrial scale-up efforts in Kansas. These efforts resulted from an $80,000 award from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bennett and San are working with Manhattan, Kansas-based AgRenew Inc., which just began testing how to u se farm-grown products like grain sorghum as feedstocks for the succinate-producing bacteria.
"We are very pleased for the opportunity to continue our collaboration with our colleagues from Rice and work to further the development and commercialization of the succinate technology," said Praveen Vadlani, principal research scientist for AgRenew. "We are excited about the prospects this project offers to meet a market need for the benefit of both institutions and American agriculture itself. We also appreciate the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for this work to create another high-value product from agriculture."
Many researchers are trying to create a succinate-producing bacterial mutant. They use biotechnology to either insert genes that boost succinate production or delete genes that interfere with it. The goal is to maximize the rate -- the speed of the conversion -- and the yield -- the amount of succinate produced per pound of glucose converted.
Bennett and San's bug -- known only by the designation SBS550MG -- contains an ingenious bit of metabolic engineering that allows it to produce succinate in two different ways. One method exists in wild strains of E. coli and has been modified with the deletion of four genes, each of which codes for a protein that interferes with or limits E. coli's ability to turn glucose into succinate. Bennett and San activated a second pathway and stimulated production by adding genes from lactococcus bacteria and sorghum.
Each genetic pathway metabolizes glucose and produces succinate via dissimilar chemical reactions. That means the two don't compete or interfere with one another. In fact, Bennett and San designed the paths to be complimentary, but even so, they were gratified to see how well the process worked once both paths were put in place.
"Our experiments in the laboratory have produced near-maximum yields, with almost all the glucose being converted into succinate," sai d San. "The implementation was actually easier than we expected because the cells did the balancing themselves."
Bennett and San said they will continue to refine the organism to produce higher yields and fewer byproducts. | <urn:uuid:25b4fcc9-f117-4a4c-b743-af1a331b6a5d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news/Bacteria-are-key-to-green-plastics--drugs-1127-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00100-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951953 | 831 | 3.046875 | 3 |
The Mohr Circle is a tremendously useful way to plot stress and strain. Unfortunately, to derive it, we have to plow through a bit of trigonometry first. In the example that follows, we'll assume:
What stresses are acting on the inclined plane shown here? The stress parallel to the x-axis is S1, that parallel to the y-axis is S2. To simplify conversions between stress and force, we assume the plane has unit area. The pole to the plane (in blue) makes an angle A with the x-axis.
By the way, we define compression to be positive and tension as negative.
Unfortunately, stresses can't be added as vectors, only forces can. Because the plane is tilted, stress S1 "sees" only part of the plane. The cross-sectional area viewed along the x-axis is cos A. Similarly, stress S2 "sees" only a small part of the plane; the cross-sectional area viewed along the y-axis is sin A. Since force equals stress times area, the force F1 exerted parallel to the x-axis is S1 cosA, and the force F2 exerted parallel to the y-axis is S2 sinA.
To find the force acting perpendicular (or normal) to the plane, we find the components of F1 and F2 perpendicular to the plane (green arrows). They are both acting in the same direction, so the total force is their sum. Thus:
Normal Force = F1 cos A + F2 sin A
To find the force acting parallel to the plane (the shear force), we find the components of F1 and F2 parallel to the plane (green arrows). These are acting in opposite directions, so the total force is their difference. Thus:
Shear Force = F1 sin A - F2 cos A
From the above, we have
Also, we know that:
From elementary trigonometry, we recall the double-angle formulas:
Finally we can substitute functions of 2A into the equations for normal and shear stress to get:
These formulas are identical in form to the formulas for normal and shear stress. Thus, if we draw a graph of normal and shear stress and plot all the normal and shear stresses for every value of A, they would plot on a circle whose center is (S1 + S2)/2 and whose radius is (S1 - S2)/2. This circle is called the Mohr Circle.
In the diagram above, a plane subject to stresses S1 and S2 is shown at left and the Mohr Circle calculation of the stresses on the plane at right. Choose a suitable scale and plot S1 and S2 on the horizontal axis. Draw a circle centered on the midpoint between S1 and S2 and passing through both. If the pole to the plane makes an angle A with the S1 direction, measure off 2A on the Mohr Circle. Point X represents the stress on the plane, with normal stress measured horizontally and shear measured vertically (green lines).
Since angles are doubled on the Mohr Circle, any angles in real life greater than 180 degrees will be greater than 360 on the Mohr Circle. They will simply repeat themselves. This is not a problem, because any stress system not involving rotation is symmetrical. We could perform stress calculations for a plane oriented 180 degrees from the plane in the diagram and the results would be identical. In fact, the pole to the plane would be identical - the plane would merely be facing in the opposite direction. Thus stresses on a plane oriented at angle A and one at 180+A are identical. Thus an angle 2A on the Mohr Circle can also represent an angle 360+2A (corresponding to a plane whose pole has azimuth 180+A).
If we define positive normal stress as compression, then negative normal stress is obviously tension. Similarly, above the horizontal axis represents positive shear, and below represents negative. Only what exactly do positive and negative shear stress mean?
In the example we've been using, S1 is the larger stress and, given the tilt of the plane, slippage would tend to be left lateral if it were a fault. On this Mohr Circle, then, positive shear means left-lateral slip. If we were to flip the diagram vertically, we'd have right-lateral slip and negative shear.
But suppose we're looking at a dip-slip fault. Positive shear would correspond to thrust faulting, negative shear to normal faulting.
Whatever the orientation of the fault, when slip occurs on the plane shown, it will result in counterclockwise rotation. For this diagram, then, positive is counterclockwise and negative is clockwise.
However, we cannot give a universal definition because different workers define the signs of stresses differently. All we can say is that positive and negative shear correspond to the different senses of shear motion (right lateral-left lateral, normal-thrust, clockwise-counterclockwise). The only sure way to ascertain which is which is to work from the real-world stress situation and see where each type of shear plots on the Mohr Circle. Often we don't worry about the sense of shear and simply portray only the top half of the Mohr Circle to save space.
A Useful Tip: Recall that Shear Stress = ((S1 - S2)/2) sin 2A. Now we have defined terms so that S1 is always greater than S2, and sin 2A is always positive for A < 90 degrees. So in the real-world diagrams above, shear is always positive. Now if S2 = 0, then only S1 can exert a shear force on the plane. Therefore the shear sense is always determined by the larger stress. So ignore the smaller stress and observe which way the larger stress is pushing rocks on either side of the plane.
There are two sign conventions for stress in use in structural geology:
To quote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, don't panic. Mohr Circles work equally well in either convention. Just be sure you know which convention is in use, follow it consistently, and always measure angles on the Mohr Circle in the same sense as in real life. | <urn:uuid:7767dd00-c0fa-4c39-a5d6-b65354ca6ab2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/STRUCTGE/mohrcirc.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927956 | 1,310 | 4.65625 | 5 |
Groundwater Movement at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Beat Hintermann, Marilynn dela Merced and Marvin Resnikoff
Radioactive Waste Management Associates
PRESS and the Uranium Enrichment Project
PORTS Report Summary
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS), located in Pike County, in the south central region of Ohio, covers an area of about 3,700 acres. There are two groundwater layers below the site; there is also a creek on-site that eventually flows to the Scioto River, serving as a discharge for liquid effluents produced by the plant. In addition, a total of 120 acres of land has been converted into landfills. Several residences, including two nursing homes, are directly adjacent to the plant, and the total population of the area within a 50-mile radius is approximately 600,000.
The plant's basic function, like that of all gaseous diffusion plants (also Paducah and Oak Ridge), was to enrich uranium (U) in the fissionable isotope U-235. As a result of the enrichment process, significant amounts of toxic and radioactive materials were released into the air, water, and soil as byproducts.
PORTS began operations at the end of 1954 in order to increase the government's capacity to produce highly enriched uranium for naval reactors and for the burgeoning nuclear power industry. In 2001, the United States Enrichment Corporation, the present operator, placed the Portsmouth plant on cold standby; by that time, PORTS had processed more than 320,000 metric tons of uranium. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) is presently engaged in a major remediation effort to control and remove contamination caused by past operations.
DOE's and local residents' opinions greatly differ on the environmental impact caused by the Portsmouth plant. Believing the local cancer is excessive, local residents continue to be concerned about releases from the plant and the subsequent effects on their health. The DOE states that the plant has had only a minor impact on the environment. The department presents current soil and water concentrations as evidence. However, current soil and water radionuclide concentrations would not explain an increased rate for cancers with a latency period of 10 to 30 years. In many cases, DOE did not take samples of these concentrations in the early years of operation (1954 until late 1970's), and we may never know how much contamination was released.
Two public interest groups, PRESS and the Uranium Enrichment Project, sponsored this work. It represents a different perspective from that seen in reports by federal and state agencies and their contractors, even though this report has been limited by the available data, especially for the earlier years.
Contamination On- and Off-site
The gaseous diffusion process involves passing uranium in gaseous form, uranium hexafluoride (UF6), through thousands of stages that favor the passing of the lighter isotope U-235 and restrain that of the heavier isotope U-238. This series of stages is called a cascade, which is essentially a uranium enrichment machine, housed in three enormous buildings. First, UF6 is fed to the cascade in large cylinders. Then, the enriched U (product) is retrieved at the top, whereas the depleted uranium (tails) is collected at the bottom of the cascade. The product and the tails are stored and transported in the same cylinders as the feed.
As a result of introducing recycled uranium into PORTS (a total of about 1,100 metric tons between 1955-98), miles of pipes were coated with radionuclides, primarily technetium (Tc), but also plutonium (Pu) and neptunium (Np). These radionuclides are produced in nuclear reactors through fission (Tc) and capture of neutrons by uranium (Pu, Np) and are not present in natural uranium. Tc-99 is present in the cascade in large quantities, because it forms a hexavalent form similar to uranium. By 1976, a total of 60 - 90 kg of Tc has been fed to the cascade.
A purge gas stream extracts the light gases (everything lighter than UF6) from the cascade. Before being discharged to the atmosphere, the radionuclides are partially filtered out. Considerable amounts of U and Tc were not captured by the filters and were vented through the cascade stacks. Again, the exact amounts are unknown due to the lack of sampling in early years. The filters and other capture media would be buried in an unlined landfill.
During periods when the cascade was upgraded, or when pumps and other parts had to be replaced, PORTS removed contaminated pipes and equipment. In the decontamination process, radionuclides (especially Tc) entered the air and liquid waste streams and were discharged to a holding pond on the east side of the site. Clearly plant workers were the group most heavily exposed to hazardous chemicals and radionuclides in the air. For wastes in liquid form, contamination flowed from the east holding pond to Little Beaver Creek and eventually the Scioto River and the Ohio River, but liquids also seeped into the groundwater below the site and formed a plume extending east past Little Beaver Creek. In the mid 1970's, PORTS began to monitor and capture Tc with ion exchange resins before discharging the waste solutions. The contaminated resins were buried in unlined landfills, along with spent filter material from the cascade, other contaminated solid material from the plant, and ashes from the feed material plant, the oxide conversion facility and the incinerator. From these landfills, contaminants inevitably leaked into the groundwater. Groundwater beneath the site locally flows towards Little Beaver Creek in the northeast, Big Run Creek in the southeast, and to a drainage ditch in the west. Based on groundwater flow, the site is divided into four Quadrants (Figure A). However, the aquifers are much larger than the site and extend past these local discharge areas.
Along with radionuclides, a broad range of chemicals used for the operation and maintenance of the plant entered the environment, including (but not limited to) volatile organic compounds (VOC), oils, acids, heavy metals, nitrates and fluorides. Of all contaminants, the degreaser trichloroethene (TCE) migrates fastest in water, and therefore the TCE plume defines the extent of groundwater contamination.
Plumes of contaminated groundwater exist in different parts of the plant. The most extensive plumes are located below the holding pond (Figure B) and the buildings X-705, X-700, X-120, as well as under the X-749, X-749A, X-735, X-231B and PK landfills (Figure C). Concentrations of TCE in these plumes were measured as high as 820,000 mg/L (holding pond), whereas Tc was detected at levels of 565,836 pCi/L (X-705). In comparison, the drinking water standards for TCE and Tc are 5 mg/L (US EPA) and 50 pCi/L (Ohio EPA), respectively.
Low levels of Pu, Np and mercury were found in soil samples from a 340-acre area that is within the outer plant boundary, but outside the actual plant site. This area acted as a buffer zone between the plant and residents and is in the process of being transferred to the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI) for industrial use. The 340 acres are to the north of the X-705 oxide conversion facility and an incinerator. The fact that low levels of contamination were found there suggests that there are likely to be higher levels of contamination downwind and to the east of these facilities. The soils to the east should be thoroughly investigated.
In addition to the contamination on-site, contaminants have been found off-site, though DOE continues to dispute this. The plume below the holding pond on the east side extends to Little Beaver Creek, which has to be considered off-site, since it flows out of the site boundary. In 1975, average levels of Tc in surface water in the creek were about 6,800 pCi/L. As recently as 1996, TCE and Tc were measured at levels of 110 mg/L and 68 pCi/L. Tc has been repeatedly found in local residential monitoring wells, even though it is below the allowable limit. Also, as recently as 1992, sediments in Little Beaver Creek, Big Beaver Creek and Scioto River were found to have gross beta concentrations that were 5 times above background. In addition, elevated levels of gross beta were found in fish tissue from all three rivers.
DOE is making progress in remediating contaminated facilities and soil on-site. A total of 4.36 million pounds of soil has been removed and shipped to a storage facility in Utah, and it appears that more will have to be shipped as more contaminated soil is found. Landfills have been capped with an impermeable layer to prevent rainwater from dissolving more contaminants. Underground slurry walls and interceptor trenches have been built to contain the groundwater plumes as much as possible.
Progress on groundwater contamination, and the ultimate status and use of the site, however, remains slow. Because of the large size of PORTS, it may be years before some of the toxic or radioactive materials actually reach the plant boundary through groundwater, though this has already happened on the eastern side of the plant.
To prevent contaminants from migrating further off-site, PORTS continuously extracts groundwater with sump pumps, partially treating the contaminants at 5 groundwater treatment facilities, and discharging the water directly to the Scioto River, thereby changing the direction of the groundwater flow. Radionuclides are not removed from the water during the treatment process. DOE claims that no Pu and Np were found in samples from the discharged water; however, no measurements for Tc were given, the only contaminant present in significant amounts in the groundwater plumes. It is possible that the Tc in the extracted water is dumped directly into the river. In 1999, a total of 24.6 million gallons of water was extracted. While we believe that this is an effective method to hold the groundwater plumes on-site, active maintenance will be required for the indefinite future, because some of the contaminants, especially radionuclides, have half-lives of hundreds of thousands of years.
The key problem of the site and the reason for the lack of environmental data is that DOE made up the rules as the situations arose. Radionuclides and hazardous chemicals were initially released to the environment with no containment. Over time, monitoring and containment was added, but considerable damage had already been done. Now it is a problem of costly catch-up and remediation.
An independent and continuing review of the contamination, risk analysis and cleanup process would ensure that all necessary measurements are carried out, that data is interpreted in a responsible way, and that the resulting cleanup will indeed be effective.
Because of significant contamination of the site, residential use of the premises is not being considered for the foreseeable future. Industrial use of the site is possible only because industrial occupants are not expected to live in subsistence on the site and therefore do not ingest groundwater and locally grown crops. However, it is impossible to predict where people will live in several hundreds or thousands of years, long after DOE loses institutional control of the site. For this reason, any risk assessment should consider the residential farmer scenario.
As it stands, environmental management at Portsmouth requires annual funding from Congress that waxes and wanes as a function of budget pressures and the Administration and Congress in power. This is an entirely unsatisfactory situation for long-lived waste materials at Portsmouth. We recommend that a trust fund, not subject to the political winds, be established for perpetual maintenance of these waste materials and the Portsmouth site.
This report was supported by
grants from the Citizens' Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund and
from The John Merck Fund.
Copyright © 2002 by
|Please note: The complete report is available from Yggdrasil
(address below) at a cost $18 postpaid.
comments, suggestions, &
technical matters contact: Janet Powell | <urn:uuid:2b7da1ca-6ef2-41e4-8046-b0e47840be7e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.earthisland.org/yggdrasil/pgdp.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00083-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955252 | 2,532 | 3.265625 | 3 |
The forest elephants are vanishing from the troubled Central African Republic. On Monday, Discover reporter Kenneth Miller published a dramatic description of key researcher Andrea Turkalo’s flight from the war-torn country in late April.
The 60-year-old Wildlife Conservation Society field biologist made a dramatic escape by boat from the rebel uprising. According to Miller’s account, she carried no weapons — just $25,000 in cash and six hard drives packed with 23 years of data from her elephant research program in a rainforest clearing known as Dzanga Bai.
You can read the full account of her dramatic escape on the Discover website.
Andrea Turkalo has reached the United States unharmed, and she will go forward with her work this summer at Cornell’s Elephant Listening Project, where she has already spent three consecutive summers working on her data from the Dzanga Bai clearing.
But the forest elephants themselves are still under siege. Turkalo has received information that on May 8, poachers armed with AK-47s gunned down 26 of the Dzanga Bai elephants, including four babies.
With the black market price of elephant ivory soaring, and the war-torn CAR unable to provide much protection for the animals, they are being wiped out systematically for profit. The numbers are hard to get, but according to a report in open access science journal PLOS One, the population crashed 62 percent between 2002 and 2011.
In March, a report to the CITES conservation summit in Bangkok said that two-thirds of the African forest elephants had now been lost to poachers.
The Guardian explained the reason behind the assault on the forest elephants this way:
“Forest elephants have suffered particularly badly because they range across central Africa, which has been left lawless in large areas by war, and where poachers have ready access to guns. Furthermore, the tusks of forest elephants are longer, straighter and harder than savannah elephants, making them particularly sought after.”
Here is a video about the Elephant Listening Project research that formerly took place in Dzanga Bai:
At this point, it’s hard to say when Andrea Turkalo’s field work can resume — or if there will be any forest elephants remaining in the CAR when the coup is over.
[family group of elephants in Central African Republic wetland by Damiano Luchetti via Wikimedia Commons] | <urn:uuid:63b7fdbc-d1cd-48d0-9e46-60e53594efc7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.inquisitr.com/697652/forest-elephants-at-brink-of-extinction-researcher-flees-africa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00174-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938653 | 494 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Global Health 'Blunders' Can Lend Useful Lessons
New York Times reporter Lawrence Altman recounts his experience in the mid-1960s with a measles immunization campaign in Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) during his time with the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the CDC in a “Doctor’s World” perspective piece in the newspaper. Altman says that although the effort to expand the immunization campaign from a small field trial to a regional program “failed miserably,” the “lessons learned from these blunders led to a new program that wiped out smallpox, still the only human disease to have been eradicated from the planet.”
“In the 1960s, international aid programs were far less common than they are today,” Altman writes, adding, “Now, medical professionals are devoting careers to global health, and students commonly volunteer for overseas programs, sometimes for academic credit. Yet despite many proposals, the United States has not created a medical Peace Corps to help improve the health of people in poor countries. A greater effort to provide clean water, better sanitation and immunizations would be one of the finest ways for this country to make friends around the world” (9/26). | <urn:uuid:1dfd8604-ec89-45ac-ad77-5c1842d7750e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://kff.org/news-summary/global-health-blunders-can-lend-useful-lessons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00007-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966439 | 259 | 2.75 | 3 |
The forest of the Roaring Fork Valley dodged the mountain pine beetle epidemic that turned much of Colorado’s mountain landscape brown, but it’s not out of the woods yet, so to speak.
A comprehensive 2014 State of the Forest Report released Wednesday by the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies takes a careful inventory of what infestations and diseases are threatening which species of trees in the valley. It’s based on scientific data collected by the U.S. Forest Service and through field observations — not conjecture or hypothetical guesses.
ACES undertook the study to educate laymen and public land managers about the issues and to create a model that other areas will be urged to follow.
“In the world environmental crises, no one’s talking about forests until there’s a fire,” said ACES Executive Director Chris Lane.
ACES and its partners want to change that lackadaisical approach to forest management with the report.
“It’s hopefully a wake-up call,” Lane said.
Identifying the threats
The report says the Roaring Fork Valley forest is relatively healthy because of its diversity of tree species. Other resort areas such as Vail, Breckenridge and Winter Park had an overwhelming amount of lodgepole pine trees. When the mountain pine beetle epidemic broke after drought weakened the trees’ defenses, their forests were hit hard. Needles on lodgepole pines turned brown and then gray over wide swaths of the landscape.
In the Roaring Fork Valley, only 9.2 percent of the forest is lodgepole, and it’s so dispersed that it wasn’t easily reachable by pine beetles, the ACES report said.
About 29 percent of the forest is aspen trees and another 29 percent is chokeberry, serviceberry and sage. The remainder is 20.3 percent spruce, 7 percent pinon-juniper and 5.6 percent cottonwood, Gambel oak and ponderosa.
“When broken down into land cover types, it’s clear that no single forest type dominates our watershed — an asset that provides critical resiliency against specialized insects and diseases such as the spruce beetle,” the report said.
That’s not to say the forest has gone unscathed from insect and disease damage. While the mountain pine beetle epidemic has weakened, there’s now a spruce beetle outbreak spreading in Colorado.
“The threat of a spruce beetle outbreak is of significant concern to the Roaring Fork Watershed, where 20.3 percent of forest land cover is spruce-fir forest,” the report said. “In 2012, 2,317 acres were impacted by spruce beetles.”
Subalpine fir trees are getting hit even harder in the Roaring Fork Valley. Root-disease fungi and western bark beetles are the biggest culprits.
“Subalpine fir decline accounts for 86 percent of all tree deaths in the Roaring Fork Watershed in 2012,” the State of the Forest Report said.
A chart shows that insects or disease damaged 16,000 acres of forest in the Roaring Fork Valley in 2012. That’s down from a peak of about 35,000 acres in 2008, when significant acres of aspen trees were hit by defoliations.
Cold weather declining
The report also looks at factors affecting forest health. It looks at drought stress in the Roaring Fork Valley as well as high and low temperature patterns, precipitation and frost-free days.
The number of subzero-degree days was down 50 percent in the upper valley last decade compared with 1940 to 1969, the report said. That lack of cold weather can lead to higher survival of beetle larvae over the winter.
The number of frost-free days in Aspen mushroomed from an annual average of 76 from 1940 to 1969 to 113 from 2008 to 2012, the report said.
“The magnitude of change witnessed over the past 70 years increases the suitability of habitat for some species while reducing the suitability of habitat for others,” the report said. “Although this may be welcome news for local gardeners, we have yet to see the full scope of long-term impacts on the forest landscape and wildlife behavior.”
The condition of the valley’s forest should be a fundamental concern for all residents, not just those who consider themselves conservationists, Lane said. About 69 percent of the acres in the valley — spanning Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties — are public lands or held in conservation easements.
“Our forests are the engine that drives our tourism-based economy,” Lane said in an introduction to the report. “Now is the time for a resurgence of action to promote and protect the health and resiliency of our forests.”
Spreading the word
ACES is distributing 1,300 copies of the report to its members and hundreds more to public land managers, businesses and local, state and federal government officials. Allied conservation groups both in the valley and around the West will receive one and, hopefully, be inspired to create their own scorecard for their forests.
Lane said the goal is to get the report where regular residents of the valley will see it. He wants copies sitting in dentists’ and doctors’ waiting rooms, for example. That way, ACES will be able to reach more than its regular choir. A digital version is available at www.aspen nature.org.
“We’re going to aim big with this one and see where it goes,” Lane said.
But assigning a grade for forests is only half the battle. ACES hopes the State of the Forest Report influences public land-management decisions and will coax lifestyle changes to help reduce stress and improve the health of forests.
The report won’t be a one-and-done document that sits on a shelf and collects dust. ACES has worked with the University of Arizona to develop a Forest Index that will be applied regularly to check the condition of the Roaring Fork Valley forest. It has been peer-reviewed by six professors from six universities, according to Lane.
ACES and public land managers will be able to follow the index to gauge what’s working and what isn’t and try to correct management or stay on a winning path.
“Our forests are the engine that drives our tourism-based economy.”
Chris Lane, ACES | <urn:uuid:9c5ffe02-a8ee-4e3d-ba59-42ec1fa16546> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.aspentimes.com/news/10899411-113/forest-report-valley-aces | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941492 | 1,347 | 3.015625 | 3 |
by Dr. W.F. Santiago-Valles
Michigan has the largest concentration of Muslims in the United States but information about this population is limited in the Michigan public school and university curriculum. Islam is a growing social force both in the African continent and in the cities of the US that can operate as a bridge in studying how:
The teaching materials in artifact box #3 can be used to discuss how Islam, as a way of life, organizes the way people in Africa remember. One of the larger questions is how those memories of Islam in Africa organize daily life and a sense of place in the world. The other large question is how those memories are transmitted from one generation to another within the same country and among migrants dispersed across the world. In the second question popular culture becomes important as one of the ways in which particular memories are transmitted and reassembled.
Islam appeared in Africa with the commercial networks connecting China , India , the Arabian peninsula , Africa and the Iberian peninsula [between the 700s-900s]. Later the predatory economy of the European slave trade [1470s-1890s] played a large part in making Islam the religion of the majority who opposed enslavement and domination.
That centuries old economic system of trans-continental domination [in farming, trade, industry, finance, and transmission of information] is now called globalization. During this long period, African Muslims created innovations and adaptations that rejected the imposed economic and cultural order. That is why Islam in Africa is related to the transmission of memories using popular cultures. By popular cultures, we mean the daily efforts to assert a collective disagreement with the systems of domination, questioning the basis for their justification and giving solutions to the problems of daily life.
Globalization as in a world market system has been around since the 13th Century according to Abu-Lughod, Gunder Frank and Chaudhuri. Some of the recommended sources about globalization are:
Connecting the collected artifacts for the teaching units required first of all locating the global encounter of Africans with Arabs, Asians, Europeans, and people from the Americas . In order to see how the artifact and its producers are challenging the relations of domination it is necessary to understand the society and the world in which that encounter took place. How was the production of basic needs and tools organized? How was nature controlled and by whom? How was wealth created and distributed? Whatever the answers to those questions are,another important one is how was that arrangement of global domination justified, by whom and for how long? Some of the sources recommended to do this are:
Explaining the objects used in the rituals that give meaning to a group and that are considered important, depends on understanding culture as processes of direct experience with constant struggle. One of those processes is daily life in the village or region and more specifically the conflict between groups resisting marginalization and groups imposing it. Not all the Islamic brotherhoods in Africa accommodated themselves to foreign domination past and present. Some have created regional networks of obligations based on shared interests with other resistance movements whose continued relevance confirm the present crisis of the nation state. The ideas and objects these African brotherhoods produced speak to the struggle between remembering and forgetting, as well as between nationalism and internationalism. Some of the sources recommended are:
The present collaboration between international financial institutions and the government administrators of the debtor countries explains the ongoing impact of "structural adjustment". The result is both migration from the rural to the urban areas in coastal Africa , and then from those cement monuments to growing underdevelopment out to Europe , Asia , and North America . The consequences of their displacement and the institutions the migrants create to produce forms of remembering are the cornerstones of a comparison tool developed by Dr. Santiago-Valles and his Senegalese counterpart, Dr. Ibrahima Thioub for the ongoing research work in this area.
Santiago-Valles is also available for classroom lectures about the comparison tool created and for professional development workshops with schoolteachers interested in discussing ways to use it with the other teaching materials provided. Thioub is available by email at email@example.com. For more general information about this kind of comparative research device, the source recommended is:
There is a history of popular culture movements in Africa that opposed the slave trade, colonial domination and the imposition of technologies that further marginalized subjugated populations. These global movements were predecessors to the present globalization of resistance to, what Samir Amin in Senegal calls, the senile monopoly of private investment funds. The sectors where these private investor funds dominate are in the extraction of natural resources, information technologies, military supplies and international loans. The sources recommended are two books with sections about Islam and Africa included in the # 3 artifact box:
Samir Amin, Au-dela du capitalisme Se'nile [Beyond senile capitalism]. Paris : Presses Universitaire de France, and
Samir Amin, Mondialisation des Resistances. L'Etat des luttes [Globalization of resistance.The state of the struggles]. Paris : L'Harmattan, 2002, and
About popular culture movements in Africa the sources recommended include: | <urn:uuid:6a2ef43b-fe51-4834-9f10-9ef23b27f6f6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cultureconnections.org/themes/islam-liberation-theology.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943445 | 1,057 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Aldabra Tortoise Care Sheet
Aldabra Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea)
Aldabra tortoises are found on the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, and they are one of the largest tortoises in the world (the largest tortoise on record being the Galapagos tortoise – Geochelone nigra). Aldabra tortoises have a varied habitat on their home and introduced islands, ranging from mangrove swamps and coastal dune areas to grasslands and scrub forests.
Aldabra Tortoise Availability
You can find Aldabra tortoises for sale at select reptile stores, reptile shows and sometimes on the Internet. If you are able to find one, no doubt you will find them very rewarding to keep.
Aldabra Tortoise Size
The average weight of an adult male Aldabra tortoise is approximately 550 pounds, although there is one at the Fort Worth Zoo that weighs in at nearly 800 pounds.
Photo by Muhammad Mahdi Karim/Wikipedia
Aldabra tortoises can weigh more than 500 pounds.
Aldabra Tortoise Life Span
Aldabra tortoises are long lived, some having reached more than 200 years of age. The oldest known Aldabra in captivity at the time of this writing is 170 years old.
Aldabra Tortoise Diet
Aldabra tortoises are mostly herbivores. In the wild, they eat grass, leaves, plants, stems and other tasty weeds. They will also feed on insects and dead animals, even their own kind. In captivity they will eat grass, flowers, cactus pads, all sorts of leafy greens and commercial tortoise food. They also like fruit and melons.
Aldabra Tortoise Behavior and Life History
Aldabra tortoises spend the mornings and early evenings eating, and they spend the hotter parts of the day in the shade or lounging in shallow water holes. They are deceptively quick when they want to be and will actually sprint away if frightened. If they think you have a treat for them they will sprint right to you.
Aldabra Tortoise Housing
Keeping Aldabra tortoises outdoors is usually the best way to house them. Hatchlings up to 2 years old can be housed indoors, but once they get beyond that, they need the great outdoors to roam. For babies up to a year old, tortoise tubs or the equivalent work very well. Use bark or crushed coconut for the bottom of the enclosure. Provide a hotspot of about 90 degrees Fahrenheit at one end of the enclosure with an ambient temperature of about 80 degrees. Mercury vapor lights work well for this, as they provide both UVB and heat all in one fixture.
Aldabra tortoises get large, so as a rule of thumb, the bigger the outdoor enclosure, the better. I house mine in a pen made of ornate cinder blocks. The wall is a bit over two feet tall, and the paddock area is 100 feet by 30 feet. Depending on how many you plan to house, the size of your paddock can vary. Aldabra tortoises do best at temperatures of 80 to 95 degrees. Provide your tortoise house with heat lamps, heat emitters and/or large outdoor-use heat pads (“pig blankets”) to maintain the proper temperature even when the weather outside is cold. The entrance to the house should be large enough for the tortoise to easily enter and exit, and a door is handy to lock the tortoise inside on very cold days or nights. Aldabra tortoises love mudholes, and if you can build one, or a shallow pond for them to soak in, they will be very content. Unlike most tortoises, they are also good swimmers.
Aldabra Tortoise Breeding
Between February and May, females lay anywhere from nine and 25 eggs in a shallow nest. Usually less than half of the eggs are fertile. Females can produce multiple clutches of eggs in a year. After incubating, the tiny tortoises hatch between October and December.
Artificial incubation works best. However, if you incubate the eggs at between 81 to 86 degrees, they will usually hatch in less time, about 90 to 108 days.
Aldabra Tortoise Considerations
Aldabra tortoises get very large and live a very long time. They need lots of space, special habitat setups and a bit of care. They make very rewarding pets as long as you have the time and space to dedicate to their needs. You'll more than likely have to arrange for their long-term care in advance since they are probably going to outlive you. They are smart, personable and very entertaining. I find that after a long day at work, just sitting outside and watching them eat can calm the nerves of a hectic day.
Ken Foose is the source for Aldabra Tortoise information. Please visit his site at www.ExoticPetsLV.com. | <urn:uuid:851cd75b-e601-48de-a6ac-4e3204cb410a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Turtles-Tortoises/Aldabra-Tortoise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94774 | 1,074 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Practice art and letter-making and exercise the creative process by reusing styrofoam items instead of tossing them in the trash with this sensory craft.
- a popsicle stick
- tempera paint
- card stock or construction paper
- a paintbrush
- white printer paper
- a dark marker
- Cut the styrofoam into squares.
- Use a craft stick to ‘draw’ a letter into the foam. Press hard enough to make an imprint, but not so hard that you rip the surface. Tip: If your child is making a letter that isn’t symmetrical, she’ll need to draw it on backwards. For example, my son’s name begins with “I”. He can just draw an “I” onto the foam. It doesn’t look any different backwards. But, if your little Esther, Luke, Robbie or Sebastian is making their first name letter, you need to make a backwards printing plate. One way to do this (if your child isn’t into or able to draw it backwards) is to draw the letter with a marker onto a piece of thin white paper. Flip it over (so that it is now a mirror image of the original) and put the paper onto the styrofoam. Press the craft stick through the paper on the lines. When she takes off the paper she may need to go over her lines if they aren’t deep enough.
- Paint over the surface with tempera. You don’t want her to fill in the lines with paint – it won’t print well. If the paint seeps into the lines, have her run the craft stick through the painty lines to remove it.
- Press a piece of card stock or construction paper on top. Have her pat the paper to transfer the paint.
- Pull apart the printing plate and paper to reveal the image!
When your child is done making her paint-print letters you can hang them on the fridge to display or use them as a deck of alphabet cards. Try this activity over and over again, until your child has made a complete alphabet set. She can use them to spell words or she can string them together (just punch holes on the sides and tie them together with yarn or thin ribbon) to make a name banner. | <urn:uuid:4e83be7d-171b-4b15-bf97-583394637b43> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-for-kids/letter-prints/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913651 | 487 | 3.359375 | 3 |
The latest news about biotechnologies, biomechanics
synthetic biology, genomics, biomediacl engineering...
Posted: Aug 14, 2014
Tissue development 'roadmap' created to guide stem cell medicine
(Nanowerk News) In a boon to stem cell research and regenerative medicine, scientists at Boston Children's Hospital, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Boston University have created a computer algorithm called CellNet as a "roadmap" for cell and tissue engineering, to ensure that cells engineered in the lab have the same favorable properties as cells in our own bodies. CellNet and its application to stem cell engineering are described in two back-to-back papers in the August 14 issue of the journal Cell.
Scientists around the world are engaged in culturing pluripotent stem cells (capable of forming all the body's tissues) and transforming them into specialized cell types for use in research and regenerative medicine. Available as an Internet resource for any scientist to use, CellNet provides a much needed "quality assurance" measure for this work.
The two papers also clarify uncertainty around which methods are best for stem cell engineering, and should advance the use of cells derived from patient tissues to model disease, test potential drugs and use as treatments. For example, using CellNet, one of the studies unexpectedly found that skin cells can be converted into intestinal cells that were able to reverse colitis in a mouse model.
Quality control for cells. CellNet is a computer algorithm that systematically assesses the quality of lab-engineered cells. The "inputs" are different kinds of engineered cells—induced pluripotent cells made through reprogramming techniques, specialized cells made through conversion of other specialized cells, and specialized cells made by coaxing a stem cell to differentiate. The "outputs" are comparisons of the lab-made cells' gene expression profiles to those of the real-life cells or tissues they are supposed to emulate (these "training" data are built into CellNet). At far right, CellNet flags and prioritizes potential genetic on/off switches (transcriptional regulators) that could be targeted to improve upon the engineered cells. (click on image to enlarge)
"To date, there has been no systematic means of assessing the fidelity of cellular engineering — to determine how closely cells made in a petri dish approximate natural tissues in the body," says George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, Director of the Stem Cell Transplantation Program at Boston Children's and senior investigator on both studies. "CellNet was developed to assess the quality of engineered cells and to identify ways to improve their performance."
CellNet applies network biology to discover the complex network of genes that are turned on or off in an engineered cell, known as the cell's Gene Regulatory Network or GRN. It then compares that network to the cell's real-life counterpart in the body, as determined from public genome databases. Through this comparison, researchers can rigorously and reliably assess:
the quality of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) made by reprogramming blood cells or skin cells
the quality of specialized cells—such as liver, heart, muscle, brain or blood cells—made from either iPS cells or embryonic stem cells
the quality of specialized cells made from other specialized cells (such as liver cells made directly from skin cells)
what specific improvements need to be made to the engineering process.
"CellNet will also be a powerful tool to advance synthetic biology—to engineer cells for specific medical applications," says James Collins, PhD, Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute and the William F. Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University, co-senior investigator on one of the studies.
Putting CellNet to the test
The researchers—including co-first authors Patrick Cahan, PhD, and Samantha Morris, PhD, of Boston Children's, and Hu Li, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, first used CellNet to assess the quality of eight kinds of cells created in 56 published studies.
In a second study, they applied CellNet's teachings to a recurring question in stem cell biology: Is it feasible to directly convert one specialized cell type to another, bypassing the laborious process of first creating an iPS cell? This study looked at two kinds of directly converted cells: liver cells made from skin cells, and macrophages made from B cells.
CellNet maps the twists and turns of a cell's possible tissue "destinations," from its point of origin to the end of the line — as in the Boston subway system. (Image: Samantha Morris, PhD/Boston Children's Hospital)
"Most attempts to directly convert one specialized cell type to another have depended on a trial and error approach," notes Cahan, principle architect of CellNet and a post-doctoral scientist in the Daley lab. "Until now, quality control metrics for engineered cells have not gotten to the core defining features of a cell type."
In both test cases, CellNet showed that the engineered cells hadn't completely converted, retaining some characteristics of their cells of origin—but pointed to specific genetic tweaks that could be done in the lab to fix the problem.
CellNet also pointed out some useful properties that weren't apparent before. "We found that liver-like cells made from mouse skin were actually more like intestinal cells," says Morris. "In fact, the converted skin cells could engraft into mice with inflammatory bowel disease—Crohn's or ulcerative colitis. After a short time, the cells became highly similar to native colon cells and assisted healing of the damaged tissue, a finding that surprised and excited us."
Guidance for stem cell engineering
Together, the two studies establish some general principles for stem cell science:
1) The GRN of iPS cells created by reprogramming a mature cell is nearly identical to that of stem cells made from embryos, confirming that iPS cells are a good raw material for creating specialized cells.
2) Once engineered cells are engrafted into laboratory mice, their GRN becomes even closer to that of the true target tissue, indicating that the body's own tissues contribute signals to enhance the performance of transplanted cells.
3) Differentiating pluripotent stem cells into specific tissues is currently more effective than attempting to convert one specialized cell directly to another, creating cells whose GRNs are much like those of cells in the body.
4) Most specialized cells made from other specialized cells retain some "memory" of their cell of origin, making them less than ideal for certain uses but better for others.
Source: Wyss Institute
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Check out these other trending stories on Nanowerk: | <urn:uuid:689d64bb-3ade-471a-9a1a-413b8b9d6cc8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/biotech/newsid=36944.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946222 | 1,396 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Just a quick shout out for some excellent resources for March’s Women’s History Month. The National Women’s History Museum web site has Educational Resources including quizzes, timelines, and lesson plans. I received the following information in a press release.
The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) is pleased to announce that "Honoring Amazing Young Women in History," a PowerPoint presentation for educators, is now available. The presentation follows NWHM’s Young and Brave: Girls Changing History cyberexhibit, an online exhibit featuring girls and young women who have made significant achievements at an early age in the fields of science, business, social reform, art and more. The presentation includes interesting information on a variety of young females, including Shirley Temple, Charlotte Forten Grimke and Pocahontas.
An accompanying guide provides educators with information to share with their students and use as a basis for curriculum development and classroom activities. The program also includes many motivational quotes from adult women of achievement and a short quiz.
The presentation offers educators an opportunity to celebrate Women’s History Month in March while providing inspiration as well as information on women’s history that could be integrated into the curriculum all-year-round. This exhibit will motivate young girls and boys to explore their potential.
To request a copy of the presentation, please go to www.nwhm.org/YABPresentation/index.html. | <urn:uuid:115dda95-787e-44ff-a90b-935e394b12e4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.slj.com/practicallyparadise/2010/03/07/womens-history-month-resources/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941209 | 300 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Plaque, Apollo 11, Replica
This flat commemorative plaque replicates the curved plaque of the same design left on the Moon in July 1969 wrapped around the rounded leg of the Apollo 11 lunar module, "Eagle." Because the design of the lunar module meant that its base would be left on the Moon after the astronauts left, putting a plaque on the vehicle's leg created a permanent memorial on that spot. The Apollo 11 mission, with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, was the first human landing on the Moon.
The plaque was accessioned into the collection of the National Air and Space Museum in 2009.
Found in collection. Donor unknown at this time. Found on NASM premises.
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Metal, enamel
- 3-D: 22.2 x 0.3 x 17.8cm (8 3/4 x 1/8 x 7 in.) | <urn:uuid:6ad78fad-43b1-449a-9b23-26d7a1e908f6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://airandspace.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A20090147000 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.86823 | 196 | 2.921875 | 3 |
This plant is thought to originate from India or the Middle East. It is now primarily grown in India and in the Mediterranean countries. It is an herbaceous plant belonging to the Fabaceae family, 40-60 cm high, with alternate trifoliate leaves and pale yellow flowers. Its pods are curved, 10-15 cm long, with narrow ends. These pods contain 10-12 seeds, brown or yellowish, lozenge-shaped, 4-5 mm long, 2-3 mm wide.
Plant Part Used:
Fenugreek is above all a condiment used in Indian and North African cuisine. As a traditional medicine, there is a variety of claims relative to its use. It is widely considered as antidiabetic and anticholesterol herb. It is used as a tonic and appetite stimulant in North Africa. In India, it is used to treat various GIT disorders. It is also said to be galactogogue and uterine stimulant.
Fenugreek also has been used in therapeutic treatment such as CNS stimulant, anti ulcer, anti-inflammatory, intestinal pain, skin diseases, sexual impotence, wound healing, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, anti-neoplastic and anti-pyretic. (40),(41)
The hypoglycaemic activity of fenugreek seeds was demonstrated on several animal models (normal mice and rats, insulin-dependant dogs, alloxan-induced diabetic mice, rats and dogs) (3), (4), (5). The activity was related to various components of the seeds. The soluble dietary fibre fraction, the main components of which are the galactomannans, was shown to reduce glycaemia after glucose administration (3). This fraction was further shown to decrease the serum fructosamine level with no significant change in insulin level (6). Another experiment using fenugreek seed mucilage administrated to streptozocin-induced diabetic rats confirmed the antidiabetic properties (7). Trigonelline is known to have some hypoglycaemic effect. However, most attention was given to 4-hydroxyisoleucine. In vitro, it was shown to increase the insulin secretion by isolated Langerhans islets in a dose-dependant manner. It was also shown to induce a biphasic insulin response in isolated perfused rat pancreas. In vivo, it was shown to be effective in type 2 diabetic rats as well as in conscious fasted dogs in improving oral glucose tolerance after oral administration (3). 4-Hydroxyisoleucine has been shown to increase glucose-induced insulin release without interacting with other agonists of insulin secretion such as tolbutamide and glyceraldehydes, thus demonstrating a novel in vitro insulinotropic activity (8). The bio-molecular mechanism is still unclear. However, it was shown that seed powder was able to both increase the glutamate deshydrogenase and decrease that of D-b-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase in aloxanized rats. Ultrastructures of the rat liver showed a reduction in abnormalities (9). An alcoholic seed extract exerted an anti-cataract in alloxanized diabetic rats (5).
Fenugreek seeds showed some hypocholesterolemic activity. This activity was credited to both the galactomannans and the saponins. Galactomannans decrease the uptake of bile acids, lower blood and liver concentration of cholesterol and decrease hepatic cholesterol synthesis (3). Indeed, the soluble dietary fibre fraction of the seeds significantly decreases the atherogenic lipids in type 2 diabetic rats (6). Saponins were also shown to interact with bile salts in the GIT (3).
Studies to verify these traditional claims provide somewhat contradictory results. Some studies using fenugreek seeds as food supplement did not alter the food intake of animals (10). When given to type 2 diabetic patients, no significant changes were observed on the food consumption, mean energy intake or body weight. However, the seed extract was reported to increase appetite and food intake in rats. The saponins seem to be responsible for this effect, as a total saponin extract significantly increased appetite and body weight of normal as well as diabetic animals (3).
An aqueous extract and a gel fraction of fenugreek seeds were shown to protect the gastric mucosa as efficiently and more efficiently, respectively than omeprazole in protecting rat from HCl-ethanol-induced gastric ulcers (11).
Antioxidant activity and chemopreventive activity
Consumption of an aqueous extract of fenugreek seeds concurrently with ethanol for 60 days reduced liver and brain damage in rats compared with use of alcohol alone. The aqueous extract had an in vitro antioxidant potential in liver cells comparable to vitamin E and glutathione (12). Ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation was prevented to rise in rats by an aqueous extract of fenugreek seeds. Similarly, during 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced rat colon carcinogenesis the circulatory lipid peroxidation was decreased and chemoprevention was exerted by adding fenugreek to the diet (13). A water extract of fenugreek seeds showed chemopreventive activity against 7,12-dimethylbenz-(a)-anthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in rats (14). A polyphenolic extract was able to prevent ethanol-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in Chang liver cells (15). The same extract was also shown to protect erythrocytes from H2O2-induced oxidative damage (16).
The studies reported the Trigonella foenum-graecum have antidiabetic properties when its combine with sodium orthovanadate. The low dose in vanadate is mixed with fenugreek seed to prevent toxicity and antidiabetic effects are evaluated on membrane-linked functions and antioxidant enzymes in diabetic rat brains. Vanadium salts play a role as mimic of promoting effects of insulin. The previous study has reported diabetes reduced Na+/K+ ATPase activity in brain microsomal membrane. The 21 days after effectiveness treatment of Trigonella and 0.2mg/ml vanadate was restored the reduced activity of Na+/K+ ATP, altered membrane fluidity and increased lipid peroxides. This alternative treatment can be explored further as a means of diabetic control. (39)
Fenugreek seeds showed some stimulatory effect on immune functions in mice (17).
A laboratory animal study found that T. foenum-graecum is useful as antiobesity properties. The result reported that the body weight gain induced by high-fat diet in obese mice was decreased. It also has been elucidated the potential of fenugreek in inhibition of lipid accumulation in the liver without affected tissue weights of the kidney and spleen, where as this process not involve toxicity activity of the extract. The absorption of triglyceride in the intestine also was investigated by a lipid-loading test to indicated reduction of body weight mechanism. The resulted was representing the corn oil administration caused reduction of plasma triglyceride. Also, 4-hydroxyisoleucine has the potential to decrease the plasma triglyceride gain by the same cause without reduce body weight gain induced by a high-fat diet. (38) In other study, the extract of sapogenins in the seeds of fenugreek is used to decrease the level of cholesterol as its potential to increase biliary secretion. (42)
Fenugreek seeds are considered as essentially non-toxic, either in acute or sub-chronic studies (18), (10). There is a report that links fenugreek (whole plant) with myopathy in ruminants (19).
Genotoxicity and Mutagenicity Studies
No genotoxicity found when fenugreek seeds were evaluated by the standard battery of tests recommended by the US FDA for food ingredients (20).
A study on cyclists showed that a fenugreek extract increases insulin concentration and glycogen resynthesis after exercise (21). Various clinical trials of fenugreek showed improvement in glucose tolerance in healthy volunteers as well as in type 2 and type 1 diabetic patients (22), (3), (23), (24). However, all these studies were considered as methodologically weak and classified as preliminary (25).
A clinical trial on hyperlipidemic non-diabetic patients whom diet was supplemented in defatted fenugreek showed significant reduction of serum total cholesterol, LDL and VLDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while HDL cholesterol levels were unchanged (3). In another trial, fenugreek seed powder did not affect the blood profile in healthy subjects, but significantly reduced the total cholesterol and triglyceride without affecting the HDL-cholesterol in patients with coronary artery disease (26). Similar results were obtained with germinated seeds, which are less bitter (27). Long lasting hypo-cholesterolemic activity was also demonstrated in diabetic subjects. Altogether, the methodology of these studies were considered as poor (28), (25).
One study involving ten women indicated that fenugreek seeds would increase milk production. However a stronger methodology would be required before this claim could be endorsed.
Adverse Effects in Human:
Used in Certain Conditions:
Pregnancy / Breastfeeding
Neonates / Adolescents
Chronic Disease Conditions
Interactions with Drugs
Interactions with Other Herbs / Herbal Constituents
Fenugreek seeds extract and garlic extract are less effective in the regulation of hyperthyroidism in rats than administrated independently (36).
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes (speculative).
Interaction with warfarin
False maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) | <urn:uuid:488adb0e-4f83-4f7b-8121-93de526ed752> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.globinmed.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80346:trigonella-foenum-graecum-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938659 | 2,043 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Ashley, a 16 year old female from Langenburg, Saskatchewan asks on December 4, 2003,Does population density affect fish growth rates? I'm trying to determine if population density affects the growth rate of fish. I have two containers that are the same size. In one container I have a very low population density and in the other I have a high population density. I make sure I feed all the fish the same amount. Would the population density have an effect on the fish? Does availability of space determine how quickly they can grow?
viewed 13611 times
Yes, the density will affect the growth of the fishes. We know that closed systems like your containers have a limited carry capacity (that is the key element for aquaculture and the aquarium fish business). That means there is only so much biomass (total mass of all living things) that can be sustained in a container of a given size, so the bigger the container the more fish it will support (assuming they are fed and cleaned regularly).
Out in the wild however, the answer is usually no, we don't see density affecting growth. The reason is that wild systems tend to be open with very complex inputs and outputs. When fish biomass starts to increase--that can be the number of fish or the total weight of all fish--the population of fish responds by either reducing its numbers ( leaving the area, suffering greater number of deaths from predators, lower birthrate) or they lower their growth rate, that is, they stop growing. So in the wild, we rarely ever see that density affects growth because many other things happen before these two factors affect each other.
Note: All submissions are moderated prior to posting.
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Not too long ago, Jeffrey wrote an excellent article on resources to get you started with jQuery. Now its time to give some love back to the server side, and become more familiar with PHP.
PHP is a scripting language that is perfect for developing dynamic web pages and applications. You may be a PHP ninja, or perhaps you don't even know what PHP stands for. However, if you plan on or are involved in any kind of web development, you are bound to run into this fantastic and easy to learn web language. Today we will review 25 resources to get you started with PHP.
So what the heck is PHP?
What are some advantages of using PHP?
Every web language comes with its advantages and disadvantages, and you will find PHP is no different. However, PHP is a popular web language for many reasons.
Easy learning curve. The less time you have to spend searching the manual and studying a web language, the more time you will have to actually create and optimize your application. One of PHP's best features is that it is extremely easy to learn compared to other web languages. The syntax is arguably logical and many of the common functions describe exactly what they do.
Familiar syntax. PHP is a great language for developers with programming experience, especially programming in C and Perl, which is what PHP's syntax is mostly based on. If you know how to program in C and/or Perl, you wont have any issues writing applications in PHP.
Cost. It's free and open source. Can't beat that.
Performance.PHP is a relatively efficient web language. Scalability in your code and applications is very important and you can rely on PHP to serve as many web pages as you need efficiently (of course, it can't help if your coding inefficiently).
Community. The PHP community absolutely rocks. You'll find some of the most in-depth and comprehensive documentation of the entire language at php.net. In addition, there are thousands of PHP help forums and websites to help you when you get stuck. Furthermore, since PHP is open source, it is constantly being improved. PHP 5 recently implemented very strong support for object oriented programming and the language continues to become more powerful.
Overview of the syntax
In case you have been living under a rock and have never seen a PHP script, here is a very basic example of how PHP is written.
<?php echo "Your first php script!"; ?>
A few things to note. Notice the opening tags start with <?php and end with ?>. You may see some developers leave off the 'php' after the question mark. This is called using PHP short tags and is considered bad practice, always use full php tags. You will also notice that the line ends with a semi colon, if it does not PHP will throw an error. Now lets move on to some resources to get you started.
Step 1. Download PHP and learn the fundamentals.
First things first, we need to download the latest version of PHP and install it so we can work with it locally.
Visit PHP.net to get the latest version and any libraries you wish.
Installing PHP on any OS.
Straight from the manual, follow the link below to get started installing PHP on any operating system you happen to be running on.
PHP 101-For the absolute beginner.
I still find myself coming back to this article on the zend dev zone. If your new to PHP, this is a must read tutorial/guide.
PHP.net-your first script.
Time to get down and dirty with your first php script from the PHP.net manual.
Tizag-a complete walkthrough.
Odds are you have visited Tizag.com sometime in your web development career, and you can find a giant section of php tutorials at the link below.
Webmonkey-PHP tutorial for beginners.
Webmonkey has an extremely in depth article for those new to PHP, covering everything from variables to functions to loops and operators.
Step 2. Intermediate techniques and MySQL databases.
Now that you have learned the basics and fundamentals of PHP, lets move onto some intermediate techniques and using PHP with MySQL to create dynamic websites. PHP works extremely well with MySQL, which is a database language. Using the two together, we can create nearly any kind of website we wish.
Installing MySQL and getting started.
This article from the php manual will get you started and show you how to install MySQL and use PHP to interact with the database.
Everything you need to know about using PHP to interact with your newly setup MySQL database. How appropriate that the site is named "php-mysql-tutorial.com".
Tizag-MySQL introduction with PHP.
Tizag takes you through each common MySQL and PHP command needed to get started building database driven websites.
User Membership with PHP.
Now that we know how to use PHP and MySQL together, we can create a basic user login script.
Secure file upload with PHP.
Uploading files is certainly a great way to add interactivity to your site, but this must be done with caution. Below is a great article on uploading files securely with PHP.
Regular expressions introduction.
Using regular expressions is a great way to validate and verify user input to meet your exact needs. Learning the syntax can be a little tricky, so we'll cover a few regular expressions tutorials.
A crash course in regular expressions.
Jeffrey delivers with another awesome screencast on using regular expressions.
Regular expressions cheat sheet.
Cheat sheets are incredibly useful to any programmer or developer and below you will find an excellent regex cheat sheet that you may download for free.
Dev zone security tips.
Security is an important part of your application design so be sure to visit Dev zones' section on security tips.
10 PHP security checks.
From O'Reillys dev center comes a list of 10 PHP security checks to make sure you are taking.
Step 3. Advanced and OOP techniques.
Moving right along to what I would consider more advanced PHP techniques, including object oriented programming. OOP has drastically improved since the release of PHP 5.
Using the GD library.
The PHP GD library is an image processing library you can install with PHP. The GD library allows you to manipulate images in thousands of different ways.
Writing secure php files.
A more advanced and in depth look at creating secure php applications.
Introduction to object oriented programming with PHP.
Object oriented programming is a confusing concept to many new programmers, the below tutorial will take you step by step through the basics of OOP.
A crash course into object oriented programming.
A slightly more in depth look and study of OOP with PHP.
Real world OOP with PHP and MySQL.
Nettuts brings us an excellent real world example of OOP being used to connect and manipulate a MySQL database.
Step 4. Using PHP frameworks.
There are hundreds of PHP frameworks in existence now days, most are based on the MVC approach. Below we have listed some of the better PHP frameworks.
One of the most highly praised PHP frameworks, Code Igniter claims a small and powerful footprint to help you quickly develop applications.
The Symfony Project is a full stack PHP framework built with PHP 5 library classes.
Another framework based on MVC, Akelos claims to be a simple ans easy to us PHP framework.
The ever popular Zend framework is an extremely powerful framework with a slightly higher learning curve.
CakePHP might just be the most popular PHP framework around right now. One of the highlights of CakePHP is the fun and easy to understand documentation, which teach you how to "bake your cake".
That'll do it for today's round up. Please let us know if you have any resources or articles we missed in the comments section! | <urn:uuid:2d3f7b4e-4d53-42c7-bf98-edc3670915c5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://code.tutsplus.com/articles/25-resources-to-get-you-started-with-php-from-scratch--net-2223 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00161-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913349 | 1,625 | 2.59375 | 3 |
LAWRENCE — As migrants from more than 60 indigenous groups in Mexico have increasingly come to the United States in recent years, psychologists, anthropologists and sociologists have sought how to understand their cultures as they continue to enter American classrooms.
A University of Kansas researcher of Mexican-U.S. history said in addition to the frequent language barrier, there are often radical cultural differences that American educators could better understand via a historical analysis of how Mesoamerican children typically learn and are socialized.
"In the case of indigenous communities in Mexico the entire way of arranging a culture doesn't always include the public school. All of a sudden they find themselves at a public school here in the United States, but it's not an institution that is usual to the community in the way that we typically understand it," said Ruben Flores, associate professor of American studies. "You've got to find a way to translate their cultural practices to our cultural practices, and vice versa, and that's a much more difficult enterprise."
Flores was the lead author of "Using History to Analyze the 'Learning by Observing and Pitching In' Practices of Contemporary Mesoamerican Societies," published in December in the journal Advances in Child Development and Behavior as part of a National Science Foundation-funded project designed by psychologist Barbara Rogoff at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to understand Mesoamerican learning practices. The special issue was devoted to the study of the learning practices that Rogoff and others have coined "Learning by Observing and Pitching In," or LOPI, which is especially common among indigenous communities of the Americas and families that have had contact with those communities.
Flores said these learning practice differs from the more formalized learning models common in Western schooling where nearly all students are expected to learn the same way following instruction from the teacher. However, LOPI involves a repetition of behaviors that often takes place in family homes where children watch very carefully what parents are doing and then repeat it. Very few, if any words, are spoken, which is often the opposite of instruction in the classroom based on lectures.
"Over the course of time there are questions of spirituality, morality and one's place in the community are being answered and being understood by the children, even if there's not necessarily any kind of verbal communication that's happening all the time," Flores said. "Socialization and learning in these indigenous communities often takes place not through verbal communication but through children watching their parents very carefully, very minutely throughout the conduct of the day and repeating the behavior."
"Pitching in" references voluntarily helping with the labor of the day.
"When one repeats that, then one is picking up the values of the community because it's inflected with the hierarchy and the ethics of the community," Flores said.
Many indigenous Mexican families have migrated to the United States particularly in the West in recent years, as they seek relief from economic and political conditions at home.
"They recognize that entering the stream of institutions in the U.S. is better for the bottom line economically of the family. And that it's better for them as they consider remaining in the country, going on to college for instance and joining the work force," Flores said.
There is often frustration in the beginning when children enter American schools because the usual learning model is unknown and there can be cultural conflicts among groups meeting each other for the first time, he said. However, with recent emphasis on improving academic performance of all students, schools also have a vested interest in modifying their understanding of how indigenous students learn, he said.
"From both the side of the families and from the side of the school officials, LOPI researchers have wondered whether it is possible to translate across the differences more tightly," Flores said. "That requires a lot of thought because it's not automatic."
His group's journal article includes three case studies of indigenous communities in Mexico — the Nahua people of the state of Puebla, the P'urhépecha communities of the state of Michoacán and the Nahua people of the Texcoco area — where an understanding of historical patterns have proven fruitful for understanding the contemporary LOPI practices.
"I was asked to help articulate the differences that historical analysis could make to an understanding of contemporary LOPI practices," Flores said. "So how does one interpret those? That's not an easy thing to do. Social scientists and humanists have helped to expand our understanding of these communities by considering the ways that they have structured their lives over very long durations. It's not something that's happened overnight."
He said there is a experimental models in California, especially the Los Angeles area, on LOPI in the classroom, but several challenges remain for the practice, including the influence of austerity politics and states' declining to increase investment in public education.
"Another of the things that we may be learning from these communities is how the practice and experience that are intrinsic to their socialization practices reinforces what we call 'education,'" Flores said. "We could be learning from them rather than they just learning from us." | <urn:uuid:df078395-c61b-49c9-8573-ffc1592b57de> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.ku.edu/2016/01/21/historical-study-can-help-bridge-gap-among-schools-indigenous-students-resesarcher-says | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00186-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975073 | 1,049 | 3.25 | 3 |
(Last Updated on : 22/02/2010)
Large area with a noticeable concentration of several industrial centres is known as industrial region. In India, several industrial centres have been established during the past two decades. The industrial centres of India are located far away from each other. They can be found along some prominent railway routes. In some places, there are chains of industrial establishments making a sort of linear patterns.
Mumbai in India is considered as one of the leading industrial centres of the country. The deep water harbour facilities at this city enabled it to import industrial machinery as well as raw materials more conveniently than the other cities comparatively. The distance between the European countries and Mumbai
is relatively less. Moreover, this city is also connected with other parts of the country by airways, railways and roadways. All these factors supported the rapid industrialization of Mumbai. The major industries of this town comprise manufacturing of cotton textiles, synthetic fibres, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, automobiles, electrical equipment, plastic and rubber goods, plastic raw materials and more. Mumbai is considered as the leading centre of petroleum refining and manufacture of petro-chemicals. In the western ghat, industrial machinery, chemicals, electrical equipment, industrial machinery, etc. are manufactured near Pune
are some of the other major industrial centres of India. Ahmedabad produces a huge quantity of cotton piece goods. Textile as well as electrical machinery is also manufactured in this city. Fertilizers are manufactured near Baroda, which also has woollen textile mills. Pharmaceuticals and chemical products are also produced in Baroda. Moreover, petro-chemical complex for the production of organic chemicals has also been established here. Chemical industries that are based on salt have been set-up near Okha. Industrial belt in Hooghly
near Kolkata is considered as really huge just next to Mumbai. Industrial machinery, automobiles, cotton textiles, chemicals, rubber goods, pharmaceutical products are produced in different industrial centres of West Bengal
. Machine tools, railway coaches, electrical machinery, aircraft and watches are manufactured at Bengaluru.
Moreover, in Bihar Plateau and in the neighbouring parts of West Bengal, steel fabricating and metallurgical industries are of considerable significance. Further, high-grade iron-ore is found in abundance near Jamshedpur. Iron and steel producing plants are established at Jamshedpur
are other popular industrial centres of the country. | <urn:uuid:38fba97e-a158-4537-ad32-5ecefd8811dd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.indianetzone.com/46/industrial_centres_india.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957926 | 493 | 2.90625 | 3 |
In serving, a tennis player accelerates a 75-g tennis ballhorizontally from rest to a speed of 45 m/s. Assuming theacceleration is uniform when the racquet is applied over a distanceof 0.85 m, what is the magnitude of the force exerted on the ballby the racquet?
I keep getting 90,000 Newtons but the correct answer is 89Newtons.
Can anyone please help me? Thank you. | <urn:uuid:e908e1bb-dc4a-432c-af47-efb41d558891> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/serving-tennis-player-accelerates-75-g-tennis-ballhorizontally-rest-speed-45-m-s-assuming--q150714 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910782 | 94 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The Antarctic Environmental Protection Act
Photographer: Peter Rejcek
National Science Foundation
Date taken: January 27, 2010
The purpose of the Antarctic Environmental Protection Act (AEPA) is to protect the Antarctic environment by implementing the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. The AEPA provides the legislative basis that Canada requires to oversee Canadian activities in the Antarctic and otherwise fulfill the Madrid Protocol's obligations. The Minister of the Environment is responsible for the AEPA.
The AEPA applies to Canadians, Canadian aircraft and Canadian vessels as defined in the Act. Canadians include Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Canadian corporations as defined in the Act. The Act also applies to anyone who is part of a Canadian expedition in the Antarctic. For the purpose of the Act, a Canadian expedition is an expedition that is organized in Canada or for which the final place of departure is Canada.
The Act specifically prohibits Canadians and Canadian vessels where applicable, from undertaking the following activities in the Antarctic under any circumstance:
- Damage of historic sites or monuments
- Open air burning of waste
- Disposal of waste in ice-free areas or freshwater systems
- Discharge into the sea any products or substances that are harmful to the marine environment except under the conditions established for the disposal of domestic liquid waste under Section 43 of the Regulations
- Introduction of prohibited substances into the Antarctic
- Possession, sale or transport of anything that has been obtained in contravention of the Act or its Regulations
- Date modified: | <urn:uuid:ec41979b-721e-4926-8daa-b9a72ba70003> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ec.gc.ca/gdd-mw/default.asp?lang=En&n=56303427-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00043-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935257 | 302 | 3.5 | 4 |
|The Mathematics of Models of Reference - 2D||The Mathematics of Models of Reference - 3D||
Go to the 2D applet
Go to the 3D gallery
|TUTORIAL||back to top|
I. What is a cellular automaton?
II. Why do we study CA?
III. Four lessons from CA
IV. iLabs CA: an introduction to the approach
IV.I. What if the "Teory of Everything" was a CA?
IV.IV. States and rules
IV.V. To think is to be: is this the solution?
V. Learn more
|I. What is a cellular automaton?||back to index|
The theory of cellular automata has its roots in the works of prominent logicians, mathematicians, physicists, computer scientists, such as Alan Turing, John von Neumann, Stanislaw Ulam, John Conway, Stephen Wolfram and Konrad Zuse. Cellular automata (CA) are mathematical representations of complex systems. A complex system is a dynamic system - that is, something changing its state over time and reacting to the environment - whose properties are determined by countless feedbacks and interactions between its parts: a cell, the human body, the U.S. economy are all good examples of complex systems whose behavior is often hard to predict. A distinctive sign of CA is their discrete nature, both in space and in time: almost any CA, in fact, has the following five features:
* A discrete lattice of cells (or atoms); the lattice can be 1, 2, 3 or n-dimensional. The cells are the basic, fundamental bricks of the CA
* Homogeneity: each cell is identical to any other cell in the lattice
* Discrete states: each cell can be in one of finitely many possible discrete states
* Local interactions: each cell interact only with a finite number of cells, its neighbourhood
* Deterministic dynamics: at each instant in time, each cell updates its state with a transition function. The state of a cell at a time t only depends on the states of the cell's neighbourhood at time t - 1.
|II. Why do we study CA?||back to index|
In the wonderful book Cellular Automata: A Discrete Universe, Andrew Ilachinski lists four basic reasons to study CA, in descending order of theoretical interest:
* CA are powerful computational systems
* CA are discrete simulators of dynamical systems
* CA are (a kind of) toy-universe to study the notion of complexity and pattern formation
* CA are models of the fundamental layer of physical reality
With these ingredients, CA can be used to model an impressive variety of phenomena: from gas in a closed space to eletronic circuits, from neural networks to cristal formation, from animal evolution to war strategies.
CA are thus an important element in the new theory of complexity, a multidisciplinary research program pursued in institutions such as the The Santa Fe Institute. The philosophical idea behind all this is that complexity is an emerging phenomena, the results of countless micro-interactions following simple, local rules. On the macro-scale, patterns and events happening in a CA have no immediate or obvious relation to the simple interactions at the micro-scale. The most complex system we know of, of course, is the human brain.
|III. Four lessons from CA||back to index|
To better understand the world of CA we can first consider a classic from the literature: “The game of life”, created by the American mathematician John H. Conway and popularized by Martin Gardner in Scientific American back in the Seventies.
Apart from specific applications in scientific modelling, CA are an incredible toy-universe to test our naive theory of the deep structure of reality and some fundamental concepts of common sense: in particular, several intuitions on objects, movement and complexity are greatly challenged by the study of this systems:
* Lesson 1 → Simple rules can generate incredible complex behavior.
* Lesson 2 → Istantaneous objects can generate "persistent" objects: even if, strictly speaking, a CA is made of istantaneous changes (nothing lasts more than one istant), an observer may receive the illusion that complex patterns move in the universe..
* Lesson 3 → A discrete movement may well approximate a continuous one: patterns moving in Life may seem just as fluid as motions we observe in everyday reality: this suggests that the supposed continuity of our space-time may indeed be an illusion generated by discrete underlying changes.
* Lesson 4 → Several "interpretations" of reality are possible and equally legitimate: even if the Life world is made of black and white squares, we can describe what's going on with different high-level languages. By the same reasoning, we should not forget that also our world - described by high-level names and predicates - may indeed just be composed by simple squares and states.
|IV. iLabs CA: an introduction to the approach||back to index|
We believe that CA are much more than "just" useful models and abstract representations of real phenomena: as a tentative, working hypothesis we are asking ourselves: why reality itself couldn't be a big CA? Of course, this means we are betting on a completely discrete universe, with minimal space-time units and local interactions between elementary cells.
The very idea of discreteness is at the heart of recent developments and extensions of quantum theory: altough nobody knows how the fundamental physical reality truly works, some outstanding scholars have put forward similar considerations in favour of a discrete view of the universe. In this perspective, the (in)famous Theory of Everything - the theory unifying the behavior of any object and event - would be "just" the specification of the structure and the rule governing a CA.
And if our universe is a CA, anything can be decomposed in many elementary cells, whose evolution in time is strictly determined by simple, deterministic rules. Exactly as it happens within Life, the complexity of our world is the (somewhat unexpected) consequence of four elements: space, time, states, rules.
If the space is totally occupied by elementary cells, it is reasonable to assume that cells have a regular shape. Given a three-dimensional space-time there are just three polyhedra that can fill it completely: tetrahedron, cube and rhombic dodecahedron (in two dimensions you have triangle, square and hexagon).
After many preliminary experiments, we chose the hexagon in 2D and the rhombic dodecahedron in 3D: peculiar as they may seem, these two shapes have many advantages over the orthodox square (and cube). For one thing, the distance between cells approximate the radius of a circle/sphere; on the other hand, even if a perfect circle/sphere cannot exist in such a universe, good approximations can be easily generated (see also the Contents section).
Time is composed by discrete units, instants. As we have seen with Conway's Game of Life, a continuous reality may well be an illusion generated by discrete objects moving at a suitable frequency. In general, the idea that time and space are discrete is compatible with the concept of a maximum possible speed - according to Einstein's relativity, the speed of light.
If the universe is a CA, any movement, any change is really just an illusion: what we describe as a "body moving there" is actually the changing in states occurring at many neighbouring cells in several instants of time.
To discover what are the states and rules governing the evolution of the universe is of course a tricky task. Obviously, nobody now can "see" what the fundamental cells are doing, so what we can do is just build reasonable hypothesis and test them against the best data we have: if the world is a CA, we should expect that a given set of states and rules generates macro-behaviors compatible with what we already know. While this is not a real recipe to find the "true" set, it may help the research program to quickly dismiss wrong choices.
If we trust the old simplex sigillum veri motto, the number of states would be not just finite, but also small; by the same reasoning, the rule at the heart of the CA would be very simple and computationally inexpensive: with these guiding principles in mind we are developing our model.
This was one of the most famous Parmenides' statements: it was more than 2500 year ago but, in some sense... iLabs agree with that! Our model is designed explicitely on the assumption of a strong isomorphism between software (thoughts, information, mind) and hardware (reality, physics, body).
Describing the “physical properties" of the world and explaining the “distribution of informational features” are two ways to do one thing: any change in the informational reality is matched by a corresponding change in the physical world - and vice versa. Let's think about something very familiar, our PC: a software instruction (a mouse click, for example) can modify the hard-disk of the PC (the hardware); on the other hand, a modification in the hardware (even unintended ones!) may drastically change the behavior of our software.
Another familiar - although less "standard" - example is the human body. A thought can modify the appeareance and the behavior of the body - the heart beats faster just because you think about your partner! - as well as changes in hardware (for example, a disease) would result in great modification in our cognitive attitudes and abilities.
|V. Learn more||back to index|
The basic text on the subject is of course:
Berto F., Rossi G., Tagliabue J., The Mathematics of Models of Reference, College Publications, 2010 >>
We also list here a collection of books and articles on CA for the interested reader:
Just to start
Advanced introductory texts
Hopcroft J. E. and Ullman J. D., Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation, Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1979 >>
Ilachinski A., Cellular Automata: A Discrete Universe, Singapore: World Scientific, 2001 >>
Preston, K. Jr. and Duff, M. J. B., Modern Cellular Automata: Theory and Applications, New York: Plenum, 1985 >>
Schiff. J.L., Cellular Automata: A Discrete View of the World, New York: Wiley Interscience, 2008 >>
Crutchfield J.P. and Mitchell M., The Evolution of Emergent Computation, SFI Technical Report 94-03-012
Gardner M., The Game of Life, Parts I-III, Capp. 20-22 in Wheels, Life, and other Mathematical Amusements. New York: W. H. Freeman, 1983 >>
Toffoli T., and Margolus N., Cellular Automata Machines: A New Environment for Modeling, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987 >>
Von Neumann J., The Theory of Self-reproducing Automata, Urbana, IL: Univ. of Illinois Press, 1966 >>
Wolfram S., Cellular Automata and Complexity: Collected Papers, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1994 >>
Wolfram S., A New Kind of Science, Champaign, IL: Wolfram Media, 2002 >>
Bennett C.H., Logical Reversibility of Computation, IBM Jour. Res. Dev. 6, 525-32, 1973
Bennett C.H., Thermodinamically Reversible Computation, Phy. Rev. Lett. 53, 1202, 1984
Fredkin E. e Toffoli T., Conservative Logic, Int. Jour. of Theo. Phy. 21, 219, 1982
Margolus N., Physics-Like Models of Computation, Physica 10D, 81-95, 1984
Margolus N., Physics and Computation, PhD thesis, Tech. Rep. MIT Lab. For Comp. Sci., March 1988
Toffoli T., Computation and Construction Universality of Reversible Cellular Automata, Jour. Comp. Sys. Sci. 15, 213, 1977
Toffoli T. e Margolus N., Invertible Cellular Automata, Physica D45, 229-53, 1990
|APPLET 2D||back to top|
I. CA features
I.III. Boolean operators
II.I. The general framework
II.III. Download the offline version
III. Try to...
III.I. Strong reversibility
III.II. Pattern formation
|I. CA features||back to index|
The topology of our universe - in its 2D representation - is based on an hexagonal cell (see also the introductory section in Contents). From a logical point of view, a cell's behavior can be described by a sequence of < perception - thought - action > - that is, the most elementary Model of Reference. In particular, the cell first percieves the bits coming from its neighbourhood; then the cell thinks what to do and finally act, mapping in a suitable way the incoming bits to its new interal state. Ad each update, the cell uses 6 bits to memorize what's happening in the neighbourhood and other 6 bits to "expose" the result of the MoR: since the universe never lose information, the number of bits before and after each update is always the same (this is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to have a CA that is strongly reversible).
The rule - our "super-rule" - defining the behavior of the system is the following:
that is, the sum modulo 2 of the values (1 or 0) in the sextuple of incoming bits. Id is akin to an identity operator, i.e. an operator mapping each sextuple to itself:
Perm is akin to a permutation operator, i.e. an operator switching the elements of a sextuple:
The super-rule allows the perfect representability of boolean operators; moreover, this universe is strongly reversible (something you can easily verify with the interactive applet). But what does it mean exactly reversible? In the CA literature, most rules are not reversible: any function - and so any rule - is said to be not reversible when different input may generate the same output. The rule used by Life, for example, is not reversible, the standard boolean operators are not reversible: universes that are not reversible do not conserve the information in the system, so that it is not possible, by looking at a CA at t + 1 to know its state at the previous instant t.
The super-rule is not just reversible, but strongly reversible, since you can retrieve the input from the output by applying the same rule again. In this case we have that also the "Big Bang" of the universe (i.e. the initial conditions) can be discovered by simply applying "backwards" the rule over and over again.
Patterns and sequences of active and inactive bits may be used to represent a variety of informational process. In our universe, each cell is a universal
logic gate, that can replicate a set of operators that is functionally complete, so that any boolean operation can be computed within the model.
Let's consider an hexagonal cell, where three sides are considered "input" sides and the other three "output" side: this cell has input bits from directions x, y and z (dark grey) and produce output bits in the three opposite sides (grey):
Since boolean operators are not reversible (AND has two input bits and one output bits), some bits will not be considered by the cell simulating the operator. As it turns out, NOT, AND, FAN-OUT and other basic operators can be easily implemented in this universe.
Let's clarify this point with AND and NOT, also illustrated in the video below. If the input z is a “control line” - that is "active" just in case z = 1, the bits arriving from directions x and y will end up producing as output the logical operation x AND y: x AND y = 1 if and only if the input bit x = 1 and the input bit y = 1, 0 otherwise. The NOT operator can be implemented using the same strategy, with z = 1 and y = 0. This time the output of z is the negation of the input of x.
|II. Implementation||back to index|
The 2D CA has been developed using the open platform NetLogo, a free software created by Uri Wilensky to explicitely design agent-based models.
NetLogo is a de facto standard in higher education for scientific modelling of complex systems: by using this solution, we are
ready to share the code and our findings with a large community of existing users; morever, NetLogo is Java based, so that interactive applet for web browser
can be easily created and distributed. Unfortunately, NetLogo is now only partially compiled, slowing the down complex parallel computations.
The code has been written aiming at an almost perfect conceptual clarity: anyone that read the book or some of our articles should be able to go through the code and understand in a few minutes the key parts. A part from setup, import/export data, movies and related issues, the heart of the code is the [go] function, that is in turn based on the [super-regola] function.
[super-regola] has 2 main blocks, allowing the universe to go forward and backward to verify the perfect reversibility: the moment of perception, thought and action are clearly marked in the code.
The offline version of the CA allows the user to save (and load) the state of the universe at a given time, thus enabling the sharing of interesting findings in the research community. Finally, the user may also export a .mov movie of the model. The code (in .nlogo format) is open source and the latest version can be downloaded here. Any comment and suggestion can be sent to our devoted e-mail address.
To use the applet directly within the browser - Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Explorer - is necessary to have the Java Runtime Environment (Java 6 or higher) installed: Java is a free technology allowing interactive experiences in website and most of the users have already installed some version of it. To verify the Java version installed go to the test page; if the JRE is missing, it can installed in a few minutes downloading the setup file from the same site. Java should be allowed to work by your browser so check your browser options to be sure the JRE is enabled (just follow these instructions).
|III. Try to...||back to index|
...create random initial conditions and let the universe evolve for some instants; then, use the reverse_time-flow option and let evolve the universe again. No matter how many states, objects, patterns there are: the universe will always come back to the "Big Bang"!
...explore the simulations already included in the applet (use the options in the setup menu) or to draw new states on an empty universe and see if you get interesting patterns. Please contact us if you discover new configurations to be included in the next release of our CA.
|3D GALLERY||back to top| | <urn:uuid:a3813c9a-fcb8-4441-ad32-57402eef32f4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mmdr.it/provaEN.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903399 | 4,049 | 3.125 | 3 |
Non-Violent vs. Violent Crimes
Locate a Local Criminal Lawyer
What Are Non-Violent Crimes?
Non-violent crimes are those crimes that do not involve the use of any force or injury to another person. The seriousness of a non-violent crime is usually measured in terms of economic damage or loss to the victim.
Most non-violent crimes involve some sort of property crime such as larceny or theft.
What Are Violent Crimes?
Violent crimes or violent offenses involve the use of force or injury to the body of another person. The seriousness of a violent crime is usually determined by the degree of physical harm caused to the victim. The use of a weapon can raise the seriousness of the crime.
Some crimes are classified as violent crimes even if the victim was not injured. For example, crimes that involve the threat of injury to a person may qualify as a violent crime. Moreover, the characteristics of the victim may alter the seriousness of the charges. For example, if a police officer, woman, or child was the victim of the violence, the crime will likely be subject to increased charges.
What Are Some Examples of Non-Violent and Violent Crimes?
Non-violent crimes can cover a broad spectrum of offenses. They usually involve some sort of “property crime” resulting in damage to another person’s property.
Some of the more common non-violent offenses may include:
- Most property crimes, such as theft, embezzlement, and receipt of stolen goods, arson
- Fraud, tax crimes, other forms of white collar crime
- Drug and alcohol-related crimes
- Racketeering and gambling
Violent crimes are also called “offenses against the person”, meaning that the physical body of another person was harmed. Common violent offenses include:
Some non-violent crimes are often raised to a level of violence. For example, it is common for fraud, a non-violent crime, to involve some form of violence. This can happen if the fraud was forced under threat of harm or coercion. For instance, a non-violent crime, such as forcing someone to sign a contract, may become violent if it is done at gunpoint or under threat of harm to them or their loved ones.
Are the Legal Punishments Different for Violent Crimes vs. Non-Violent Crimes?
Both non-violent crimes and violent crimes can result in serious legal consequences. In general, violent crimes usually carry stiffer penalties. However, there are some non-violent crimes that are also punished very strictly.
Non-violent crimes are usually punishable by a fine or short jail sentence. The fines or incarceration sentence may increase with the severity of the non-violent crime.
Are There Defenses Available?
Defenses may be available for the defendant in both violent and non-violent crimes, but will vary depending on the specific facts of any given case. A properly raised defense, such as self-defense or consent, can drastically reduce or even remove the legal penalties associated with a crime.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
If you are facing criminal charges, you have the right to a criminal attorney. A criminal defense lawyer can help represent you in court, whether you are facing charges for a violent offense or a non-violent offense. Criminal laws may vary widely by state, so you may wish to ask your lawyer if you have questions regarding the laws of your jurisdiction.
Consult a Lawyer - Present Your Case Now!
Last Modified: 09-08-2015 05:25 PM PDT
Link to this page | <urn:uuid:6f3bbaf0-bde5-4026-b637-4a121f593ba9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/non-violent-vs-violent-crimes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940937 | 738 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, , at sacred-texts.com
This chapter runs parallel with Kings (see the marginal reference), but considerably enlarges the narrative.
2 Chronicles 12:1
All Israel with him - i. e., "all Judah and Benjamin" - all the Israelites of those two tribes.
2 Chronicles 12:2
Shishak ... came up ... because they had transgressed - The writer speaks from a divine, not a human, point of view. Shishak's motive in coming up was to help Jeroboam, and to extend his own influence.
2 Chronicles 12:3
twelve hundred chariots - This number is not unusnal (compare Exo 14:7; Kg1 10:26). Benhadad brought 1,200 chariots into the field against Shalmaneser II; and Ahabhad at the same time a force of 2,000 chariots (compare the Kg1 20:1 note).
The Lubims or "Libyans" Dan 11:43, were a people of Africa, distinct from the Egyptians and the Ethiopians dwelling in their immediate neighborhood. They were called Ribu or Libu by the Egyptians. See Gen 10:13.
Sukkiims - This name does not occur elsewhere. The Septuagint, who rendered the word "Troglodytes," regarded the Sukkiim probably as the "cave-dwellers" along the western shore of the Red Sea; but the conjecture that the word means "tent-dwellers" is plausible, and would point rather to a tribe of Arahs (Scenitae).
2 Chronicles 12:4
See 1 the Kings 14:25 note.
2 Chronicles 12:6
They said, The Lord is righteous - i. e., they acknowledged the justice of the sentence which had gone forth against them Ch2 12:5.
2 Chronicles 12:7
Compare the repentance of Ahab (marginal reference) and that of the Ninevites Jon 3:5-10 which produced similar revocations of divine decrees that had been pronounced by the mouth of a prophet.
Some deliverance - Rather, "deliverance for a short space" (see the margin). Because of the repentance, the threat cf immediate destruction was withdrawn; but the menace was still left impending, that the people might be the more moved to contrition and amendment.
2 Chronicles 12:8
That they may know my service, and the service of the kingdom - i. e., that they may contrast the light burthen of the theocracy with the heavy yoke of a foreign monarch.
2 Chronicles 12:14
He prepared not his heart ... - See the margin. Rehoboam's sin was want of earnestness and consistency. | <urn:uuid:d42098af-05d5-4d0b-a879-1e9fa16ab2c1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/ch2012.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00136-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939031 | 594 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Mike Brown’s Twitter handle gives a good sense of his humor: plutokiller. He takes rather regretful glee in his role in the demise of Pluto’s planet status. He acknowledges the sentimental place in American hearts held by the smallest planet, and was sorry to be part of the change. Perhaps especially as it cost him the honor of discovering the 10th planet!
It is the combination of engaging humor, accessible science and personal anecdote that makes this lively account especially appealing. Students interested in the sciences will appreciate the glimpse into what such a career (albeit, an extremely successful one) might entail.
Brown’s book makes a nice pairing with Percival’s Planet by Michael Byers (Henry Holt, 2010), a fictional account of the discovery of Pluto in the 1930s. It would certainly point up the huge difference in techniques between then and now.
Adult/High School–Brown is a Professor of Planetary Astronomy at Caltech, where his specialty is searching for new planets on the edges of our solar system. Here he gives a charming account of his astounding series of discoveries that led to the down-grading of Pluto from planet status. With a great sense of self-deprecating humor, he communicates the excitement of discovery, as well as the simple love of gazing at the night sky. Brown discovered Sedna, which turned out to be something new to science, “a fossil left over from the birth of the sun.” Imagine learning about the sun by studying an entity present when it came into being. When he found Xena (named after Xena: Warrior Princess, later renamed Eris), he was the first person in over 150 years to discover an object bigger than Pluto. But Xena’s very similarity to Pluto forced him to acknowledge that his discovery was not a 10th planet, and to reconsider the definition of “planet” altogether. The author’s account of the controversy surrounding Haumea, another possible planet, reads like a thriller. Brown and his team were about to announce their find when a Spanish scientist, José-Luis Ortiz, scooped them. They later learned that Ortiz used Brown’s own data without acknowledgement or permission. Throughout, Brown conveys the daily working life of a scientist and the scientific process, the hours spent scanning digital photographs of the sky taken by telescopes halfway across the globe, and writing software to make work more efficient. Brown writes with an energy, excitement, and sense of humor ideal for teens, making the science accessible to general readers.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City | <urn:uuid:51f6dd43-a95d-4db5-a25e-63f24c910965> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.slj.com/adult4teen/2011/02/11/how-i-killed-pluto/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956622 | 541 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Félix de Azara
Bith Date: 1746
Death Date: October 20, 1821
Place of Birth: Spain
Occupations: explorer, naturalist
Félix de Azara (1746-1821) was a Spanish explorer and naturalist. His scientific work in South America showed a marked advance over that of any predecessor in the regions he visited.
Félix de Azara was a native of Barbuñales in the Spanish province of Huesca. He attended a mathematical school at Barcelona and in 1767 became an army lieutenant with an engineering specialty. In 1775 he took part in the disastrous Spanish attack on Algiers commanded by Alejandro O'Reilly and received a promotion, as well as a severe chest wound.
In 1777 Spain signed the Treaty of San Ildefonso with Portugal, followed by the Peace of El Pardo a year later, by which the two countries agreed that military commissions should survey and determine the joint boundary of their South American possessions. Azara was assigned to the Spanish delegation headed by José Varela y Ulloa. Azara reached Montevideo in 1781 and from Juan José Vértiz, viceroy of Río de la Plata, received further instructions regarding the mission; Azara became its most important member.
Azara remained 20 years in South America and for 14 of these surveyed the boundary as far north as the confluence of the Guapuré and Mamoré rivers. This involved considerable difficulties and frequent encounters with hostile Indians. It may be too much to say that he explored territory previously unvisited by white men, but certainly no such map as he skillfully prepared had ever been made. Azara, always a careful observer interested in nature, took the opportunity to collect biological specimens and make copious notes concerning the wildlife of the tributaries of the Río de la Plata and the Amazon. A Buenos Aires official, Gabriel Avilés del Fierro, confiscated Azara's map and some of the notes and tried to pass them off to the Madrid government as his own work. But Azara had companions on his travels, and too many knew the truth for the imposture to succeed. The explorer, after finishing the boundary work, undertook other missions, all involving exploration of uninviting backlands.
He returned to Spain in 1801 and visited his brother José Nicolás de Azara, the ambassador to France, and in Paris met several distinguished scientists with whom he continued to correspond throughout his life. Félix de Azara next turned to writing of his exploratory and scientific work. His most important publication appeared in France with the title Voyage dans l'Amérique Méridionale depuis 1781 jusqu'en 1801 (1809).
When Napoleon invaded Spain in 1808, Azara offered his services to José de Palafox, the captain general of Aragon, but these were respectfully declined because of Azara's age. He nevertheless took what part he could in the Spanish resistance and sent a congratulatory message to King Ferdinand VII on his restoration in 1814. From then until his death on Oct. 20, 1821, Azara devoted himself to the agricultural and economic rehabilitation of Aargon from the devastation caused by the recent war.
- The best summary of the Azara's life is in Spanish, Enrique Alvarez Lopez, Félix de Azara, Siglo XVIII (1935). The organization of the boundary commission and the division of labor are described in Ricardo Levene, History of Argentina, translated and edited by William Spence Robertson (1937). Brief accounts of Azara's work are found in J. N. L. Baker, A History of Geographical Discovery and Exploration (1931; 2d rev. ed. 1967), and in Paul Russell Cutright, The Great Naturalists Explore South America (1940). | <urn:uuid:c47d5713-2277-449b-97e6-142501ad8851> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dataresearchers.net/customers/biographies/Fneacute;lix-de-Azara-29063.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00196-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95347 | 813 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Since early 1970s,
"interdisciplinarity" has become a popular label ascribed to innumerable research programs. Interdisciplinarity is driven by expected benefits of solving problems collaboratively across the boundaries of traditional disciplines and, from a different perspective, by ethical and societal problems at the intersection of science, technology and society. These problems led to the establishment of technology assessment, global change studies and sustainability research. There is a broad practice of interdisciplinary activities all over the globe. Interdisciplinary projects are supported, funded, and evaluated as a matter of course.
There are, however,
also many conceptual and practical problems with interdisciplinary research. We believe that these problems are ripe for the development of a "philosophy of and as interdisciplinarity."
of the Philosophy of / as Interdisciplinarity Network is to find a niche within the broad field of interdisciplinarity studies by combining two directions of activities:
on the one hand,
philosophical inquiry into problems regarding the practices and theories of interdisciplinary research in the style of traditional philosophy of science and,
on the other,
initiating a new philosophical practice of reflective and reflexive engagement in the world — one that questions and overcomes the boundaries that have constituted philosophy as a discipline in the 20th century. In this second direction philosophers leave the study and enter the field, integrating their work with scientists, engineers, and policy makers.
TOPICS & QUESTIONS
This general focus can be specified by the following topics and questions:
1 Meaning and Demarcation
What exactly is the meaning of "interdisciplinary research?in contrast to "disciplinary research? How to demarcate interdisciplinary from disciplinary research, theories, and methodologies? Are there disciplinary differences regarding the representation of knowledge and the framing of problems, and how to deal with them if they exist?
Are there significant differences between "interdisciplinarity",
"cross-disciplinarity",and similar concepts? Is one of these concepts better suited than traditional
"interdisciplinarity" with regard to specific purposes?
4 Relevance of a philosophical approach
Which problems and challenges of interdisciplinarity can be addressed specifically from a philosophical point of view, and what might be philosophical solutions to these problems? Is there a special role for philosophy in addressing and articulating these problems? Why philosophy?
5 Kick-off, Initial points and the "context of interest"
What is a "problem" that can only be tackled in interdisciplinary collaboration? How to characterize and identify those problems? Who has the power to define a problem, and how to deal with this power in case of conflicts?
6 Models of Interdisciplinarity and how to describe interdisciplinarity
What kind of models can we develop to describe interdisciplinary research? Linear, recursive, network or evolutionary models? Should Philosophy of / as interdisciplinarity be pulled by interdisciplinary practices or should it push those practices? Can, or should, interdisciplinarity be defined a priori or is it possible to generate a sufficient understanding of interdisciplinarity based on a variety of personal experiences?
7 Normativity and conflicts of values
What are the normative issues involved in interdisciplinary research and in interdisciplinarity research? How to mediate between conflicting values, background assumptions, and styles of thinking and doing things in interdisciplinary collaboration?
8 Institutional development
Advancing and critiquing disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge production and knowledge institutions (for example regarding criteria for tenure and promotion decisions)
9 Methodological challenges I
How to deal with conflicts that are based on varying normative standards as they are developed in traditional scientific disciplines? Conflicts that result, for example, from disagreements about what counts as a problem, what counts as a justification of a scientific claim, or what counts as an acceptable method?
10 Methodological challenges II
Do we need an interdisciplinary "meta-language" to improve communication, or how to translate between disciplinary languages?
11 Methodological challenges III
How does the ID practice organize, integrate, and synthesize knowledge? Is integration necessary, and if so: Which kinds of integration can be distinguished?
12 Quantitative approaches & methodological challenges of measuring ID
How to measure degrees of ID? What are relevant indicators? How do we justify a specific indicator system?
13 Quality assessment
How can we secure the quality of ID research projects? How to evaluate the quality of ID? What could be a good indicator of successful ID?
14 Requirements of a theory of ID
What are the basic requirements that a theory/concept of ID has to fulfill? Are these requirements somewhat universal or do they have to be context dependent? How could a theory of ID look like? | <urn:uuid:4f60018e-eff3-4f01-9a54-82fb6323a221> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pin-net.gatech.edu/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914097 | 982 | 2.953125 | 3 |
The Aztecs used a 260-day ritual calendar, the Tonalpohualli. The Tonalpohualli works in the same way as the Maya tzolk’in, with a number from 1 to 13 attached to 20 cycling day-names. Although the Aztecs used a 365-day calendar to measure the solar cycle, they referenced it less often than the Maya.
In the following image, each quadrant represents a god surrounded by a serpent. The day signs attached to each god and the disks in the body of each serpent mark the days of the 13-day period called the trecena.
Aztec Sun Stone or Calendar Stone
Four ages or four “Suns”
The Aztec Year—and its Months and Days
The Aztec Century
The Aztec Year and the Aztec Month
La clave jeroglífica aplicada a la conquista de México
Aztec Day Names in Nahuatl
Drawing is based on an image in the Borgia Codex. | <urn:uuid:804206e3-ab99-4b85-acb4-972f554a33f7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.doaks.org/library-archives/library/library-exhibitions/the-ancient-future-mesoamerican-and-andean-timekeeping/aztec | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.853496 | 220 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Product SKU: B412
In “Willing to Believe” R.C. Sproul traces the free-will controversy from its formal beginning in the fifth century, when Augustine took up the pen against Pelagius, to the present. By the time you finish this historical tour, you will understand the nuances separating the views of Protestants and Catholics, Calvinists and Arminians, the Reformed and Dispensationalists. You will also have read key passages from the works of important writers on this subject: Pelagius, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Arminius,Edwards, Finney, and others. | <urn:uuid:d67ce2b5-2b66-4267-baed-3535a59dbcbf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.equip.org/bookstore/books/willing-to-believe-the-controversy-over-free-will/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92829 | 131 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Select the person whose writings did NOT inspire the American Revolution:
a. St. Thomas Aquinas
b. John Calvin
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. William Blackstone
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: Thomas Jefferson's notion of "separation of church and state" was rejected by the founding fathers, who established the United States according to Christian principles.
More Explanation: Texas has tentatively approved a new educational curriculum which rejects Thomas Jefferson's influence and favors Blackstone, Calvin, and Aquinas. It is thus possible that this hypothetical question would "correctly" be answered with "Thomas Jefferson."
There are 100 other amendments to the state approved curriculum, including replacing the word “capitalism” with “free-enterprise system” and adding Phyllis Schlafly to the list of important historical figures.
If the curriculum passes, it should make teaching future constitutional law students from Texas quite interesting. | <urn:uuid:9767e1e9-03fb-4bbe-9e5b-0869ff68ed52> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/conlaw/2010/03/quick-quiz-name-the-historical-figure-who-is-not-a-founding-father.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892754 | 201 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The poems that I've read from this chapter have left me confused and delirious. Poems can take you on an emotional, physical, and mental roller coaster. The poet can make you feel a certain way after reading their work. I believe that the best definition of poetry is Emily Dickinson's definition. She said that she knew she was reading poetry if it "makes her whole body so cold no fire can warm it", or if she "physically feels as if the top of her head were taken off". Basically she is saying that poetry allows you to use your senses and imagine that whatever is happening in the poem, is happening to you.
The way poems are structured and the connotations in them give you a greater personal experience than a regular story would. Poems perceive to the five senses. A poem isn't exactly a poem if it doesn't contain imagery. Poets structure their poems based on what comes to their mind, and they convey their message using certain words in a certain order. The reader has to be able to grasp the idea that the poet is trying to put out there, and in doing so makes the reader enjoy the poem even more. After reading a poem, a person should be personally affected by it. This is considered a main goal of many poets.
The two poems that I feel express Emily Dickinson's meaning of poetry are "Warning" by Jenny Joseph and "The Victims" by Sharon Olds. In "Warning", the speaker talks about how she will look when she gets old. She uses imagery by describing red hats and wearing purple clothes. She also says she will wear satin sandals and terrible shirts. This allows the reader to imagine how the speaker would look when she's older. This poem makes you dread the thought of getting older.
In the poem "The Victims" the speaker talks about how she feels when her mother and father separate. She describes homeless people in the hallways of buildings, and says that that may be him one day. She said she felt glad that her mother divorced him after all those... | <urn:uuid:dbee755b-0376-42df-94dc-d1b36185fd5e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.studymode.com/essays/Definition-Of-Poetry-1415205.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985071 | 418 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Published May 16, 2013
A small UB study has found for the first time that in Type 1 diabetics, insulin injections exert a strong anti-inflammatory effect at the cellular and molecular level, while even small amounts of glucose result in “profound inflammation.”
The findings show that in Type 1 diabetics, insulin has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. This effect essentially suppresses the important pro-inflammatory protein called HMG-B1, which facilitates the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines (messenger proteins) that induce even further inflammation when secreted and released by the injured cell.
The work builds on previous research by the investigators in the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences that showed that insulin had the same anti-inflammatory effect in obese and Type 2 diabetes patients, but highlights some important differences.
According to the paper, published in February in the American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism, insulin’s anti-inflammatory effect takes longer to occur in Type 1 diabetics—about six hours—as opposed to two hours in Type 2 diabetics and obese patients. It also took about six hours for inflammatory markers known as reactive oxygen species to appear in Type 1 diabetics after glucose infusion, whereas it took approximately one to two hours in Type 2 diabetics and obese patients.
“The reason for this delayed response to insulin and glucose in Type 1 diabetes patients is not clear and requires further investigation,” says Paresh Dandona, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine; chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism in the UB medical school; and first author on the study. “It is possible that these patients have a more intense level of inflammation, which requires a greater effort to induce a change.”
Another significant difference was found when the Type 1 diabetics were infused with glucose alone. While Type 2 diabetics and obese patients demonstrated no changes in glucose concentrations when administered small amounts of glucose, there was a small, but significant, increase in glucose concentrations in the Type 1 diabetics.
“The infusion of small amounts of glucose—5 grams per hour over four hours—leads to a profound inflammatory effect, including the generation of the HMG-B1 protein,” says Dandona. “Since 20 grams of glucose is the equivalent of just four teaspoons of sugar, this has extremely important implications for Type 1 diabetics.”
According to Dandona, even relatively small and brief increases in glucose concentrations induce an increase in the expression of inflammatory markers, such as toll-like receptors (proteins that play a key role in the innate immune system) and others at the cellular and molecular level in Type 1 diabetics because they have no insulin reserve.
“Our findings show that even a small amount of carbohydrate cannot be tolerated by Type 1 diabetics without the protection of injectable insulin, even over a short period of time without the risk of inflammation,” he says. “This has profound implications for the severity of inflammation in patients with infections and in terms of taking insulin before meals.”
In the study, 10 Type 1 diabetics received either insulin infusions of 2 units per hour with 100 milliliters of dextrose per hour or just the dextrose, following an overnight fast. Blood samples were collected at intervals of zero, two, four and six hours after the infusions.
In the group that received insulin plus dextrose, markers of inflammation were suppressed and blood-sugar readings stayed normal, at around 100 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter).
But those who received just dextrose experienced a blood-sugar spike from 115 mg/dl after fasting to 215 mg/dl at four and six hours, as well as an increase in the generation of key inflammatory markers. These include reactive oxygen species and several toll-like receptors, which may be involved in inflammatory processes, including gram-positive and gram-negative infections, metabolic inflammation as associated with obesity and diabetes, and atherosclerosis.
“We were interested in these inflammatory markers in particular because although Type 1 diabetics are already being treated with insulin injections, they can be susceptible to infections and other inflammatory conditions, which lead to very serious, even life-threatening, complications, such as septicemia,” he says.
“Based on these observations, we are now beginning a study on meals taken with and without insulin in Type 1 diabetics so that we can better understand what missing even a single insulin injection at mealtime means to a Type 1 diabetic patient,” he concludes.
Co-authors with Dandona, all from UB, are Husam Ghanim, research assistant professor; Kelly Green and Chang Ling Sia, research assistants; Sanaa Abuaysheh, research associate; Nitesh Kuhadiya, medical resident; Manav Batra, medical resident; and Sandeep Dhindsa and Ajay Chaudhari, both formerly associate professors at UB. | <urn:uuid:e145367a-49b7-4fb9-b502-cdf176f5f725> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/campus.host.html/content/shared/university/news/ub-reporter-articles/stories/2013/dandona_inflammation.detail.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949918 | 1,061 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Date: December 2005
Creator: August, Suzanne M.
Description: Medication adherence is a formidable challenge for the elderly who may have several prescribed medications while dealing with limited incomes and declining health. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the Liberty 6000, an automated capsule and tablet dispenser that provides proper medication dosages and is intended to encourage and track medication adherence. Seven focus groups were assembled; these comprised 49 men and women ages 65 to 98 years of Black, Anglo, and Hispanic descent who met the following criteria: living independently or semi-independently, had suffered one or more impairments, and were taking at least three prescription medications. Each focus group session lasted 90 minutes and was tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, resulting in about 2,600 lines of text. Each question was designed to be open-ended to avoid introducing any bias that might influence the response. The Health Belief Model conceptually guided the study that addressed perceptions of illness susceptibility and severity, barriers, benefits, and cues to action associated with medication adherence. Main benefits of taking medications included avoiding inherited illnesses (or tendencies for illnesses), and reducing illness symptoms. Barriers to taking medications included forgetting, dexterity problems, and high cost. Benefits of the proposed intervention included reminding, caregiver notification, ...
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries | <urn:uuid:9109f03f-92ef-486d-9602-89f7cee6e9e5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/UNTETD/browse/?sort=creator&fq=str_degree_department%3ADepartment+of+Sociology&fq=dc_rights_access%3Apublic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950088 | 270 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Kern River Valley Revitalization’s purpose in hosting this page is to facilitate understanding and discussion regarding preservation of the Kern River Valley’s ‘DARK SKY.’
Why is the Kern River Valley’s dark sky important?
- The night skies surrounding the Kern River Valley are some of the darkest and clearest in California.
Want to know why the Dark Sky is such a passionate issue for some?
NightWise.org explains why it matters:
Errant and excessive outdoor lighting detracts from the night. Often dubbed light pollution, this wayward light is commonly seen as glare, spillover (including light trespass), and sky glow.
By implementing better lighting practices:
- you save money and energy;
- you improve safety for motorists and pedestrians;
- you increase security and the sense of well-being;
- you benefit animal habitats;
- you preserve the starry night;
- you improve the quality of life;
- you lessen greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
Correcting the impact of light pollution is often just a matter of awareness. You can help prevent outdoor lighting from impinging on the night sky by aiming lights downward; by turning lights off when not in use; by covering exposed light sources with full cut-off shields; by not over-lighting; and by installing sky-friendly fixtures.
The Kern River Valley’s incredible nighttime sky is highly valued by a majority of its residents and visitors for many years.
It has been mentioned in every major visioning and planning effort of late.
A Vision for the Kern River Valley:
Principles for Economic and Ecological Sustainability
(Cal Poly Pomona June 2000, page 19)
“As an amateur astronomer, I like that I can still see the stars at night,
without the interference from city, street, and sign lights.”
- “Light pollution is already an issue in the Kern River Valley, but it has the potential to affect two of the Valley’s more impressive attributes: the abundant wildlife and the ability to view stars.”
- “Additionally, the ability to view the stars at night is one of the Valley’s coveted treasures.”
- Bower, Joe. 2000. The Dark Side of Light. Audubon. March-April: pp. 92-97, states that as “few as one in 10 Americans live in areas where they can see the 2,500 or so stars that should be visible under normal nighttime conditions”.
- “Residents and visitors alike enjoy this valued quality of the Kern River Valley.”
Kern COG Blueprint KRV Summary Report (April 11, 2007, page 4)
“Visions & Values: Clear view of the stars and dark skies at night”
“Light pollution is the adverse effect of man-made light and includes sky glow, glare, light trespass, and light clutter. In the Kern River Valley, light and glare pollution affect properties and structures, as well as habitat and wildlife communities.”
Tuesday afternoon, July 29th, 3 Kern River Valley citizens spoke before Kern County’s Board of Supervisors in reference to an item regarding Dark Sky ordinances for the County’s rural areas. Originally, that item was on the ‘Consent Calendar’ meaning it would have been approved as a RECEIVE AND FILE item with a large batch of other items. Staff would have made no special presentation. The public would have had no opportunity to speak and the Supervisors would not have discussed it and given their staff further direction as to how to proceed. Nothing more would have happened.
2pm 7-29-08 Item #13) Response to Board of Supervisors Referral from May, 2006, Related to Addressing Development Project Dark Sky Issues in Rural Communities a 3 page letter from Ted James, Kern County Planning Director.
Supervisors Jon McQuiston, Don Maben, Chairman Michael J. Rubio, Ray Watson & Mike Maggard.
By asking that public comment be allowed, KRV residents Richard Rowe, Rick Crockett and Ron Hyatt were able to speak, following a short presentation by Planning Director Ted James. Many others wrote letters, sent e-mails or contacted their Supervisor on this issue as well.
Following all that, our Board of Supervisors discussed the Dark Sky issue, taking the following action unanimously:
Read the Minutes or view Video of the 3 hour 48 minute board meeting held at 2pm Tuesday 7-29-08 in Bakersfield.
To read a summary what each of the 3 public citizens said along with the discussion among the Supervisors on this item, click on:
We are working on a transcript of that meeting, so you will be able to see what each Supervisor said and Planning Director Ted James’ answers to their questions. Once we’ve completed it, we will post it here.
Reporting on that Board action:
Night lights in the Wofford Heights area are seen at dusk from the Camp 9 area Thursday evening.
The reflection is from the top of a vehicle and Isabella Lake is in the center. Casey Christie photo.
In the near future, the Kern County Planning Department will come out with a schedule for the Dark Sky ordinance, including public workshops, which will be posted here.
Both KRVR and Frazier Park’s Mountain Community Town Council have offered to host Public Forums on the Dark Sky issue.
Dark Sky Ordinances
§142.0740 (a) Outdoor lighting shall minimize impacts from light pollution including light trespass, glare, and urban sky glow to preserve enjoyment of the night sky and minimize conflict caused by unnecessary illumination. Regulation of outdoor lighting is also intended to conserve electrical energy. Outdoor lighting is regulated by the State of California’s Building Energy Efficient Standards of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, parts 1 and 6 [Title 24]. No light fixtures shall exceed the light emission requirements of Section 142.0740 unless the light emission requirements of Section 142.0740 do not comply with Title 24’s energy efficient standards. SOURCE
Fortunately, Kern County doesn’t have to ‘Reinvent the Wheel’ as many other counties & cities have adopted Dark Sky ordinances. Kern County can learn from their experience - pro & con.
Kern County Planning Director Ted James gave the Board of Supervisors this ordinance & it was discussed at the 7-29-08 Board of Supervisors Meeting, so it seems to be the most favored model.
KRV resident Rick Crockett mentioned his involvement in this ground-breaking ordinance while being heard at the 7-29-08 Board of Supervisors Meeting
3 other California counties:
For more examples of other Dark Sky ordinances:
To be fair & balanced:
Background on the Dark Sky issue:
Other helpful websites:
Articles & more helpful to understanding the Dark Sky issue:
When hearing about the possibility of a Dark Sky Ordinance, one Kern River Valley resident remarked:
“Oh NO! I’ll have to replace the motion sensor floodlight next to my front door!”
Truth is, almost certainly that light would qualify as a ‘good light’ anyhow. And it isn’t certain how ‘retroactivity’ will be included in the Kern County Dark Sky ordinance, if at all.
For those who have questions, check out these
Check KRVR.org’s Preserving the KRV’s Dark Sky Forum for new postings from time to time.
If you’d like to be sent announcements on this subject, click on
DARK SKY ACTION e-mail list
or send your name, location & e-mail address (phone too) to
To experience Kern County's Dark Sky: | <urn:uuid:9cfea64b-5adf-46bd-b2ff-9b8538a58ac6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://krvr.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=125&Itemid=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92646 | 1,630 | 3.140625 | 3 |
The trailblazing Wyatt, who died of undisclosed illness two days after being admitted to Advocate Trinity Hospital, spent her life fighting against gender and racial discrimination in the workplace.
She was an integral participant and leader in the major Civil Rights marches and her adept ability to organize was employed by six presidents, according to an ABC 7 Chicago news report.
For example, Eleanor Roosevelt even selected her to serve on President John F. Kennedy’s Commission on the Status of Women.
Born in March 28, 1924, in Brookhaven, Miss., Wyatt moved to Chicago in 1930 and married Claude S. Wyatt Jr. in 1940. By 1955, she became an ordained pastor and cofounded Vernon Park Church of God on Chicago’s South Side with her husband who died last April after 69 years of marriage.
But Wyatt’s commitment to social justice will perhaps be her most lasting legacy as she parlayed a meatpacking plant job into rising through the union ranks to become the first female vice president of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America.
She was also a founder of the National Organization for Women. And Wyatt and her husband often marched with Dr. Mart Luther King Jr. who later commissioned her to help start Operation Breadbasket, a program operating in 12 cities that helped distribute food. The organization later grew into the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, according to a UPI report.
In 1975, TIME named her one of the magazine’s “Women of the Year.”
Maude McKay, 74, the Rev. Wyatt’s sole surviving sibling, told the Chicago Sun-Times:
“She always believed in being fair and honest, and she stood for what was right. She just couldn’t take injustice.” | <urn:uuid:fa6e7375-835f-4092-b703-b290029f009d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://newsone.com/1967205/addie-wyatt-labor-leader-dead-video/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974345 | 369 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Most people experience an anaesthetic at some time in their lives and some undergo anaesthesia many times. It is normal for people to be uneasy about having an anaesthetic. Modern anaesthesia is very safe and modern surgery would not be possible without developments in anaesthesia.
This website explains what anaesthesia is, how anaesthetics are given, and how anaesthetists care for you. You can also learn how anaesthetics affect you and how you can affect your anaesthetic.
|Patient information||Basic Information||Frequently asked questions|
|Find out as much as you can about your anaesthetic, operation or procedure, your hospital stay and postoperative course.||Basic information about anaesthesia, anaesthetic medication and types of anaesthesia||Read about comment fears, possible complications, complaints and questions to ask| | <urn:uuid:c0233c22-8bee-41f2-ae5c-8711d9a1e592> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://allaboutanaesthesia.com.au/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930246 | 168 | 2.609375 | 3 |
24 Feb 2014:
Maps Show Extent of
Oil and Gas Drilling in Southwest Wyoming
Oil and gas wells, including those involved in hydraulic fracturing operations, scar a major portion of southwest Wyoming, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey. Nearly 17,000 well pads and former drilling areas associated with oil and natural gas production were identified in satellite images across a 30,000-square-mile region. The maps include well scars dating from around 1900, when oil drilling started in the region, up to 2009, at which point natural gas extraction far outweighed oil production. Since then, production has only intensified in Wyoming, a leading state in the U.S.’s unconventional oil and gas boom. The mapping effort, a first step in determining how oil and gas drilling operations impact wildlife and ecosystems, focused on southwestern Wyoming because it not only has some of the nation’s largest natural gas reserves, but also because the region has high-quality wildlife habitat and encompasses a major portion of the country’s remaining intact sagebrush steppe. | <urn:uuid:b927275c-2c6f-4e91-ae0e-6c0c9ddeffd2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.thesietch.org/2014/02/24/maps-show-extent-of-oil-and-gas-drilling-in-southwest-wyoming/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00153-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95761 | 220 | 3.203125 | 3 |
The search for plant and animal species from which medicinal drugs and other commercially valuable compounds can be obtained.
Oraciones de ejemplo
- Many pharmaceutical companies are currently engaged in bioprospecting, which consists of testing plant species for potentially useful compounds, sometimes signing agreements with national governments for permission.
- While traditional communities worldwide struggle to catch up with the implications of bioprospecting and biopiracy, technological advances are further removing them from the equation.
- Most people believe that bioprospecting is limited to pharmaceuticals, but it isn't.
- Oraciones de ejemplo
- Today bioprospectors working for biotech firms, pharmaceutical and agribusiness giants are off to the far corners of the earth hoping to come back with the goods.
- Critics contend, however, that in negotiations between bioprospectors and local people - especially indigenous groups the playing field is far from level.
- There were bioprospectors among us in Kamchatka.
1990s: from bio(diversity) prospecting.
For editors and proofreaders
Saltos de línea: bio|pros¦pect|ing
Definición de bioprospecting en:
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= de moda | <urn:uuid:85beddb2-4567-4702-a240-23f0bc64677b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/es/definicion/ingles/bioprospecting | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00025-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.768989 | 339 | 2.625 | 3 |
Special & General Relativity Questions and Answers
Is there a theory that predicts the velocity of light?
Not really. I am aware of only one theory that indicates that the speed of light is a quantity that is derivable from two other physical quantities, and that is Maxwell's electrodynamics which is the cornerstone theory of how charged particles and electromagnetic fields operate. In it, the speed of light is the square root of the ratio of the dielectric constant ( epsilon) and the magnetic permeability ( mu) of the vacuum. We do not know how to derive either one, in absolute units, from 'first principles'.
Return to the Special & General Relativity Questions and Answers page.
All answers are provided by Dr. Sten Odenwald (Raytheon STX) for the NASA Astronomy Cafe, part of the NASA Education and Public Outreach program. | <urn:uuid:b498a8a7-e6ec-4941-8253-1010cecb7e92> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://einstein.stanford.edu/content/relativity/q2531.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 | 0.902965 | 182 | 3.4375 | 3 |
“We were then half a mile off shore, close under the batteries. The firing increased rapidly. We steamed in slowly and lost sight of the Merrimac in the smoke, which the wind carried off shore. It hung heavily. Before Hobson could have blown up the Merrimac the western battery picked up and commenced firing. They shot wild, and we only heard the shots. We ran in still closer to the shore, and the gunners lost sight of us. Then we heard the explosion of the torpedoes on the Merrimac. Until daylight we waited just outside the breakers, half a mile to the westward of Morro, keeping a bright lookout for the boat or for swimmers, but saw nothing. Hobson had arranged to meet us at that point, but, thinking that some one might have drifted out, we crossed in front of Morro and the mouth of the harbor to the eastward. About five o’clock we crossed the harbor again, within a quarter of a mile, and stood to the westward.
“In passing we saw one spar of the Merrimac sticking out of the water. We hugged the shore just outside of the breakers for a mile, and then turned towards the Texas, when the batteries saw us and opened fire. It was then broad daylight. The first shot fired dropped thirty yards astern, but the other shots went wild. I drove the launch for all she was worth, finally making the New York. The men behaved splendidly.”
How did our brave men fare as prisoners? They were taken to one of the Spanish warships, were fed and clothed, and treated as friends. Admiral Cervera sent a message to Admiral Sampson, saying that all the men were safe and would be well treated. But they were not allowed to stay long on the ship. After a few hours they were taken to Morro Castle, which they did not find a pleasant prison, though they were not badly treated. Lieutenant Hobson, by climbing up to the little window in his cell, could see our ships far out at sea. In a few days the prisoners were taken from Morro Castle to another prison in the city of Santiago. You shall hear of them again.
[Illustration: Hobson’s Cell.]
More work done by the navy.
I have not told you all the brave deeds done by our Navy soon after our ships had reached Cuba, but I will go back, for a few minutes, to the 11th of May. A very sad affair took place at Cardenas, a port about twenty miles east of Matanzas, the place where the first shots were fired. Some of our smaller vessels blockading Cardenas were bold enough to go into the harbor to fight some Spanish gunboats. Though, our men gained a victory, it was dearly bought, for our torpedo-boat Winslow was nearly destroyed, and five of her men were killed. That same day, across the island, at Cienfuegos, on the south shore of Cuba, our men succeeded in cutting the cables under the water, the story of which I have told you. | <urn:uuid:01c32cd0-3822-4bfe-8e25-79e2665dca51> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/17993/29.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988465 | 651 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Solar energy could be a central alternative to petroleum-based energy production. However, current solar-cell technology often does not produce the same energy yield and is more expensive to mass-produce. In addition, information on the total effect of solar energy production on the environment is incomplete, experts say.
To better understand the energy and environmental benefits and detriments of solar power, a research team from Rochester Institute of Technology has conducted one of the first life-cycle assessments of organic solar cells. The study found that the embodied energy or the total energy required to make a product is less for organic solar cells compared with conventional inorganic devices.
"This analysis provides a comprehensive assessment of how much energy it takes to manufacture an organic solar cell, which has a significant impact on both the cost and environmental impact of the technology," says Brian Landi, assistant professor of chemical engineering at RIT and a faculty advisor on the project
"Organic solar cells are flexible and lightweight, and they have the promise of low-cost solution processing, which can have advantages for manufacturing over previous-generation technologies that primarily use inorganic semiconductor materials," adds Annick Anctil, lead researcher on the study and a fourth-year doctoral candidate in RIT's doctoral program in sustainability. "However, previous assessments of the energy and environmental impact of the technology have been incomplete and a broader analysis is needed to better evaluate the overall effect of production and use."
The study sought to calculate the total energy use and environmental impact of the material collection, fabrication, mass production and use of organic solar cells through a comprehensive life-cycle assessment of the technology.
According to Anctil, previous life-cycle assessments had not included a component-by-component breakdown of the individual materials present in an organic solar cell or a calculation of the total energy payback of the device, which is defined as the energy produced from its use versus the energy needed to manufacture the cell.
The team found that when compared to inorganic cells, the energy payback time for organic solar cells was lower. Ongoing studies to verify the device stability are still warranted, however.
"The data produced will help designers and potential manufacturers better assess how to use and improve the technology and analyze its feasibility versus other solar and alternative-energy technologies," adds Landi.
|Contact: William Dube|
Rochester Institute of Technology | <urn:uuid:d8488598-662f-4b3b-926b-29bbe360ef00> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology-1/Research-team-assesses-environmental-impact-of-organic-solar-cells-17333-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940775 | 483 | 3.59375 | 4 |
THE HYDROMETER & ITS USES
Your hydrometer has been specifically designed for the amateur wine and beer maker. It covers a relatively broad range, and therefore, eliminates the need for several instruments of narrower ranges to get the job done. A hydrometer is an instrument for measuring the density of a liquid in relation to water. Water is given the arbitrary figure of 1.000, and other liquids are compared to this figure. The result is said to be their Specific Gravity (S.G. for short). As you add sugar, malt extract, honey, or other soluble solids, the numbers after the decimal point will increase. As the beverage ferments, the sugars are converted into carbon dioxide and alcohol (lighter than water), the numbers will decrease.
DETERMINING ALCOHOL CONTENT
Hydrometers have many uses, but the most common use by wine, beer, and mead makers is determining the alcohol content of a homemade beverage. This is quite simple, actually. 1) First, you must take a reading prior to fermentation. It is impossible to accurately determine the alcohol content of a fermented beverage without this initial reading. Your hydrometer should have a scale called the "Potential Alcohol" scale. This scale measures the amount of alcohol that will be potentially produced if fermented to dryness (S.G. 1.000 or less). The easiest way to take a reading is to sanitize a wine thief or "gravy baster", then remove a sample of the "must" or "wort" and place this in the test stand (this can even be the plastic tube the hydrometer comes packed in). Fill the stand about 3/4 full, then carefully place the hydrometer in it. Give the hydrometer a gentle spin with your thumb and middle finger. This should remove any air bubbles that might otherwise cling to the sides of the instrument. When the hydrometer has settled, take the S.G. (and/or potential alcohol) reading with your eye at the surface level of the liquid. Read the scale inside the instrument at the level where the liquid contacts the glass. 2) After the fermentation is completed, take another reading. Subtract the potential alcohol reading at this point from the potential alcohol reading prior to the fermentation. The difference between the two numbers is the alcohol content that you have actually produced. For example: if the initial reading is 13% and the final reading is 1%, then the actual alcohol content is 12% (or 13% - 1% = 12%). Please note that if your beverage ferments completely dry (S.G. of 1.000 or less), then the alcohol content is the same as your original potential alcohol reading (in the above example: 13% - 0% = 13%). The reason that the final gravity might end up lower than water is that you are producing alcohol, which is noticeably lighter (less dense) than water. All dry wines and meads will finish at gravities lower than 1.000 (e.g. .995). Almost all beers and sweeter wines & meads will finish higher than 1.000.
USES FOR WINEMAKERS
The hydrometer can be used to determine the natural sugar content of the "must." In most instances additional sugar should be added to this "must" to assure that the alcohol content of the finished wine is sufficient for the wine to keep. Alcohol is a preservative, and you should insure that your wine have alcohol content of at least 9 - 10%. Lower strength wines will be susceptible to spoilage. By determining the natural sugar content you can then adjust the sugar content to the desired S.G. reading. In many cases a S.G. of 1.090 is desired to begin the "must," as this give a potential alcohol by volume of 12%.
PROCEDURE FOR WINEMAKERS
1. After sanitizing a wine thief or gravy baster, remove a sample of the "must" and place it in the test stand. Take a reading, then refer to the accompanying hydrometer chart. This will indicate the natural sugar content in the"must."
2. To determine how much additional sugar is necessary to bring the "must" to the desired S.G. (let's say 1.090), use the attached chart. For example: If the initial gravity reading is 1.040, then each gallon of juice contains the equivalent of 1 lb. 1 oz. of natural sugar content. If you consult the chart, at the desired level of 1.090 (12% alcohol), the sugar content should be 2 lbs. 6 oz. Now do the arithmetic:
(desired O.G.) - 1.090, there is: 2 lbs. 6 oz. sugar per gallon
(initial O.G.) - 1.040, there is: -1 lb. 1 oz. sugar per gallon
difference (sugar to be added): 1 lb. 5 oz. sugar per gallon
By subtracting the two sugar contents, you determine how much additional sugar should be added per gallon. It is not necessary (but still not a bad idea), to dissolve the sugar in some boiling water before mixing into the "must."
3. Note that as a general rule of thumb, 1 lb. of sugar dissolved in 5 gallons of "must" will raise the potential alcohol content by approximately 1%. Therefore, if you check the gravity of the must and it reads a potential of 9%, and you wish to produce 12%, simply add 3 lbs. sugar. Note, this is for 5-gallon recipes.
S.G. Potential; Amount of Alcohol %Sugar in by Volumethe Gallon lb. oz.
PROCEDURE FOR BEER BREWERS
1. After sanitizing a wine thief or gravy baster, remove a sample of the "wort" and place it in the test stand. Take a reading, and record this information. This will give you a guidepost by which to compare any subsequent readings.
2. If you are fermenting beer using the two-stage method, you will want to take a second reading after the initial fermentation has slowed down and you are ready to rack the beer into the secondary. If all is going according to plan, this reading should be 1/3 of the original gravity (O.G.) or less (e.g. O.G. - 1.048, racking gravity 1.016 or less). If the gravity is noticeably higher than 1/3 the O.G. then you have a "stuck" fermentation. Call us for suggestions as to how to remedy the situation.
3. At bottling time, check the S.G. again. As a rule this reading should be 1/4 to 1/5 of the original gravity or less. Most recipes will give a target final gravity. If your final gravity is more than .003 to .004 above this target, you may have a problem. Again, call or e-mail us for suggestions.
Please note that most hydrometers are calibrated at 60°F and sample temperatures higher or lower than this will need to corrected. Consult the accompanying correction chart to determine the amount of the adjustment. For example: if your sample reads 1.045, but it is at 84°F, then you need to add .003 for an adjusted reading of 1.048.
TEMPERATURE CORRECTION CHART
Temperature of sample (°F) Reading Correction | <urn:uuid:da748c5c-ebb2-42ec-9360-f1af421d7cb0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.defalcos.com/tutorials/hy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.883762 | 1,555 | 3.265625 | 3 |
For the first time, researchers have created a model that could help unlock what causes adenomyosis, a common gynecological disease that is a major contributor to women having to undergo hysterectomies.
In a two-step process, a team led by Michigan State University’s Jae-Wook Jeong first identified a protein known as beta-catenin that may play a key role in the development of the disease. When activated, beta-catenin causes changes in certain cells in a woman’s uterus, leading to adenomyosis.
Then Jeong, an associate professor in the College of Human Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, created a mouse model that may reveal useful targets for new treatments.
“Progress in the understanding what causes adenomyosis and finding potential drug treatments has been hampered by the lack of defined molecular mechanisms and animal models,” Jeong said.
“These findings provide great insights into our understanding of the beta-catenin protein and will lead to the translation of animal models for the development of new therapeutic approaches.”
The disease occurs when the inner lining of the uterus (endometrium) breaks through the muscle wall of the uterus (myometrium). Symptoms of the disease include menstrual bleeding, chronic pelvic pain and infertility. Most women with the disease require surgery, and 66 percent of hysterectomies are associated with it.
“This research offers hope to the millions of women who have adenomyosis and holds promise that a cure, besides hysterectomy, is on the horizon,” said Richard Leach, chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.
The research results were recently published in the Journal of Pathology. The work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society and World Class University Program at Seoul National University in South Korea.
Leach added the study highlights the groundbreaking research being done in collaboration with other internationally renowned research centers in women’s health. | <urn:uuid:dacf94f1-0a06-42c1-b394-e4d4988fcdd9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/news/2013/10/closing-cause-adenomyosis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9367 | 438 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Contents - Previous - Next
This is the old United Nations University website. Visit the new site at http://unu.edu
Responsibility to pay
Indices of ability to pay do not take into account the responsibility of a country for having caused the problem (the polluter-pays-principle). Responsibility itself can be measured in different ways. The two main ways are: direct historic (including current) contributions to causing the problem; and how efficiently a country has been using its resources. As with ATP, we present a formulation that allows us to address both separately.
As discussed in Chapter 2, the contribution of a gas to global warming is a result of Earth's exposure to the gas, which in turn is a function both of atmospheric concentration and residence times (Smith and Ahuja 1990).
Table 4.2 Ability to pay, responsibility and obligation to pay for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by country
|Ability to pay||Responsibility||Obligation to
Resources (capacity), accountability (ethics), and combined
indices are normalized to 100 per cent, thus indicating each
nation's percentage of the world total. Shown are the same 62
nations (10 million or more) in the same order descending natural
debt) as in Table 2.3. Different thresholds of tonnes per capita
are shown for RESP and OTP.
Resources Ability to pay (ATP) is a function of income, measured either by GNP or PPP, and the threshold chosen as the minimum required to attain a reasonable physical quality of life (PQLI).
Accountability: The responsibility index (RESP) is a function of the natural debt (cumulative emissions per capita since 1950) and the threshold natural debt needed to achieve a reasonable PQLI.
Combined: Obligation to pay (OTP) is here defined as an equal weighting of ATP and RESP.
This argues that the responsibility of countries for the present situation is best indicated by total historical emissions integrated over time - natural debt. From the standpoint of physical reality, this is a better measure of responsibility than current emissions or growth rates, because integrated emissions directly drive climate warming.
Although the polluter-pays-principle is conceptually attractive, we recognize that there may be discomfort in applying it historically, for example, back to the beginnings of the industrial revolution. There are basically two arguments: one political and one practical.
Although the first greenhouse warming paper was written in the last century (Arrhenius 1896), it can be argued that past generations acted out of ignorance and thus their descendants should not be penalized. There is a strong counter-argument, however. If we are asking the present generation to take responsibility for the future, it must be given a feeling of control over the future. Without any control, there can be no true responsibility, because there is no reason to think the values and consequent sacrifices of today will be honoured in the future. Paradoxically, however, in order to impart a perception of control over the future, the present generation must feel somewhat constrained by the past. Only then will it believe that its efforts will not be for nothing. If we dismiss historical responsibility, what is to keep the next generation from doing so (Smith 1977)?
Figure 4.2 Relationship between PQLI and two measures of per capita income
Put another way, one of the best ways to encourage this and future generations to take more account of the longer term impacts of technology and other human innovations is to make it responsible for problems that arise. Only then will it take a really serious look and apply the appropriate caution in its choices. Not to do so is to provide great incentives to stay ignorant.
As discussed in Chapter 3, given complete information on historic emissions of all greenhouse gases, their sinks, and their transformations in the atmosphere, one could calculate the contribution of each country to increases in the current concentrations from emissions of greenhouse gases since preindustrial times, and require that remedial action by each country be proportional to that contribution. In practice, this approach to solving the greenhouse issue may be unworkable at present for several reasons:
Generally, data on emissions of most gases become unreliable the farther back in time one goes. Country-specific data on many non-CO2, non-CFC greenhouse gases are not known even for recent years.
Shifting political boundaries and dominion of one country over another causes assignments before 1950 for many parts of the world to be problematic, even for gases such as CO2 for which data may be available. (A problem exacerbated again in the late 1980s.)
Historical information about sinks and rates of atmospheric transformation is even less well known than for emissions (see box on page 84).
Thus, to take this discomfort about historical responsibility into account, as well as the practical difficulties in actually determining remaining historical emissions, we use here historical records going back only to 1950 and only for fossil fuel CO2. (See the box on project evaluations, page 89, however, for an illustration of how other gases can be considered when evaluating mediation options.)
International agreements to limit climate change will be easier to negotiate if they are perceived to be equitable. Hence, they must begin with the premise that every human being has the same equal right to atmospheric resources (Grubb 1989). Thus, comparisons based solely on present national emissions are not generally applicable, because no allowance is made for population size (Smith 1991). Similarly, as shown in Chapter 2, comparisons based on growth rates alone are misleading because absolute additions are ignored. (Such analyses, however, are essential for indicating where potentials for reduction lie.)
On the other hand, since it is national governments and not individuals that eventually will be charged for global remediation efforts, per capita emissions by themselves are inadequate. If, however, per capita emissions are simply multiplied by national population, one obtains national emissions again, which is also unacceptable.
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- 02-01-2003, 10:29 PM
Once again, this is my work (might explain the holes in it aye )
-To filter extracellular fluid by bringing it into the lymphatic system and running it through the lymph nodes or accessory organs and exposing it to the lymphocytes.
-To produce new lymphocytes in organs, especially the thymus
-To Circulate other materials around, by way of the extracellular fluid, things like hormones and lipids.
*Begins as a lymphatic capillaries
-small vessels made of simple squamous epithelium tissue
-"dead end" capillaries- begin blindly near regular capillary beds.
- Epithelial cells create one way valves, so extracellualr fluid thats released from the arterial end of regular capillaries can be forced into the lymph capillaries and stay in so theres no backflow.
*One in the capillaries, lymph has a one way flow into lymphatic vessels
-walls become a little more substantial but not too much
- lymphatic vessels have valves to prevent "backflow"
*In the process of heading back to the venous system, the lymphatic vessels enter and leave a series of lymph nodes. Which are acutally clusters of lymphocytes, both B and T cells and also contain macrophages and plasma cells.
The flow direct is as follows:
Afferent vessels -> subcapsular space or sinus -> outer cortex -> inner cortex -> medulla -> and out the efferent vessels
*Eventually the lymph vessels coalesce towards two major ducts:
-thoracic duct- drains entire LOWER half of the body and UPPER LEFT quadrant, dumps into the LEFT subclavian vein.
-right lymphatic duct- drains UPPER RIGHT quadrant, dumps into RIGT subclavian vein.
Accessory Lymphatic Tissues
*Diffuse lymphatic tissue.- May or may not have a capsule and found many places in the body, but usually in connective tissue under surface epithelium. Sometimes referred to as MALT (mucous associated lymphatic tissue). Or GALT (Gastric associated lymphatic tissue)
1. Things suchs as:
A. Lymph nodules- Scattered throughout the body, cluster of lymphocytes with germinal center where new lymphocytes are being produced by mitosis.
B. Tonsils- Cluster of lymphocytes in pharyngeal area, pharyngeal (adnoids), palatine and lingual
C. Peyer's Patch- found in small intestines under epithelium
2. Discrete Organs
a. Lymph nodes (see above)
b. Thymus- Found just superior and anterior to the superior heart. Very large proportionally in children and involutes (very important in children and decreases in size as age progresses past puberty). Some lymphocytes produced in the bone marrow go to the thymus to become fully developed. This is helped along by Thymosins, now considered to be a family of chemicals. Once the cells are fully mature they are called T-Lymphocytes. Several different types of T-Cells such as cytotoxic, helper and suppressor types.
-Once matured they can then migrate and "Seed" other organs such as lymph nodes.
a. two main lobes subdivided into lobules by connective tissue
b. each lobule has an outer cortex and innr medulla. Cells originate in the cortex and exit from the medulla.
C.Spleen- Found in abdomen high on left side under the diaphragm.
1. Red blood cell graveyard- Iron and hemoglobin recycled
2. immunity- White pulp- like lymph nodules
**Side note (free of charge) All lymphocytes are born in bone marrow.
- 02-03-2003, 02:02 PM
It's a good thing I can understand all of that epithelial, medulla, cortex, anterior, superficial, afferent, efferent, etc. mumbo-jumbo
Very nice post, karma for you
LG.Read This Book!!: Anabolic Steroids and the Athlete by William N. Taylor M.D.
02-03-2003, 05:58 PM
To sum up - your lymphatic system drains all the fluids back to where they are needed, acts as a transport system and is the home of your immune system
Nice post YJ.
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June 4, 1999
OLD CHALLENGE (John, RiverGlen School). For a circular piece of paper, the lines along which you can fold it "in half" (with half the area on each side) are precisely the lines through the center. What other shapes work the same way?
ANSWER. This works for lots of shapes, such as rectangles, parallelograms, regular hexagons, and ellipses, but not for others, such as triangles and most irregular shapes. Eric Brahinsky best explains that any shape which is symmetric about a point (that is, under 180-degree rotation about the point), can be folded in half along any line through the point. His interesting examples in Figure 1 include a crossword puzzle square (with small, darkened squares symmetrically removed) and a Math Chat logo. Elliot Kearsley proves that such symmetric shapes are the only examples among smooth, convex regions.
Eric Brahinsky submits two interesting symmetric shapes which can be folded in half along any line through the center.
Funny things can happen if you allow regions with several pieces to them or with holes in them. A region consisting of two small unit discs, the second to the right of the first, can be folded in half along any vertical line between them. There are certain nonsymmetric rings around the origin which can be folded in half along any line through the origin.
NEW CHALLENGE (inspired by Wiley Miller). Player A writes three different integers, positive or negative, on three pieces of paper and turns them over one at a time. Player B selects one of the three when it is turned over, trying to pick the middle value. What are B's chances of winning? What are the best strategies? (What if B's goal is to pick the largest value?)
Send answers, comments, and new questions by email to Frank.Morgan@williams.edu, to be eligible for Flatland and other book awards. Winning answers will appear in the next Math Chat. Math Chat appears on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Prof. Morgan's homepage is at www.williams.edu/Mathematics/fmorgan.
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2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Politics and government
In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has a second meaning based on an alternative sense of "capital") is the principal city or town associated with a country's government. It is almost always the city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and fixed by law.
The word capital is derived from the Latin caput meaning "head," and the related term capitol refers to the building where government business is chiefly conducted.
Seats of government in major substate jurisdictions are often called "capitals", but this is typically the case only in countries with some degree of federalism, where major substate jurisdictions have an element of sovereignty. In unitary states, "administrative centre" or other similar terms are typically used. For example, the seat of government in a state of the United States of America is usually called its "capital", but the main city in a region of England is usually not. At lower administrative subdivisions, terms such as county town, county seat, or borough seat are usually used.
Historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or amalgamation. This was the case for London and Moscow. The capital naturally attracts the politically motivated and those whose skills are needed for efficient administration of government such as lawyers, journalists, and public policy researchers. A capital that is the prime economic, cultural, or intellectual centre is sometimes referred to as a primate city. Such is certainly the case with London and Buenos Aires among national capitals, and Irkutsk or Salt Lake City in their respective state or province.
Capitals are sometimes sited to discourage further growth in an existing major city. Brasília was planted in Brazil's interior because the old capital, Rio de Janeiro, along with all of Southeastern Brazil, was considered already crowded. The government of South Korea announced in 2004 it would move its capital from Seoul to Yeongi-Gongju — even though the word Seoul itself means "capital" in the Korean language.
The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal. Traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, as occurred with Nanjing by Shanghai. The decline of a dynasty or culture could mean the extinction of its capital city as well, as occurred with Babylon and Cahokia. And many modern capital cities, such as Abuja, Canberra and Ottawa, were deliberately fixed outside existing economic areas, and may not have established themselves as new commercial or industrial hubs since.
Unorthodox capital city arrangements
A number of cases exist where states or other entities have multiple capitals, and there are also several states that have no capital. In others, the "effective" and "official" capital may differ for pragmatic reasons, resulting in a situation where a city known as "the capital" is not, in fact, host to the seat of government. Likewise, occasionally the official "capital" as called is may be host to he seat of government, but is not always the geographic origin of political decision-making.
- Former British protectorate of Bechuanaland, today Botswana, was administered from Mafeking (now Mafikeng), creating a unique situation of the capital of the territory being located outside of it.
- Bolivia: Sucre is still the constitutional capital, but most of the national government long abandoned that region for La Paz.
- Chile: Santiago is understood to be the capital even though the National Congress of Chile is in Valparaíso.
- Côte d'Ivoire: Yamoussoukro was designated the national capital in 1983, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Abidjan.
- European Union: Brussels, Belgium is generally treated as the 'capital' of the European Union, and the two institutions of the EU's executive, the European Commission and the Council of Ministers, both have their seats there. However, a protocol attached to the Treaty of Amsterdam requires that the European Parliament have monthly sessions in Strasbourg, France.
- Nauru: Nauru, a tiny country of only 21 square kilometres (8 sq mi), has no capital city.
- The Netherlands: Amsterdam is the constitutional national capital even though the Dutch government, parliament, supreme court and the palace of the queen are all located in The Hague.
- In South Africa, the administrative capital is Pretoria, the legislative capital is Cape Town, and the judicial capital is Bloemfontein, the outcome of the compromise that created the Union of South Africa in 1910.
- In Germany, the executive and legislative capital is Berlin, although a portion of various ministerial back offices are located in the former West German capital of Bonn. The judicial branch of the government is divided between Karlsruhe and Leipzig.
Capital as symbol
With the rise of modern empires and the nation-state, the capital city has become a symbol for the state and its government, and imbued with political meaning. Unlike medieval capitals, which were declared wherever a monarch held his or her court, the selection, relocation, founding or capture of a modern capital city is an emotional affair. For example:
- Ruined and almost uninhabited Athens was made capital of newly independent Greece with the romantic notion of reviving the glory of the ancients. Similarly, following the Cold War and German reunification, Berlin is now once again the capital of the country. Other restored capital cities include Moscow after the October Revolution.
- A symbolic relocation of a capital city to a geographically or demographically peripheral location may be for either economic or strategic reasons (sometimes known as a " forward capital" or spearhead capital). Peter I of Russia moved his government from Moscow to Saint Petersburg to give the Russian Empire a western orientation, while Kemal Atatürk did the same by actually moving east, to Ankara, away from more Ottoman Istanbul. The Ming Emperors moved their capital to Beijing from more central Nanjing as to better supervise the border. with the Mongols and Manchus. Other examples include Abuja, Astaná, Brasília, Helsinki, Islamabad, Naypyidaw and Yamoussoukro.
- The selection or founding of a "neutral" capital city — i.e. one unencumbered by regional or political identity — was meant to represent the unity of a new state when Bern, Canberra, Madrid, Ottawa and Washington, D.C. became capitals.
- During the American Civil War, tremendous resources were expended to defend Washington, D.C., which bordered the Confederate States of America, from Confederate attack, even though the small federal government could have been moved relatively easily in the era of railroads and telegraph.
Strategic importance of capitals
The capital city is almost always a primary target in a war, as capturing it usually guarantees capture of much of the enemy government, victory for the attacking forces, or at the very least demoralization for the defeated forces.
In old China, where governments were massive centralized bureaucracies with little flexibility on the provincial level, a Dynasty could easily be toppled with the fall of its capital. In the Three Kingdoms period, both Shu and Wu fell when their respective capitals of Cheng Du and Jian Ye fell. The Ming dynasty relocated its capital from Nanjing to Beijing, where they could more effectively control the generals and troops guarding the borders from Mongols and Manchus. The Ming was destroyed when the Manchus took their seat of power, and this pattern repeats itself in Chinese history, until the fall of the traditional Confucian monarchy in the 20th century. After the Qing Dynasty's collapse, decentralization of authority and improved transportation technologies allowed both the Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communists to rapidly relocate capitals and keep their leadership structures intact during the great crisis of Japanese invasion.
National capitals were arguably less important as military objectives in other parts of the world, including the West, due to socioeconomic trends toward localized authority, a strategic modus operandi especially popular after the development of feudalism and reaffirmed by the development of democratic and capitalistic philosophies. In 1205, after the Latin Crusaders captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, Byzantine forces were able to regroup in several provinces; provincial noblemen managed to reconquer the capital after 60 years and preserve the empire for another 200 years after that. The British forces sacked various American capitals repeatedly during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, but American forces could still carry on fighting from the countryside, where they enjoyed support from local governments and the traditionally independent frontiersmen-civilians. Exceptions to these generalizations include highly centralized states such as France, whose centralized bureaucracies could effectively coordinate far-flung resources, giving the state a powerful advantage over less coherent rivals, but risking utter ruin if the capital is taken; in their military strategies, traditional enemies of France such as Germany focused on the capture of Paris.
Largest national capital cities
Some of the largest cities in the world are not national capitals. The largest national capitals on each continent, by urban/metropolitan area population, are:
- Africa: Cairo (11,146,000)
- Asia: Tokyo (35,237,000)
- Europe: Moscow (10,400,000)
- North America: Mexico City (17,809,471)
- Oceania: Wellington (445,400)
- South America: Buenos Aires (14,230,000)
Lists of capitals
- Lists of national capitals
- by name
- by country (with also the largest city)
- by continent and country
- List of historical national capitals
- List of capitals of subnational entities
- List of multiple capitals
- List of countries that have the name of their capital included in their name
- List of countries whose capital is not their largest city
- List of purpose-built capital cities
- List of capitals outside of the territories they serve | <urn:uuid:f5a70a56-d4ba-4f24-8db6-e0ff8a787d26> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/c/Capital.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958156 | 2,070 | 3.484375 | 3 |
The Law of Moses
Where do you find the entire Law of Moses? I have heard that there are 623 parts to it.
The phrase, the law of Moses, is used in a couple of ways. First, it refers to the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In the English Bible, the title for Genesis is "The First Book of Moses, Called Genesis." Deuteronomy is entitled, "The Fifth Book of Moses, Called Deuteronomy." Therefore, these five books are called the five books of Moses and are known collectively as the law of Moses. Jesus used the phrase in this way in Luke 24:44 - "...all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me."
However, these five books are not only law. Much of what they contain is history. The legal portion of the books of Moses is also the law of Moses. Generally, this would include the last half of Exodus, almost all of Leviticus, portions of Numbers and portions of Deuteronomy. There is not just one place where you can find the law of Moses.
Now, if all this seems confusing, you need also to consider the commandments found in this law. According to Jewish tradition, there are 613 commands or Mitzvoth in the law of Moses (not 623 as you indicate). This tradition showed up in Jewish writings between the destruction of the Temple in 70AD and the early third century. In the fourth century after Christ, the Rabbi Simlai declared that there were 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments.
What needs to be understood is that the Jewish scholars themselves never did agree on the exact identity of these 613 commandments. Many of the commandments are repeated in different places. At other times, what one scholar counts as two commandments may be counted as one commandment by another scholar. There is therefore much disagreement. Probably, the most famous description of the 613 commandments came from the medieval Jewish scholar and philosopher Moses Maimonides. He completed the "Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth" ("The Commandments") about 1170AD in the thirty-fifth year of his life when he lived in Egypt. I have a copy of this two-volume work in English translation and it is a fascinating window into ancient Jewish thought.
However, the Bible itself never identifies the law of Moses as having exactly 613 commandments. That is a Jewish tradition. It is almost certain that if twenty Bible students started from scratch and counted the commandments in the law of Moses without knowing that there were supposed to be 613 that they would probably come up with twenty different answers. It is an interesting piece of Jewish history, but it is not an absolute number. | <urn:uuid:465be335-1a3e-41e4-9a56-d1d88464223c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.learnthebible.org/the-law-of-moses.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97608 | 580 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Robert H. Goddard
The Father of Modern Rocketry; launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket.
Robert H. Goddard, often called "the father of modern rocketry" was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 5, 1882. Along with Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky of Russia and Hermann Oberth of Germany, Goddard was one of the first to envision the exploration of space. A physicist of great insight, Goddard also had a unique genius for invention.
Robert was the son of a traveling salesman who also dabbled at inventing, and both parents encouraged their son's interest in science. Goddard graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1908 and then became a physics instructor there. At the same time he began graduate work at Clark University, where he received his M.A. in 1910 and a Ph.D. in 1911. Goddard was a research fellow at Princeton in 1912 and 1913, then in 1914 he joined the faculty at Clark University, where he became a full professor in 1919.
In 1914, Goddard received two U.S. patents- one was for a rocket using liquid fuel; the second was for a two or three stage rocket using solid fuel. At his own expense, he began to make systematic studies about propulsion provided by various types of gunpowder. In 1916, Goddard requested funds of the Smithsonian Institution so that he could continue his research. That proposal was published in 1920 along with his subsequent research and Navy work as Smithsonian Miscellaneous Publication No. 2540 "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes." In it, he detailed his search for methods of raising weather-recording instruments higher than sounding balloons. In this search, as he related, he developed the mathematical theories of rocket propulsion.
Towards the end the report, Goddard outlined the possibility of a rocket reaching the Moon and exploding a load of flash powder there to mark its arrival. The bulk of his scientific report to the Smithsonian was a dry explanation of how he used the $5000 grant in his research. Yet, the press picked up Goddard' s proposal about a rocket flight to the moon and created a journalistic controversy concerning the feasibility of such a thing. Much ridicule came Goddard's way, reinforcing his natural tendencies to shyness and working alone. From this experience, he reached firm convictions about the press corps that he held for the rest of his life. His reticence unfortunately restricted the dissemination of his revolutionary research.
On March 16,1926, Goddard successfully tested the world's first rocket powered by liquid fuel at Auburn, Massachusetts, a feat as epochal in history as that of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk. Yet, it was only one of Goddard's "firsts" in the field rocket propulsion in the fields of military missilery and the scientific exploration of space (see list below). He received a total of $10,000 for his research from the Smithsonian by 1927, and through the personal efforts of Charles A. Lindbergh, Goddard subsequently received financial support from the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation. In 1936, his accomplishments were published in the Smithsonian report, "Liquid Propellant Rocket Development."
Goddard's research largely anticipated, in technical detail, the later German V-2 missiles, including gyroscopic control, steering by means of vanes in the jet stream of the rocket motor, gimbal-steering, power-driven fuel pumps and other devices. Goddard worked on other technologies as well, and demonstrated the basic idea of the "bazooka" at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, two days before the Armistice that ended World War I, in 1918. Dr. Clarence N. Hickman, a young Ph.D. from Clark University, worked with Goddard in 1918 on this research that eventually resulted in the World War II bazooka. In World War II, Goddard again offered his services to the U.S. military and was assigned by the U.S. Navy to the development of practical jet assisted takeoff (JATO) and liquid propellant rocket motors capable of variable thrust. In both areas, he was successful.
After the Nazis surrendered in May 1945, Goddard was able to inspect captured German V-2s, many components of which he recognized as his own inventions. However, Goddard would not design any more rockets of his own. He learned he had throat cancer earlier in 1945 and died that year on August 10 in Baltimore, Maryland. He was buried in Hope Cemetery in his hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts.
When German rocket experts brought to America after the war were questioned about their V-1 and V-2 weapons, many were amazed and asked why American officials did not inquire of Goddard, from whom they had learned virtually all they knew. In 1963, Werhner von Braun said of Goddard: "His rockets ... may have been rather crude by present-day standards, but they blazed the trail and incorporated many features used in our most modern rockets and space vehicles."
Robert Goddard was awarded 214 patents for his work, 83 of which came during his lifetime. The Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, established in 1959, is named in his honor. Goddard Crater on the Moon is also named for him, as is asteroid 9252 Goddard. On September 16, 1959, the 86th Congress authorized the issuance of a gold meal in the honor of Professor Robert H. Goddard. He was the first scientist who, not only realized the potentialities of missiles and space flight, but also contributed directly in bringing them to practical realization. The dedicated labors of this modest man went largely unrecognized in the United States until the dawn of the "space age."
GODDARD'S HISTORIC FIRSTS
Robert H. Goddard's basic contribution to missilery and space flight is a lengthy list. As such, it is an eloquent testimonial to his lifetime of work in establishing and demonstrating the fundamental principles of rocket propulsion.
-First explored mathematically the practicality of using rocket propulsion to reach high altitudes and even the moon (1912)
-First proved, by actual static test, that a rocket will work in a vacuum, that it needs no air to push against
-First developed and shot a liquid fuel rocket, March 16, 1926
-First shot a scientific payload (barometer and camera) in a rocket flight (1929, Auburn, Massachusetts)
-First used vanes in the rocket motor blast for guidance (1932, New Mexico)
-First developed gyro control apparatus for rocket flight (1932, New Mexico)
-First received U.S. patent in idea of multi-stage rocket (1914)
-First developed pumps suitable for rocket fuels
-First launched successfully a rocket with a motor pivoted on gimbals under the influence of a gyro mechanism (1937)
Robert H. Goddard quotes:
"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow." (From his high school graduation oration, "On Taking Things for Granted", June 1904.)
"On the afternoon of October 19, 1899, I climbed a tall cherry tree and, armed with a saw which I still have, and a hatchet, started to trim the dead limbs from the cherry tree. It was one of the quiet, colorful afternoons of sheer beauty which we have in October in New England, and as I looked towards the fields at the east, I imagined how wonderful it would be to make some device which had even the possibility of ascending to Mars. I was a different boy when I descended the tree from when I ascended for existence at last seemed very purposive."
"Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace." (His response to scathing, and inaccurate, reviews of his work by the New York Times, 1920.) | <urn:uuid:e02791cb-e9da-48ab-bd74-eb1ab198e10a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398216.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977102 | 1,621 | 3.78125 | 4 |
- Baseball Development
- En Espanol
In recent years, Major League Baseball has made an effort to play a greater role in the development of baseball in Latin America. MLB has focused on creating scenarios for MLB Clubs and scouts to view and evaluate amateur talent from the Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries.
Some of the programs designed to aid in the development of baseball in these countries include a coaches internship program, international baseball clinics, showcases, tournaments and the newly formed MLB Amateur Prospect League. The MLB Amateur Prospect League also places special emphasis on creating additional opportunities for players on and off the playing field by including an educational component for all league participants. | <urn:uuid:8028c16b-31af-46e9-a035-b45d547c0972> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://mlb.mlb.com/dr/baseball_development.jsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00103-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957866 | 131 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Table of Contents
Part II: The Nature of the Forbidden
The Testimony of Tradition
A FEW CENTURIES
ago, tradition concerning early human events was believed without
question. But about seventy-five years ago a complete swing of
the pendulum had occurred. And just when traditions were being
gathered and collected most usefully from many previously unknown
sources. it became the fashion to consider them as interesting,
but quite untrue. However, as archaeology came into its own,
one confirmation after another of often the most unlikely details
came to light, and today secular traditions are treated with
a great deal more respect.
1 of 9
Yet after all is said and done,
one cannot really prove anything by an appeal to such a source.
But where it is found that traditions which refer back to some
common event present a concordant testimony in terms which are
slightly discordant, their testimony is of some significance.
It is generally agreed in a court of law that where several independent
witnesses agree too closely in their testimony, one should suspect
collusion and question the value of their statements. In those
ancient traditions which refer back to the Fall of man there
is just that measure of agreement and disagreement that has the
ring of truth.
For example, sometimes the forbidden
fruit comes from a good tree and sometimes from a bad tree; at
times the consequences were just great enlightenment and at others
great darkness. In some instances the being who tempts man is
good and in others evil. Most of these contradictions can be
resolved simply enough when we have the true account which is
presented in Scripture as a guide. The tree was both good and
evil, the consequences were both gain and loss. But it is not
unnatural for people to suppose that a being who introduced man
to an advanced kind of knowledge must be good. And the judgment
itself, in so far as death was introduced, was in a way a blessing
illustrate this last point: in a book entitled The Origin
of Death According to African Mythology, the author, Hans
Abrahamson, has given a pretty exhaustive account of the subject.
(16) He began with
the most widespread and prevalent African myths of death, originating
through a perverted message, some act of negligence or unwise
choice on the part of men, or through opening a fatal bundle
in which death resided. A divine ordeal is then illustrated and
discussed. This leads to a consideration of "discord"
in the first family, under four subheadings, and then to myths
of death caused by human beings engaging in sexual intercourse,
regarded as a practice forbidden by the Creator. According to
the author the notion of death sometimes shows traces of the
influence of the Eden story, but the traditions are couched in
such terms that he felt they have not originated from Christian
or Jewish sources.
Rather unusual, in Abrahamson's
opinion, is the contention that death is good and is desired
by man as an expression of life weariness resulting from his
wickedness. In most of the traditions the initiative is taken
by the High God or by some other Divine Being who permits death
to enter the world.
In India, one primitive group have
a tradition of the Fall which contains certain details that bring
us a little closer to the clue we are seeking. S. H. Kellogg,
who believed that these people did not borrow their story from
Christian sources, gave the following account: (17)
The Santals have a tradition
. . . that in the beginning they were not worshippers of demons
as they are now. They say that, very long ago, their first parents
were created by the living God; and that they worshipped and
served Him at first: and that they were seduced from their allegiance
by an evil spirit, Masang Buru, who persuaded them to drink an
intoxicating liquor made from the fruit of a certain tree.
S. L. Caiger,
in a most useful little handbook of archaeology and the Bible,
gave a translation of a small fragment of a cuneiform tablet
which professes to identify the tree: (18)
My King the cassia plant approached;
He plucked, he ate.
Then Ninharsag in the name of Enki
Uttered a curse:
"The Face of Life, until he dies,
Shall he not see."
16. Abrahamson, Hans, "The Origin of
Death: Studies in African Mythology," reviewed in Man,
September, 1952, p.137.
17. Kellogg, S. H., Genesis and the Growth of Religion,
Macmillan, New York, 1892, pp.60, 61.
18. Caiger, S. L., Bible and Spade, Oxford University
Press, 1936, p.19.
the reader unfamiliar with early Mesopotamian mythology, Ninharsag
and Enki were deities. This little fragment for all its polytheistic
colouring nevertheless has preserved one element of the story.
Man could not come face to face with God again except by passing
through death. The term "the face of life" probably
means "the face of Him who is the source of life" (cf.
Exodus 33:20; John 14:6).
The same author gives another version
of the Eden story from a tablet which indicates a condition of
perfect harmony in nature prior to the Fall. The biblical Adam
is represented by one whose name is given as Enki, whom we have
seen in the previous tablet as a deity. It was quite customary
to deify important figures, and as a matter of interest the name
is probably composed of two words En and Ki meaning Heaven and
Earth -- appropriate enough in view of the fact that Adam stood
as a link between heaven and earth. The tablet runs as follows:
In Dilmun, the Garden of the gods,
Where Enki and his consort lay,
That place was pure, that place was clean,
The lion slew not, the wolf plundered not the lambs,
The dog harried not the kids in repose,
The birds forsook not their young,
The doves were not put to flight.
There was no disease or pain. . . .
remarkably parallels that vision which Isaiah had of the future
when the Lord should return to reign in righteousness (Isaiah
W. St. Chad Boscawen gives another version
which has been found on a cuneiform fragment as follows: (20)
The great gods, all of them determiners of Fate,
Entered, and death-like, the god Sar filled.
In sin, one with the other in compact joins.
The command was established in the Garden of the god.
The asnan fruit they ate, they broke in two:
Its stalk they destroyed
The sweet juice which injures the body.
Great is their sin. . . .
Like many other
such cuneiform texts the meaning is not altogether clear. Not
only are some of these fragments in rather mutilated condition
but the translation of cuneiform itself still presents
20. Boscawen, W. St. Chad, The Bible and the Monuments,
Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, 1896, p.89.
some problems. It is
interesting to find, however, in what is evidently a very early
tradition, that it was the juice of a fruit which injured the
bodies of "Adam" and his consort. This, of course,
makes the assumption, which may or may not be justified, that
this tablet is a recollection of the events in Eden.
One of the most complete of these
early stories is known as the Adapa Myth. It is not necessary
to detail it here, for much of it does not have to do with that
particular aspect of the Fall with which we are concerned. However,
George Barton has given a translation of some of the sections
that are not mutilated, which seem clearly to reflect the Eden
story. In the third tablet, referring evidently to the action
of one of the gods, on line 16 we find the words, "The sickness
which he placed in the bodies of the people." (21) This is followed in line
19 by the words, "Destruction shall fall upon him."
This again is not as clear in meaning as one would wish, but
we might be justified perhaps in viewing this as a reference
to the Tempter upon whom judgment was pronounced after he had
robbed man of his original perfect health. One thing which may
be noted about all these fragments is that they all seem to have
in view a real fruit containing a real poison which had very
real material consequences. It is not, I think, because the writers
did not have a sense of spiritual values that they laid so much
emphasis upon the physical effects of the Fall. The sense of
sin in cuneiform literature is well marked and some of the penitential
psalms are remarkable for the real sense of unworthiness that
they reveal. It seems that the emphasis in these traditions must
rather be the result of a conviction that the Fall of man in
the form in which we find it most completely stated in Genesis
was sober history. In these traditions at least, there is not
merely allegory. This is history -- though distorted.
By now the reader will probably
have begun to surmise something of the nature of the forbidden
fruit. The Santal tradition says it contained an intoxicating
liquor. Another fragment speaks of it as having a certain sweetness
but being injurious to the body. In a paper first published in
the Transactions of the Victoria Institute some time ago, T.
G. Pinches told his audience of the finding of a cuneiform tablet
which opens thus: (22)
In Eridu grew a dark vine,
In a glorious place it was brought forth.
21. Barton, George A., Archaeology and
the Bible, American Sunday School Union, Philadelphia, 1933,
22. Pinches, T. G., "On Certain Inscriptions and Records
Referring to Babylonia and Elam," Transactions of the
Victoria Institute, vol. 29, 1895, p.44.
phrase "a dark vine" might be rendered a "vine
of darkness." Although there is a sense in which it brought
light, there is a more terrible sense in which it brought Adam
and Eve into darkness. The "glorious place" is presumably
Eden. Some years ago the Rev T. Powell read a paper before the
same Institute in England which was entitled, "A Samoan
Tradition of Creation and the Deluge." (23) In this story the vine again figures prominently.
It is said that the gods planted it expecting it to turn out
to bear a beautiful fruit -- but it bore worms. Out of these
worms, so the tradition says, four human beings were finally
created, who settled local areas within the vicinity of Samoa.
From a cylinder seal we have an
impression by some Babylonian artist of what the scene in Eden
was like. These seals were used like a miniature rolling pin
to make an impression on a blob of clay which then identified
the sealed package as belonging to a certain individual known
by his particular seal. We have given an illustration of it here
which, however, does not show too clearly the detail of the original.
Actually it is a man and a woman seated on either side of a tree
whose leafy branches run straight out on either side in a very
formal pattern. Two clusters of fruit hang down near the base
of the trunk. Behind the man is a representation of a serpent.
Both figures reach forward to pluck the fruit.
Fig. 6 ‹ The Seal of Adam and Eve amd the Serpent
as shown in a wodcut appearing in Smith's "Chaldean Account
23. Powell, T., "On the Samoan Tradition
of Creation and the Deluge," Transactions of the Victoria
Institute, vol.20, 1886, p.154, 155.
another photograph of the same seal impression we have redrawn
the tree itself so as to show more clearly the actual shape of
the fruit. Although our interpretation of what may be intended
may not, of course, be correct, it would certainly require no
great stretch of the imagination to suppose that the artist was
trying to show two clusters of something like grapes hanging
The formal arrangement
of the branches may be merely an artistic device, but it could
also be the result of observing the branches of a vine which
had been trained along some artificial support.
The Book of Enoch has always had
a special interest for Christians in view of the fact that it
is the only non-canonical book quoted in the New Testament and
is not bound with the Bible even when the Apocrypha are included.
The allusions to it are not infrequent, and it is generally held
that the title "the Son of man" was taken from it.
In chapter 32 the writer of the book told how he went in search
of the Garden of Eden:
Finally I came into the Garden
of Righteousness, and saw a many coloured crowd of trees of every
kind, for many and great flourished there, very noble and lovely;
and the tree of wisdom which gives life to anyone who eats it.
It is like the Johannis bread tree: its fruit is like a cluster
of grapes, very good.
The writer of
the book then went on to tell how he questioned his angelic guide
about this particular tree:
I said, Fair is this tree and
how beautiful and ravishing its look, and the holy angel Raphael
who was with me answered and said to me, This is the tree of
wisdom of which thy forefathers, thy hoary first parent and thy
aged first mother, ate and found knowledge of wisdom: and their
eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked: and they
were driven out of the Garden.
Some years ago,
Francois Lenormant mentioned the finding of a
curiously painted vase
of Phoenician manufacture, probably of the 6th or 7th century
B.C. (24) This had been discovered in an ancient sepulcher in
Cyprus. It exhibits a leafy tree "from the branches of which
hang two large clusters of fruit," while a great serpent
advances with an undulating motion towards it.
The American Journal of Archaeology
some years ago carried an article by Nelson Glueck reporting
on the general findings in Palestine and elsewhere during the
years of excavation immediately prior to 1933. He mentioned:
In one of the two tombs discovered
southwest of the Jewish colony of Hedra, a lead coffin was found.
On one side it is decorated with an arch which rests upon two
twisted columns. Under the arch stands a naked boy who holds
a serpent in his right hand and a bunch of grapes in his left.
A coffin is
a particularly significant background for a picture of man in
his youth, naked, and holding in either hand the elements out
of which physical death may have found its way into human experience.
As a matter of fact, although commentaries rarely mention it,
it appears that some of the great Jewish rabbis understood that
"the Tree of Probation" was the vine.
Paul Isaac Hershon, in his book,
A Rabbinical Commentary on Genesis, stated that in Genesis
3:6, against the words "that the tree was good for food,"
there is this rabbinical comment: (26)
Some of the sages say that it
was a fig tree and that that was why they plucked the leaves
from the fig tree to cover their shame: for as soon as they had
eaten of the Tree of Knowledge their eyes were open, and they
were ashamed to go about naked.
But some sages say that the tree
was a vine. Eve pressed the grapes and gave Adam red wine to
drink, as red as blood.
himself a Hebrew Christian, well versed in the lore of his own
ancient people, said that there were some rabbis who believed
that when Noah left the Ark to become a husbandman, he planted
a vineyard from a slip of a vine that had strayed out of Paradise.
At the beginning of this chapter,
we pointed out how traditions may become confused and details
transposed so that sometimes what was bad became good and what
was a source of death became a source of life. Thus the Tree
of Knowledge came in some cases to be
24. Lenormant, Francois, Contemporary Review,
September, 1879, p.155.
25. Glueck, Nelson, American Journal of Archaeology, January-March,
26. Hershon, Paul Isaac, A Rabbinical Commentary on Genesis,
Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1885, p.27.
27. Edersheim. A., The World Before the Flood, Religious
Tract Society, London, no date, p.55.
confused with the Tree
of Life, as was evident in the Book of Enoch where we are told
that the Tree of Wisdom (i.e., Knowledge) gave Life to all who
ate of it, although the rest of the story clearly indicates that
the writer is not actually referring to the Tree of Life. Now
that we have explored the view that the forbidden fruit was some
kind of fruit containing a juice which was potentially a poison,
there will surely be some who will say, "You don't really
think that the forbidden fruit was a grape?" To this we
must reply, first, that that view has the support of traditions;
secondly, that a fruit capable of producing alcohol in some form
supplies us with a poison that seems to fulfill all the conditions
set forth in chapter 1; thirdly, that with this as a clue, many
passages of Scripture take on a new significance and greatly
tend to confirm the interpretation; and fourthly, that it is
not absolutely necessary to argue for a grapevine so long as
it was a fruit from which could be derived a form of poison of
very similar nature that would act upon the body in a very similar
way. This last requisite may have been stated in a rather redundant
fashion, but it is in the nature of a specification. Some further
details of this specification will be given in due course.
With these interjected remarks
we may therefore proceed to consider certain traditions of a
slightly different kind. Lenormant told us in another place:
The most ancient name of Babylon
in the idiom of the first settlers in that region was "the
Place of the Tree of Life," and even on the coffins of enameled
clay of a date later than Alexander the Great, found at Warka
(the ancient Erek of the Bible, and the Uruk of the inscriptions)
this tree appears as the emblem of immortality. Strange to say,
one picture of it on an ancient Assyrian relic has been found
drawn with sufficient accuracy to enable us to recognize it as
the plant known as the Soma Tree by the Aryans of India, and
the Homa of the ancient Persians, the crushed branches of which
yield a draught offered as a libation to the gods as the water
It might be
argued that we have here much better evidence to support a theory
that it was the Tree of Life which was a vine rather than the
Tree of Knowledge -- for after all this is what the discovery
implies. When the tradition speaks of the Tree of Life, we probably
have really a reference to the Tree of Knowledge, the same confusion
having occurred as we have seen in the Book of Enoch. The Soma
or Homa Tree is generally considered to be the Asclepias acida,
a tree associated in the Vedic hymns with the god Soma. It was
important in Vedic ceremony, in the words of one encyclopedia,
"because of its
28. Lenormant, Francois, The Beginnings
of History, Scribners, New York, 1891, pp.85, 86.
. . ." In one hymn, those who have drunk the juice of the
plant are said to exclaim together, "We have drunk the Soma;
we have become immortal; we have entered the light; we have known
the gods!" All these assertions can be related to the assurances
given by Satan when he tempted Eve to take the forbidden fruit.
Moreover, there is a beautiful association of ideas in certain
biblical passages which seem to mark this vine for what it was
-- a false vine. The Lord Jesus said, "I am the true vine"
(John 15:1): the Psalmist said "Taste and see that the Lord
is good" (Psalm 34:8).
And this brings
us to a consideration of the many references in Scripture to
the grapevine, which reveal its influence in human history and
have rendered it the special object of both praise and blame.
After this we shall examine in what way it fulfills the exact
requirements of our theory from the points of view of genetics
Copyright © 1988 Evelyn White. All rights
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In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the ways that young people are using the Internet and other new technologies. The use of the Internet can lead to many potential individual and societal benefits, including improving access to services and support, learning opportunities, and increasing possibilities to participate in society. However, there is significant diversity in the ways that young people access and use the Internet and these differences, specifically, the extent to which individuals are digitally included or excluded, has attracted a great deal of attention from policy makers, practitioners and academics.
In 2009, a nationally representative survey conducted as part of the Learner in their Context Study identified that around 10% of 17-19 year olds in Britain are lapsed Internet users, that is, young people who used to use the Internet but no longer do. This group of lapsed users are fascinating. Why do these young people stop using the Internet given its prevalence and value in the lives of the majority of young people? Furthermore, what can this group tell us about the relative successes and failures of the current digital inclusion strategy in Britain?
Through interviews with individuals identified as "lapsed Internet users" this research will aim:
To examine why young people stop using the Internet; and determine the extent to which this is due to reasons of digital exclusion or digital choice.
To explore the implications of non use of the Internet in the daily lives of these young people.
To use the data from the above two objectives to propose how the experiences of young people who no longer use the Internet can inform the digital inclusion strategy in the UK.
Eynon, R. and Geniets, A. (2012) On the Periphery? Understanding Low and Discontinued Internet Use Amongst Young People in Britain [900 KB]. Report for the Nominet Trust.
This research has been supported by the Nominet Trust (October 2011-August 2012). | <urn:uuid:e83308e8-7799-41c2-a8f5-eeeac120d116> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/?id=87 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92969 | 387 | 2.921875 | 3 |
When it comes to producing nanoparticle-sized semiconductors called quantum dots, scientists are now looking to earthworms to do their dirty work.
Like all semiconductors, the conductive properties of quantum dots are very specific to their crystals’ size and shape. But quantum dots have an advantage because scientists can precisely control the size of the crystals formed, and the resulting conductive properties of the dots. Their applications include LED lights, solar cells, and tiny lasers. Since quantum dots absorb and emit light, they may also aid in medical imaging, but thus far scientists have struggled to incorporate these dots into living cells. Because they are potentially toxic, the dots must undergo a number of chemical reactions before they are able to enter or attach to living cells. Scientists now think the trick to making the dots compatible may lie in producing the dots within living organisms.
Using carbon nanotubes and a dash of boron, scientists at Rice University have created a sponge that only absorbs oil. The superabsorbent sponge may not be of much use in the kitchen, but selective sucking of oil could be very helpful in cleaning up oil spills in the ocean. Other perks: the nanosponge is attracted to magnets, so that’s they’re easily controlled, and they’re reusable. At the end of this video, grad student Daniel Hashim shows how to extract energy from the oil-soaked nanosponge by burning it. Then you’re left with just the nanosponge, all ready to absorb oil again.
The nanoparticle. ACUPA is a protein that helps the particle attach to cancer
cells; the red and blue pieces are polymers that make up the particle’s shell.
One of the persistent problems in cancer treatments is that try as we might, it’s hard to get drugs to attack just tumors: they nearly always attack patients’ healthy cells too. Finding ways to get drugs to kill tumors, and tumors alone, is a major area of research, and a recent trial in Science Translational Medicine indicates that one promising strategy, encasing the drug in a tiny particle that dissolves when it reaches a tumor, works better than just using the drug alone.
The smallest named unit in the metric system is the yoctogram, equal to 0.000000000000000000000001 grams. (Yes, that’s 24 zeros.) For a scale that can measure differences in mass as small as a yoctogram, which is on the order of the mass of a proton, physicists writing in Nature Nanotechnology turned to the wunderkind of nanotechnology: carbon nanotubes.
What’s the News: In traditional solar cells, sunlight is absorbed by the cell (made from silicon or titanium dioxide), freeing electrons, which travel across the cell to an electron collector, or electrode. A problem with solar cells is that many electrons don’t find their way to the electrode; carbon nanotubes can be used as bridges between the loosened electrons and the electrode, but nanotubes tend to bunch up, decreasing the efficiency and causing short circuits. Researchers have now created genetically engineered viruses can be used to keep the nanotubes in place, increasing energy conversion by nearly one-third. “A little biology goes a long way,” research group leader Angela Belcher told MIT News, noting that the entire virus-nanotube bridging layer represents only 0.1% of the finished cell’s weight.
What’s the News: Scientists are using nanoparticles to develop ways to fight bacteria that are resistant to conventional antibiotics. These tiny drugs physically punch holes through bacteria instead of killing them chemically, which means that they could be especially effective on antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains like the dangerous methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). “The applications are going to be very diverse, whether we’re talking about wound healing or dressing, skin infection, and quite possibly injections into the bloodstream,” James Hedrick, master inventor at IBM Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, told Popular Science.
What’s the News: Scientists have developed a new carbon nanotube device (pictured above) that’s capable of detecting single cancer cells. Once implemented in hospitals, this microfluidic device could let doctors more efficiently detect the spread of cancer, especially in developing countries that don’t have the money for more sophisticated diagnostic equipment. Any improvement in detecting cancer’s spread is important, says MIT associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics Brian Wardle, because “of all deaths from cancer, 90 percent are … from tumors that spread from the original site.”
What’s the Context:
Not So Fast: The process of commercializing a technology like this takes quite a while; the previous version from four years ago is being tested in hospitals now and is may be commercially available “within the next few years.”
Next Up: The scientists are currently tweaking the device to try to catch HIV.
Reference: Grace D. Chen et al. “Nanoporous Elements in Microfluidics for Multiscale Manipulation of Bioparticles.” Small. DOI: 10.1002/smll.201002076
Image: Brian Wardle/MIT
Today in the journal Nature, researchers led by Charles Lieber report a big step forward in the field of tiny computing: the creation of linked-up logic circuits made of nanowires, which could be used to build itty-bitty processors.
The devices described in the paper layer additional wires across the germanium-silicon ones; charges can be trapped in these wires, influencing the behavior of the underlying nanowires. This charge trapping is nonvolatile but reversible; in other words, you can switch one of the nanowires on or off by altering the charge stored in its neighborhood. This makes it possible to turn the nanowires into a standard field-effect transistor (the authors term them NWFETs for “nanowire field-effect transistors”). [Ars Technica]
Lieber had been able to create simple versions of those NWFETs before, but those were difficult to build on a large enough scale to create logic circuits.
This picture may look like an exuberant patchwork quilt, or a stretch of really interesting farmland as seen from an airplane. In fact, what you’re looking at is sheet of graphene–a one-atom-thick layer of carbon, measuring about 100,000 atoms across.
The image, produced by an electron microscope, reveals that the honeycomb-like lattice of carbon atoms that forms a sheet of graphene is full of irregularities. Each sheet is composed of patches of atoms, and each patch has a slightly different rotation than that of its neighbors. By firing electrons at a sheet and using different colors to identify the angles at which the electrons bounced back, researchers made this rainbow image of a graphene sheet with the patch boundaries clearly shown.
Lead researcher David Muller says this is an easy and efficient way to understand a graphene sheet’s properties.
“You don’t want to look at the whole quilt by counting each thread. You want to stand back and see what it looks like on the bed. And so we developed a method that filters out the crystal information in a way that you don’t have to count every atom,” said David Muller, professor of applied and engineering physics and co-director of the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science. [press release]
The research, which was published in Nature, will be useful as nanotechnologists continue to investigate graphene’s exciting electrical properties. Researchers had previously thought that larger patches would improve the electrical conductivity of graphene, but Muller’s experiments suggest that theory is wrong. Rather, it’s impurities in graphene sheets that interfere with their conductivity, he argues.
80beats: The 2010 Nobel For Physics Goes For…
80beats: Great Galloping Graphene! IBM’s New Transistor Works at Record Speed
80beats: New Way to Make Graphene Could Lead to Transparent, Bendable Electronics
DISCOVER: Life After Silicon–How Graphene Could Revolutionize Electronics
Image: Cornell University/ P.Y. Huang / D. A. Muller
Now and then we stop to marvel at the feats of carbon nanotube researchers, who use these infinitesimal tubes to build materials of adamantine strength and impressive electrical conductivity. But what if you could marry the robustness of nanotubes to the stretchiness of viscous liquids? You’d be Xu Ming and his fellow Japan-based scientists, who have creating a super rubber that—unlike normal rubber—does not crack and fall apart at extreme temperatures.
Xu’s team outlines its creation in a study for this week’s edition of the journal Science.
Made entirely of carbon, it can flow and stretch slowly like thick honey and spring back to its original form, said [Xu].”It looks like a metal sponge that is porous, it is made from trillions of entangled carbon nanotubes,” she said in a telephone interview. “When you stretch and release it, it can come back slowly (to its original shape).” [ABC News]
The material’s litany of talents—especially its ability to keep its shape up to temperatures of 1000 degrees C (1832 Fahrenheit) and down to -196 C (-321 F)—inspires visions of using it in all kinds of extreme conditions.
That huge range of temperatures means the new material could be used in everything from spacecraft to car shock absorbers, said Roderic Lakes, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin who studies viscoelastic materials. Spacecraft equipped with this material could withstand the intense cold of [Saturn]’s largest moon, Titan, said Gogotsi, or the heat of the sun in space, said Lakes. [Discovery News] | <urn:uuid:ba2f3c8d-66af-434e-bc68-7be81634a582> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/tag/nanotechnology/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925246 | 2,110 | 3.796875 | 4 |
We saw earlier how inadequate the infrastructure of Indian Railways is to cater to the needs of physically challenged people. The inadequacies and entrenched insensitivity towards physically handicapped (PH) passengers become particularly stark when one looks at international benchmarks and standard best practices. In many other parts of the world, train travel is a lot more comfortable for passengers with special needs, with such service being a courtesy extended by the railway authorities.
For example, throughout Europe, where rail networks are extensive and travel by rail is common, the level of the platform and the train is the same. This helps to usher in wheelchair bound passengers. Perambulators, stretchers, cycles, shopping carts can all be wheeled in with equal ease. According to the Passenger rights Rail - legislation in force in the EU from December 2009 "Railway companies shall provide disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility with assistance on board a train and during boarding and disembarking from a train free of charge". (http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/passengers/rail/index_en.htm)
Thus, stations in Europe and North America have automated doorways with scanners that facilitate easy transit for wheelchair bound passengers. Ramps, escalators, elevators, luggage escalators are all easy to use and widely distributed/accessible across stations. In addition, many other facilities used in stations . from ATM machines, ticket vending machines, toilets to restaurants, book stalls, souvenir shops and consumer durable shops - are all designed to cater to the needs of physically challenged passengers.
According to a press release of the EU Transport Commission issued on 11 March 2013 "The European Commission is making accessibility an essential requirement for rail infrastructure when newly built, upgraded or renewed." Accessibility can be achieved by preventing or removing barriers and through other measures such as provision of assistance. The rules apply to infrastructure (e.g. obstacle-free routes, ticketing, information desks, toilets, visual and spoken information, platform width and height, and boarding aids) and to rail carriages (e.g. doors, toilets, wheelchair spaces, and information).
"Making rail transport more accessible to everyone is at the heart of our strategy for a high-quality, sustainable transport system in Europe", says Vice-President Siim Kallas, EU Commissioner for transport. "This change represents the first in a series of actions by the Commission this year to further improve access to transport for people with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility in Europe. It establishes a direct link to EU-level technical specifications for rail accessibility already available and sets an example of good practice for other modes of transport. It also demonstrates the EU's commitment to meeting its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities."
A long way to go
Clearly, Indian Railways has miles to go to catch up, whether in terms of facilities mandatorily required for physically challenged persons or the infrastructure needed to facilitate ease of access and use. A review of the many things that are done for passengers with disabilities in other countries can provide a starting list of things Indian Railways needs to do too.
Coaches designed with the needs of physically challenged persons in mind, with requisite facilities on each train.
Handicapped-friendly toilets with room for wheelchairs, mirrors, shelves, sinks, taps, faucets, flush handles, latches, all accessible and usable by a person seated on a wheelchair.
WCs or western commodes with disposable sanitised paper rims.
Flexible stairs that can extend to become a ramp for boarding and alighting wheelchair passengers.
Ramps, ambu-lifts, room for stretchers and fully equipped first aid/emergency medical staff on call in such cars.
Telephone connections in such cars, meant strictly for the use of authorised personnel and bona fide physically challenged passengers only.
Escalators (horizontal and climbing travelators, or moving walkways, wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs).
Luggage escalators / conveyor belts installed beside every stairway in the railway stations.
Separate lines for physically/mentally handicapped persons at railway counters
Uniform height of all platforms in all railways stations in India.
Catering and other on-board crew who are trained for lip reading and sign language, for the aid of hearing and speech impaired passengers.
Courteous trained personnel on bard and state of the art infrastructure make rail travel user friendly for mobility impaired passengers in the European Union. Such ramps, in fact, are useful even to able passengers; it is common to see people struggling to load luggage on to trains throughout India. Photo: Courtesy of Deutsche Bahn AG through the German Consulate General, Bangalore.
Sensitization and awareness
Along with the physical provision of facilities and infrastructure, sensitising society to the needs of challenged or differently-abled persons is a critical requirement. Often, it may be merely a question of raising our voices or demanding what we need, as the following personal experience would illustrate.
In September 2011, I was travelling with a foreigner as my accompanying passenger. (I am physically challenged and am eligible for take along an accompanying passenger at concessional rates). I had to board a Bangalore-bound train in the dead of the night in Haveri district in Karnataka, at a station which had only two platforms. As soon as I arrived at the station, the usual obstacle resulting from a lack of facilities for carting the luggage across the rail bridge had to be overcome by the graces of a kind taxi driver.
When I learned that the train I had to board would arrive in the dead of the night at Haveri, and stop for only 2 minutes, I panicked because I was nervous about my ability to board a train with luggage and accompanied only by a foreigner unfamiliar with the system. I braved it to the station master's office and told him of our pathetic situation. I requested the station master to radio a request to the train driver that a PH passenger with a foreigner has to board a train at 11.50 pm; given my difficulty, I requested the train to stop for five minutes more than scheduled, if required.
I had mentioned our ticket numbers and train car details, which were then radioed. We were instructed to stand at a point on the platform where our train car was expected to park. As the train rolled into the station at around 11.48 pm the ticket collector stood at the door of our train car calling out for passengers on the seat numbers assigned to us. This was heart-warming for both of us.
I headed to the entrance of the train car identifying myself as the passenger who had made the request. After we boarded, the ticket collector radioed to the Station Master that we were in, safe. To our pleasant surprise the station master was standing on the platform, near the guard car, monitoring our boarding. Within minutes, the all-clear signal was given and the train chugged off. There was no need for extra time at all.
This incident proved to me that PH passengers only need informed and aware authorities and bona-fide requests can be realised without much ado. Of course, it takes both PH passengers and reasonable, approachable authorities to make it happen. Not all PH passengers in India have the self-confidence to make such a request. The first step towards building this confidence is creating awareness of their rights.
It would still require a lot of thought and carefully considered moves to address certain other priority issues associated with train travel in the country, for example, the transit of critically ill patients. However, the simple measures discussed so far would go a long way in creating a more humane, inclusive means of transport for a large section of the people.
It has to be acknowledged that Indian Railways caters to the needs of millions of middle class Indians, but given the challenges faced by people with disabilities
and impaired mobility, these measures would help improve efficiency and leave such passengers less stressed-out after an exhausting journey, encouraging them to
travel by train more often. | <urn:uuid:7bf80ea3-6bc9-4b54-9ba4-78b78d34bf68> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://indiatogether.org/railable2-health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00104-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956978 | 1,649 | 2.625 | 3 |
Early Signs of OCD in Childhood
According to KidsHealth.org, parents who are concerned about the possibility of their child having OCD can watch for these early warning signs and symptoms of the condition:
--irrational or excessive fears (in regard to germs, dirt, physical harm, or illness).
--preoccupation with grooming (repetitive hand washing, teeth brushing, or bathing).
--rituals that involve repetitive movement (opening and closing doors, writing and erasing, hopping on each foot three times when walking, etc.).
--rituals that involve counting objects, hoarding objects, or arranging objects in a precise order.
--excessive cleanliness in regard to personal items or household objects.
--extreme anxiety in regard to "unlucky" numbers and bothersome words or sounds. (2) | <urn:uuid:e61e0ff9-e74c-4f88-a8f7-074f413f8511> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.healthguideinfo.com/ocd-symptoms-diagnosis/p78674/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.891488 | 172 | 2.828125 | 3 |
The first chapter deals with configuring the desktop. This is the only chapter where graphical user interface (GUI) tools are used almost exclusively. Even here, Jang goes through some configuration of X Windows using xf86config and edits fstab directly. He does not give specific instructions, simply tells users about the various configuration options and suggests some defaults. Since target readers are expected to be at least part-time 'geeks' they are expected to be able to change these settings themselves. Jang forgets to mention either 1) make a backup before changing system files, and 2) change only one thing at a time. Geeks are supposed to know these two basic principles.
Jang deals with the annoyances that appear during installation (or multiple installations). He focuses on hardware compatibility with both desktops and laptops. After that he discusses the reasons for and the process of startup configuration, including dual boot systems, weak passwords, lost passwords and securing servers. Those of us who work with Linux regularly (and who are Linux geeks already?) are well aware of the annoyances that arise from upgrades, everything from finding out if an upgrade is needed to dependency hell (Ed. Note: Some Linux distros and their associated upgrade package management methods are created more equal than others), to kernel panics after an upgrade. Jang deals with all of those issues and more.
The last three chapters of the book focus on networks: servers, users and user groups, network security, Internet connections and related topics. Readers can learn about virtual hosts, user group management, server storage quotas, using a mirror to update all the workstations on a network, how to set up a secure telnet connection, and so on. Because the author assumes that Linux Annoyances readers are reasonably experienced, he opted to skip many of the repetitive steps that introductory books have to include, leaving him with more space to deal with what is most important and most useful in each process.
Early in the book the author says there were over 350 different distributions of Linux available. That variety makes writing any book about the Linux operating system difficult. Fortunately most of the different distributions come in various families. Most Linux users have installed at least one of the more well-known distributions. Most Linux distributions come with the same set of applications, particularly the basic applications that the author works with. In the book he shows examples from the three major Linux families in use: Red Hat/Fedora, SUSE and Debian. These three distros install files in different locations and often use applications with different names to do the same work (particularly true with GUI applications). Geeks using distros from other Linux families probably already know how to adjust the instructions in the book to their particular version.
This book will also be particularly useful to those who administer Linux machines, either workstations or servers, on networks. But even geeks running a single Linux machine, whether connected to the Internet or not, will almost certainly learn something from this clearly written book. The examples are easy to follow. Finding solutions for specific annoyances is simple. This book will stay in my personal library and be well-used. | <urn:uuid:a8959a29-570e-4d0e-8cbc-9e5f48df8014> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://kickstartnews.com/reviews/books/linux_annoyances_geeks_jang.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00013-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939942 | 640 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The Kilcommon Costume — a 16thc Irish kern’s clothes
RH303 – Kilcommon Outfit
In 1946, a suit of clothes dating to the late 16th or early 17th century was found by Father Fitzgerald in Kilcommon Bog, Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. It consisted of a jacket and trews (pants) and accessories of native manufacture. The garments were of a rough weave, suggesting that they belonged to a common man. Yet they were also of a style that suggested they followed the Gaelic (i.e. non-English) fashion.
The records we have of the Kilcommon costume are sketchy. This is not uncommon with Irish textiles. No notes on the find survive. No archeological dig of the site was done. All that remains besides the textiles themselves is the account of a tailor who in the late 1940’s examined the garments. It is unfortunately clear that the man knew nothing about clothing history nor textile production. He describes the garments with a modern viewpoint which, if it were not for the evidence of the extant garments, would greatly skew our understanding of the clothes.
Buy the rest of this splendid article on Traditional Irish Dress by clothing historian Kass McGann: | <urn:uuid:ebea2a61-4c68-49de-9178-77f1405584f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/articles/irish-articles/the-kilcommon-costume-a-16thc-irish-kerns-clothes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96702 | 255 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Hudson Motor Car Co. was formed on Feb. 24, 1909 by eight businessmen from Detroit, Mich. The company was named for Joseph L. Hudson, a department store owner who provided financing for the new firm. The goal of the company was to market a passenger car priced below $1,000. Roy D. Chapin, Sr., a former associate of R.E. Olds, was the spark plug behind Hudson’s creation. In the 1920s and 1930s, Hudson would also build Essex and Terraplane cars for the U.S. market. On July 3, 1909 the first low-priced Hudson “Twenty” left an assembly line in Detroit. Sales of 4,000 units made it the most popular new car in history up to that time. Hudson always earned recognition for its innovative styling and engineering and its racing success, which was immortalized by cartoonists and the voice of Paul Newman in the Disney-Pixar film “Cars.” Hudson had its best year in 1929, when it built 300,000 automobiles. Its post World War II “Step-Down” models had a very distinctive look that car collectors embrace. In 1954, Hudson and Nash merged to form American Motors. Later Hudsons resembled badge-engineered Nash products. The company also dabbled in the early postwar compact cat field by selling the Hudson Jet and a badge-engineered Hudson Metropolitan. | <urn:uuid:ce5f07b8-1b23-4d8d-a8e2-b6811c6f1190> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/blogs/gunners-garage/100-years-since-hudson-was-founded | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00149-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97306 | 294 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Friday, November 30, 2012
Four Nigerian schoolgirls aged 14 to 15, created an urine-powered generator that can turn a liter of urine into nearly six hours of electricity. The simple generator separates urine into nitrogen, hydrogen and water. The process turns the plentiful waste product into power. The $64 prototype could help Nigeria's 160 million citizens without access to electricity.
Source 2: http://mashable.com/2012/11/30/inspirational-kids-2012/#10392111-14-and-15YearOlds-DuroAina-Adebola-Akindele-Abiola-Faleke-Oluwatoyin-and-Bello-Eniola | <urn:uuid:23f12296-1d03-4cea-9529-09ef87a01244> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://africanamericanempowerment.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-urine-powered-generator.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00078-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.857549 | 146 | 2.859375 | 3 |
As summer temperatures begin to rise, so does the possibility of climbing utility bills.
To battle increasing costs while trying to stay cool at home, the United States Department of Energy offers a few simple solutions to stay comfortable, and not broke, this summer.
The best strategy to save money during the most recent heat wave simply involves turning up the temp by 10 to 15 degrees when no one is home, and setting it to a comfortable 78 degrees at night, the department states. The best way to do this, energy.gov suggests, is by purchasing and installing a programmable thermostat.
National studies state this approach can save as much as 5 to 15 percent on monthly energy bills.
Additional, energy.gov tips on how to keep a house cool in the summer include:
- Moving lamps or TV sets away from room air-conditioning thermostat. Those devices can cause the air conditioner to run longer than necessary because the thermostat senses heat from the appliances. Set them apart and save energy.
- Use compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). Traditional incandescent bulbs are highly inefficient in that only about 10 to 15 percent of electricity consumed is used to produce light. A majority of that energy is turned into heat. Plus, CFLs last longer.
- Plan for the long haul if you own a home and landscape. "Properly placed trees around the house can save between $100 and $250 annually," the energy department states.
- Use a ceiling fan. Use of a ceiling fan will allow a person to raise their thermostat setting by about 4 degrees without a reduction in cooling comfort. Turn the fan off when you leave a room.
For more tips visit energy.gov . | <urn:uuid:93c98839-e265-4f65-97fe-65ff23251041> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/cleveland-heat-wave-as-temperatures-rise-here-are-tips-to-keep-home-cooling-bills-down | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00186-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921684 | 353 | 3 | 3 |
University of Pennsylvania
Reading and Writing in Colonial Philadelphia: Views from the Quaker School Archives
In this essay, I will present findings from research into archival materials which historians of reading and writing in colonial America have yet to fully explore: documents from the Quaker-supported schools which flourished in eighteenth-century Philadelphia. The essay will attempt to answer two questions: what do we know about what children and youth in Philadelphia schools read, and how they read? And in what ways might patterns of literacy in this colonial city differ from those identified elsewhere in the colonies?
Following upon William Penn’s call for a system of education in his colony, Friends Meetings in Pennsylvania opened a number of schools, and by the 1720s Philadelphia had a true public schooling system, over a century before state-sponsored public education laws. These schools were open to residents of all religious denominations. Quaker Anthony Benezet also began a school for blacks in his home in 1750, which the Quaker hierarchy took over in 1770. Surviving records from these schools include teachers’ account sheets, book order lists, and correspondence from teachers to the Quaker Overseers responsible for the direction and financing of the neighborhood schools. I will use these records to get a sense of which books students were asked to read and how reading tastes altered over time. If some conclusions here are hardly surprising—the presence of Bibles and the works of Penn in the classroom, for example—others may be: students at the Quaker Academy’s English School were handed copies of the radical abolitionist John Woolman’s Considerations on Keeping Negroes as early as 1764.
While book orders tell us much about what the Quaker teachers and Overseers felt their young charges should read, they tell us less about how students actually read what they were given. In order to draw some conclusions about reading habits, I will examine the surviving correspondence of Quaker teachers, some of whom discuss with remarkable frankness the difficulties they encounter in the classroom. I will also analyze The Students Gazette, a manuscript newspaper begun by students at the Latin School in the central Quaker Academy in 1777. Taken together, these records provide a rich picture of the lives of Philadelphia students, rich and poor, Quaker and non-Quaker. This picture, I suggest, also challenges many of our assumptions about urban literacy across social classes and races.
Click here to return to the main conference webpage. | <urn:uuid:29806311-ba0b-4218-8fcb-582e2443ab09> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.princeton.edu/cotsen/research-collection/academic-conferences/home-school-play-work/pollackabstract/index.xml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965577 | 500 | 2.671875 | 3 |
MAZ331: -Math 9 (2014-2015)
CURRICULUM PROGRAM: Special Education
COURSE TITLE: -Mathematics 9
CALENDAR YEAR: 2014-2015
GRADE LEVEL: 9
COURSE LENGTH: 36 weeks
Major Concepts/Content: The -Mathematics 9 - 12 courses are designed to facilitate student mastery of the DoDEA Mathematic standards and essential objectives. These courses are designed for students needing reinforcement in estimation, computation, basic measurement, and abstract reasoning skills. Technology is utilized to provide support and reinforce math skills. Accommodations and modifications of content, instructional activities, evaluation techniques, and essential objectives are implemented as appropriate for students with disabilities in support of their Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Major Instructional Activities: Instructional activities are provided in individual, small group, and whole class settings. Student activities involve students in a step-by-step process to perform computations mentally, with paper and pencil, and with calculators or computers. Additionally activities use proper instruments for geometric constructions and measurement and apply mathematical concepts to everyday situations. Problem-solving strategies teach students to read, analyze, plan, solve, and check multi-step problems.
Major Evaluative Techniques: Students will be evaluated through informal and formal assessments. Multiple authentic assessments will be used as students perform, produce and otherwise demonstrate skill growth and improvement. Individual student progress is based on understanding and applying the concepts taught.
Course Objectives: The essential objectives of -Mathematics 9 – 12 courses are designed to facilitate learning outcomes appropriate to the instructional need of each student. Instructional priorities are based on the needs of the individual students.
Course Notes: Only for students on IEP | <urn:uuid:0c2bf706-a522-4a46-a0ca-14547fb58fa9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dodea.edu/Curriculum/Course-Details.cfm?courseid=821E9713-982E-B47C-DEF8938D48556E15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899923 | 363 | 3.078125 | 3 |
No equation was provided
For this problem:
A person throws a ball upward with an initial velocity of 15 m per second. In order to calculate how high the ball goes, drwls gave me this formula below:
It travels upwards until the vertical velocity component becomes zero. The calculaitons are below:
(1/2)M Vo^2 = M g H
Where H is the maximum height above the
H = Vo^2/(2g) = 11.5 m
Could you substitue
H and M for V,Vo,T,Y,Yo,g,a, and could you possible use and of the four newton's equations listed below, to rephrase this?
1.) V = Vo +gt
2.) Y = Yo + Vot + 1/2gt^2
3.) Vo^2 + 2g(Y - Yo)-Y
4.) Average V = V + Vo/ 2
For a body already moving upwards with kinetic energy 1/2mu^2 (u=your Vo)the kinetic energy at a point on the upward journey is 1/2mv^2=1/2mu^2-mgh
1/2v^2 = 1/2u^2-gh
v^2=u^2-2gh (more familiarly when falling v^2=u^2+2gh)
So for your problem
v^2+2gh=u^2 and v=0 at the top so
or h=u^2/2g (=Vo^2/2g as you have)
does this help?
I don't know what you mean by "rephrasing" the simple equation
H = Vo^2/(2g)
that provides the answer.
H is the height the ball rises
Vo is the initial velocity that it is thrown upwards
g is the acceleration of gravity (9.8 m/s^2)
If you are looking for another way of deriving the equation starting from Newton's Laws, that can be done, but you will still get the same answer.
By the way, one of your statements
(3) Vo^2 + 2g(Y - Yo)-Y
is not an equation. A correct equation would be
V^2 = Vo^2 - 2 g (Y - Yo)
if Y is measured positive upwards.
This equation leads directly to the one I provided earlier, since Y-Yo = H and V = 0 at the highest point of the trajectory
Yes! thank you both! this really helps1 | <urn:uuid:298dbae9-bc2f-49f4-9f11-4916ee17270c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1216722573 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00132-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896839 | 544 | 3.21875 | 3 |
WOOSTER, Ohio — Artificial gravity fields, like the ones in Star Trek and Star Wars, enable fictional crews to walk normally inside a spacecraft and not float around like astronauts onboard the International Space Station. But is it possible to create such fields?
Brian Maddock, a sophomore physics and mathematics double major, posed that question to John Lindner, professor of physics at Wooster, during a conversation at one of the weekly Physics Table gatherings last year. Lindner responded by saying he wasn’t sure, but he knew someone who could figure it out.
That someone turned out to be Larry Markley, a 2012 Wooster graduate who was working with Einstein's theory of general relativity. “General Relativity (GR) is our best theory of gravity,” says Lindner. “It includes Newton's theory of gravity as a limiting case, but describes new phenomena like black holes. In GR, time is the fourth dimension, and large masses like stars and planets curve spacetime, while small masses like spacecraft move along the corresponding straightest possible paths. Curved spacetime means space is warped (so that the sum of the angles of a triangle is no longer 180 degrees) and time is slowed by different amounts in different places.”
Markley had been investigating perturbed spacetimes that were curved, not just by mass, but also by energy and stress (like pressures, tensions, and shears). However, Markley and Lindner, who was his adviser, altered the course of the research in response to Maddock’s intriguing question. “By mathematically specifying the spacetime curvature we wanted, namely flat outside our cylindrical spacecraft and curved inside, we were able to run Einstein's equations backward and find the energy and stress necessary to produce an artificial gravity field,” explains Lindner. “As we expected, the matter required to produce the artificial gravity field is ‘exotic’, which means it may be difficult or impossible to build in practice. Nevertheless, this theoretical spacetime engineering illuminates Einstein's theory and the connection between matter and gravity.”
The research was the focus of Markley’s Senior Independent Study (I.S.) project (Wooster’s nationally acclaimed undergraduate research program) and was later summarized in an article by Markley and Lindner, titled “Artificial Gravity Field,” and published last month in Results in Physics, a new scholarly journal.
A similar conversation also resulted in a collaborative project on a related topic by another recent graduate. Norman Israel, who graduated with Markley, asked Lindner about time travel and quantum gravity during his first-year physics lab. Thus began a conversation that would last for four years.
“Theories of quantum gravity attempt to unite Einstein's theory of General Relativity, where gravity results from the curvature of space and time, and quantum mechanics, where atoms have both wave and particle aspects and often behave probabilistically rather than deterministically,” explains Lindner. “Quantum gravity is necessary to fully understand things like black holes and the ‘Big Bang,’ but it has been terribly difficult to consistently formulate such a theory.
“Norman and I considered several approaches to quantum gravity, including superstring theory and loop quantum gravity, but decided to explore a relatively new approach called Causal Dynamical Triangulation (CDT),” adds Lindner. “CDT constructs a model of spacetime from triangular-like building blocks by gluing their time-like edges in the same direction. CDT calculates the expected size and shape of the universe by taking a weighted average over all possible spacetimes, or equivalently, over all possible spatial histories.”
Beginning with his Junior I.S. and continuing through his Senior I.S., Israel and Lindner created a computer simulation of a CDT universe of one time and one space dimension. “We demonstrated that it exhibited the predicted large fluctuations in size,” says Lindner. “This result supports other work suggesting that classical spacetime can emerge from the vacuum fluctuations of a CDT universe whose building blocks have three space and one time dimensions. A cool feature of Norman's quantum gravity simulation is that it does not require a supercomputer. In fact, it runs on a laptop.”
This collaboration led to another article, "Quantum Gravity on a Laptop: 1+1 Dimensional Causal Dynamical Triangulation Simulation,” published in Results in Physics late last year.
“It is unusual for undergraduates to contribute to the subject areas of General Relativity and Quantum Gravity,” says Lindner. “Wooster’s curriculum prepared them for these remarkable senior projects, and I had an opportunity to do cutting-edge gravity research as a result to their questions, interests, and enthusiasm. Both projects were wonderful collaborations.”
This story was provided by an individual or organization for use on the Ohio.com community site, http://www.ohio.com/upublish. We do not endorse and cannot guarantee the accuracy of this posting, though we do reject announcements with inappropriate content. You can read our full user agreement here. | <urn:uuid:3bd679e0-5e73-4b98-872c-f310b6376612> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ohio.com/upublish/general-news/collaborative-research-by-college-of-wooster-physics-students-elucidates-artificial-and-quantum-gravity-1.380389 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00182-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956144 | 1,079 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Shakespeare asked rhetorically whether Christians and Jews are not “hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal’d by the same means, warm’d and cool’d by the same winter and summer?” The same can be said of Republicans and Democrats, but if you ask people on opposite sides of the aisle to try to empathize with one another, they tend to consider their rivals as not equally human.
That’s not a mere observation of election-year political antics, but a finding from scientific research. Led by Ed O’Brien, scientists from the University of Michigan crafted a study on inter-party empathy based on prior data on the emotion, which finds that our ability to empathize is greatly affected not only by whom we’re trying to empathize with, but also by our own physical and emotional states.
Physical states, especially, are difficult to transcend. If you’ve ever packed for a tropical vacation in the dead of winter and had difficulty imagining yourself basking on a warm beach when it’s freezing at home, you’ve experienced the challenge most people face when trying to take the perspective of another — or even of your own future self. When our visceral state is overwhelming, we tend to project the same feeling onto everyone else: if I’m cold, then you must be cold too.
Studies also find that thirsty people perceive others as being equally dehydrated, and those who feel frightened similarly think everyone else must be afraid too. Even exam cheaters project their own willingness to cut corners on fellow test takers.
But this kind of empathy doesn’t always extend to everyone. History is filled with examples of warriors who were brutal to their enemies, but kind to their comrades. Biologically speaking, the hormone most associated with empathy — oxytocin — has been found to increase people’s feelings of warmth and generosity toward their friends and family while simultaneously increasing prejudice against outsiders.
The Michigan study, published in Psychological Science, combined these various threads and sought to determine whether people’s political affiliations and their individual states of thirst or cold would affect their ability to empathize with another person. For the first experiment — conducted in January 2011 in Michigan, when both partisan sentiment and the weather were bitter — 120 students were recruited. Half were approached at a bus stop when the temperature dropped to as low as -14 degrees; the rest were interviewed in a cozy library. They were told they were participating in research on reading comprehension.
All of the participants read a short story about a hiker who was described either as a left-leaning, pro-gay rights Democrat or a right-wing Republican who took the opposite position. Taking a break from a campaign, the hiker had become lost on a mountain without adequate food or water or appropriate clothing for wintry weather. For female participants, the hiker was described as female; for men, the hiker was male.
Participants were asked which feeling — being thirsty, hungry or cold — was most unpleasant for the hiker and which item he or she most regretted not packing. The participants were also asked about their political beliefs and affiliations and whether they felt the hiker was similar to them. Not surprisingly, feelings of similarity were almost exactly correlated with political agreement.
People who were interviewed outside at the bus top were most likely to focus on the hiker being cold — but only if they felt the hiker was similar to them. Ninety-four percent of those at the bus stop who felt similar to the lost hiker said the cold was the worst part of his or her experience; in comparison, only 57% of those who were interviewed indoors said the same. If participants disagreed with the hiker’s politics, however, their own personal physical state had no bearing on their response: people chose the cold in equal numbers, regardless of where they were interviewed.
Similar results were found with regard to regrets: 81% of those at the bus stop whose politics fell in line with the hiker’s said he or she likely regretted not bringing the right clothing most of all, while only 37% of those indoors said this. But again, the participant’s personal state didn’t affect responses when Democrats were considering lost Republican hikers, or vice versa.
In another experiment, this time related to thirst, the researchers found similar results: 141 students were given eaten salty snacks to eat, half with a glass of water and half without. Among participants who shared the hiker’s party affiliation, 71% of those who were thirsty said that his or her lack of water would matter most, while only 20% of those who got a glass of water focused on thirst. Once again, people’s own thirst had no effect on their consideration for the hiker’s water needs, if the hiker was labeled as a political enemy.
The finding is disheartening because it suggests that our prejudices affect the processing of our emotions on a deep and completely unconscious level. The authors write:
These consequences suggest a surprising limitation in our capacity to empathize with people we disagree with or differ from… Firsthand painful experiences apparently do not translate into appreciating similar pain felt by dissimilar others.
This sad conclusion may help explain, at least in part, why politicians continue to talk past each other and fail to cooperate, even where there are obvious areas of agreement. (The similarities between Mitt Romney’s conservative-think-tank designed health plan and Obama’s health-care plan come to mind.)
There are exercises aimed at increasing empathy: some research suggests, for example, that simply spending time together in neutral or pleasant settings can help increase understanding between groups. Indeed, prior Congresses have actually crossed party lines to socialize. But while it’s doubtful that a non-partisan retreat or more social contact would change politicians’ attitudes today, for the sake of our children, let’s hope they find a way to work together. | <urn:uuid:f257866d-89de-441c-a803-b16be5d786c7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/04/why-republicans-and-democrats-cant-feel-each-others-pain/?iid=ent-x-mostpop2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978517 | 1,241 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Lesson 1: The Structure of Poems
Insectlopedia | NP
- Learning Goal
- Explain that poems look different than other kinds of text.
- Describe the way a poem looks.
- Approximately 50 minutes
- Necessary Materials
- Provided: Unit Example Chart, Independent Practice Worksheet
Not Provided: Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian, chart paper, markers
will explain to students that one characteristic of poems is that they do not look like other stories or books. In other books, you read paragraphs or complete sentences from left to right, one line after another. Poems have different forms; they look different. I will add “Looks Different” to my Characteristics of Poetry Chart (Example Chart is provided in Unit Teacher and Student Materials). I will show students two examples of poems with different forms from Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian. I will model describing the form of the poems “The Caterpillar” and “The Dragonfly”. I will do this by looking at the poem like a picture or a painting and describing its shape and words that are out of place or arranged differently. For example, I will describe the form of “The Caterpillar” by saying the lines are very short, sometimes with only one word. I will notice that in “The Dragonfly” that the words “I sweep, I swoop, I terrorize” are written in a diagonal shape. I will write the titles of these poems on my Characteristics of Poetry Chart and explain that poems can look very different from other kinds of texts (and other poems).
Ask: "How did I describe the poem?" Students should respond that you looked at the words, sentences, and how the text looks on the page (the shapes and word arrangements), to describe how the poem looks.
will read the poems “The Army Ants” and “The Inchworm” from Insectlopedia. We will describe how the poems look different from other kinds of texts. For example, we will point out that “The Inchworm” is written to look like an inchworm (see the picture on the next page). Instead of being written in lines or sentences, it is written artistically. We will use this example to explain how poems look different from other kinds of texts, and we will add the titles of the poems to our Characteristics of Poetry Chart.
will listen to “The Whirligig Beetles” from Insectlopedia. You will describe what the poem looks like and explain you know it is a poem (Independent Practice Worksheet is provided). You will share your description and explanation aloud, and the teacher will add the titles of the poems to the Characteristics of Poetry Chart.
|Tier 2 Word: bold|
|Contextualize the word as it is used in the story||“Behold my bold Enormous eyes.”|
|Explain the meaning student-friendly definition)||Bold means fearless and daring. When the dragonfly says “behold my bold, enormous eyes,” the dragonfly is telling the reader to look at its fearless eyes.|
|Students repeat the word||Say the word bold with me: bold|
|Teacher gives examples of the word in other contexts||The pilot was bold for trying that upside down trick in the air. My handwriting is bold, so the teacher cannot miss a letter. My mother was bold for rescuing my dog from the middle of the street.|
|Students provide examples||Who do you know that is bold? Tell me about this person by saying, “Someone I know who is bold is _____________________ because __________________.”|
|Students repeat the word again.||What word are we talking about? bold|
|Additional Vocabulary Words||demon, enormous|
Before reading the poems for the lesson, explain to students that the title of the poetry collection, Insectlopedia is a play on the word “encyclopedia”. An encyclopedia is a type of text in which you can look up any topic alphabetically and learn more information about it. We can draw a conclusion that an insectlopedia is going to tell us information about different kinds of insects, even if it does this in a poem.
Texts & Materials
(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.) | <urn:uuid:555b4a28-d4ec-47b3-895e-ae6a6e85d84c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.readworks.org/lessons/grade1/genre-studies-poetry/lesson-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91521 | 932 | 4.1875 | 4 |
Americans are living longer due to several medical advances, but unhealthy behavior and preventable illness threaten quality of life, according to United Health Foundation’s 2012 America’s Health Rankings® which rank Oregon No. 13 among the healthiest states.
While premature, cardiovascular and cancer deaths have declined since 1990 by 18.0 percent, 34.6 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively, Americans are experiencing troubling levels of obesity (27.8 percent of the adult population), diabetes (9.5 percent of the adult population), high blood pressure (30.8 percent of the adult population) and sedentary behavior (26.2 percent of the adult population).
UnitedHealthcare watches America’s Health Rankings closely to better understand the health of individuals and communities nationwide and in Oregon and has several programs in place designed to address these needs. Programs educate U.S. and Oregon citizens on how to live healthy lives and empower individuals to advocate for public health improvement.
“America’s Health Rankings from United Health Foundation is an incredibly valuable tool for us to clearly understand health trends facing us as a nation and here in Oregon,” said Dr. Robert Muller, medical director for UnitedHealthcare Northwest. “By identifying the key opportunities we face as a state we can pursue innovative solutions to those opportunities.”
Oregon’s Bill of Health
According to the 23rd Edition of America’s Health Rankings, Oregon is 13th this year compared to 8th in 2011 when compared with the health of other states. This year’s report finds that, similar to every other state, Oregon has its share of strengths and challenges.
· Low prevalence of sedentary lifestyle: While Oregon’s sedentary lifestyle rate is one of the lowest in the U.S., there are still almost 600,000 adults who are not regularly active.
· Low rate of preventable hospitalizations: In the past ten years, the rate of preventable hospitalizations declined 20 percent from 53.6 to 42.9 discharges per 1,000 Medicare enrollee in the past five years.
· Low infant mortality rate: Oregon has the second best infant mortality rate compared to the U.S. In the past 5 years, the infant mortality rate declined from 5.9 to 5.0 deaths per 1,000 live births.
· High rate of uninsured population: Oregon has a relatively high rate of people who lack health insurance compared to the rest of the U.S. However, the percent of uninsured in the state has declined from 16.8 percent last year to 14.9 percent this year.
· Low immunization coverage: Oregon ranks 47th in the U.S. for immunization coverage, with 85.7 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months covered.
· Low per capital public health funding: Oregon ranks 35th in the U.S., with $59 per person in public health funding.
UnitedHealthcare Programs Address Oregon Health Needs
UnitedHealthcare has several programs in place that seek to address the health concerns underscored in this year’s America’s Health Rankings.
· Wellness incentives: UnitedHealthcare’s offers wellness benefits to both large and small employers in Oregon. The programs encourage healthy behaviors and target specific health actions using customized information, financial incentives and ongoing support.
· UnitedHealth HEORES Grants: The UnitedHealth HEROES program provides grants of up to $1,000 to youth-led programs in Oregon that promote activity among children. Awards are given to innovative programs that include a walking element and raise awareness about childhood obesity.
· Support of community activities: UnitedHealthcare actively promotes and supports initiatives to raise awareness, educate, and improve the cardiovascular health of Oregonians.
Additionally, United Health Foundation is continuing to enhance its website, americashealthrankings.org, with a variety of tools to help individuals make healthy choices, including customizable reports, enhanced social media and other innovative online resources.
Public Health Worker Lillian Shirley advocates for healthy living in Oregon
In his opening commentary to this year’s America’s Health Rankings, Reed Tuckson, M.D., medical advisor, United Health Foundation, and executive vice president and chief of medical affairs, UnitedHealth Group, pays tribute to the 450,000 public health workers nationwide who are working on the front lines to promote health and prevent disease. | <urn:uuid:1cef7103-2666-49bc-82db-08e4a5c0e77e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ktvz.com/news/Oregon-ranked-13th-healthiest-state/17728722?item=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00136-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93073 | 902 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Green Buildings Do Double Duty: Reduce Energy Use, Lower Financial Risk
The potential for energy use reductions in old and new buildings is significant, according to a report from KPMG. The study finds that energy consumption in buildings can be cut by 30 to 50 percent and still produce a positive return on investments. Plus, real estate groups can get a business boost from green buildings by attracting the best deals, strategic investors, and marquee anchor tenants, according to the report.
The report, “Climate Change: Risks & Opportunities in the Canadian Commercial Real Estate Market,” reveals that direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the on-site combustion of fuels for heating and cooling, and the use of refrigerants, while indirect emissions come primarily from the GHGs released from fuel combustion related to producing construction materials and electricity used in the buildings.
The commercial building sector in Canada is estimated to account for 13 percent of Canada’s carbon emissions and 14 percent of end-use energy consumption, according to the report. The report also cites the International Energy Agency’s estimates from 2005 that reveal that buildings account for 20 to 40 percent of the world’s energy use, depending on a country’s climate and economy.
Similarly, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) finds that buildings account for 40 percent of the world’s energy use with the associated carbon emissions substantially more than those in the transportation sector. WBCSD’s study on energy efficiency in buildings (EEB) indicates that the global building sector needs to cut energy consumption in buildings 60 percent by 2050 to help meet global climate change targets.
The KMPG study cites several benefits to a “green” building. These include easier facility zoning and permitting, reduced tax burdens, and potentially lower insurance premiums.
The study also points out that a Canadian national market for carbon offsets related to building efficiency is under discussion. Researchers say forward-thinking companies will have long-term real estate agreements in place to address development, ownership, and sale of all environmental attributes accrued from their commercial properties.
The study suggests a GHG emissions assessment should be the start of all carbon management strategies for any large commercial real estate holding. The assessment should also include several information management elements ranging from organizational and operational boundary conditions to auditing and verification.
Energy Manager News
- Arby’s Reports on Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives
- Navigant: Smart Meter Sector Has “Plateaued”
- Nuclear Giant Exelon Wants to Invest in Wind Energy in Ohio
- Poll: 75% of Large U.S. Corporations Say They Will Buy Renewables Within 18 Months
- Duke Energy Progress Customers to See Fuel Cost-Recovery Savings
- Energy-as-a-Service: Charting a Path Through Complexity
- Demand Energy, EnerSys Complete Storage Project
- Lunera Intros Pathway and Entryway LED | <urn:uuid:bb403c53-98f8-4dad-bfc5-756b59828ae9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/11/18/green-buildings-do-double-duty-reduce-energy-use-lower-financial-risk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916834 | 607 | 2.796875 | 3 |
One of five Learning Math courses for elementary and middle school teachers which are organized around the content standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Learning Math: Geometry, introduces geometric reasoning as a method for problem-solving and looks at important geometric ideas, such as symmetry, similarity, and trigonometry.
Participants will begin to explore the basis of formal mathematical proofs and solid geometry. The course material progresses from more visual, intuitive ways of solving problems to more formal explorations of geometric ideas, properties, and proofs.
The course consists of 10 approximately two-and-a-half-hour sessions, each with a half hour of video programming, problem-solving activities provided online and in a print guide, and interactive activities and demonstrations on the web. Review the course work requirements and the supporting website for more information.
Annenberg Learner (formerly Annenberg Media) funds and distributes multimedia professional development courses and resources to advance excellent teaching in American schools. These educational video programs with coordinated web and text materials help teachers enhance their expertise in their fields and refine their teaching methods. The School of Education at Colorado State University offers graduate credit for teachers enrolled in these professional development courses. Educational video programs with coordinated interactive web and text resources form the basis for these courses and can be accessed at the Annenberg Learner website.
This course has an online component delivered through Canvas. | <urn:uuid:6cde3d2c-4c81-4309-a4a4-0ebe567330da> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.online.colostate.edu/courses/EDUC/EDUC591D.dot?Group=J | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926862 | 282 | 3.75 | 4 |
Contents of this page
|We begin with the image you saw in the preceding lesson, showing the long form of the table with the "block" structure emphasized. You will recall that the two f blocks are written at the bottom merely to keep the table from becoming inconveniently wide; these two blocks actually go in between La-Hf and Ac-Db, respectively, in the d block.|
To understand how the periodic table is organized, imagine that we write down a long horizontal list of the elements in order of their increasing atomic number. It would begin this way:
H He Li Be B C N O F Ne Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar K Ca...
Now if we look at the various physical and chemical properties of these elements, we would find that their values tend to increase or decrease with Z in a manner that reveals a repeating pattern— that is, a periodicity. For the elements listed above, these breaks can be indicated by the vertical bars shown here in color:
H He | Li Be B C N O F Ne | Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar | Ca ...
Periods. To construct the table, we place each sequence in a separate row, which we call a period. The rows are aligned in such a way that the elements in each vertical column possess certain similarities. Thus the first short-period elements H and He are chemically similar to the elements Li and Ne at the beginning and end of the second period. The first period is split in order to place H above Li and He above Ne.
The "block" nomenclature shown above refers to the sub-orbital type (quantum number l, or s-p-d-f classification) of the highest-energy orbitals that are occupied in a given element. For n=1 there is no p block, and the s block is split so that helium is placed in the same group as the other inert gases, which it resembles chemically. For the second period (n=2) there is a p block but no d block; in the usual "long form" of the periodic table it is customary to leave a gap between these two blocks in order to accommodate the d blocks that occur at n=3 and above. At n=6 we introduce an f block, but in order to hold the table to reasonable dimensions the f blocks are placed below the main body of the table.
Groups. Each column of the periodic table is known as a group. The elements belonging to a given group bear a strong similarity in their chemical behaviors.
In the past, two different systems of Roman numerals and letters were used to denote the various groups. North Americans added the letter B to denote the d-block groups and A for the others; this is the system shown in the table above. The the rest of the world used A for the d-block elements and B for the others. In 1985, a new international system was adopted in which the columns were simply labeled 1-18. Although this system has met sufficient resistance in North America to slow its incorporation into textbooks, it seems likely that the "one to eighteen" system will gradually take over as older professors (the main hold-outs!) retire.
Families. Chemists have long found it convenient to refer to the elements of different groups, and in some cases of spans of groups by the names indicated in the table shown below. The two of these that are most important for you to know are the noble gases and the transition metals.
The properties of an atom depend ultimately on the number of electrons in the various orbitals, and on the nuclear charge which determines the compactness of the orbitals. In order to relate the properties of the elements to their locations in the periodic table, it is often convenient to make use of a simplified view of the atom in which the nucleus is surrounded by one or more concentric spherical "shells", each of which consists of the highest-principal quantum number orbitals (always s- and p-orbitals) that contain at least one electron. The shell model (as with any scientific model) is less a description of the world than a simplified way of looking at it that helps us to understand and correlate diverse phenomena. The principal simplification here is that it deals only with the main group elements of the s- and p-blocks, omitting the d- and f-block elements whose properties tend to be less closely tied to their group numbers.
|The electrons (denoted by the red dots) in the outer-most shell of an atom are the ones that interact most readily with other atoms, and thus play a major role in governing the chemistry of an element. Notice the use of noble-gas symbols to simplify the electron-configuration notation.|
In particular, the number of outer-shell electrons (which is given by the rightmost digit in the group number) is a major determinant of an element's "combining power", or valence. The general trend is for an atom to gain or lose electrons, either directly (leading to formation of ions) or by sharing electrons with other atoms so as to achieve an outer-shell configuration of s2p6. This configuration, known as an octet, corresponds to that of one of the noble-gas elements of Group 18.
The above diagram shows the first three rows of what are known as the representative elements— that is, the s- and p-block elements only. As we move farther down (into the fourth row and below), the presence of d-electrons exerts a complicating influence which allows elements to exhibit multiple valances. This effect is especially noticeable in the transition-metal elements, and is the reason for not including the d-block with the representative elements at all.
Those electrons in the outmost or valence shell are especially important because they are the ones that can engage in the sharing and exchange that is responsible for chemical reactions; how tightly they are bound to the atom determines much of the chemistry of the element. The degree of binding is the result of two opposing forces: the attraction between the electron and the nucleus, and the repulsions between the electron in question and all the other electrons in the atom. All that matters is the net force, the difference between the nuclear attraction and the totality of the electron-electron repulsions.
We can simplify the shell model even further by imagining that the valence shell electrons are the only electrons in the atom, and that the nuclear charge has whatever value would be required to bind these electrons as tightly as is observed experimentally. Because the number of electrons in this model is less than the atomic number Z, the required nuclear charge will also be smaller. and is known as the effective nuclear charge. Effective nuclear charge is essentially the positive charge that a valence electron "sees".
Part of the difference between Z and Zeffective is due to other electrons in the valence shell, but this is usually only a minor contributor because these electrons tend to act as if they are spread out in a diffuse spherical shell of larger radius. The main actors here are the electrons in the much more compact inner shells which surround the nucleus and exert what is often called a shielding or "screening" effect on the valence electrons.
The formula for calculating effective nuclear charge is not very complicated, but we will skip a discussion of it here. An even simpler although rather crude procedure is to just subtract the number of inner-shell electrons from the nuclear charge; the result is a form of effective nuclear charge which is called the core charge of the atom.
The concept of "size" is somewhat ambiguous when applied to the scale of atoms and molecules. The reason for this is apparent when you recall that an atom has no definite boundary; there is a finite (but very small) probability of finding the electron of a hydrogen atom, for example, 1 cm, or even 1 km from the nucleus. It is not possible to specify a definite value for the radius of an isolated atom; the best we can do is to define a spherical shell within whose radius some arbitrary percentage of the electron density can be found.
When an atom is combined with other atoms in a solid element or compound, an effective radius can be determined by observing the distances between adjacent rows of atoms in these solids. This is most commonly carried out by X-ray scattering experiments. Because of the different ways in which atoms can aggregate together, several different kinds of atomic radii can be defined.
Distances on the atomic scale have traditionally been expressed in Ångstrom units (1Å = 10–8 cm = 10–10 m), but nowadays the picometer is preferred;
A rough idea of the size of a metallic atom can be obtained simply by measuring the density of a sample of the metal. This tells us the number of atoms per unit volume of the solid. The atoms are assumed to be spheres of radius r in contact with each other, each of which sits in a cubic box of edge length 2r. The volume of each box is just the total volume of the solid divided by the number of atoms in that mass of the solid; the atomic radius is the cube root of r.
Although the radius of an atom or ion cannot be measured directly, in most cases it can be inferred from measurements of the distance between adjacent nuclei in a crystalline solid. This is most commonly carried out by X-ray scattering experiments. Because such solids fall into several different classes, several kinds of atomic radius are defined. Many atoms have several different radii; for example, sodium forms a metallic solid and thus has a metallic radius, it forms a gaseous molecule Na2 in the vapor phase (covalent radius), and of course it forms ionic solids such as NaCl.
Metallic radius is half the distance between nuclei in a metallic crystal.
Covalent radius is half the distance between like atoms that are bonded together in a molecule.
van der Waals radius is the effective radius of adjacent atoms which are not chemically bonded in a solid, but are presumably in "contact". An example would be the distance between the iodine atoms of adjacent I2 molecules in crystalline iodine.
Ionic radius is the effective radius of ions in solids such as NaCl. It is easy enough to measure the distance between adjacent rows of Na+ and Cl– ions in such a crystal, but there is no unambiguous way to decide what portions of this distance are attributable to each ion. The best one can do is make estimates based on studies of several different ionic solids (LiI, KI, NaI, for example) that contain one ion in common. Many such estimates have been made, and they turn out to be remarkably consistent.
The lithium ion is sufficiently small that in LI, the iodide ions are in contact, so I-I distances are twice the ionic radius of I–. This is not true for KI, but in this solid, adjacent potassium and iodide ions are in contact, allowing estimation of the K+ ionic radius.
Many atoms have several different radii; for example, sodium forms a metallic solid and thus has a metallic radius, it forms a gaseous molecule Na2 in the vapor phase (covalent radius), and of course it forms ionic solids as mentioned above.
We would expect the size of an atom to depend mainly on the principal quantum number of the highest occupied orbital; in other words, on the "number of occupied electron shells". Since each row in the periodic table corresponds to an increment in n, atomic radius increases as we move down a column. The other important factor is the nuclear charge; the higher the atomic number, the more strongly will the electrons be drawn toward the nucleus, and the smaller the atom. This effect is responsible for the contraction we observe as we move across the periodic table from left to right.
The figure shows a periodic table in which the sizes of the atoms are represented graphically. The apparent discontinuities in this diagram reflect the difficulty of comparing the radii of atoms of metallic and nonmetallic bonding types. Radii of the noble gas elements are estimates from those of nearby elements.
A positive ion is always smaller than the neutral atom, owing to the diminished electron-electron repulsion. If a second electron is lost, the ion gets even smaller; for example, the ionic radius of Fe2+ is 76 pm, while that of Fe3+ is 65 pm. If formation of the ion involves complete emptying of the outer shell, then the decrease in radius is especially great.
The hydrogen ion H+ is in a class by itself; having no electron cloud at all, its radius is that of the bare proton, or about 0.1 pm— a contraction of 99.999%! Because the unit positive charge is concentrated into such a small volume of space, the charge density of the hydrogen ion is extremely high; it interacts very strongly with other matter, including water molecules, and in aqueous solution it exists only as the hydronium ion H3O+.
Negative ions are always larger than the parent ion; the addition of one or more electrons to an existing shell increases electron-electron repulsion which results in a general expansion of the atom.
An isoelectronic series is a sequence of species all having the same number of electrons (and thus the same amount of electron-electron repulsion) but differing in nuclear charge. Of course, only one member of such a sequence can be a neutral atom (neon in the series shown below.) The effect of increasing nuclear charge on the radius is clearly seen.
Chemical reactions are based largely on the interactions between the most loosely bound electrons in atoms, so it is not surprising that the tendency of an atom to gain, lose or share electrons is one of its fundamental chemical properties.
This term always refers to the formation of positive ions. In order to remove an electron from an atom, work must be done to overcome the electrostatic attraction between the electron and the nucleus; this work is called the ionization energy of the atom and corresponds to the exothermic process
M(g) → M+(g) + e–
in which M(g) stands for any isolated (gaseous) atom.
An atom has as many ionization energies as it has electrons. Electrons are always removed from the highest-energy occupied orbital. An examination of the successive ionization energies of the first ten elements (below) provides experimental confirmation that the binding of the two innermost electrons (1s orbital) is significantly different from that of the n=2 electrons.Successive ionization energies of an atom increase rapidly as reduced electron-electron repulsion causes the electron shells to contract, thus binding the electrons even more tightly to the nucleus.
Successive ionizations of the first ten elements
Note the very large jumps in the energies required to remove electrons from the 1s orbitals of atoms of the second-row elements Li-Ne.
Ionization energies increase with the nuclear charge Z as we move across the periodic table. They decrease as we move down the table because in each period the electron is being removed from a shell one step farther from the nucleus than in the atom immediately above it. This results in the familiar zig-zag lines when the first ionization energies are plotted as a function of Z.
|This more detailed plot of the ionization energies of the atoms of the first ten elements reveals some interesting irregularities that can be related to the slightly lower energies (greater stabilities) of electrons in half-filled (spin-unpaired) relative to completely-filled subshells.|
Finally, a more comprehensive survey of the ionization energies of the main group elements is shown below.
Some points to note:
Formation of a negative ion occurs when an electron from some external source enters the atom and become incorporated into the lowest energy orbital that possesses a vacancy. Because the entering electron is attracted to the positive nucleus, the formation of negative ions is usually exothermic. The energy given off is the electron affinity of the atom. For some atoms, the electron affinity appears to be slightly negative, suggesting that electron-electron repulsion is the dominant factor in these instances.
In general, electron affinities tend to be much smaller than ionization energies, suggesting that they are controlled by opposing factors having similar magnitudes. These two factors are, as before, the nuclear charge and electron-electron repulsion. But the latter, only a minor actor in positive ion formation, is now much more significant. One reason for this is that the electrons contained in the inner shells of the atom exert a collective negative charge that partially cancels the charge of the nucleus, thus exerting a so-called shielding effect which diminishes the tendency for negative ions to form.
Because of these opposing effects, the periodic trends in electron affinities are not as clear as are those of ionization energies. This is particularly evident in the first few rows of the periodic table, in which small effects tend to be magnified anyway because an added electron produces a large percentage increase in the number of electrons in the atom.
In general, we can say that electron affinities become more exothermic as we move from left to right across a period (owing to increased nuclear charge and smaller atom size). There are some interesting irregularities, however:
When two elements are joined in a chemical bond, the element that attracts the shared electrons more strongly is more electronegative. Elements with low electronegativities (the metallic elements) are said to be electropositive.
Moreover, the same atom can exhibit different electronegativities in different chemical environments, so the "electronegativity of an element" is only a general guide to its chemical behavior rather than an exact specification of its behavior in a particular compound. Nevertheless, electronegativity is eminently useful in summarizing the chemical behavior of an element. You will make considerable use of electronegativity when you study chemical bonding and the chemistry of the individual elements.
Because there is no single definition of electronegativity, any numerical scale for measuring it must of necessity be somewhat arbitrary. Most such scales are themselves based on atomic properties that are directly measurable and which relate in one way or the other to electron-attracting propensity. The most widely used of these scales was devised by Linus Pauling and is related to ionization energy and electron affinity. The Pauling scale runs from 0 to 4; the highest electron affinity, 4.0, is assigned to fluorine, while cesium has the lowest value of 0.7. Values less than about 2.2 are usually associated with electropositive, or metallic character. In the representation of the scale shown in figure, the elements are arranged in rows corresponding to their locations in the periodic table. The correlation is obvious; electronegativity is associated with the higher rows and the rightmost columns.
The location of hydrogen on this scale reflects some of the significant chemical properties of this element. Although it acts like a metallic element in many respects (forming a positive ion, for example), it can also form hydride-ion (H–) solids with the more electropositive elements, and of course its ability to share electrons with carbon and other p-block elements gives rise to a very rich chemistry, including of course the millions of organic compounds.
Make sure you thoroughly understand the following essential ideas which have been presented above. It is especially imortant that you know the precise meanings of all the highlighted terms in the context of this topic.
There are hundreds of periodic table sites on the Web. Here are some that are especially worth knowing about.
WebElements (Mark Winters, Sheffield U., UK) The elements in this online periodic table are linked to an extensive variety of chemical and physical data as well as background, crystallographic, nuclear, electronic, biological and geological information. You can ever hear how the Brits prounounce the name of the element!
ChemiCool Periodic Table (MIT) is a nice-looking table in which you can click on individual elements to bring up more information.
It's Elemental - this is not so much a periodic table as a set of links to a set of excellent articles that focus on the history and uses of the different elements, each written by someone having a special knowlege or interest in a particular element. These articles appeared in an issue of Chemical & Engineering News that celebrated the 80th anniversary of that publication.
The Pictorial Periodic Table. This Phoenix College website is an interactive periodic table with a comprehensive database of element properties and isotopes, which can be searched and collated in novel and useful ways. Pictures of elements, periodic table art, music and educational games are available.
ChemistryCoach's Periodic Table links - a huge but well-organized list of every possible kind of specialized periodic table you can think of, as well as games, software, etc.
Main Group Elements - a somewhat more advanced comparison of these especially important elements.
Mark Leach has assembled a very well-done and interesting page of historic and alternative periodic tables.
Comic Book periodic table (John Selegue and Jim Holler, U. Kentucky). - if both comics and chemistry are important in your life, you'll love this!
A periodic table for your Palm or Win-CE handheld computer; download from this site.
Tom Lehrer's Element Song lyrics
Periodic tables to wear - Chemistry-related apparel including periodic-table T-shirts, neckties, etc. | <urn:uuid:c0688c92-001f-40f1-8b92-72d4ece5dd1f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtext/atoms/atpt-6.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00048-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924868 | 4,466 | 4.625 | 5 |
E. coli may not be the smartest thing for your body to ingest, but this bacteria could be just the thing to get vehicles up and running around more efficiently. A team of researchers at LS9 — a self-described “renewable petroleum company” — have discovered that the unsavory Escherichia coli could be used to make so-called “drop-in” biofuels at existing pipelines and refineries.
According to LS9, a diesel-like fuel can be yielded by feeding glucose to E. coli bacteria — one of only two known pathways for engineered microbes to produce pure hydrocarbons, with the alternative pathway, used by biofuel companies like Amyris, requiring extra chemical conversion. On the whole more efficient, LS9’s discovery requires only one step in the feedstock to fuel process. An added benefit of this mode of production comes from the fact that E.coli can be grown simply on any sugar, including second-generation (read: non-food) biofuel feedstocks like grass.
So far, LS9 researchers have produced 10 liters of E. coli-generated alkane (the main hydrocarbon found in gas, diesel, and jet fuel) in a 1,000-liter fermentation tank in the company’s labs. A larger scale demonstration plant is now in the works, and LS9 hopes that the the price point of E.coli-produced fuel could ring in at just $50 a barrel. Not bad news for a bacteria hated by meat-lovers everywhere.
Via New Scientist | <urn:uuid:6b2ad59b-459b-4bbe-81f4-c9fef81f7f06> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://inhabitat.com/e-coli-bacteria-could-be-the-source-for-cheaper-biofuels/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916378 | 326 | 3.328125 | 3 |
The simplest way to make sure that we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity. ~ Neil Gaiman
(PRWEB) January 28, 2014
Every parent faces the same challenge - how do they develop critical thinking and problem solving skills in their children? Even the kids struggle at the same time to develop these skills. So when young author, Gabrielle Michael found herself confronted with the same challenges on a creative writing school assignment, she found a unique answer to her problem. She decided to transform her love of travel and her close relationship with her sister into an imaginary adventure story that took the both of them to Paris to solve a mystery as agents of a secret spy agency.
The task of improving critical thinking and problem solving skills amongst children becomes harder when the child’s early reading proficiency is low. Something which is not uncommon, when according to a recent 2014 report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 66 percent of all fourth-graders in the United States are not reading at grade level.
So, why mystery stories?
– Children have to learn to read properly and pay close attention to the details of the story so that they do not miss any clues.
– They can actively involve themselves in the story by following the various clues scattered throughout the mystery. This encourages them to develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills.
– Mystery stories also provide the “can’t-put-it-down” factor, the edge of suspense that will keep children interested until the end.
If children find a book that makes them love to read, they will only want more, which isn’t a bad thing after all.
Gabrielle Michael is the author of The Mystery of the Missing Device, a secret S.P.Y. agent adventure story for kids, released by Islandreamz Publishing and available on Amazon in paperback and on kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HRFHK2C. Members of the media who wish to review her book may request a complimentary copy by contacting the publisher, Islandreamz Publishing at + 1 (817) 668-6839. | <urn:uuid:f26d2b53-0f7a-4820-b004-09bd99c71216> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.prweb.com/releases/Gabrielle_Michael/Mystery_Missing_Device/prweb11528693.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953819 | 454 | 2.625 | 3 |
January 7, 2011
As a graduate student, Dr. Prasad Shastry missed an opportunity to patent a tiny antenna that he invented, which is now being used by NASA and others worldwide.
So when the Bradley professor of electrical and computer engineering had another chance to patent something, he didn’t hesitate.
Shastry’s patent for an electronically tunable active duplexer was officially approved in the fall of 2009. That gives Shastry and Bradley full rights to the product for up to 20 years.
“It was exciting,” Shastry said. “I was pleased that the years of work had finally borne fruit in terms of the patent.”
An active duplexer is a small chip that enables simultaneous transmission and reception of signals while increasing the strength of signals as they are transmitted and received by wireless devices. Hence it is a bidirectional amplifier.
For example, cell phones currently use a switch to alternately connect to a transmitter and receiver in order to send and receive signals almost simultaneously. The signal strength is weakened as it passes through the switch.
Shastry’s active duplexer replaces that switch and enhances the signal strength of both incoming and outgoing signals. Boosting the signal strength allows communication over longer distances. And because signal strength can be boosted when it enters a wireless device, the sending device can deliver a signal of smaller strength, thereby saving energy.
The duplexer can be used in any wireless device, including cell phones, laptops and Bluetooth-enabled devices. Shastry and former student Bala Sundaram ’06 are working to decrease the size of the duplexer to less than a millimeter so it can be used in devices as small as cell phones. Once the size is decreased, the chip will be tested in Bradley’s advanced microwave engineering laboratory.
“Once it is made, we can work on manufacturing it on a large scale or licensing the technology to somebody,” Shastry said. Very soon, he will meet with university officials to discuss licensing the patent.
Shastry first began working in the area of distributed amplifiers (on whose principles the design of an active duplexer is based) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1982. He continued to work in this area of research after joining Bradley in 1991. He collaborated with several Bradley seniors and graduate students during the next 15 years, developing different versions of the active duplexer.
The patented version of the active duplexer was developed in collaboration with Sundaram as part of his graduate capstone project.
“The collaboration between faculty and students – which is a hallmark of Bradley – has resulted in this,” Shastry said.
By 2005, he had presented the invention at the renowned international microwave conference in Europe and had the idea accepted for publication in the prestigious IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques journal.
“We thought that since it was highly praised at the conference and accepted into such a prestigious journal that there would be some commercial value to this, as well,” Shastry said.
Bradley officials and their legal counsel agreed.
Shastry notified university administrators that he was interested in seeking a patent in November 2005. By April 2007, he had submitted his application for the final patent. He was officially notified of its acceptance in August 2009.
Shastry uses the patent application experience when discussing intellectual property and its protection with his class. He impresses upon them the importance of documenting all their work and new ideas, and having a colleague attest to it in case a dispute ever arises over credit to the invention. He also learned that it takes a lot of effort, time and support from an organization to obtain a patent
“This requires a lot of institutional support,” he said. “It requires financial and legal support.” | <urn:uuid:90084765-066a-4243-9320-2c638340460b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bradley.edu/inthespotlight/story/?id=119461 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00194-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969058 | 799 | 2.890625 | 3 |
-- Scott Roberts
THURSDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- A new test to help doctors identify the genotype of a person's hepatitis C infection has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The Abbott RealTime HCV Genotype II can distinguish between genotypes 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, and 5, using an infected person's blood sample. Knowing the virus's genotype can help doctors determine the best treatment, the agency said Thursday in a news release.
Hepatitis C is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States, and the leading cause of liver transplant, the FDA said, citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some 3.2 million people are infected with the virus, and about 15,000 people die from the infection every year.
Untreated, hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer and liver failure, the agency warned. The virus is transmitted via blood and other bodily fluids, and intravenous drug users are at greatest risk of acquiring the infection.
The new test is approved for people who are known to have the infection. It is not meant as a way to diagnose hepatitis C, or as a way to screen for the virus's presence in the blood, the FDA said.
The test has not been evaluated in children or in people with compromised immune systems, the agency said. It is manufactured by Abbott Molecular, Inc., based in Des Plaines, Ill.
The CDC has more about hepatitis C.
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © EBSCO Publishing. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:9c29d42b-73a8-48be-b08e-594993c8fc9f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wkhs.com/Heart/Education/News.aspx?chunkiid=862050 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930085 | 423 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Historic time period: 1945–early 1970's
Martin Luther King Jr. and Nonviolence
Have you ever heard of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington? What was his dream for America, who was the man behind those famous words, and why do we celebrate his story every January?
Martin's Big Words is an illustrated biography that traces Dr. King's life from his childhood and includes quotes from his writings and speeches. Explore Dr. King's story by reading together and then try some of these fun activities to learn more about him and other brave Americans who worked on the civil rights movement
The National Museum of American History has a rich collection of objects from the civil rights movement, including a portion of the lunch counter from the sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, and a handbill from the 1963 March on Washington.
Read This Book
You can learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and nonviolence during the civil rights movement by reading these books. Click on the book titles below for more information, or visit our complete bibliography.
More Recommended Books
- Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
- Through My Eyes: Ruby Bridges by Ruby Bridges
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Separate But Not Equal: The Dream and the Struggle by Jim Haskins
- I Am Rosa Parks by Jim Haskins and Rosa Parks
- I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Remember: A Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison
- When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan
Read Martin's Big Words
Meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and explore the story of his life through reading together.Download the PDF »
Comic Book Hero
Learn from Objects
By looking closely at a comic book, learn about how nonviolence worked in the past and make your own pocket card with tips to use nonviolence today. Image courtesy of Fellowship of ReconciliationDownload the PDF »
Word Art with Martin's Words
Make word art on the computer using the words of Dr. King's speeches and letters.Download the PDF »
Visit Your Government
Take A Trip
Have you ever been to a place where laws are made or enforced? Visit a seat of government in your community and think of some ways you could influence the government through nonviolence.Download the PDF »
Play and Create
Create a window decoration inspired by Dr. King and the ideas he shared with others.Download the PDF »
To March or Not to March?
Study in School
Take on the role of a fictional American in the mid-1900s and use a primary source to decide whether or not to join Dr. King at the March on Washington.Download the PDF »
Download the PowerPoint file (right-click to save) » Presentation requires either Microsoft® PowerPoint® (Windows and Mac), or Microsoft's PowerPoint Viewer (Windows only). Mac users without PowerPoint can download and install the Open Office® Suite. | <urn:uuid:226e67a7-f03c-4ce7-ad89-43c745de9f6b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://amhistory.si.edu/ourstory/activities/mlk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917348 | 625 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Cognitive Neuroscience of Learning and Memory
The Balls and Boxes Puzzle
Back to Reberlab home page
The goal is to get all five balls out of their boxes.
Balls can only either be in a box or out (above).
Clicking a ball will move it only if the box it is in has no top.
The tops will open an close as you move the balls back and forth.
Can you get all the balls out?
Can you figure out the rules by which the tops open and close?
Currently, the puzzle applet doesn't end or even tell you when you win. If you want to restart at the beginning, reload the page. | <urn:uuid:bfb9aad1-a202-4109-8c73-4e1785d4bf0e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://reberlab.psych.northwestern.edu/flashtest/BallsAndBoxes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906747 | 141 | 2.875 | 3 |
A History of Opiate Laws in the United States
Prior to 1890, laws concerning opiates were strictly imposed on a local city or state-by-state basis. One of the first was in San Francisco in 1875 where it became illegal to smoke opium only in opium dens. It did not ban the sale, import or use otherwise. In the next 25 years different states enacted opium laws ranging from outlawing opium dens altogether to making possession of opium, morphine and heroin without a physician’s prescription illegal.
The first Congressional Act took place in 1890 that levied taxes on morphine and opium. From that time on the Federal Government has had a series of laws and acts directly aimed at opiate use, abuse and control. These are outlined below:
1906 – Pure Food and Drug Act
Preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes. Punishment included fines and prison time.
1909 – Smoking Opium Exclusion Act
Banned the importation, possession and use of "smoking opium". Did not regulate opium-based "medications". First Federal law banning the non-medical use of a substance.
1914 – The Harrison Act
In summary, The Harrison Act of 1914 was written more to have all parties involved in importing, exporting, manufacturing and distributing opium or cocaine to register with the Federal Government and have taxes levied upon them. Exempt from the law were physicians operating “in the course of his professional practice”
1919 – Supreme Court ratified the Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act in Webb et al., v. United States and United States v. Doremus, then again in Jin Fuey Moy v. United States, in 1920, holding that doctors may not prescribe maintenance supplies of narcotics to people addicted to narcotics. However, it does not prohibit doctors from prescribing narcotics to wean a patient off of the drug. It was also the opinion of the court that prescribing narcotics to habitual users was not considered “professional practice” hence it then was considered illegal for doctors to prescribe opioids for the purposes of maintaining an addiction. It can be argued that today’s addiction medications are not intended to maintain an addiction but to facilitate addiction remission. In which case, this opinion of the court should not preclude practitioners from prescribing buprenorphine or methadone to patients suffering from an addictive disorder.
1924 – Heroin Act
Prohibited manufacture, importation and possession of heroin illegal – even for medicinal use.
1922 -- Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act
Enacted to assure proper control of importation, sale, possession, production and consumption of narcotics.
1927 -- Bureau of Prohibition
The Bureau of Prohibition was responsible for tracking bootleggers and organized crime leaders. They focused primarily on interstate and international cases and those cases where local law enforcement official would not or could not act.
1932 -- Uniform State Narcotic Act
Encouraged states to pass uniform state laws matching the federal Narcotic Drug Import and Export Act. Suggested prohibiting cannabis use at the state level.
1938 -- Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
The new law brought cosmetics and medical devices under control, and it required that drugs be labeled with adequate directions for safe use. Moreover, it mandated pre-market approval of all new drugs, such that a manufacturer would have to prove to FDA that a drug were safe before it could be sold
1951 -- Boggs Act
Imposed maximum criminal penalties for violations of the import/export and internal revenue laws related to drugs and also established mandatory minimum prison sentences.
1956 -- Narcotics Control Act
Increased Boggs Act penalties and mandatory prison sentence minimums for violations of existing drug laws.
1965 -- Drug Abuse Control Amendment
Enacted to deal with problems caused by abuse of depressants, stimulants and hallucinogens. Restricted research into psychoactive drugs such as LSD by requiring FDA approval.
1970 -- Controlled Substance Act | Controlled Substances Import and Export Act
These laws are a consolidation of numerous laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids, and chemicals used in the illicit production of controlled substances. The CSA places all substances that are regulated under existing federal law into one of five schedules. This placement is based upon the substance's medicinal value, harmfulness, and potential for abuse or addiction. Schedule I is reserved for the most dangerous drugs that have no recognized medical use, while Schedule V is the classification used for the least dangerous drugs. The act also provides a mechanism for substances to be controlled, added to a schedule, decontrolled, removed from control, rescheduled, or transferred from one schedule to another.
1973 – Drug Enforcement Agency
By Executive Order, the DEA was formed to take place of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
1974 –Narcotic Addict Treatment Act of 1974 - Public Law 93-281
Amends the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 to provide for the registration of practitioners conducting narcotic treatment programs. [methadone clinics] It also provides legal definitions for the phrases “maintenance treatment” and “detoxification treatment”.
1986 -- Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
Strengthened Federal efforts to encourage foreign cooperation in eradicating illicit drug crops and in halting international drug traffic, to improve enforcement of Federal drug laws and enhance interdiction of illicit drug shipments, to provide strong Federal leadership in establishing effective drug abuse prevention and education programs, to expand Federal support for drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation efforts, and for other purposes. It also re-imposed mandatory sentencing minimums depending on which drug and how much was involved.
1988 -- Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
Established the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in the Executive Office of the President; authorized funds for Federal, state and local drug enforcement activities, school-based drug prevention efforts, and drug abuse treatment with special emphasis on injecting drug abusers at high risk for AIDS.
2000 -- Federal – The Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000)
It enables qualified physicians to prescribe and/or dispense narcotics for the purpose of treating opioid dependency. For the first time, physicians are able to treat this disease from their private offices or other clinical settings. This presents a very desirable treatment option for those who are unwilling or unable to seek help in drug treatment clinics. Patients can now be treated in the privacy of their doctor’s office, as are other people being treated for any other type of medical condition. One medicine doctors may now prescribe is Buprenorphine. The major downfall of this Act is the limitation of 30 patients per practice – which means that large facilities, no matter how many physicians are there, can only treat 30 patients at a time.
2002-- DEA reschedules buprenorphine from a schedule V drug to a schedule III drug, on October 7, 2002 - the day before the FDA approval of Suboxone and Subutex despite overwhelming objection by the medical community.
Confidentiality of Alcohol and Drug Dependence Patient Records (summary) Code of Federal Regulations Title 42 Part 2 (42 CFR Part 2)
The confidentiality of alcohol and drug dependence patient records maintained by this practice/program is protected by federal law and regulations. Generally, the practice/program may not say to a person outside the practice/program that a patient attends the practice/program, or disclose any information identifying a patient as being alcohol or drug dependent unless:
Violation of the federal law and regulations by a practice/program is a crime. Suspected violations may be reported to appropriate authorities in accordance with federal regulations. Federal law and regulations do not protect any information about a crime committed by a patient either at the practice/program or against any person who works for the practice/program or about any threat to commit such a crime. Federal laws and regulations do not protect any information about suspected child abuse or neglect from being reported under state law to appropriate state or local authorities.
2005: 08-02-2005 Public law 109-56, Amends the Controlled Substances Act to eliminate the 30-patient limit for medical group practices allowed to dispense narcotic drugs in schedules III, IV, or V for maintenance or detoxification treatment (retains the 30-patient limit for an individual physician). This amendment removes the 30-patient limit on group medical practices that treat opioid dependence with buprenorphine. The restriction was part of the original Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA) that allowed treatment of opioid dependence in a doctor's office. With this change, every certified doctor may now prescribe buprenorphine up to his or her individual physician limit of 30 patients.
2006: On 12/29/2006 President Bush signed Bill H.R.6344 into law. This allows physicians who have been certified to prescribe certain drugs for the treatment of opioid dependence under DATA2000 to treat up to 100 patients (up from 30) by submitting an "intent" notification to the Dept of Health and Human Services. This is a major step forward in both fighting the stigma and allowing access to treatment previously not available to some. For more details see 30/100-PATIENT LIMIT
To suppress the debilitating symptoms of cravings and withdrawal, enabling the patient to engage in therapy, counseling and support, so they can implement positive long-term changes in their lives which develops into the new healthy patterns of behavior necessary to achieve sustained addiction remission. - explain - | <urn:uuid:94c3853d-a4c0-435a-b2c6-137de59b48f3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.naabt.org/laws.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00048-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915324 | 1,979 | 3.140625 | 3 |
- Alternative spelling of collocation.
co- +"Ž location
colocation - Computer Definition
Locating customer equipment in a third-party datacenter. Colocation often refers to Internet service providers (ISPs) or cloud computing providers that furnish the floor space, electrical power and high-speed links to the Internet for a customer's Web servers. Colocation eliminates having to build a secure facility that provides power and air conditioning for company-owned servers. In addition, colocation centers are often located near major Internet connecting points and can provide access to multiple Tier 1 Internet backbones. Although most equipment monitoring is performed remotely by the customer, a colocation datacenter may offer equipment maintenance and troubleshooting arrangements. Other Colocation Scenarios The term stems from the telephone industry when one telco would house the equipment of another to facilitate interconnections. Another type of colocation could be a computer distributor or online retailer who locates its warehouse within a PC manufacturer's facility to improve turnaround time to customers. Contrast with managed services. See cloud computing and ping power pipe. | <urn:uuid:13675215-3bab-4fab-bb2e-668ffc122b4a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://computer.yourdictionary.com/colocation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00148-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933982 | 220 | 3.25 | 3 |
A Kentucky-born Texan and an 1826 West Point graduate, Albert Sidney Johnston fought in the Black Hawk War, the Mexican War, and led U.S. troops in the Utah Expedition against the Mormons in 1858. When Texas seceded early in 1861, he declined an offer to serve as Winfield Scott's second-in-command, joining the Confederacy instead as its second-ranking officer.
In 1861 President Davis judged him the most capable of his contemporaries, describing him as "the greatest soldier... living." His success at Bowling Green seemed to validate Davis' assessment, but the record of unbroken defeat that Johnston built in Kentucky and Tennessee in 1862, retreating from Fort Donelson through Nashville to northern Mississippi, quickly reversed it.
In April 1862, he led the Army of Mississippi on the first day of fighting at Shiloh, attacking Grant's Union army near the country church. During the assault he sustained a leg wound and bled to death on the battlefield. | <urn:uuid:11480057-1678-4e4a-ae6e-0cd90ee8e23e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.civilwarzone.com/AlbertJohnston.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00025-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963172 | 200 | 2.921875 | 3 |
9. Teapot Dome Scandal
The relationship between Big Oil and U.S. politicians stretches through the decades. During the presidency of Warren Harding, in the 1920s, Mammoth Oil and Pan American Petroleum bribed the U.S. Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall with $404,000 -- in exchange for access to the Teapot Dome oil fields in Wyoming, which was reserved for emergency use by the U.S. Navy. The Wall Street Journal
exposed the bribes and Fall was found guilty of bribery in 1929 and fined $100,000. That hundred grand, which was definitely a lot for the time, must have gone a lot farther when the stock market crashed in the same year. Before Watergate, Teapot Dome was the most infamous backroom political deal. | <urn:uuid:32553da4-fe37-430b-9e5d-eda430461b5b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.askmen.com/top_10/money/infamous-political-deals_9.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967602 | 162 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Roman soldiers are associated with some of the most iconic weapons of ancient history. The gladius (their sword) and the pilum (their heavy javelin) clearly identify the Roman soldiers to anyone at all familiar with ancient military history. In this article I just want to talk about those extraordinary, less known but no less awesome weapons of the Roman arsenal. For anyone looking for detailed information about the more mainstay Roman Weapons this link is a great resource. For those that want to know about the more unique and interesting ancient Roman weapons please read on!
The Plumbata (The Little Barbs of the War God)
Now in the world of the ancient Romans they considered the Goths to be the trail park trash of the ancient Mediterranean neighborhood. What does trailer park trash fear most? If you guessed a barrage of lawn darts you are correct!
The Plumbata is an awesome ancient weapon that may have been a game changer had it just been introduced a little earlier. Sadly they weren’t introduced until around the late 4th century, but even then two legions armed with them became the top legions of the military. Plumbata essentially provided Roman legionnaires with the ability to fire five salvos of missiles. These lead weighted lawn darts had the velocity to punch through armor and laid wasted to any horse or man unlucky enough to venture under a hail of them.
Modern tests reveal a range of about 144.6 feet (44 meters), quite a bit shy of the distance ancient composite bow could shoot (200-250 yards). I would think they would do considerably more damage though being essentially the same as an arrow but with a lead weight driving them down. Also they would be leaps and bounds less expensive then the composite bow which took about a decade to manufacture. Plumbata would also have the advantage of not being effected by weather and humidity like bows. Another possible advantage was that they could be lobed over obstacles. No matter what, being under a hail of these things would be terrifying to say the least, sending any attackers fleeing back to their trailers, err.. I mean wagons, the ancient version of the mobile home.
The Corus (That’s Latin for Raven)
As the Roman Republics sphere of influence grew it eventually bumped into that of the other great power in the Mediterranean, the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians were a great naval power, while the Romans were noted for the abilities of their heavy infantry. As is customary when two powers bump into each other a series of wars ensued. The winner of this best out of five series got to destroy the others capitol, rule the Western Mediterranean and go against the winner of the Eastern Mediterranean conference to decide who would rule the Mediterranean world. Rome started off doing quite poorly in the first war do to its inexperience with naval warfare, but that’s when an ingenious plan was hatched, enter the corvus.
The Romans decided that since they couldn’t beat the Carthaginians in a traditional style sea battle, which consisted of maneuvering ships and ramming opponents, they would instead change the sea battles into land battles fought at sea. The corvus was then engineered. It was essentially a bridge that Roman heavy infantry could use to board opposing ships, playing to the Romans strength in toe-to-toe fighting. The corvus was a bridge that could be dropped on the bow of the enemies ship using a system of pulleys and a pole to control it. On the end of the corvus a spike was attached, similar to birds beak, that would smash down into the deck of opposing ships in order to secure the bridge. At this point Roman soldiers would storm across and simply kill everyone aboard the opposing ship.
The Roman’s had a desperately needed string of victories in naval battles after first introducing it but the Carthaginian admirals and captains eventually realized that the corvus needed to be avoided at all costs. After the First Punic War the Roman naval crews became more skilled and the Carthaginians learned to avoid it the Romans abandoned their onetime secret weapon and it was dropped. However, some have suggested that the corvus may have been dropped after the first Punic war due to another reason. The Romans lost two naval fleets loaded with invasion forces, and hundreds of thousands of men when their fleets were caught by storms in the Mediterranean. These staggering losses are two of the top naval disasters in history. Some historians have attributed these disasters to instability caused by the corvus. The Roman’s may have come to the same conclusion, after these terrible disasters they seem to have stopped using them. Never the less the corvus was responsible for winning multiple naval engagements at a time when this was both mandatory (since they were fighting over Sicily, which is an island) and seemed extremely unlikely.
The Romans then won the next two wars, sweeping the Carthaginians in the tough Western Mediterranean conference before fighting and defeating the Eastern Mediterranean Conference winners and taking the title.
The Scorpio (Ancient Roman Crossbow/Catalpult)
This weapon operates like a large crossbow mounted on a speaker’s podium. The Roman’s employed these weapons whenever they had time, which usually meant siege type warfare. Luckily for the Romans siege works and trenches were common tactics in the first century AD. This weapon was greatly feared by those it apposed and it seems like it’s one of those ancient weapons that happened to be invented at the right time for the tactics being employed.
Basically the Scorpio was used like a cross between a modern sniper rifle and artillery. At a distance up to 328 ft (100 meters) it could pick off individuals with unnerving accuracy. Let’s say there is a siege and some legionaries are assigned to fill in a ditch in front of a city’s wall, but the city’s guards are giving them trouble, this is a great time to employ a few scorpio. The scorpio could pick the guards off on the wall, making any would be defender hesitant to throw a rock or javelin down at the Roman legionnaires. Conversely they were mounted on Roman city walls and fortifications to devastate attackers. Although in these cases they might use the even more exciting method of firing, artillery style!
When used as artillery (parabolic shooting) the range was increased to a whopping 1312 ft. (400 m) and the rate of fire went from once per minute to 3-4 shots per minute, however accuracy was seriously compromised. The Romans made up for this with volume, each legion was equipped with 60 scorpio, which can fire 240 bolts per minute. At the battle of Avaricum Julius Caesar had surrounded a giant fortified town defended by an army of Celtic warriors, he placed his scorpio on a bluff where they could give covering fire to his men who were building massive siege towers and ramps. In his commentaries about the war he reported that the ancient Roman weapon inflicted horrific damage to the doomed defenders. | <urn:uuid:2a534e94-fd81-4c63-b909-bc07959021d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ancientmilitaryhistory.com/?p=21 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975212 | 1,436 | 2.96875 | 3 |
We’ve asked conservation organisations around the world to nominate a species that they believe to be overlooked, underappreciated and unloved, and tell us why they think that they deserve a fair share of the limelight, this Valentine’s Day.
Each nominee’s story is featured on the Arkive blog with information on the species, what makes them so special, the conservation organisation that nominated them and how they are working to save them from extinction.
Click the ‘unloved species’ tag above to see all of the nominations and their blogs.
Once you have perused the blogs you can vote for your favourite to help get them into the top ten unloved species and get them the recognition that they truly deserve! Share your favourite with others using the #LoveSpecies hashtag on Twitter and Facebook and tell them why they should vote for them too. Voting closes on February 14th at 23:59 PST (07:59 GMT).
Join us and our conservation partners in celebrating and raising awareness for some of the world’s most unloved species this Valentine’s Day!
Species: Greater mouse-eared bat
Nominated by: Salamandra
Conservation status: Least Concern
Why do you love it? The Polish Society for Nature Conservation “Salamandra” love the greater mouse-eared bat not only because it is cute (white belly and light cream back) and unusual (as opposed to the other bats, it collects insects from the ground rather than in flight). It is a wild species closely related to humans and its life depends on our care. The greater mouse-eared bat is protected by European law and Natura 2000 sites have been created to protect its habitat. Protection of this species and its habitat also helps to conserve many other bats with similar roost requirements and a variety of other animal and plant species. We believe that the greater mouse-eared bat can be a good “ambassador” of group of animals which are not dangerous but endangered and still disliked by people.
What are the threats to the greater mouse-eared bat? Greater mouse-eared bat is highly dependent on people – its summer roosts are located mostly in human buildings with spacious attics (e.g. churches, schools, palaces). For winter shelter it requires spacious, well-insulated and calm caves and artificial underground areas like fortresses or castle casemates.
Greater mouse-eared bats form usually big colonies, and the extermination of even one of them can have significant impact on the survival of the whole local population. In winter bats are exposed to the disturbance during hibernation and loss of their shelters which are often visited by unauthorised people. Additionally, people who are afraid of bats and don’t understand their importance and will kill them deliberately.
What are you doing to save it? Our most important activities focused on greater mouse-eared bats include:
- Monitoring of hibernaculas and the biggest summer colonies of the species in Poland
- Conservation activities focused on summer colonies – e.g. providing solutions in the case of human-animal conflict
- Designing and setting up big artificial hibernaculum in Poznań city as a replacement for another important underground shelter of this species which has to be lost due to its condition
- Participation in appointment, designation and conservation of Natura 2000 sites for the greater mouse-eared bat in Poland
- Education and public awareness raising, to improve people’s attitude towards bats, e.g. series of lectures about bats for children, students and other stakeholders and implementation of media campaigns throughout Poland
- Cooperation with authorities and lobbying for improvement of nature conservation law, for more efficient conservation of bats and their habitats | <urn:uuid:f46c0078-e6f7-431e-a84d-dd4f1a0ec991> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.arkive.org/2016/02/vote-for-your-favourite-unloved-species-greater-mouse-eared-bat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953301 | 771 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Holocaust: Should It Be Taught in Schools?
I believe the Holocaust should be taught in schools. It's a significant part of history that should never be forgotten. Learning about things like this prevent them from happening again in history, helps kids get a better understanding about the Holocaust and why it happened, and they learn about a different culture.
Being educated on the Holocaust prevents things like it from repeating in history. Whenever there is such racism, or prejudice people will remember how tragic the Holocaust was, and try not to let it happen again. History always seems to repeat itself one way or another but we can see to it that the Holocaust is something that does not.
Learning about the Holocaust also helps kids understand it, and learn why it happened. They learn such things as, what triggered the Holocaust, and how it affected the rest of the world. This helps prevent kids from being lied to about the Holocaust, or from being told it didn't happen and it's a myth.
Kids also get to learn about an entirely different culture when studying the Holocaust. They will get to learn things such as traditions, morals, values, and how they worship. This will help kids better understand, and respect them. This will help them better understand how tragic it was.
There are many reasons the Holocaust should be taught in schools, many more than mentioned in this essay. This is a very important part in world history that should never be forgotten. As long as it is taught to an appropriate age level, it should be a vital part of the school curriculum everywhere. | <urn:uuid:5620e2e5-f923-4e41-b199-08c7285e8208> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cyberessays.com/Term-Paper-on-Holocaust-Should-It-Be-Taught-In/65163/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966145 | 317 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The novel swine flu has affected its one millionth American. The first death in England has been recorded (a 9 year old girl). Yesterday, the first Brazilian death was recorded. When we look at the map of the disease, note that many regions of Africa are totally devoid of cases. Just so you know … this is not some special African immunity. This is simply because the global health network has failed Africa and we have no clue what is going on there, and never have had a clue.
A new wrinkle in the process for North Americans, possibly with parallels elsewhere, is the summer camp phenomenon. This is where we take children from multiple communities, only some of which have some dreaded disease, or perhaps just an annoying meme, and we ship them all to one location either every day for the whole day, or for weeks at a time overnight. In this way, the diseases or annoying memes can spread among them and all the children can bring them home!
Despite rumors to the contrary, the novel swine flu is roughly as deadly as the regular flu. I’m still seeing people, even experts, indicate that it is relatively mild. It is not. It is typical.
The novel swine flu seems to be affecting younger individuals in part because of an immunity found in older individuals, presumably from exposure to a similar flu in the past. This is interesting news if confirmed. This touches on another area of confusion. The 1918 pandemic flu was famous for being extra deadly for healthy individuals. This was for a very specific medical reason. The current flu seems to be affecting ‘healthy’ individuals more as well. This is for a totally different and utterly unrelated reason, probably.
This is subject to revision, but here’s the story:
The 1918 pandemic flu killed healthy people more because healthy = stronger immune system. These people were killed by the way their immune system reacted to the flu. A person with a strong immune system would be more strongly affected by the flu, possibly fatally.
The novel swine flu appears to be affecting healthy people more because healthy = younger than a certain age. That age cut off separates individuals (older) who have an immunity from prior exposure to a similar virus from younger individuals who don’t.
Again, this is subject to revision. This is subject to revision in two ways:
1) The assertion I make above about the 1918 flu is very likely true and well demonstrated, but the assertion I make about the novel swine flu is speculative at this time; and 2) the phenomenon seen in the 1918 pandemic flu, while apparently not happening with the current novel swine flu, could develop later on during the pandemic.
Why do I say that? Because that is what happened in 1918. The flu went around the world ‘off season’ (as the current flu is doing) and was typical in virtually every way but its timing. Then it went around the world again with this extra glitch of killing people with their own immune system.
The fact that the 1918 flu did this has flu experts worried, and they should be. However, I have yet to see a biological argument for why this flu should follow the same pattern in regards to this specific feature.
What is going to happen next? In late (?) September (+/-) there will be a flu vaccine available for the regular flu. Get one.
Later, maybe in October (?) there may be a vaccine available for the novel swine flu. This may be a two dose vaccine. Get it, get them both if there are two. There will be instructions as to who should get it and when. But since those instructions will be filtered through the usual sources, be careful what you pay attention to. The little people sitting at the colorful desk on the news show will not be giving you useful information. They never get this stuff right. You should rely on the blogosphere this time around, I think.
(People who have gotten the novel swine flu already seem to be immune but unless you know you had it from a clear test, I would not assume that.)
And speaking of people getting it all wrong … have you heard about any of the flu woo scams going around regarding the flu? There is a treatment in which photons are passed into your cells to kill the virus. There is an anti-flu vaccine. There is a ‘do it yourself’ flu vaccine kit, which involves you sending in your credit card number but then never hearing back from them.
Obviously, don’t fall for that. | <urn:uuid:98c27937-3490-417c-8e33-b1671d045e4b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2009/06/29/flu-update-millionth-american/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00093-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977663 | 935 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Native to Japan and an accidental introduction into the United States in the beginning of the 20th Century, Japanese beetles (Popilla japonica) are now wide-spread in the eastern United States and becoming more widespread in the Midwest. With no natural predators in this country, they enjoy virtual free-rein in landscapes and gardens and can completely defoliate rose bushes and linden trees, two of their favorites. Natural controls can help to reduce populations of Japanese beetles to a manageable level.
Plant Marigolds, Nasturtium and Chives
Japanese beetles are picky about the crops they eat. The scents of marigolds, nasturtium and chives have been shown to repel Japanese beetles. They will avoid areas containing these plants and move on to feed elsewhere. Completely surround affected plants with these deterrents on which you notice the most Japanese beetles. For plants that are slightly less attractive to these beetles, plant one or two of the deterrent plants near them.
Minimize Lawn Area
Female Japanese beetles prefer to lay their eggs in well cared for lawns. Studies on commercial blueberry fields by Michigan State University have shown that growing a cover crop, such as clover, between rows of blueberries reduces the population of Japanese beetles considerably, versus growing turf between the rows. Accordingly, if you minimize the amount of turf in your yard, the population of Japanese beetles will decrease also.
Hand Pick and Destroy
By far the most effective natural way to get rid of Japanese beetles is to hand pick and destroy them. They will perish if dropped into a container of soapy water. If you're squeamish about touching them, set a container of water beneath the affected plant and give the plant a good shake. The beetles will fall off the plant into the container of soapy water and perish. | <urn:uuid:60ec5c36-61dd-46d3-8ab6-7bf05ddd21b4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gardenguides.com/96829-natural-ways-rid-japanese-beetles.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00079-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953337 | 374 | 3.1875 | 3 |
The previous historical sketch focused more on synthesis engines than on techniques used to synthesize sound. In this section, we organize today's best-known synthesis techniques into the categories displayed in Fig. 2.
Some of these techniques will now be briefly discussed. Space limitations prevent detailed discussions and references for all techniques. The reader is referred to [16,14,15] and recent issues of the Computer Music Journal for further reading and references.
Sampling synthesis can be considered a descendant of the tape-based musique concrète. Jean-Claude Risset noted: ``Musique concrète did open an infinite world of sounds for music, but the control and manipulation one could exert upon them was rudimentary with respect to the richness of the sounds, which favored an esthetics of collage'' . The same criticism can be applied to sampling synthesizers three decades later. A recorded sound can be transformed into any other sound by a linear transformation (some linear, time-varying filter). A loss of generality is therefore not inherent in the sampling approach. To date, however, highly general transformations of recorded material have not yet been introduced into the synthesis repertoire, except in a few disconnected research efforts. A major problem with sampling synthesizers, which try so hard to imitate existing instruments, is their lack of what we might call ``prosodic rules'' for musical phrasing. Individual notes may sound like realistic reproductions of traditional instrument tones. but when these tones are played in sequence, all of the note-to-note transitions--so important in instruments such as saxophones and the human voice--are missing. Speech scientists recognized long ago that juxtaposing phonemes made for brittle speech. Today's samplers make brittle, frozen music.
Derivative techniques such as granular synthesis are yielding significant new colors for the sonic palette. It can be argued also that spectral-modeling and wavelet-based synthesis are sampling methods with powerful transformation capabilities in the frequency domain.
``Wavetable T'' denotes time-domain wavetable synthesis; this is the classic technique in which an arbitrary waveshape stored in memory is repeatedly read to create a periodic sound. The original Music V oscillator supported this synthesis type, and to approximate a real (periodic) instrument tone, one could snip out a period of a recorded sound and load the table with it. The oscillator output is invariably multiplied by an amplitude envelope. Of course, we quickly discovered that we also needed vibrato, and it often helped to add several wavetable units together with independent vibrato and slightly detuned fundamental frequencies in order to obtain a chorus-like effect. Cross-fading between wavetables was a convenient way to obtain an evolving timbre.
More than anything else, wavetable synthesis taught us that ``periodic'' sounds are generally poor sounds. Exact repetition is rarely musical. Electronic organs (the first digital one being the Allen organ) added tremolo, vibrato, and the Leslie (multipath delay and Doppler-shifting via spinning loudspeakers) as sonic post-processing in order to escape ear-fatiguing, periodic sounds.
``Wavetable F'' denotes wavetable synthesis again, but as approached from the frequency domain. In this case, a desired harmonic spectrum is created (either a priori or from the results of a spectrum analysis) and an inverse Fourier series creates the period for the table. This approach, with interpolation among timbres, was used by Michael McNabb in the creation of Dreamsong . It was used years earlier in psychoacoustics research by John Grey. An advantage of spectral-based wavetable synthesis is that phase is readily normalized, making interpolation between different wavetable timbres smoother and more predictable.
Vector synthesis is essentially multiple-wavetable synthesis with interpolation (and more recently, chaining of wavetables). This technique, with four-way interpolation, is used in the Korg Wavestation, for example. It points out a way that sampling synthesis can be made sensitive to an arbitrary number of performance control parameters. That is, given a sufficient number of wavetables as well as means for chaining, enveloping, and forming arbitrary linear combinations (interpolations) among them, it is possible to provide any number of expressive control parameters. Sampling synthesis need not be restricted to static table playback with looping and post-filtering. In principle, many wavetables may be necessary along each parameter dimension, and it is difficult in general to orthogonalize the dimensions of control. In any case, a great deal of memory is needed to make a multidimensional timbre space using tables. Perhaps a physical model is worth a thousand wavetables.
Principal-components synthesis was apparently first tried in the time domain by Stapleton and Bass at Purdue University . The ``principal components'' corresponding to a set of sounds to be synthesized are ``most important waveshapes,'' which can be mixed to provide an approximation to all sounds in the desired set. Principal components are the eigenvectors corresponding to the largest eigenvalues of the covariance matrix formed as a sum of outer products of the waveforms in the desired set. Stapleton and Bass computed an optimal set of single periods for approximating a larger set of periodic musical tones via linear combinations. This would be a valuable complement to vector synthesis since it can provide smooth vectors between a variety of natural sounds. The frequency-domain form was laid out in in the context of steady-state tone discrimination based on changes in harmonic amplitudes. In this domain, the principal components are fundamental spectral shapes that are mixed together to produce various spectra. This provides analysis support for spectral interpolation synthesis techniques .
Additive synthesis historically models a spectrum as a set of discrete ``lines'' corresponding to sinusoids. The first analysis-driven additive synthesis for music appears to be Jean-Claude Risset's analysis and resynthesis of trumpet tones using Music V in 1964 . He also appears to have carried out the first piecewise-linear reduction of the harmonic amplitude envelopes, a technique that has become standard in additive synthesis based on oscillator banks. The phase vocoder, developed by Flanagan at Bell Laboratories and adapted to music applications by Andy Moorer and others, has provided analysis support for additive synthesis for many years. The PARSHL program, written in the summer of 1984 at CCRMA, extended the phase vocoder to inharmonic partials, motivated initially by the piano. Xavier Serra, for his CCRMA Ph.D. thesis research, added filtered noise to the inharmonic sinusoidal model . Macaulay and Quatieri at MIT Lincoln Labs independently developed a variant of the tracking phase vocoder for speech coding applications, and since have extended additive synthesis to a wider variety of audio signal processing applications. Inverse-FFT additive synthesis is implemented by writing any desired spectrum into an array and using the FFT algorithm to synthesize each frame of the time waveform (Chamberlin 1980); it undoubtedly has a big future in spectral-modeling synthesis since it is so general. The only tricky part is writing the spectrum for each frame in such a way that the frames splice together noiselessly in the time domain. The frame-splicing problem is avoided when using a bank of sinusoidal oscillators because, for steady-state tones, the phase can be allowed to run free with only the amplitude and frequency controls changing over time; similarly, the frame-splicing problem is avoided when using a noise generator passing through a time-varying filter, as in the Serra sines+noise model.
Linear Predictive Coding (LPC) has been used successfully for music synthesis by Andy Moorer, Ken Steiglitz, Paul Lansky, and earlier (at lower sampling rates) by speech researchers at Bell Telephone Laboratories. It is listed as a spectral modeling technique because there is evidence that the reason for the success of LPC in sound synthesis has more to do with the fact that the upper spectral envelope is estimated by the LPC algorithm than the fact that it has an interpretation as an estimator for the parameters of an all-pole model for the vocal tract. If this is so, direct spectral modeling should be able to do anything LPC can do, and more, and with greater flexibility. LPC has proven valuable for estimating loop-filter coefficients in waveguide models of strings and instrument bodies, so it could also be entered as a tool for sampling loop-filters in the ``Physical Model'' column. As a synthesis technique, it has the same transient-smearing problem that spectral modeling based on the short-time Fourier transform has. LPC can be viewed as one of many possible nonlinear smoothings of the short-time power spectrum, with good audio properties.
The Chant vocal synthesis technique is listed a spectral modeling technique because it is a variation on formant synthesis. The Klatt speech synthesizer is another example. VOSIM is similar in concept, but trades sound quality for lower computational cost. Chant uses five exponentially decaying sinusoids tuned to the formant frequencies, prewindowed and repeated (overlapped) at the pitch frequency. Developing good Chant voices begins with a sung-vowel spectrum. The formants are measured, and Chant parameters are set to provide good approximations to these formants. Thus, the object of Chant is to model the spectrum as a regular sequence of harmonics multiplied by a formant envelope. LPC and subtractive synthesis also take this point of view, except that the excitation can be white noise rather than a pulse train (i.e., any flat ``excitation'' spectrum will do). In more recent years, Chant has been extended to support noise-modulated harmonics--especially useful in the higher frequency regions. The problem is that real voices are not perfectly periodic, particularly when glottal closure is not complete, and higher-frequency harmonics look more like narrowband noise than spectral lines. Thus, a good spectral model should include provision for spectral lines that are somewhat ``fuzzy.'' There are many ways to accomplish this ``air brush'' effect on the spectrum. Bill Schottstaedt, many years ago, added a little noise to the output of a modulating FM oscillator to achieve this effect on a formant group. Additive synthesis based on oscillators can accept a noise input in the same way, or any low-frequency amplitude- or phase-modulation can be used. Inverse-FFT synthesizers can simply write a broader ``hill'' into the spectrum instead of a discrete line (as in the sampled window transform); the phase along the hill controls its shape and spread in the time domain. In the LPC world, it has been achieved, in effect, by multipulse excitation--that is, the ``buzzy'' impulse train is replaced by a small ``tuft'' of impulses, once per period. Multipulse LPC sounds more natural than single-pulse LPC. The Karplus-Strong algorithm is listed as an abstract algorithm because it was conceived as a wavetable technique with a means of modifying the table each time through. It was later recognized to be a special case of physical models for strings developed by McIntyre and Woodhouse, which led to its extensions for musical use.
What the Karplus-Strong algorithm showed, to everyone's surprise, was that a physical model for a real vibrating string could be simplified to a multiply-free, two-point average with musically useful results. Waveguide synthesis is a set of extensions in the direction of accurate physical modeling while maintaining the computational simplicity reminiscent of the Karplus-Strong algorithm. It most efficiently models one-dimensional waveguides, such as strings and bores, yet it can be coupled in a rigorous way to the more general physical models in Cordis-Anima and Mosaic [3,18,1]. | <urn:uuid:696f6f42-d22f-4bad-871a-1804bb8e2099> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://ccrma.stanford.edu/~jos/kna/Taxonomy_Digital_Synthesis_Techniques.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00092-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928642 | 2,482 | 3.5625 | 4 |
"KENYA: A dream come true" Kenya by BarbieGirl
Kenya Travel Guide: 4,417 reviews and 11,923 photos
The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well-known African ethnic groups internationally. The Maasai maintain many of their cultural traditions while engaging contemporary regional and global economic, social, and political forces. They speak Kimaasai, also known as Maa. Maasai are not farmers but nomad pastoralists. The Maasai rely heavily on their cattle and goat herds for survival. These animals provide them with milk (and sometimes meat, though they rarely slaughter their herds as buying and selling cattle is the tribe's form of currency). One of their spiritual beliefs is that their rain god Enkai gave all cattle to the Maasai people, and therefore anyone else who possesses cattle must have stolen them from the Maasai. This has led to some fatal altercations with other tribes of the regions over the centuries when the Maasai attempt to reclaim their "property". The huts of the Maasai are built from dried cattle dung; cattle milk and blood are among the prime components of the Maasai diet.
There are numerous traditions and ceremonies performed by Maasai men. Perhaps best known is the warrior "jumping" dance, where young Maasai morani (warrior-youth) leap into the air from a standing position, in order to demonstrate their strength and agility. Until recent times, in order to earn the right to have a wife, a Maasai moran was required to have killed a lion. Officially this practice has stopped, although there is evidence that it continues in the more remote regions of Kenya. Also in earlier times a group of young boys were required to build a new village and live in it for a lengthy period (often years) as part of the passage to manhood. This practice is dying out due to lack of land.The Maasai tradition is not historically written and is passed on orally by elders to younger generations. For males, this is done by holding the emanyatta ceremony approximately 1 to 2 years after the 7-year age group is closed. Newly named warriors are invited to this ceremonial time which can last from a couple of weeks to a of couple months, as the elders pass down stories of the Maasai tradition. While at emanyatta, the warriors are allowed limited contact with visitors outsite the emanyatta and eat meat and soup daily.
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Seasonal flu is a contagious respiratory illness that is caused by influenza viruses. The flu season can start as early as October and can continue into May. Flu viruses spread from human to human through droplets from coughing and sneezing. The virus can cause mild to severe illness and, at times, can lead to death. People at high-risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease and people 65 years of age and older. Flu symptoms usually start suddenly and can include:
- Extreme tiredness
- Dry cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle aches
- Vomiting or diarrhea may occur in children, but is uncommon in adults
A flu shot is the best way to prevent the flu. Flu vaccines are developed based on recommendations from the World Health Organization. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, everyone 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated against the flu as soon as the 2014-2015 season vaccine is available. It’s important to get vaccinated every year. Vaccination of high-risk individuals is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness. Talk to your doctor about whether you should get the flu shot.
Adopting these good health habits can also help stop the spread of germs:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol based hand rub
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or sleeve when you cough or sneeze. Throw tissues in the trash after you use them
- Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands
- Avoid crowded areas
- Keep away from people who have the flu.
- Clean surfaces and objects regularly
If you do get the flu, be prepared to stay home until your fever is gone for 24 hours without taking any medicine. Most people will feel better in 7 to 10 days. If you are pregnant or have a chronic disease, see a doctor within the first 48 hours. You should also see your doctor if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
- Severe or persistent vomiting
- Sudden dizziness
- Flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough
Looking for flu information online can be helpful, but make sure you use trusted resources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov/flu and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at flu.gov/.
For videos and public service announcements about the seasonal flu, visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu/freeresources/media.htm.
For questions about seasonal flu, call a Blue Health SolutionsSM health coach at 1.866.262.4764 or (TTY) 1.877.720.7771, weekdays, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET. | <urn:uuid:26516cd8-0f88-4463-9f2e-5f8b4656feee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.bcnepa.com/Wellness/Employers/FluSeasonEmployers/Flu.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00169-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950431 | 627 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Belarus culture for kids and teens
CIA World Factbook: Belarus
[ Kids/Teens/Mature Teens ] Features a map and brief descriptions of geography, economy, government, and people.
Lonely Planet - Belarus
[ Kids/Teens/Mature Teens ] Facts and advice for traveling along with background material on the culture and history of the country.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection - Belarus Maps
[ Kids/Teens/Mature Teens ] Country, city and thematic maps, along with links to maps on other web sites. From the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas.
U.S. Department of State - Belarus Consular Information Sheet
[ Mature Teens ] Offers travel information including Background Notes, entry and exit requirements, safety and security, crime, health and transport.
US Library of Congress - Country Study: Belarus
[ Teens/Mature Teens ] June 1995 country profile provides information about its historical setting, society and environment, economy, government and politics, and national security.
Virtual Guide to Belarus
[ Kids/Teens ] Includes culture, history, politics, nature, industry, geography, the effects of Chernobyl and genealogy.
Last update:September 3, 2014 at 20:36:08 UTC
Sports and Hobbies
People and Society | <urn:uuid:ea679465-b979-467a-8bab-5b99e19ec8c1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/Social_Studies/Geography/Europe/Belarus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00065-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.798913 | 287 | 2.75 | 3 |
This operator may be applied to any nondeterministic FSA. At the end of the operation, there will be a completed NFA.
The conversion practice used is the standard canonical method of creating an equivalent DFA from an NFA, that is: each state in the DFA being built corresponds to a nonempty set of states in the original NFA. Therefore, for an NFA with n states, there are potentially 2n - 1 states in the DFA, though realistically this upper bound is rarely met.
The interface for the creating a DFA from an NFA is shown above. The NFA is displayed for reference purposes in the left portion of the view. The DFA is created in the right portion of the view; in the example given, the conversion is complete and correct. The set of NFA states in shown in the label below each DFA state. Between the two diagrams for the two automatons is a bar that may be dragged left and right to adjust the allocation of sizes between the two diagrams.
The first thing that happens is that the initial state is created. The initial state's set for the DFA consists of the initial set of the NFA, and the closure of all states reachable from that initial state on lambda transitions. This is done for the user: the only thing the user sees at first in the DFA constructor is this one initial state. In the example above, the initial NFA state is q0 and there are no lambda transitions from it, so the initial set is only 0.
One then uses the "Expand Group on Terminal" tool () to build the DFA. When this tool is active, one drags from a state (or group) into empty space.
The user is then queried as to what symbol to expand this group on, shown above. For example, for the initial set of q0, one can expand on 1 since there are transitions from that state in the original NFA.
Assuming that the original set of states actually expands on the input terminal, the user is then queried above the set of NFA states that group expands to on that terminal. In our running example, from the diagram we see that q0 expands on 1 to the states q0, q1 and q2. While q0 and q1 are fairly obvious, less obvious is the presence of q2. However, since there is a lambda transition from q1 to q2, the closure of q1 implies q2.
One would therefore enter 0 1 2 into the dialog shown above, as shown. (JFLAP would also accept q0 q1 q2, or 0,1,2, or q0, q1, q2, etc etc.)
When the user enters the set of states, and it is correct, the new DFA state is created at the point in empty space where the user originally dragged to. (If the user is incorrect, the user is gently chastised and nothing is added.)
Final states in the DFA are those states whose NFA state sets contain at least one final state from the NFA: in the example, notice that every state in the DFA with the NFA final state q3 in its set is a final state. JFLAP will detect if the user entered any states that were final states, and if so make the state it creates a final state.
The "Done?" button will check the DFA to see if it is complete. If it is, then this completed DFA will be exported to its own window, where it may be treated like any other FSA.
While it is possible for one to build the DFA entirely through use of the "Expand Group on Terminal" tool (), one also has the option of letting JFLAP do some or all of the work.
The "State Expander" tool () is a moderate help tool. When active, if you click on a state, it will expand that group on all terminals to all other groups it goes to. Any newly created states will be randomly placed.
The "Complete" button will complete the DFA entirely.
The NFA to DFA procedure depends on having transitions with at most one character. As JFLAP allows multiple character transitions, all of these are automatically broken up: the transition abc would be broken into three transitions, with two new bridge states created.
Additionally, when expanding a set of states, if the destination set of states is already in the DFA, instead of dragging to empty space, one may drag to that second set of states, and the user will not be queried as to the set of states it goes to. It is considered that the user has already made that choice. However, if the user does drag to empty space and input a set that already exists, then a new state will not be created; it clearly does not do to have multiple identical sets. | <urn:uuid:333b56d3-50de-401b-96a4-9d6cd4b10834> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cs.duke.edu/csed/jflap/new/DOCS/gui.deterministic.ConversionPane.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938321 | 1,011 | 2.59375 | 3 |
|31 March 2014
Ancient pollen reveals how humans shaped forests
A new study of pollen samples from tropical forests in southeast Asia suggests humans have shaped these landscapes for thousands of years, finding signs of imported seeds, plants cultivated for food, and land clearance as early as 11,000 years ago - around the end of the last Ice Age.
Researchers led by palaeo-ecologist Chris Hunt, of Queen's University, Belfast, analysed existing data and examined samples from Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Thailand and Vietnam.
Pollen offers an important key for unlocking the history of human activity. It can survive for thousands of years in the right conditions, and paint a picture of vegetation over time.
In the Kelabit Highlands of Borneo, for example, pollen samples dated to about 6,500 years ago contain abundant evidence of fire. Scientists know that specific weeds and trees that flourish in charred ground would typically emerge in the wake of naturally occurring or accidental blazes, but what Hunt's team found instead was evidence of fruit trees. "This indicates that the people who inhabited the land intentionally cleared it of forest vegetation and planted sources of food in its place. It has long been believed that the rainforests of the Far East were virgin wildernesses, where human impact has been minimal," Hunt says.
This kind of research could also present powerful information for people who live in these forests today. According to Hunt, "Laws in several countries in Southeast Asia do not recognise the rights of indigenous forest dwellers on the grounds that they are nomads who leave no permanent mark on the landscape." The long history of forest management traced by this study, he says, offers these groups "a new argument in their case against eviction."
Edited from Smithsonia.com (5 March 2014)
Share this webpage: | <urn:uuid:a50796e4-0964-4caa-945a-d62cfd9e42b2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/005238.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00164-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961212 | 371 | 3.96875 | 4 |
Buy dried yellowroot and other wild herbs at Payne Mountain Farms.
Cystitis, bladder, and other urinary tract infections affect millions of people every year. Symptoms include painful urination, frequent urination, cloudy urine, fever, and backache.
Causes range from poor hygiene to overuse of antibiotics. Eighty-five percent of bladder infections are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. This bacteria is spread from the rectal area when wiping the wrong way with toilet paper. Always wipe from front to back. When this bacteria passes through the urethra (the narrow canal that connects the bladder to the outside), it causes a bladder infection.
Many times bladder infections develop after taking antibiotics. Other causes include venereal disease, endometriosis, stress, contraceptives, kidney malfunction, food allergens, aluminum cookware, constipation, and female deodorant products.
Bladder infections can also be caused by waiting too long to urinate. The bladder is a muscle that stretches when full and shrinks when empty. “Holding it” can cause the bladder to stretch past its capacity. This leaves old urine in the bladder and results in bacterial growth.
Many urinary disorders can be treated with herbal remedies. Various herbs are chosen according to their ability to reduce inflammation, soothe pain, repair damage, and flush out toxins.
At the first sign of a bladder infection, take yellowroot or echinacea tea. Increase urine flow by drinking lots of water. Chamomile tea, corn silk tea, dandelion tea, nettle tea, and fennel seed can help increase urine flow. Add flax seed oil, blueberries, celery, watermelon, green drinks, carrots, beets, cucumbers, and yogurt to the diet. Urinary stones call for gravel root (Joe Pye Weed), parsley, corn silk, cleavers, and couch grass.
Cranberry juice is a well known remedy for bladder infections. Cranberry juice prevents bacteria from sticking to the bladder walls. Cranberry juice contains natural antibiotics and is an effective diuretic. Be sure not to buy anything labeled “cocktail” as it contains lots of sugar and small amounts of cranberry juice. Try shopping at a health food store.
Acidic fruit juices, such as orange and grapefruit juice, should be avoided. Sugar, carbonated drinks, concentrated starches, fried foods, artificial sweeteners, salty foods, pasteurized dairy products, and red meat all aggravate bladder problems. Yeast products should be avoided during healing stages of bladder infections.
Massage can help. Use sandalwood essential oil , juniper essential oil, tea tree essential oil , cypress essential oil, thyme essential oil , eucalyptus essential oil , or lavender essential oil diluted with olive or almond oil and gently massage stomach area. These essential oils can also be used in the bath. For associated back pain try applying a hot comfrey compress across the lower back.
An old remedy for bladder infection is to immediately take one teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water followed by 8 to 10 more glasses of water throughout the day. White wine at night is also considered beneficial.
To avoid bladder infections, urinate as soon as possible after sexual intercourse -- even just a few drops pushes out harmful bacteria -- and never use colored toilet paper.
Urinary incontinence is another bladder problem and is caused by weak muscles. Symptoms include leakage when laughing, coughing, or lifting. Do exercises to strengthen pelvic muscles. Exercising can really can help - try just squeezing those muscles while driving or sitting at a desk several times a day.
* Always consult with a health care professional before taking any herbal remedy especially if pregnant, nursing, or taking other medicines.
© Chris Mccooey | Dreamstime Stock Photos | <urn:uuid:8a97d603-6a9c-4793-9747-41f30202ca95> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://everygreenherb.com/bladder.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00019-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926284 | 798 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The Areas of the Montessori Classroom
Math area has concrete materials to gain understanding of concepts of one to ten, then teens, tens, hundreds and thousands. Then materials of abstraction which are then tied to the concrete which allows for a true understanding of the nature of this thing called math!
Language development area which includes reading. Please see the separate heading “The Writing Road to Reading” for an in depth look at a reading approach that is truly astounding!
Sensorial area where sensorial materials enable the child to experience through their hands, thus through “muscle memory” record in the body the concepts of length, width, texture, temperature, color, and the volumes of math of cubic centimeters, decimeters, the geometric solids and planes, the construction of forms by use of the triangle, along with the names of triangles by side and angle! And all this they think intensely interesting as they handle with their small hands these objects and learn the language associated with each!
Practical Life area where exercises enhance the development of task organization and cognitive order through care of self, care of the environment, exercises of grace and courtesy and refinement of physical movement and coordination
The materials set forth upon the shelves are of such beauty that they call to the child, which leads a child to go back repeatedly in order to develop the skill of that particular material. The equipment is multi-sensory, sequential and self correcting, which leads to a hands on experience, which is how children best learn. Just as a pianist must practice in order to become proficient, so must the child use the different equipment in order to refine and develop the skills needed by each set of activities. | <urn:uuid:c38ca8b4-27e2-4a60-bd98-804035aa4b22> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.montessoriutah.com/montessori-materials/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943565 | 345 | 3.875 | 4 |
Learn Java Easily : Teach Java Effectively
Jurtle is an integrated programming environment designed for people who want to learn programming in Java but may never have programmed before. It provides a simple yet powerful programming editor coupled with built-in facilities for compiling and running your programs. Unlike most other development environments, no complex configuration is needed in order to use Jurtle. Install it and immediately start running the examples and learning to write them yourself. It can be used by an individual to learn Java on their own, or in a classroom situation to teach java to a group.
Learning the full Java language can be a bit overwhelming, however Jurtle provides a gentle introduction to Java. It comes with its own tutorial that teaches you everything you need to know to begin writing basic Java programs. Jurtle starts you out by having you write programs that move a "turtle" on screen, leaving a trail that can create interesting and even beautiful pictures.
�?� (Java + Turtle = Jurtle)
�?� Once the basics of Turtle Graphics programming are mastered, Jurtle can be used to create simple GUI applications, web-based Java applets and text-based console applications.
�?� Jurtle also has built-in links to other more advanced tutorials on the web such as Sun's highly acclaimed Java Tutorials. Jurtle has special features that allow easy importing of the examples used by those and other tutorials.
Jurtle really is the "Java Educational Environment". We hope you enjoy using it while learning Java.
What's new in this version:
Fixed a bug that prevented invoking the LeJOS compiler on certain systems. | <urn:uuid:a8fde2a7-1416-40f9-8882-ada8144d0047> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://download.cnet.com/Jurtle/3000-2051_4-36893.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932853 | 339 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Almost immediately after achieving territorial status, a clamor arose for statehood. On December 28, 1846, Iowa became the 29th state in the Union when President James K. Polk signed Iowa's admission bill into law. Once admitted to the Union, the state's boundary issues resolved, and most of its land purchased from the Indians, Iowa set its direction to development and organized campaigns for settlers and investors, boasting the young frontier state's rich farmlands, fine citizens, free and open society, and good government. Source: Wikipedia
Iowa was first opened to settlement in the spring of 1833, the year following the close of the Black Hawk War and the ending of that portion of the Indian land, bordering on the Mississippi River, thirty miles in width extending from the Des Moines River south to the Turkey River north of Dubuque. At that period there were but two settlements in the "Black Hawk Purchase," one in the present limits of Dubuque County, the other in Lee County, neither of which had an organized existence. In the spring of 1834, the Iowa district (with Wisconsin) was attached to the Territory of Michigan for judicial purposes, and at the first session of the Legislature of Michigan Territory two counties were organized in the Iowa district west of the Mississippi river, Dubuque and Des Moines counties. A very few settlers came during that year, but the number increased during the succeeding years, 1835 -36, when the population reached some ten thousands. | <urn:uuid:aca500ad-1139-44e5-a38a-be9a970083b4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iatttp/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972117 | 298 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Contaminated groundwater beneath Suncor Energy near downtown Denver is continuing to seep into the bottom of Sand Creek and cleanup crews have until Thursday to complete an underground wall to help hold back the cancer-causing benzene leak, The Associated Press reports. The toxic groundwater is seeping into Sand Creek near the confluence with the South Platte River.
Crews are building a 1,000-foot-long, 30-foot-deep underground wall designed to hold back the contaminated groundwater from seeping further into Sand Creek. Suncor energy has also expanded a hose system that is blowing air bubbles into Sand Creek to help expel the benzene. However, The Denver Post obtained Suncor's water sampling data that was provided to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and upon analysis, benzene levels in the creek and river may be increasing. Read The Denver Post's analysis here.
It has been three months since the cleanup effort began and the toxic spill has continued to spread.
The South Platte River is a major source of drinking water for Aurora and Thornton, but the water to both regions is treated so contaminated drinking water is not expected. However, Suncor employees have had their blood tested for benzene that they might have been exposed to through the refinery's own in-house drinking water system, CBS4 reports.
The EPA, state of Colorado and Suncor Energy itself have been working since November to contain and cleanup the contamination. According to 7News, in late-December, benzene levels in Sand Creek reached 670 parts per billion -- 134 times the national drinking standard.
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Get top stories and blog posts emailed to me each day. Newsletters may offer personalized content or advertisements.Learn more | <urn:uuid:63534a0c-8b80-48a9-95eb-c08aaa5b052f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/01/suncor-refinery-spill-cre_n_1313049.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00027-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954019 | 355 | 2.546875 | 3 |
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