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The Limusaurus fossil sits among small crocodile fossils
A new dinosaur unearthed in western China has shed light on the evolution from dinosaur hands to the wing bones in today's birds.
The fossil, from about 160 million years ago, has been named Limusaurus inextricabilis.
The find contributes to a debate over how an ancestral hand with five digits evolved to one with three in birds.
The work, published in Nature, suggests that the middle three digits, rather than the "thumb" and first two, remain.
Theropods - the group of dinosaurs ancestral to modern birds and which include the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex - are known for having hands and feet with just three digits.
It has been a matter of debate how the three-fingered hand developed from its five-fingered ancestor. Each digit among the five was composed of a specific number of bones, or phalanges.
Palaeontologists have long argued that it is the first (corresponding to the thumb), second, and third fingers from that ancestral hand that survived through to modern birds, on grounds that the three fingers in later animals exhibit the correct number of phalanges.
However, developmental biologists have shown that bird embryos show growth of all five digits, but it is the first and fifth that later stop growing and are reabsorbed.
The remaining three bones fuse and form a vestigial "hand" hidden in the middle of a bird's wing.
James Clark of George Washington University in Washington DC and Xing Xu from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing hit an palaeontologist's gold mine in the Junggar Basin of northwestern China.
Previous digs have unearthed the oldest known fossil belonging to the tyrannosaur group and the oldest horned dinosaur among several others.
The dinosaurs had beaks and may have had feathers
This time, the ancient mire has yielded a primitive ceratosaur, a theropod that often had horns or crests, many of whom had knobbly fingers without claws.
"It's a really weird animal - it's got no teeth, had a beak and a very long neck, and very wimpy forelimbs," Professor Clark told BBC News.
"Then when we looked closely at the hand, we noticed it was relevant to a very big question in palaeontology."
The fossil has a first finger which is barely present, made up of just one small bone near the wrist. The fifth finger is gone altogether.
It is a fossil that appears to offer a snapshot of evolution, proving that the more modern three-fingered hand is made up of the middle digits of the ancestral hand, with the outer two being shed.
The third finger is made up of the four phalange bones that the second should have, and it is presumed that the second would lose one bone to become like the first finger that was missing in the fossil.
This process of shifting patterns of gene expression from one limb or digit to another is known as an "identity shift", and was again caught in the act - making the conflicting theories of bird hand origin suddenly align.
"This is amazing - it's the first time we've seen this thing actually starting to disappear," Jack Conrad, a palaeontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, told BBC News.
"There's been this fundamental rift - there was no way to make peace between the good data we were seeing from the developmental biologists and the palaeontological evidence that showed with every fossil we found we were seeing [fingers] one, two and three." | <urn:uuid:22dc6e2e-6038-4fee-8ea2-d9a041295cdf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8105513.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973202 | 751 | 3.53125 | 4 |
N.H. Has Authority Over Any "Sizeable Change" To Portland-Montreal Pipeline
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services says it might have authority over a controversial project to reverse a crude oil pipeline that crosses the North Country. In a memo DES says while pipelines are regulated by the federal government, it would need to issue a permit for any quote “sizeable change or addition” to line. It does not specify if it considers reversing the flow of the line would be considered such a change.
This matters because, for months environmental groups have been saying that the owners of the Portland-Montreal Pipeline are planning to reverse the line and ship crude from the Alberta oil-sands across the Granite State.
The company has consistently said that no such plan is in the works, but the CEO of the company, Larry Wilson, did recently tell the Vermont Legislature this.
Wilson: I want to be clear, while we do not have a project today, we’re aggressively pursuing every opportunity to make use of these excellent assets, and that includes the possibility of reversing our pipeline, and it includes the possibility of moving oil from the western Canadian Oil sands.
If the pipeline were reversed, it would carry the same oil that is envisioned for the embattled Keystone XL pipeline. Environmentalists have been protesting the extraction of that oil, saying that it takes more energy and more environmental damage to extract it. They also say when this oil spills, because it is
heavier, it is much more difficult to clean up.
One bone of contention is whether this oil is more likely to spill. The National Academy of Sciences is engaged in study that is attempting to determine if oil-sands crude is more corrosive to the interior of oil pipelines, the results of which are expected in the spring of 2014. | <urn:uuid:ee120002-3c55-4558-9536-28f2f54b027b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://nhpr.org/post/nh-has-authority-over-any-sizeable-change-portland-montreal-pipeline | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965916 | 370 | 2.546875 | 3 |
In doing numerical operations like NDSolve and NMinimize, the Wolfram Language by default uses machine numbers. But by setting the option WorkingPrecision->n you can tell it to use arbitrary‐precision numbers with n‐digit precision.
When you give a setting for WorkingPrecision, this typically defines an upper limit on the precision of the results from a computation. But within this constraint you can tell the Wolfram Language how much precision and accuracy you want it to try to get. You should realize that for many kinds of numerical operations, increasing precision and accuracy goals by only a few digits can greatly increase the computation time required. Nevertheless, there are many cases where it is important to ensure that high precision and accuracy are obtained.
|WorkingPrecision||the number of digits to use for computations|
|PrecisionGoal||the number of digits of precision to try to get|
|AccuracyGoal||the number of digits of accuracy to try to get|
Given a particular setting for WorkingPrecision, each of the functions for numerical operations in the Wolfram Language uses certain default settings for PrecisionGoal and AccuracyGoal. Typical is the case of NDSolve, in which these default settings are equal to half the settings given for WorkingPrecision.
The precision and accuracy goals normally apply both to the final results returned, and to various norms or error estimates for them. Functions for numerical operations in the Wolfram Language typically try to refine their results until either the specified precision goal or accuracy goal is reached. If the setting for either of these goals is Infinity, then only the other goal is considered.
In doing ordinary numerical evaluation with N[expr,n], the Wolfram Language automatically adjusts its internal computations to achieve n‐digit precision in the result. But in doing numerical operations on functions, it is in practice usually necessary to specify WorkingPrecision and PrecisionGoal more explicitly. | <urn:uuid:fc894253-a236-4ec2-8205-575028620b4c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://reference.wolfram.com/language/tutorial/ControllingThePrecisionOfResults.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.845478 | 388 | 3.109375 | 3 |
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Introduction to Optogenetics
"Before we can find the answers, we need the power to ask new questions." -Karl Deisseroth
In essence, optogenetics is a neural modulation technique used to control neurons in vitro for the purpose of affecting the physiology of neural circuits and ultimately behavior of the studied organism. However, in recent studies, optogenetic techniques have been used to modify nonneuronal tissues, such as cardiac tissue and beta cells, willfully controlling the respective cell-specific roles. Although the implications of optogenetics seem like a panacea for many genetic diseases, much of the field is new; in terms of therapeutics, research is regretfully far behind. Currently, optogenetic techniques are attempted mostly on rodent specimens since primate studies lack profound electrophysical and behavior effects. Optogenetic is widely associated with neuroscience research- sometimes thought as the synergy between neuroscience and synthetic biology. Current optogenetically-related research aims to ascertain brain function of multiple neural circuits, but future endeavors include gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases and neuroprosthetics.
The basis is optogentics is quite simple. The neuron in question is spliced with a specific opsin gene carried by viral vector, usually a modified lentivirus. Subsequently, the encoded opsin attached to the cell membrane. Opsin are photosensitive G protein receptors or ion channels that are induced by a specific wavelength of visible light via fiber optic cable or optrode. In turn, the opsin undergoes a conformational change, eliciting a change in membrane potential. For neuronal cells, changes in membrane potential give rise to action potentials. The strength of the depolarizing current (incoming positive charged ions) is encoded in the frequency of the action potentials generated. Furthermore, synapses (gap junction between neurons) can conduct spatial or temporal summation. Even neuronal cells can be silenced with hyperpolarizing current (incoming negative or outgoing positive charged ions). In short, optogenetics provides neuroscientists with an “on/off” switch for targeted neurons.
"The brain is a world consisting of a number of unexplored continents and great stretches of unknown territory." - Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Biochemistry behind Optogenetics
The Optogenetic Process
Applications of Optogenetics
Hepatology: Diabetes and Beta Cells
IGEM Take-home Message
- Mei Y and Zhang F. . pmid:22480664.
- Yizhar O, Fenno L, Zhang F, Hegemann P, and Diesseroth K. . pmid:21363959.
- Zemelman BV, Lee GA, Ng M, and Miesenböck G. . pmid:11779476.
- LaLumiere RT. . pmid:21255749.
- Doroudchi MM, Greenberg KP, Liu J, Silka KA, Boyden ES, Lockridge JA, Arman AC, Janani R, Boye SE, Boye SL, Gordon GM, Matteo BC, Sampath AP, Hauswirth WW, and Horsager A. . pmid:21505421.
- Boyden ES, Zhang F, Bamberg E, Nagel G, and Deisseroth K. . pmid:16116447. | <urn:uuid:e41f8e6f-2536-4499-817e-b3b5a70b8eda> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://openwetware.org/index.php?title=CH391L/S13/Optogenetics&diff=prev&oldid=679015 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394937.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.834301 | 731 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Definitions for cagekeɪdʒ
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word cage
an enclosure made or wire or metal bars in which birds or animals can be kept
something that restricts freedom as a cage restricts movement
Cage, John Cage, John Milton Cage Jr.(noun)
United States composer of avant-garde music (1912-1992)
the net that is the goal in ice hockey
batting cage, cage(verb)
a movable screen placed behind home base to catch balls during batting practice
cage, cage in(verb)
confine in a cage
"The animal was caged"
an enclosure made of bars, normally to hold animals.
the passenger compartment of a lift
(US derogatory slang) automobile
Something that hinders freedom.
to put into a cage
to keep in a cage
To track individual responses to direct mail.
to restrict someone's movement or creativity
Origin: From cage, from Latin cavea
a box or inclosure, wholly or partly of openwork, in wood or metal, used for confining birds or other animals
a place of confinement for malefactors
an outer framework of timber, inclosing something within it; as, the cage of a staircase
a skeleton frame to limit the motion of a loose piece, as a ball valve
a wirework strainer, used in connection with pumps and pipes
the box, bucket, or inclosed platform of a lift or elevator; a cagelike structure moving in a shaft
the drum on which the rope is wound in a hoisting whim
the catcher's wire mask
to confine in, or as in, a cage; to shut up or confine
Origin: [F. cage, fr. L. cavea cavity, cage, fr. cavus hollow. Cf. Cave, n., Cajole, Gabion.]
Cage is an American heavy metal band from San Diego, California. In early 2010, original bassist Mike Giordano and lead guitarist Anthony Wayne McGuiniss exited the band. CAGE’s newest band members; bassist Steve Brogden and former Brick Bath bassist Pete Stone.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
kāj, n. a place of confinement: a box made of wire and wood for holding birds or small animals: (mining) a frame with one or more platforms for cars, used in hoisting in a vertical shaft: the framework supporting a peal of bells.—v.t. to imprison in a cage—p.adj. Caged, confined.—ns. Cage′ling, a bird kept in a cage; Cage′-work, open work like the bars of a cage. [Fr.—L. cavea, a hollow place.]
British National Corpus
Rank popularity for the word 'cage' in Nouns Frequency: #2497
The numerical value of cage in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
The numerical value of cage in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Sample Sentences & Example Usage
All the world's a cage.
A forest bird never wants a cage.
Bird cage is nice only when it is empty!
Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage.
He who frees a bird from its cage is surely a holy person!
Images & Illustrations of cage
Translations for cage
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- кафез, кабина, клеткаBulgarian
- engabiar, gàbiaCatalan, Valencian
- encager, cageFrench
- engaiolar, gaiola, xaulaGalician
- gabbia, cabinaItalian
- ケージ, 檻, 篭Japanese
- rekeh, qefesKurdish
- KäfegLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- кабина, кафезMacedonian
- kooi, opsluiten in een kooi, liftkooi, kooienDutch
- gaiola, jaulaPortuguese
- клетка, кабинаRussian
- кавез, kavez, krletka, крлеткаSerbo-Croatian
- cái chuồng, cái lồng, chuồng, lồngVietnamese
- cadje, gayole, tchaiveWalloon
Get even more translations for cage »
Find a translation for the cage definition in other languages:
Select another language: | <urn:uuid:f8a21eea-4700-4d80-831b-44adb6ab05dd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.definitions.net/definition/cage | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.67634 | 1,029 | 3 | 3 |
Search And Seizure
Authorized school personnel can search a student, his or her possessions, or places under the student's control if there is a "particularized" suspicion--an "articulable" reason to believe the student knowingly possesses some contraband. The school can only search those places where they reasonably believe they will find contraband. Contraband is any item that cannot be legally possessed, such as drugs, alcohol, or weapons.
Searches by school personnel are permissible without a warrant if they are acting without police direction and they have a reasonable suspicion that they will find contraband in the place to be searched. Reasonable suspicion means the authorized school personnel must have more than a hunch or a whim to believe a student has contraband. The Supreme Court wrote in New Jersey v. T.L.O. , "reasonable suspicion" is "a common sense conclusion about human behavior upon which practical people...are entitled to rely." An eyewitness to drug use or possession may provide the school with reasonable grounds to search. Anonymous tips, standing alone, usually do not provide reasonable suspicion.
If a school official is relying on information from another student or teacher to establish reasonable suspicion, before the search is conducted, the person who wishes to conduct the search should know:
(1) how the person who provided the information knows there is contraband (did he or she see it personally?) and
(2) whether the person who gives the information isreliable (why do you believe the person?)
"Protective sweeps" are searches that are conducted without "particularized suspicion." Lockers or areas of the school can be searched on a routine basis if the search is based on a written policy. Student handbooks should include the policy that lockers are not the exclusive possession of students and are subject to random searches. Protective sweeps should not be used to target an individual student unless there is a particularized suspicion.
Schools may question students about violations of school rules and criminal laws without advising them of their Constitutional Rights. This questioning cannot be conducted on behalf of the police or with the aid of the police. The court will scrutinize any statements to make sure they were given voluntarily and without coercion. | <urn:uuid:3e269334-e943-4b1a-bb58-833157f4b984> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mass.gov/capeda/juvenile-justice/constitutional-considerations-generic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949016 | 454 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The usage of ceramics in architecture founds its origin in the Ancient East, but it was mainly the Islamic world to cover the wall of mosques, mausoleums, Koranic schools and palaces with colored glazed tiles, reaching refined results in the decorations. The lusterware items of 13th – 14th century from Iran, the floral decorated tiles from Iznik (ancient Nicea) in the Ottoman Turkey of 16th – 17th century reach highly refined decorative results.
Later, the positive reception of majolica and glaze coverings spread in Western countries through Spain, where the Hispanic-Moorish stile, embodying the perfect union between Islamic East and Christian West, grew up. The influence of the Moorish Spain also led to the achievement of the lively production of “qallaline” from 17th – 19th century Tunisia.
Beside interesting Spanish pieces of 15th – 16th century, pieces from France of Medieval and Renaissance time, from Holland from 16th to 17th century and a limited but representative selection of stove tiles from Alto Adige, the Western background is completed by a wide-ranging of Italian pieces from Middle Age to contemporary time. Following the examples of the Spanish prototypes, the production of glazed tiles and bricks took root in Italy; in the 15th and 16th century, they covered the floors of chapels, little studios and ceilings of churches. During the 17th and, above all the 18th century they conquered wider and wider surfaces of floors and walls with elaborated modular compositions decorated with wide drawings, especially in Naples and Sicily areas. Such experience greatly increased thanks to the coming into the scene of mechanical implements and industrial processes: after the brilliant Liberty season, at the beginning of the 20th century, the tile exceeded its decorative rule to become an artistic means and support (as happened for Arturo Martini and for the Futurist artists). But it is after the Second World War that a real explosion concerning the industrial production occurred and the tile became a device for the reconstruction and an element of popular diffusion.
The section includes glazed tiles for floor and wall coverings and a few ceramics for architecture (roofing tiles, stove tiles, bricks), or decorative pieces with devotional purposes (panels with figures and landscape). Beside the single works, groups of tiles part of a unique context are settled; they offer a vision of the original floors, in many cases worn and substituted by durable materials such as marble. The choice to place side by side tiles and potteries, testifies the sharing of the same decorative and stylistic patterns over different works.
The double setting of the exhibition, geographic and chronological, allows to focus the technical-stylistic evolution of the tiles along the centuries and to observe the affinity and influences between West and East. | <urn:uuid:fbdc2587-26a4-48f5-8ba5-0f3e5b0f2b24> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.micfaenza.org/piastrelle.php?lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95253 | 580 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Generally speaking, a yurt is a tent because at some point, someone puts it up and, if desired, it can be taken down and moved. Yurts, however, are much stronger and weather-tight than tents. They are made with wooden lattice walls and radial rafters which are supported with perimeter tension cables and a central compression ring. All are covered with durable, heavyweight, waterproof fabric. This 30-foot yurt has two framed doors: one provides access to the yurt, the other provides access to the attached deck and a view of the lake. There are five windows in the yurt (in addition to the dome) enhancing the warm, natural lighting. The yurt is built on a wooden platform which, like the walls and the roof, is insulated for winter use and summer comfort.
The yurt’s design originated on the Mongolian plateau and has been used for centuries. For more information about the structural benefits and history of yurts visit Pacific Yurts, Inc.
Why did Wilderness Wind choose a yurt?
1. For the environment. Yurts enable people to feel closer to nature while minimally disrupting it. The minimal use of materials when coupled with its circular design offers great strength.
2. For the spirit of its circular structure. The circular structure is welcoming, creative, tension-releasing, and just plain fun. There is also something beyond words that is experienced in a yurt.
3. For versatility. Wilderness Wind needed a large gathering space as well as sleeping space. The current floor plan of the yurt allows for both. Should Wilderness Wind need to adjust the floor plan in the future, all interior walls are free standing and are not required for dome or wall support.
4. For extending our open season. The yurt enables Wilderness Wind to extend the season and program. The North woods offers gifts in all seasons. Though we could have added a different structure to accommodate larger groups and accomplish the above interests, a yurt can be insulated to provide year-round use.
5. For future visions. Inherent in their design, yurts allow for move-ability. Though Wilderness Wind is not planning on moving it any time soon , should the needs and facilities of Wilderness Wind change, the yurt can adjust with us while leaving a minimal trace.
Come celebrate the yurt with us and try it out for yourself! | <urn:uuid:4d11a8e4-3a8d-474b-963e-0c566d8565b0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wildernesswind.org/index.php/lakeside/the-yurt/what-is-yurt/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940463 | 494 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Recognizing the significance of music in liturgy, Benedict instructed his monks to ensure that those who lead the singing be able to "fulfill that office in such a way as to edify the hearers" (Rule of Benedict 47). This, of course, requires proper formation and preparation in addition to natural ability.
The Master of Arts in Liturgical Music prepares students to serve the church as pastoral leaders in the musical dimensions of worship. The program integrates musical training with academic study of the liturgy and formation in practical aspects of parish musical leadership.
This integration, particularly in light of the regular liturgical celebrations of the School of Theology and Seminary community, forms students musically and pastorally. It fosters a deep understanding of the role and importance of music in liturgy. In turn, this understanding is enriched by students' experience of prayer in a particular community. | <urn:uuid:c581baac-9366-46cd-a6ec-2c14399e0ba3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://csbsju.edu/sot/academics/graduate-degrees/liturgical-music | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953703 | 179 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Dr Gareth Evans looks at how Australia is calling on the seas to ease the threat of drought in the sunburned country.
Australia – naturally one of the driest inhabited lands on the planet – has never enjoyed a great abundance of water, but in recent years the situation has taken a significant downturn as the country has been forced to endure a prolonged drought of almost epic proportions. May 2008 was Australia’s driest month since records began and came against a decade-long background of rainfall deficit and record high temperatures that have seen the nation’s water reserves put under severe stress, particularly in the east and southwest of the country.
The three-month period from March to May 2008 bore witness to severe rainfall deficiencies across large parts of Australia, exacerbated by an early end to the northern wet season, a poor start to the southern rains and the fourth driest autumn on record across the Murray-Darling Basin. With little rainfall in recent months, large areas of deficiency have developed throughout central and southern parts of Australia, while the combination of record-breaking heat and widespread drought in the past five to ten years is unprecedented in southern and eastern Australian history.
The ramifications of this for the country are enormous. According to the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), Australians are some of the world’s highest water users on a per-capita basis, but it is not simply a question of domestic consumption.
Australia is the third-biggest wheat exporter after the US and Canada, but the present Big Dry has led to disappointing crops and empty grain silos, which have made their own contribution to world shortages and rising global food prices.
Unsurprisingly, easing the effects of drought and safeguarding the future has assumed enormous practical and political importance.
Solutions for Sydney
In early 2007, a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) report painted a disturbing picture of the future for Sydney. The study into the effects of climate change on Australia – described as "a doomsday scenario" by the NSW Premier Morris Iemma – calls for water consumption to be cut by more than half in the next 20 years to avoid the city being faced with an almost permanent state of drought.
Sydney has not been slow to address these issues. The city’s desalination project – intended to produce up to 250 million litres of water a day, with a future option to scale up to twice that amount – is one of the key elements in the New South Wales (NSW) Government’s Metropolitan Water Plan.
Scheduled for completion in 2009, the plant is being built at Kurnell in Southern Sydney and will use wind energy substantially for its operation. A new pipeline will carry product water across Botany Bay from the Kurnell site, connecting with the city’s main water supply tunnel at the inner city suburb of Erskineville.
Desalination is not the only initiative being implemented to secure the city’s long-term water supply. Sydney Water is also aiming for a more than three-fold increase in water recycling – from the present annual 22 billion litres to 70 billion by 2015 – and has a yearly budget of AU$100 million to minimise losses from its network of pipes.
Although Sydney’s leakage is low by industry standards, this allows more than 18,000km of pipelines to be inspected each year to ensure it stays that way.
The rising tide of desalination
Desalination is looking increasingly attractive in the water-scarce regions of the country, such as the NSW central coast – currently experiencing the most severe drought on record. Developing solutions to mitigate the shortages and avoid serious reduction in the available supplies to both businesses and homes has led a number of councils to examine the benefits of seawater desalination, alongside less radical contingency measures.
The Gosford and Wyong Councils’ Water Authority, for instance, has explored the potential of initiatives to reduce primary demand, additional groundwater sourcing, effluent recycling and connecting to the neighbouring Hunter Water Corporation supply.
However, a feasibility study by consultants MWH for a 7,000 million litres a year desalination plant has led the councils to consider the option as a solution of last resort to their burgeoning water shortages.
To the north, on the Queensland/NSW border, at Tugun on the Gold Coast, a desalination plant is being built that will yield 125 ML/day. It could potentially feed into a regional water grid – a concept being developed by the Queensland Government with South-East Queensland Water and local government.
The state’s 50-year plan – published in 2007 – suggests building five more plants for: Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as well as plants on Bribie, North Stradbroke and South Stradbroke islands after 2028.
This move towards desalination is already underway; in November 2006, Western Australia became the first state in the country to use seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) – a separation process that, by the use of pressure, forces a solution through a membrane allowing only pure solvent to pass through. The logic is compelling; seawater desalination is essentially climate-proof and, with all eyes focused on the looming threat of anthropogenic climate change, the advantages of an approach that can produce at full capacity in the face of dwindling rainfall are clear.
At a time when reservoirs are shrinking, groundwater is not replenished and rivers dry up, desalination offers what many see as the perfect counter to the increasingly hostile shift in Australian weather. However, critics argue that the process could make future droughts worse – the heavy energy demand of desalination plants itself contributing to further climate change.
Despite its obvious appeal, desalination is unlikely to offer the complete answer. Water reclamation initiatives, such as the reverse osmosis plant at Kwinana, Western Australia and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project in Queensland, could make a significant contribution to easing the country’s problems.
However, perhaps the most ambitious – and potentially controversial – approach to emerge is to move water from the less populated north to the drier urban south. In April 2008 Australian Water Resources Minister Malcolm Turnbull published a report suggesting that piping water from rivers in NSW to south-east Queensland would be cost-effective.
Nevertheless, in the same month, the whole idea suffered a major setback when the Queensland Government abandoned plans to pipe water from the Burdekin Dam, Queensland to the drought stricken south-east after a Government-funded study estimated costs at AU$14 billion. According to Craig Wallace, the State Natural Resources Minister, going ahead with the project would effectively quadruple the price of water to consumers.
This cost issue surfaced again at the Charles Darwin University water symposium in June. Based on trials in Western Australia, environmental and ecological economist Adam Drucker indicated that desalination would be five times cheaper than shipping water from the Northern Territory’s Top End to meet the needs of southern states. Moreover, as he pointed out, the water that was present in the state was already key to much of the region’s economy.
However, as Professor Will Steffen, a climate change expert from the Australian National University, explained: "The future of water in the Top End is topical and is likely to remain so." For the moment at least, the idea is liable to continue to be viewed as one possible solution to Australia’s water worries.
In January 2008, David Jones, head of climate analysis at Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology warned that it might be time to stop viewing the south east of the country as drought-stricken and accept the extreme dryness as a permanent feature of the nation’s new climate. With the announcement six months later that the situation – particularly in the Murray-Darling river system, which drains one-seventh of Australia’s land mass in the eastern states – is worsening as prospects fade of the cooler months bringing drought-breaking rains, his words have begun to look distinctly prophetic.
Easing the situation calls for innovative thinking, and fortunately Australians are nothing if not resourceful. | <urn:uuid:a8f44a96-af05-451e-98de-96ac36472eb4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.water-technology.net/features/feature40057 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953736 | 1,677 | 3.515625 | 4 |
The Republic of Kosovo is an independent, sovereign, democratic, unique and inseparable state. The Republic of Kosovo is a democratic republic based on the principle of division of governments and check and balances among them. In the Republic of Kosovo the legislative power is exercised by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. As such, the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo is the highest representative and legislative institution in Republic of Kosovo directly elected by the people. The Assembly comprises 120 deputies elected by secret ballot. However, not all deputies are elected by the free vote of the people – secret and democratic voting.
Twenty of deputy seats are reserved for supplementary representation of other non-Albanian communities, and of those, ten seats for the Serbian community and ten seats for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian community 4, Bosnian community 3, Turkish community 2 and Gorani community 1.
The mandate for the composition of legislature by the Assembly of Kosovo shall be three years from the first inaugurating session.
The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo has these responsibilities:
- Adopts laws and resolutions in the areas of responsibility of interim institutions
- Elects the Presidency of the Assembly
- Elects the President of the Assembly
- Approves the candidate for the Prime minister together with the list of ministers of the Government, proposed by the candidate for Prime minister
- Reviews and ratifies the proposed international agreements, within the scope of its responsibilities; decides about the motions of trust vote against the Government
- Guides the Government in the preparation of the draft laws
- Approves the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly and of the parliamentary committees
- Has other responsibilities pursuant to the Constitutional Frame or other legal instruments.
To meet its responsibilities the Assembly convenes every week. The Presidency of the Assembly is responsible for reviewing and preparing the daily agenda of the Assembly for the meeting of the previous week and the temporary daily agenda for two weeks ahead.
The approval of the government’s decisions is reached with consensus and if there is not consensus then the approval is done with the majority of the votes of members present. To the right to present the draft laws in the Assembly are entitled the Government, the President of Republic of Kosovo, the Assembly deputies, or at least ten thousand citizens as provided for by the law. After the process of presenting the draft law the process goes through these phases:
- The first review of the draft law, which is done not earlier than ten working days and not later than three working weeks after its dissemination, includes the approval in principle of the draft law and this review does not allow any amendments
- After the approval of the first review the draft law is reviewed by the respective functional committee, Budget Committee and Judicial, Legislative, and Constitutional Frame Committee
- The Committee on Rights and Interests of Communities reviews a draft law only when it is required by a member of the Presidency or by the majority of the members of the Committee for Communities. During this review recommendations are drafted in the committees in relation with the amendments that are considered necessary and based on which the draft law can be recommended for approval during the second review
- The Assembly reviews the amendments proposed by the committees and so does the amendments proposed by the Government, by the groups of deputies, and by individual deputies before deciding about the approval of the second review
- After the amendments were selected for review, were approved, or were rejected, the final voting is made for the draft law in general with its amendments
- If a draft law is not approved in the second review, the person making the proposal may request the approval of the Assembly for further review-third review
- The laws adopted either in the second adoption or in the third adoption are signed by the President of the Assembly within 48 hours and then they are submitted to the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) to promulgate them
- The laws shall enter into force on the day of their promulgation by SRSG, unless otherwise provided for by the law.
For more information about the work of the deputies in plenary sessions, the laws in procedure, the adopted and amended laws, the activities of the President and the Presidency of the Assembly of Kosovo, the Committees and Parliamentary Groups, planned schedules of activities, and resolutions, declarations and important decisions of the Assembly of Kosovo, please visit the official web-page of the Assembly. | <urn:uuid:71b531ce-2b06-41c5-834a-20b736ce4643> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.rks-gov.net/en-US/Republika/Pages/Kuvendi.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00144-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959294 | 884 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Charles Joseph Kickham
Biography of Charles Joseph Kickham
Charles Joseph Kickham was an Irish revolutionary, novelist, poet, journalist and one of the most prominent members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
Kickham was born at Mullinahone, County Tipperary, on 9 May 1828. His father John Kickham was proprietor of the principal drapery in the locality, and was held in high esteem for his patriotic spirit. His mother, Anne O'Mahony, was related to the Fenian leader John O'Mahony. Charles Kickham grew up largely deaf and almost blind, the result of an explosion with a powder flask when he was 13. He was educated locally, where it was intended he study for the medical profession. During his boyhood the Repeal agitation was at its height, and he soon became versed in its arguments, and was inspired by its principles. He often heard the issues discussed in his father’s shop and at home amongst all his friends and acquaintances.
From a young age he was imbued with these patriotic ideals. He became acquainted with the teaching of the Young Irelanders through their newspaper The Nation from its foundation in October, 1842. Kickham’s father used to read the paper aloud every week for the family. This reading would include the speeches in Reconciliation Hall (home of the Repeal Association) and reports on Repeal meetings in the provinces. Also of interest was the lead articles and literary pages, including, the "Poet’s Corner." Like all the young people of the time, and a great many of the old ones, according to Seán Ua Ceallaigh, his sympathies went with the Young Irelanders on their secession from the Repeal Association.
Kickham contributed, when he was 22 years old, "The Harvest Moon" sung to the air of "The Young May Moon," to The Nation on 17 August 1850. Other verses were to follow, but the finest of Kickham’s poems according to A. M. O’Sullivan, appeared in other journals. "Rory of the Hill," "The Irish Peasant Girl," and "Home Longings" better known as "Slievenamon" were published in the Celt. "The First Felon" (John Mitchel) appeared in the Irishman. "Patrick Sheehan," the story of an old soldier, was published in the Kilkenny Journal, and became very popular as an anti-recruiting song, according to O’Sullivan.
Kickham began to write for a number of papers, including The Nation, but also the Celt, the Irishman, the Shamrock, and would become one of the leader writers on the Irish People, the Fenian organ, in which many of his poems appeared. His writings were signed using his initials, his full name, or the pseudonyms, "Slievenamon" and "Momonia."
Kickham was the leading member of the Confederation Club in Mullinahone, which he was instrumental in founding, and when the revolutionary spirit began to grip the people in 1848 turned out with a freshly made pike to join William Smith O'Brien and John Blake Dillon when they arrived in Mullinahone in July 1848. On hearing of the progress of O’Brien through the country, Kickham had set to work manufacturing pikes, and was in the forge when news reached him that the leaders were looking for him. It was here that Kickham would meet James Stephens for the first time. At O’Brien’s request, he rang the chapel bell to summon the people and before midnight a Brigade had answered the summons. Kickham would later write a detailed account about this period which brought his connection with the attempted Rising of 1848 to a close.
Irish Republican Brotherhood
After the failure at Ballingarry he had to conceal himself for some time, as a result of the part he had played in rousing the people of his native village to action. When the excitement had subsided, he returned to his father’s house, and resumed his interests in the sports of fishing and fowling, and spent much of his time in literary pursuits, for which he had great natural capacity and all the more inclined as a result of the accident. Some of the authors in which he was well versed were Tennyson and Dickens and he greatly admired George Eliot, and after Shakespeare, was Burns. In the autumn of 1857, a messenger, Owen Considine arrived from New York with a message for James Stephens from members of the Emmet Monument Association, calling on him to get up an organization in Ireland. On the 23 December Stephens dispatched Joseph Denieffe to America with his reply, and outlined his conditions and his requirements from the organisation in America. Denieffe returned on 17 March (St. Patrick's Day) 1858 with the acceptance of Stephens' terms and £80. That evening the Irish Republican Brotherhood commenced. Those present in Langan's, lathe-maker and timber merchant, 16 Lombard Street, for that first meeting were Stephens, Kickham, Thomas Clarke Luby, Peter Langan, Denieffe and Garrett O'Shaughnessy. Later it would include members of the Phoenix National and Literary Society, which was formed in 1856 by Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in Skibbereen.
In mid 1863 Stephens informed his colleagues he wished to start a newspaper, with financial aid from O’Mahony and the Fenian Brotherhood in America. The offices were established at 12 Parliament Street, almost at the gates of Dublin Castle. The first number of the Irish People appeared on 28 November 1863. The staff of the paper along with Kickham were Luby and Denis Dowling Mulcahy as the editorial staff. O’Donovan Rossa and James O’Connor had charge of the business office, with John Haltigan being the printer. John O'Leary was brought from London to take charge in the role of Editor. Shortly after the establishment of the paper, Stephens departed on an America tour, and to attend to organizational matters. Before leaving, he entrusted to Luby a document containing secret resolutions on the Committee of Organization or Executive of the IRB. Though Luby intimated its existence to O’Leary, he did not inform Kickham as there seemed no necessity. This document would later form the basis of the prosecution against the staff of the Irish People. The document read:
I hereby appoint Thomas Clarke Luby, John O’Leary and Charles J. Kickham, a Committee of Organization or Executive, with the same supreme control over the Home Organization (Ireland, England, Scotland, etc.) I have exercised myself. I further empower them to appoint a Committee of Military Inspection, and a Committee of Appeal and Judgment, the functions of which Committee will be made known to each member of them by the Executive. Trusting to the patriotism and ability of the Executive, I fully endorse their action beforehand, and call on every man in our ranks to support and be guided by them in all that concerns our military brotherhood. Dublin, 9 March 1864. J. STEPHENS”
Kickham’s first contribution to the Irish People appeared in the third number titled, “Leaves from a Journal,” based on a journal kept by Kickham on his way to America in 1863. This article left no doubt as to his literary capacity according to O’Leary. The third edition also saw the last article by Stephens titled “Felon-setting” a much used phrase now to the Irish political vocabulary. It would fall to Kickham, as a good Catholic to tackle the priests, though not exclusively with articles such as “Two Sets of Principles,” a rebuff to the doctrines laid down by Lord Carlisle, and “A Retrospect” dealing with the tenant-right movement chiefly but also the events of the recent past and their bearing on the present. Kickham would articulate the attitude held by the IRB in relation to priests, or more particularly in politics:
“Nothing would please us better than to keep clear of the vexed question of priests in politics if we could do so without injury to the cause which we were endeavouring to serve. But the question was forced upon us. We saw clearly that the people should be taught to distinguish between the priest as a minister of religion and the priest as a politician before they could be got to advance one step on the road to independence…”
On the 15 July 1865 American-made plans for a rising in Ireland were discovered when the emissary lost them at Kingstown railway station. They found their way to Dublin Castle and to Superintendent Daniel Ryan head of G Division. Ryan had an informer within the offices of the Irish People named Pierce Nagle, he supplied Ryan with an “action this year” message on its way to the IRB unit in Tipperary. With this information, Ryan raided the offices of the Irish People on Thursday 15 September, followed by the arrests of O’Leary, Luby and O’Donovan Rossa. Kickham was caught after a month on the run. Stephens would also be caught but with the support of Fenian prison warders, John J. Breslin and Daniel Byrne was less than a fortnight in Richmond Bridewell when he vanished and escaped to France. The last number of the paper is dated 16 September 1865.
Trial and Sentence
On 11 November 1865, Kickham was sentenced to fourteen years’ penal servitude. The prisoners’ refusal to disown their opposition to British rule in any way, even when facing charges of life-imprisonment, earned them the nickname of ‘the bold Fenian men’. In the course of his speech from the Dock Kickham was to say:
“...Concessions to Ireland have always been the result of Fenianism in some shape or other. The English Government, however, while making concessions, always expected to get something in return. Not only have they stipulated upon getting prompt payment indeed, but they also contrive to get a large instalment in advance...English rule in Ireland is on its trial. The Government admit the existence of a widespread conspiracy, both in Ireland and America. This only shows that the treatment of Ireland by England has been judged and condemned. I regard alien government of this kind as a thing to be overthrown by the methods everywhere recognised as the most efficacious for such a holy purpose. This is my vindication, my justification for the attitude I have taken...”
Quoting then from Thomas Davis Kickham continued:
“The tribune’s tongue and poet’s pen
May sow the seed in slavish men,
But ‘tis the soldier’s sword alone
Can reap the harvest when ‘tis grown.”
The judge William Keogh, before passing sentence asked him if he had any further remarks to make in reference to his case. Mr. Kickham briefly replied: "I believe, my lords, I have said enough already. I will only add that I am convicted for doing nothing but my duty. I have endeavoured to serve Ireland, and now I am prepared to suffer for Ireland." Then the judge with many expressions of sympathy for the prisoner, and many compliments in reference to his intellectual attainments, sentenced him to be kept in penal servitude for fourteen years.
Released under partial amnesty of March, 1869, because of ill-health, and upon his release Kickham was made Chairman of the Supreme Council of the I.R.B. and, according to Devoy, ‘the unchallenged leader’ of the reorganized movement. According to Desmond Ryan, Kickham was an effective orator and chairman of meetings despite his physical handicaps, he wore an ear trumpet, and could only read when he held books or papers within a few inches of his eyes. Kickham for many years carried on conversations by means of the deaf and dumb alphabet.
Kickham was the author of three well-known stories, dealing sympathetically with Irish life and manners and the simple faith, the joys and sorrows, the quaint customs and the insuppressible humour of the peasantry. “Knocknagow,” or “The Homes of Tipperary,” one of the finest tales of peasant life ever written, suggests O’Sullivan. “Sally Cavanagh,” or “The Untenanted Graves,” a touching story illustrating the evils of landlordism and emigration; and “For the Old Land,” dealing with the fortunes of a small farmer’s family, with its lights and shades.
John O’Leary was to say of Kickham in his Recollections of Fenians and Fenianism:
“…there was another kind of knowledge beside that of books possessed by Kickham, and in this I have never met with any one who excelled him. He knew the Irish people thoroughly, but especially the middle and so-called lower classes, and from thoroughness of knowledge came thoroughness of sympathy. It was not that he at all ignored the faults or shortcomings of the people, but he was convinced that these were far more than counter balanced by their virtues, and, anyway, whatever merits or demerits they might have, they were his people, to whom he was bound to cling through life unto death, and this he did with a strength and force excelled by no man of his generation, if equalled by any.”
John Devoy called him “the finest intellect in the Fenian movement, either in Ireland or in America.”
Kickham died on 22 August 1882, at the age of 54. He died at the house of James O’Connor (a former member of the IRB and afterwards M.P. for Wicklow) 2 Montpelier Place, Blackrock, Dublin, where he had been living for many years, and had been cared for by the poet Rose Kavanagh. He was buried in Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary.
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia Charles Joseph Kickham; it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA.
The Irish Peasant Girl
She lived beside the Anner,
At the foot of Slievna-man,
A gentle peasant girl,
With mild eyes like the dawn;
Her lips were dewy rosebuds;
her teeth of pearls rare;
And a snow-drift ’neath a beechen bough
Her neck and nut-brown hair. | <urn:uuid:6ead6b9d-bb97-4e24-bbc1-783b38d36f68> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.poemhunter.com/charles-joseph-kickham/biography/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982023 | 3,086 | 2.734375 | 3 |
2. At frequencies above 4 Hz, the 16 August event falls within the earthquake population and is separated from the explosion population. Taking the location and discrimination results together, I conclude that the 16 August event was an earthquake.
3. Given that many small events (mb < 4.0) will be examined under the GNEM R&E program, and therefore will be detected only at regional distances, there is clearly a need for continued regionalization effort to prepare for treaty monitoring.
4. The modern arrays, which will be part of the GNEM R&E IMS, played an important role in detection and location of the 16 August, but the long-established stations (such as KEV) are important for event identification and relative location studies. I suggest accepting the 16 August event as an earthquake. It could then be used to help confirm that the other recent small events from north of NZTS (Figure 7) were also earthquakes.
5. Clearly, a chemical explosion at NZTS in the m 3.7 - 4.2 range would be an immense help to the regionalization effort. However, given the weak Sn produced by explosions in this region, and given that Sn attenuation is greater than Pn attenuation, a calibration explosion should not be much less than mb will be fall below noise levels. | <urn:uuid:88f7ad4f-84c7-4bc6-8d90-a1f6d15ec842> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/ees/ees11/geophysics/Posters/Hans/ch4.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963543 | 269 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Hey, Baltimore — Feel Like Solving a Mystery?
The Maryland Historical Society Library has uncovered a disturbing photo — or, at least, an apparently disturbing photo. A crowd of masked men in dark suits and bowler hats cluster in the corner of the room, staring at a black man who’s standing on a kind of podium. The atmosphere is one of anticipation, of something on the brink of happening — but what? The MHSL archivists have no idea. “What is happening to this man? Why are the men wearing masks? Are they police officers? Are they a jury? Stare a little longer and other questions arise: What year would this be? Why are two of the men seen above not wearing masks? Why does the African-American man seem so calm?” a MHSL representative writes on their blog. And because their own experts (and a few that they imported) haven’t been able to solve the mystery yet, they’re turning to the public. So, what do you think? See any clues?
The photograph, which is entitled “Detective room, Police Department” is from around 1910. The MHSL blog enumerates the mystery further: the police department looks like it’s set up to evoke a courtroom, and there’s something deliberate about the shot that makes it seem staged, rather than a spontaneous exercise. Fifteen men wear the creepy masks; three don’t. The single black man on the podium looks calm; maybe that’s because the whole thing is a staged demonstration of some kind, so nothing is really at stake.
So far, one Maryland historian has suggested that the image depicts the induction ceremony for the first black detective of the Baltimore City police force; unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case because there were no black officers in the city until 1937. (Digression: did you know that Baltimore’s first black police officer was a woman?) There’s one note in the comments section of the post that offers a tempting solution, but we’re not convinced. If you have an idea, let the MHSL know here. | <urn:uuid:6e407213-9a18-4a54-bee1-54d08adf528d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/hey-baltimore-feel-like-solving-a-mystery/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00018-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961985 | 452 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Distilled beverages are alcoholic beverages that are obtained by distillation from alcoholic beverages or masses. The distillation material can consist of wine, a concentrated sugar solution or a fermented grain suspension. The used ingredients, the course of the process, the reuse or non-reuse of the alcohol, the implementation of maturation, all give a variety of distilled beverages.
|Production process of brandy|
|Production process of cognac|
|Production process of vodka|
The best-known distilled beverages are:
- Brandy, a matured distilled beverage from (white) wine.
- Cognac, a kind of brandy of a very high quality, the heating is more intensive than with brandy.
- Rum, a matured distilled beverage from juice of a sugar cane, or molasses.
- Vodka, a non-matured distilled beverage from grain (sometimes fruits); nowadays aromas are often added for the flavor.
- Gin, a non-matured distilled beverage from grain flavored with juniper berry and other ingredients.
- Whiskey, a non-matured distilled beverage from grain.
The wine is heated to a temperature between the boiling point of alcohol (68°C) and the boiling point of water (100°C). In this way, all alcohol evaporates from the wine while the percentage of water is not reduce.
The still in which the distillation takes place consists of:
- a big vessel in which the wine is heated
- a condensing coil on top of the vessel in which a part already condenses
- a swan-neck that transports the alcohol vapor
- a condenser in which the alcohol vapor condenses
- a vessel in which the almost pure alcohol (96.5%) is caught.
To produce brandy from the heated non-alcoholic wine it is mixed with the distillate (the almost pure alcohol) until an alcohol percentage is reached of 40%. There are two ways to reach such a percentage: apart from the distillate extra alcohol is added or a part of the heated non-alcoholic wine is thrown away. The quality of both brandies is the same, the choice between these two is based on the costs of the processes.
Aging of brandy happens in oak barrels. Generally the wine is not aged longer than 6 years. There are exceptional brandies that have matured for 50 years. In maturing the brandy receives aromas from the oak barrels. Finally, the brandy can be bottled.
sauces, marinades, chocolates and canned fruits.
After the fermentation the first distillation takes place. The juice is heated to a temperature between 78.3 and 100°C. This temperature is sustained until a third of the liquid is distilled. The distillate contains 30 volume percent of alcohol. The distillate called broullis is distilled for a second time. During this second fermentation the distillate is divided into three portions. The ‘head’ has a too high percentage of alcohol, the ‘heart’ is the part with the best quality and the ‘tail’ has not enough flavor/identity. These three parts are distilled several times and are used to mix.
The bright liquid that is obtained after the many distillations is called eau de vie. For a second time this is reduced to a third of its original amount. The alcohol percentage is now 70%. For each liter of cognac 9 liter of grape juice is required.
The eau de vie is matured in oak barrels which give the wine their aromas. The age of the barrel is decisive for the final flavor. Depending on the desired flavor the liquid is poured into other barrels. Besides that, the cognacs from different barrels are mixed with each other to obtain the desired flavor.
After years of maturing (minimally 2.5 years) the cognac is bottled in bottles that are characteristic for a certain company. The bottles of cognac are ready for transport or they are stored until they will be transported.
To avoid microbiological corrosion the bulk is first sterilized by heating it till the point of boiling. To obtain the desired acidity for a good progress of the fermentation lactic acid bacteria are added. At the right acidity the fermentation is started by adding yeasts. For two to four days the yeasts convert the sugars into alcohol.
The liquid mass with a large alcohol percentage is transported to the distillation tower, which consists of several condensers on top of each other. After heating up (to a temperature between 68 and 100°C) the alcohol evaporates and condenses. Besides that, the irregularities are removed. The alcohol vapors rise and condense in the higher chambers of the distillation tower. The materials that are to be removed remain in the lower chambers and are carried off. Remainders of grains are converted further to feed.
The alcohol extract that is obtained in this way contains 95 to 100% of alcohol. To make it drinkable it is diluted with water till a percentage of 40% is reached. Frequently, flavors are added like lemon, red fruits and peach. These vodka-flavored beverages are becoming more and more popular.
Gin is not matured. After the production gin is filled in bottles and made ready for transport or storage.
The vodka is poured into wooden barrels for maturation. The maturation happens in barrels of wood instead of stainless steel so that more aromas are given to the product. During maturation aromas like tannin are transferred from the wood to the liquid. The humidity is kept high in order that the wood transfers the aromas more easily. Because of the high humidity the whiskey also absorbs moisture, which reduces the alcohol percentage.
The maturation of whiskey ranges from three to fifteen year. | <urn:uuid:2d12972c-3d18-47bd-b2c1-c5696eb409c4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hyfoma.com/en/content/food-branches-processing-manufacturing/beverage/alcoholic-drinks/distilled-beverages/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00158-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943464 | 1,201 | 3.09375 | 3 |
A museum honoring the accomplishments of African American musicians may begin construction in the city of Nashville as soon as 2015.
Dedicated to highlighting the cultural and musical impact of black musicians in American history, as well as focusing on the rich musical history of black musicians from the city, the National Museum of African American Music will be constructed partly as a redevelopment of the downtown Nashville Convention Center. The museum hopes to cover the expansive musical history that African Americans have created and innovated from as early as the time the United States was a colony and educate its audience on its impact both nationally and internationally.
The project is the culmination of a task force commissioned back in 2000 by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, which was meant to study the idea of honoring black musicians. The museum, which originally began with a budget goal of $43 million, now is looking for a reduced goal of $25 million — largely thanks to a committal of $10 million by the city in 2006. The city has also donated its convention center as a venue for the project.
The museum’s establishment is especially significant as, despite the city’s rich multicultural history, many perceive Nashville’s culture to be exclusively white due to its reputation for country music stars, and turn a blind eye to the contributions of African American artists. The perception is especially unfortunate considering over a quarter of Nashville’s population is African American and the city’s tourism industry is currently experiencing a rapid boom. The city once attracted major black musicians to an area known as “Music Row”, located on Jefferson Street, including such prominent names as Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King.
“I believe there is strong interest and demand for this type of museum, and the planned location is in a vibrant section of our downtown,” Mayor Karl Dean told Music Times.
While the museum’s construction hasn’t begun, its cultural programming has, educating Nashville schoolchildren about instruments like spoons, washboard basses, and cigar-box guitars. The museum’s Emerging Artist’s series has also begun with the goal of showcasing the talent and impact of African American artists on American culture featuring musicians who will represent diverse musical styles and cultural perspectives. | <urn:uuid:d7af43f0-14f9-411e-93b1-93df2d3cfa47> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2014/04/09/3424896/nashville-african-american-music-museum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00064-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963961 | 459 | 2.84375 | 3 |
The Importance of Particle Packing for Strength (Tec-Cements) or Carbonation (Eco-Cements)
The initial particle packing of a mix has a strong influence on but is not the only determinant of microstructure and the final relationship between it and the porosity and permeability of a concrete. All of these factors strongly affect the properties of a concrete and must be understood in relation to TecEco cements for proper formulation.
Particle packing is taught as part of basic materials processing courses at engineering schools and is very important yet obviously poorly understood by many as for example 1:2:9 and 1:1:6 PC lime mortars in many countries including Australia and the UK use sands designed for hydraulic cements. In relation to our own cements we have seen a number of reports and papers, first from the BRE, then the University of Technology in Sydney and more recently from Cambridge university in which particle packing is not addressed or understood. The fact that an Eco-Cement concrete has to be permeable to actually allow CO2 to permeate through it by gas diffusion and carbonate the binder does not get even a passing mention. All these researchers have made dense concretes with sands designed for ideal particle packing (as required for hydraulic cements) or with a high proportion of fly ash (usually added to reduce porosity and increase density) and expected them to carbonate or alternatively mistakenly thought that brucite was in some way going to contribute to strength which it hardly does. None of the mixes gained good strength as should have been expected because brucite itself is not a good binder and regardless of the CO2 concentration, carbonation cannot be achieved unless the matrices are permeable enough for the efficient entry and diffusion of CO2 molecules to the carbonation reaction front which is thought to be a through solution process .
Porosity has a strong correlation with and can be understood to affect strength as well as permeability and thus carbonation and/or durability in dense concretes (including Tec-Cement concrete). The voids as a result of packing affect water demand and visa versa and thus both affect strength. In relation to durability Ollivier and Massat 1992 and many other authors point out the fundamentals which are that permeability (pores and cracks) and reactivity are the main determinants. This is why Tec-Cement concretes are less permeable and why we substitute Brucite for Portlandite in them, removing all the Portlandite with the pozzolanic reaction. Most of the researchers have made dense concretes with way too much Brucite which serves no purpose other than to weaken the microstructure. We do not introduce Brucite as a binder and this must be understood.
For Eco-Cement concretes the opposite to Tec-Cement applies. It is important for proper carbonation that carbon dioxide can readily diffuse through a permeable structure. Eco-Cements like good potting mixes must be able to "breathe." For strength it is important to have a strong "skeletal" structure. Overall the matrix must be sufficiently permeable to allow significant CO2 diffusion and this can best be achieved by make sure the particles do not fit together perfectly. One way of achieving this is to gap grade, particularly towards the smaller particle sizes and making sure that the dominant large particles are monograded and able to form a strong skeletal network. The Romans and others have put it more simply and referred to an absence of fines when specifying lime mortars.(See historical record below and paper 26 on our downloads/conference papers page).
To understand porosity permeability and CO2 diffusion it is essential to at least have an intuitive grasp of the basics of particle packing. Given that particles are seldom round spheres the complexity is in the detail. Tec-Cement concretes require dense packing and the opposite is the case for Eco-Cement or for that matter any lime mortar or pervious concrete. To make it easier for users TecEco are working on software that will incorporate the science of particle packing, calculate porosity and from that make inferences about permeability and the diffusion of CO2 and hence carbonation rate.
The packing of particles has a very strong influence on porosity and thus permeability. As gases such as air or CO2 diffuse more rapidly through open spaces, the rate of gas diffusion is not the same as but depends on permeability.
The stacking the spheres creates an uncountably infinite number of equally dense packings, the best known of which are called cubic close packing and hexagonal close packing. Each of these arrangements has an average density of
The Kepler conjecture says that this is the best that can be done and that no other arrangement of spheres, regardless or their size has a higher average density. It follows that the void space for perfect packing of spheres is always 1-.74048 = .25952 and cannot be more
According to de Larrard the formula is the same as
which for perfect spheres is (as above) .74048
Particle Packing of Spheres
The size of spheres does not matter A roomful of basketballs or ping-pong balls still gives the same proportion of voids.
Any deviation from perfect spheres of uniform size results in particles intruding into space taken up by voids thus reducing their volume and most concretes including Tec-Cement concrete require dense packing in order to minimise void space.
If the voids left by successively smaller particles are filled the density of packing can be substantially increased. Density can also be increased by using non round particles.
More Perfect Packing of Spheres (3 Sizes)
Experimental work backed up by the mathematical theory of de Larrard indicates that the mean particle size of the magnesium oxide we use at around 5-8 micron is not far off the right size for ideal packing in Tec-Cement concretes with Portland cement which in Australia has a mean particle size of around 12-15 um. Currently with Tec Cements durability, rheology, shrinkage and increases in elasticity are the main benefits of use. With better particle packing we hope to actually reduce rather than increase water demand and hence improve strength as well. Assuming spheres Larrard calculates the ideal ratio of each size range to be 1:2.41 (4.97 um assumming 12 um for PC ) for perfect packing.
Porous matrices may or may not be permeable and for carbon dioxide to enter the matrix of a concrete to react there must be some form of transport. Gas transport is much more rapid than diffusion or solution transport. Porosity is a measure of the void spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0–1, or as a percentage between 0–100% . Permeability implies that the the pores are sufficiently interconnected for gases or liquids to be able to pass though. The porosity at which this can occur is referred to as the percolation point. The following diagram should assist coming to this understanding.
In the above diagram situation 1 - 4 are matrixes. The red and white dots represent pores or solid material. In the case of white solid material and red pores, 1 is red pore permeable. 4 is red pore impermeable and in the case of red solid material and white pores, visa versa. The percolation point for both red and white pores in the above illustration is somewhere between situations 2 and 3.
At some point of relative occurence the red or white dots representing both pores and solid material "percolate" and become connected from one side of the containing squares to the other.
Think of the above simple analogy in relation to a concrete matrix. It is clear that porosity does not mean permeability. If the percolation point is not exceeded at a given porosity the concrete is not permeable.
Porosity leads to permeability but does not imply permeability. The industry use the term pervious but mainly in relation to the ability to let water pass through. An understanding of percolation theory is required and a Geoffrey Grimmett from Cambridge University has written a book on the subject . Remember that CO2 molecules are very very small indeed and so the space through which they need to pass does not have to be very large. It is thus possible to pack particles in such a manner as to achieve gas permeability right down to very small sizes however an understanding of the maths is required.
Particle Packing and the Carbonation of Eco-Cements
To make a good Eco-Cement that sets by carbonation in the atmosphere it is essential that the matrix is sufficiently porous for the porosity to exceed the percolation threshold so that the matrix is permeable for air carrying a small percentage of CO2 to readily diffuse through to the reaction area. Although the Gibbs free energy for the carbonation of Brucite to nesquehonite at - 38.73 kJ·mol-1 is less negative that for the carbonation of Portlandite to calcite at = - 64.62 kJ·mol-1 the limiting factor is usually the kinetics of gas and water permeation to the reaction front and this is a function of the permeability of the matrix.
As CO2 is only approximately .038% of the atmosphere by volume, a considerable amount of air must pass by or through a reaction front for sufficient CO2 to be provided to the carbonation reaction in a developing carbonate binder matrix. Consider the carbonation of 40.31 grams of MgO forming nesquehonite as in a carbonating Eco-Cement. 44.01 grams of carbon dioxide and 64 grams of water are required. Given the volume and mass of the components of air approximately 98 kilograms of air must pass by the reaction front just to provide the CO2 required. The water needed will come both from water in the mix and from the air, the amount required depending on the humidity, rainfall etc. and our experience is that wet dry seems to work best. i.e. outside conditions.
Assuming CO2 delivery to be the governing kinetic constraint, doubling, quadrupling or even increasing the CO2 concentration by ten or twenty fold as is proposed by many researchers will only proportionally increase the amount of CO2 delivered to a reaction front and thus the rate of carbonation. According to ECN "The CO2 concentration in power station flue gas ranges from about 4% (by volume)for natural gas fired combined cycle plants to about 14% for pulverised coal fired boilers." At 10% the rate increase over atmospheric could be expected to be 10/.038 = 263 times provided other kinetic barriers such as the delivery of water do not set in.
Increasing permeability will have a much greater effect on the delivery of CO2 to a reaction front. Although the factors and their interactions governing the rate of gas transport through a cement matrix are complex the rate could be considered to mainly be a function of the permeability. Obviously the cross sectional shape will change from pore to pore and along the length of an interconnected pore but for the purposes of explanation consider the simple case of a simply round, square or triangular pore. The areas are given respectively by:
In each case doubling the basic dimensions will increase the cross sectional area by four (4) times thereby increasing the rate of gas diffusion by the same factor and allowing approximately 4 times as many molecules to pass through or by a reaction front at the same pressure. The relationship whereby if the cross sectional dimensions of a pore are doubled then the cross sectional area quadruples is true for all two dimensional shapes. At nano scales of course the local atomic surfces with provide interference but for our discussion we have assumed this to be minimal.
The case of a cement matrix is much more complex because permeability depends on other factors as well such as the number of interconnected pores, their length, size and tortuoisty and gas diffusivity still others including the molecular size and physical state of the diffusant. As might be expected there are a number of models. Garboczi 1990 who is a well known researcher at NIST and Ollivier and Massat 1992 who provides reviews of some of the models and both concur that Katz-Thomson theory, which is based on percolation theory and originally developed for the oil industry gives good correlation for permeability and according to Garboczi 1990 also for diffusivity. All describe porosity and the inherent difficulties in its measurement and determination of its relationship to permeability. In the Katz-Thompson approach, permeability is a squared function of the critical pore diameter defined as the dimension of the first continuous pathway created by a non wetting fluid invading a porous specimen initially saturated by a wetting fluid. The critical pore diameter is measured by mercury intrusion and as might be expected the expression used in Katz-Thompson permeability theory squares it and thus has the same multiplier effect as in the above simple cases. i.e. a quadrupling in area for a doubling of dimensions.
The basics presented here should be realised by anybody trying to achieve efficient carbonation and be enough to convince them that grading the particles in a matrix to make it permeable is essential if carbonation is to ensue. Doubling the average pore size will quadruple the rate of gas transport and thus carbonation.
For the purposes of TecSoft's software project Katz-Thompson theory based on experiement is not of great use because our objective is to predict concrete properties from the fundamentals to reduce expensive errors and the need for experimentation such as mercury intrusion. To reduce the need for measurement other than for confirming the accuracy of predictions we have taken the approach of de Larrard to calculate porosity and then applied the work of the researchers at NIST (including Garboczi and Bentz) who have developed computer simulations using percolation theory to determine permeability. Given this approach porosity and thus permeability can be calculated from the packing density.
Intuitively the more voids the more they are interconnected and from this we can develop thresholds that agree with real data. Consider two cases of a binary mix. If the larger particles are dominant the voids are much more than if smaller particles are dominant.
Binary Mix Large Particles Dominant
Binary Mix Small Particles Dominant
From the above very simple illustrations taken from de Larrard's book it is evident that a skeletal structure of larger particles and a lack of fines will result in permeability as experts know from practical experience from the days of the Romans.(See historical record below and paper 26 on our downloads/conference papers page). In the more complex case of a multitude of sizes in a closely packed matrix this strategy translates to gap grading particularly in the mid to fines range and to some extend at least mono sizing the dominant particle..
We can calculate the porosity of a concrete from the particle sizes and packing, the question arises as to what are the thresholds between porosity that is impermeable and porosity that becomes interconnected and thus permeable? To determine this we will be using percolation theory with the help of Garboczi, E. J. and D. P. Bentz (1999) who have developed it for dense concretes and according to whom "The main concept of (which) is the idea of connectivity. Picture some sort of structure being built up inside a box by the random attachment of small pieces to each other. Percolation theory attempts to answer the question: At what point does the structure span the box. The percolation threshold is defined by the value of some parameter, say volume fraction of the structure in the box, right at the point where the structure either achieves or loses continuity across the box." A model that consists of overlapping "soft" spheres placed randomly in a box simulates the growth of solids like concrete. If the volume fraction covered by the collection of spheres is monitored until they form a continuous structure it is found that they will occupy 29% of the volume with changes in shape changing this threshold.
"The percolation threshold that is important for transport processes is the point at which the interconnected pore spaces no longer percolate." As pieces of hydration (or in the case of Eco-Cements - carbonation) products are formed pieces of the capillary (or connected) pore space will be trapped and cut off from the main pore network, thus reducing the fraction of pores that form a connected pathway for transport. As this process continues, the capillary pore .......system would end and slow transport would then be regulated by the smaller C_S_H gel pores (pore product)." Garboczi, E. J. and D. P. Bentz (1999)
A convenient way of conceptualising this threshold is as the quantity fraction connected "defined as the volume fraction of capillary pores that make up a connected path through the sample divided by the total volume fraction of capillary pores."
This threshold for dense PC concretes has been worked out by Garboczi, E. J. and D. P. Bentz (1999) and found to be about 20% +- 5% depending on particle size distributions, morphology of particles and degree of dispersion (and thus packing). A further complication in the model is the presence of an interfacial transition zone which is itself usually more porous.
In dense concretes as hydration proceeds the capillary pores become blocked off and diffusion takes over through both the remaining but disconnected pores and the CSH gel pores (micro pores). The NIST team have done some modeling of diffusion through these pores and at a later date TecSoft, our subsidiary will include this and other modeling in our TecBatch software. Diffusion modeling is not a urgent as getting across the basics for rapid carbonation for which the limiting factor is permeability not the rate of diffusion.
The issue of the permeability of Eco-Cements for efficient carbonation is similar to that of dense concretes but the capillary pores must be formed as a result of the packing and not as a function of the water - binder ratio and we expect the thresholds will when calculated and confirmed by experiment turn out similar to those found by Garboczi, E. J. and D. P. Bentz (1999) . According to unpublished work from Bentz the figures are 25% for needle like products and 30% for plate like products. See also Garboczi, E. J. and D. P. Bentz (1996) .
The Historical Record
The historical record is entirely consistent with everything we say about successfully formulating a carbonating cement like Eco-Cement.
According to Benjamin Herring, editor in chief of constructor magazine “The Romans had two distinct types of concrete mortar. One was made with simple lime and river sand, mixed at a ratio of three parts sand to one part lime. The other type used pozzolan instead of river sand and was mixed at a ratio of two parts pozzolan to one part lime.” (Herring 2002) .
The Romans had two distinct types of concrete mortar and they understood the particle packing requirements of both. One was made with simple lime and river sand, mixed at a ratio of three parts sand to one part lime. The other type used pozzolan instead of river sand and was mixed at a ratio of two parts pozzolan to one part lime. The former required coarse gritty aggregates described below whilst the latter was even tamped into position to increase density. The oldest we have come across addressing the issue of sands for carbonating and hydraulic cements used by the Romans is book II, chapter IV of the Ten Books of Architecture by Vitruvius Pollio (Pollio 27 - 23 BC). According to Vitruvius “the best (sand) will be found to be that which crackles when rubbed in the hand, while that which has much dirt in it will not be sharp enough. Again: throw some sand upon a white garment and then shake it out; if the garment is not soiled and no dirt adheres to it, the sand is suitable” Vitruvious was talking about gritty sand with no fines.
There is no doubt that grading is one of the most important parameters for properly carbonating mortars. As a further example of older literature supporting the view that coarse sands and a lack of fines are required for carbonating mortars are the comments by the 16th century architect Andrea Palladio, renowned for "The Four Books of Architecture" which were translated into English in the early 18th century and used as a principal reference for building for almost two centuries (Palladio 1738) . In the first book Palladio says, inter alia, "the best river sand is that which is found in rapid streams, and under water-falls, because it is most purged". In other words, it is coarse. Compare this with most sand for use in mortar today (Jordan 2004) .
Alf Waldum of the Norwegian Building Research Institute states at page 4. “in the "good quality" ancient mortars relatively coarse sand is often found. Grains up to 6 - 8 mm were often used for renders 20 - 30 mm in thickness and for masonry mortars." (Waldum).
Modern Practice for Carbonating Mortars
Few people today know how to make a carbonating mortar as has been evident from the rash of papers about our Eco-Cements that are completely wrong in relation to the requirements for carbonation. Unfortunately this is also true in relation to cements containing lime.
Too often the focus is on ease of use rather than end result, For example in the most used 1:1:6 or 1:2:9 (pc, lime, aggregate) type mortar mixes, the aggregates used are generally much too fine and well graded for the lime to serve as much other than a plasticiser. Given the increasing popularity of these mortars and the possibility of carbon credits for sequestration it is essential that researchers and the industry get their respective acts together.
Using standard concrete spec sands as did the BRE or a lot of similarly graded fine materials (such as MgO, PC and fly ash) as was the case with the University of Technology, Sydney and Cambridge University in Eco-Cement Concretes will not result in sufficient permeability for efficient carbonation.
Global warming is a major issue and the huge potential in the built environment for sequestering carbon cannot be ignored. There is therefore an urgent need to understand the merits of properly carbonating concretes (including mortars) in this context. The idea of building carbonation rooms for carbonation is preposterous given that carbonation can be achieved in atmospheric conditions given proper mix design and particle packing for permeability. Cementitious materials like Eco-Cements that go the full thermodynamic cycle gain strength by carbonation and have tremendous potential because the CO2 chemically released during manufacture can be recaptured resulting in significant overall sequestration. With capture during manufacture using the TecEco Tec-Kiln re-carbonation results in sequestration which given the size of the built environment is potentially on a massive scale. Eco-Cements also have the advantage over lime mortars of forming hydrated carbonate species because they volumetrically go much further as they take on during setting significant CO2 and water. Being fibrous or acicular they also add tremendous micro structural strength
Eco-Cements must be permeable to allow air to pass through and are are thus best made with a lack of fines. They are gap graded in the smaller sizes and somewhat mono graded in the dominant size range so there is a maximum amount of free space available for air flow.
Permecocrete - An Example of a Mono and Gap Graded Eco-Cement Concrete
The relatively pervious nature of Permecocrete is what allows water to pass through so it can act as a permeable or pervious pavement. If water can pass through so can air allowing the Eco-Cements that is holding the stone together.to set by carbonation relatively rapidly.
Carbonation Rate as a Function of Permeability
Once past the threshold permeability (the percolation threshold) the carbonation rate will increase dramatically. Below this threshold carbonation is by diffusion and insignificant.
The Rate of Carbonation is Proportional to Permeability and Declines with Time.
Given permeability is achieved the rate of carbonation follows a simple asymptotic curve similar to but slightly delayed in relation to that for the hardening of hydraulic PC concrete.
For the benefit of our opposition who are claiming that our blocks take 6 months to carbonate, the last commercial lot that were made at the time of editing this page were made, delivered and erected within a week.
Sustainability and Particle Packing
The main goal of TecEco technology is to improve the sustainability of cementitious binders.
There are several ways in which particle packing interacts with this goal. Eco-Cements only absorb CO2 if they are sufficiently permeable. On the other hand the denser Tec-Cements can be made the less binder required. Both objectives require an understanding of particle packing.
Optimising the particle packing of Tec-Cement concrete not only results in improved strength but also reduces the porosity, the segregation potential and increases durability and other favourable properties. Another way of increasing the sustainability of concrete is to use waste as aggregates and the aim of TecEco is to incorporate as much waste as possible in concretes used in the built environment. Unfortunately few wastes are suitable for use either because of their chemical nature or because of their size distribution. The problem of internal reaction is solved by the chemistry of the new TecEco calcium-magnesium blends whilst more optimal particle packing will by modification allow wastes to be used as aggregates. By the addition of corrective aggregates the overall size distribution can be improved and thus performance.
At TecEco we believe the improvement in sustainability that can be achieved with more optimal particle packing to be significant and this is the case fior Eco-Cements which must be gas permeable and with dense Tec-Cement concretes as less cement need be used.
For example in an Eco-Cement there is significant volume increase on the hydration and carbonation of MgO and a strong contribution to microstructure from the shape of the main mineral formed which is nesquehonite.
Permeation is the penetration of a permeate (such as a liquid, gas, or vapour) through a solid, and is related to a materials intrinsic permeability. Permeability is tested by permeation measurement and can be calculated from fundamental properties as in the case of TecBatch, the software developed by TecSoft Pty. Ltd., an associated company.
Diffusion is a spontaneous process that describes the movement of a fluid (liquid or gas) down a concentration gradient. It is simply the statistical outcome of random motion. Diffusion increases entropy but decreases Gibbs free energy and is therefore is thermodynamically favourable. Diffusion operates within the boundaries of the Second Law of Thermodynamics because it demonstrates nature's tendency to wind down, as evidenced by increasing entropy. Diffusing molecules will move randomly between areas of high and low concentration but because there are more molecules in the high concentration region, more molecules will leave the high concentration region than the low concentration one. Therefore, there will be a net movement of molecules from high to low concentration. The diffusivity of a diffusant defines the rate of diffusion down a known concentration gradient.
Brucite is not a good binding mineral unless strongly compressed ( Ramachandran, V., R. Feldman, et al. (1981). Concrete Science - Treatise on Current Research. London Philadelphia, Heydon & Son Ltd.) and in Tec-Cement concretes is used for rheology, setting characteristics, durability and shrinkage control only. Because it promotes the more complete hydration of PC it is also thought to reduce autogenous shrinkage and improve long term strength.
Quillin, K. and P. Nixon (2006). Environmentally Friendly MgO-based cements to support sustainable construction - Final report, British Research Establishment.
Ollivier, J. P. and M. Massat (1992). "Permeability and microstructure of concrete: a review of modeling." Cement and Concrete Research 22: 503-514.
The example in our patent specification which we suspect has been religiously followed by some researchers is and Enviro-Cement and not a good one in relation to some of the principles involved in making our Tec or Eco-Cements and we apologise for this. We therefore encourage researchers to talk to us directly for proper guidance.
At the present time TecEco are working to improve the particle size of the magnesia it supplies to reduce the obvious fineness demand for water.
Harrison, John (2005) Carbonating and Hydraulic Mortars - the difference is not only in the binder. Aggregates are also important. Proceedings Concrete 05, Concrete Institute of Australia, 17-19 October, 2005, Melbourne.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kepler_conjecture
de Larrard, F. (1999). Concrete Mixture Proportioning: A Scientific Approach, E & FN Spon.
Grimmett, G. (1999). Percolation. Heidleberg, Springer.
http://www.ecn.nl/en/h2sf/products-services/co2-capture/r-d-activities/post-combustion-co2-capture/ accessed 24 Mar 08
Garboczi, E. J. (1990). "Permeability, Diffusivity, and Micro structural Parameters: A critical review." Cement and Concrete Research 20: 591-601.
Ollivier, J. P. and M. Massat (1992). "Permeability and microstructure of concrete: a review of modelling." Cement and Concrete Research 22: 503-514.
Garboczi, E. J. and D. P. Bentz (1999). "Computer Simulation and Percolation Theory Applied to Concrete." Annual Review of Computational Physics VII: 85-123.
Garboczi, E. J. and D. P. Bentz (1996). "Modeling of the Microstructure and Transport properties of concrete." Construction and Building Materials 10(5): 293-300.
Herring, B. (2002). The Secrets of Roman Concrete. Constructor. Virginia, Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).
Vitruvius, P. (27-23 BC). The Ten Books of Architecture. Rome.
Palladio, Andrea (1738). The Four Books of Architecture.
Jordan, J. W. (2004). The Conservation and Strengthening of Masonry Structures. Proceedings of the 7th Australasian Masonry Conference, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, University of Newcastle, Australia.
Waldum, A. M. Historic Materials and Their Diagnostic, State of the Art for Masonry Monuments in Norway, Norwegian Building Research Institute. | <urn:uuid:e034e91d-ead1-48d0-a861-1b2f1b07ed63> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.tececo.com/technical.particle_packing.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00158-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933348 | 6,517 | 2.859375 | 3 |
What is tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that usually develops slowly and can lead to ill health for a long time. If it is not treated it can cause death.
How does it occur?
TB is caused by a type of bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs. They can destroy parts of the lungs, making it hard to breathe. The bacteria can spread to and damage other parts of the body, especially the brain, kidneys, bones, and joints. The lymph nodes can also become infected.
Most people who are infected with TB bacteria do not develop active TB; that is, they do not become sick and usually do not infect others. Their body defenses control the infection by building a wall around the bacteria. This is called latent TB. The walling-in process does not kill the bacteria. If you have latent TB and later--even years later--become weak, ill, or undernourished, you may start having active TB.
If you are exposed to a large amount of TB bacteria, you may become ill with active TB soon after you are first infected with the bacteria.
TB is very contagious. It is spread mainly through the air. A person who has active TB can spread the disease by spraying droplets infected with the bacteria into the air by coughing, sneezing, speaking, singing, or laughing.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of TB can begin anytime from 2 months to several years after you are exposed. Possible symptoms are:
- weight loss and loss of appetite
- sweating at night
- joint pain
- a cough that starts out dry but later produces sputum.
Sometimes there are no symptoms.
How is it diagnosed?
Your healthcare provider will ask about your symptoms and give you a physical exam. You will need to have a tuberculin skin test, chest X-ray, and sputum culture:
- Tuberculin (PPD) skin test: Your healthcare provider will inject a substance called tuberculin, or PPD, beneath your skin. If you are infected with TB, a lump will form where this shot was given within 3 days. This reaction is called a positive tuberculin test. It means that TB bacteria have invaded your body. It does not necessarily mean you have active, infectious TB. In fact, most people with positive tuberculin tests do not have active TB. If your PPD test is positive, close family members should also have the test.
- Chest X-ray: If you have breathed in TB bacteria but have fought off the infection, your lungs may not be damaged and your chest X-ray may be normal. However, if you have an active infection and bacteria have attacked your lungs, the infection will show on a chest X-ray.
- Sputum exam and culture: Sputum is material coughed up from the lungs. It may include mucus and blood. A sample of sputum coughed up from the lungs can be viewed with a microscope to see if there are TB bacteria in the sputum. A culture test can be done to see if TB bacteria can be grown from the sputum. If TB bacteria do grow, you have TB. It may take up to 6 to 8 weeks for a sputum culture to give definite results.
How is it treated?
If you have active TB, you will be treated with medicines at home or in the hospital. You will probably be given several medicines, which you will need to take for several months. Possible medicines include:
- isoniazid (INH)
You usually have to take more than one medicine because one alone may not kill all the TB bacteria.
The medicines have many side effects and can upset the stomach or cause liver problems. You will need to have blood tests while you are taking these drugs.
If your TB skin test is positive but you do not have active TB, you will probably still need some treatment with medicine to kill the TB bacteria and prevent an active infection. This is especially important if you have other medical problems, such as diabetes, that make it harder for you to fight infections.
Tuberculosis has become a more common disease. New strains of the TB bacteria sometimes cannot be killed by the drugs listed above and new treatments must be found. These new strains are called resistant TB, meaning that the TB bacteria have become resistant to the usual medicines.
Quarantine is a very old way to prevent disease and it is still used sometimes. It means that someone who is infected is kept separate from uninfected people. Sometimes people who have just been diagnosed with active TB have to be quarantined. Because TB is so contagious and because the bacteria tend to be in every cough, sneeze, and breath, you may be quarantined for a few days or a couple weeks until your healthcare providers believe you can no longer infect others. Quarantine is especially important if you have an active TB infection with one of the resistant types of bacteria.
TB bacteria are more likely to become resistant if people who have TB do not take their TB medicines on the recommended schedule. To try to prevent the development of resistant strains, take your medicines exactly as your healthcare provider has directed.
How long will the effects last?
Almost everyone who is properly treated for TB is cured. The main reason that treatments do not work sometimes is that people have not taken their medicines properly.
How can I take care of myself?
Ask your healthcare provider the following questions:
- May I continue doing everything I am used to doing; for example, exercising and cooking for my family? May I continue to work?
- What kind of diet is best?
- How long after I start taking the medicines am I still contagious?
- If I am pregnant or breast-feeding, will the TB bacteria infect my child? Will the medicines I am taking hurt my child?
- How can I help keep my family and friends from getting infected?
- What are the side effects of the medicines?
- Are there any medicines I should avoid while taking the TB medicines?
- Can I drink alcohol while I am taking the TB medicines?
- What tests should I have before I begin the TB medicines (for example, liver function test)? How often will I need to repeat the tests while I am taking the medicines?
What can be done to help prevent tuberculosis?
TB can be prevented. To help keep the disease from spreading, people infected with TB bacteria must be diagnosed early.
If you have active TB, you can help prevent spread of the disease by following these guidelines:
- Start treatment with antibiotics as early as possible. Take all of your TB medicine exactly as prescribed.
- Put used tissues in a plastic bag and seal the bag before you throw it in the garbage.
- Cover your mouth and nose when you cough, sneeze, or laugh.
- Wash your hands after sneezing or coughing or any time your hands are around your mouth or nose.
If you have latent TB, your provider may prescribe isoniazid to prevent an active infection. If you cannot take preventive medicine, make sure you keep your follow-up appointments with your provider. Checkups will find TB that is becoming active. The active TB can then be treated at an early stage before much, if any, damage is done.
If you work in a prison, hospital, or long-term care facility, or if you work with groups of people that have a high rate of TB, you should be tested for TB regularly. Check with your provider to find out how often you should be tested. You should also ask how often you should be checked for TB if you have a medical problem that weakens your immune system, such as diabetes or HIV infection.
Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.
HIA File infd4540.htm Release 13/2010 | <urn:uuid:4466f193-a2a8-4e1b-81fb-c32482351bdf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.corephysicians.org/news-and-health-library/health-library/infectious-disease/infd4540/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00083-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955409 | 1,679 | 3.625 | 4 |
Invisible Man Introduction
In A Nutshell
Nope: this isn't H.G. Wells' sci-fi novel. And it has nothing to do with Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, or Violet Parr from The Incredibles, or the T-1000 from Terminator. In fact, it doesn't even have any actual vanishing-into-thin-air-style invisibility.
Dead wrong. So far from the truth. While this book has nothing to do with the kind of disappearing that magician's rabbits do, it has everything to do with a much more important, insidious and ominous kind of invisibility.
Published by Ralph Ellison in 1952 to instantaneous acclaim, Invisible Man is the story of a man in New York City who, after his experiences growing up and living as a model black citizen, now lives in an underground hole and believes he is invisible to American society.
Yeah—this kind of invisibility is far more upsetting than any "Now you see them, now you don't!" slight-of-hand. Because it's real.
Invisible Man is important not only in the literature world for its improvisational jazz-inspired style, but also in the political world for adding a new voice to the discussion about black in/visibility in America. Ellison depicts several ideologies in the novel that line up with the ideologies of Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and communism.
To equate the ideologies would be a big mistake, because the characters portrayed in the novel are only caricatures of their real-life inspirations (in the same way that Homer Simpson is not an accurate representation of a middle-class father). But the novel's rejection of ideology in general is a central theme, which explains why Invisible Man was super—and we mean incredibly—controversial among influential black thinkers from the civil rights movement in the 1960s... and even to this day.
Ellison drew heavy fire for being, in their view, politically disengaged and removed from the collective plight of black America. Invisible Man, in its efforts to transcend racial labeling, was criticized by those who wanted to keep those labels in place and use them as lighting a fire under political action.
Putting politics aside, Invisible Man is significant for its incredibly daring and manically innovative style. Ellison stated in his National Book Award acceptance speech that he viewed Invisible Man as exceptional precisely because it was so experimental: in Invisible Man, Ellison was trying to create the literary equivalent of jazz music.
Literature that reads like jazz and stirs up massive controversy? Hoo-boy.
No one would dare tell you that Invisible Man is easy or crowd-pleasing. It's not simple, straightforward or out to woo the masses. What it is, however, is a totally brilliant and provocative work of great literature.
Why Should I Care?
"He's got an amazing lay-up, but he can't spell!"
"Why are drama geeks so weird?"
"She's a cheerleader—isn't she supposed to be hot?"
Within the first five minutes of meeting someone, we've got them sized up, categorized, and filed away under a billion different headings: girl next door, rebel, tough guy, femme fatale, flamboyant, rich, wallflower, punk, exotic, hippie, fashionista. You're labeled by what school you go to, your athletic prowess, your looks, where you shop, your zip code, what car you drive, what phone you use, where you went for vacation last summer—and, oh yeah, your race.
The narrator of Invisible Man gets labeled more frequently than a pack of cigarettes. Throughout the novel, he's mistaken for a reverend, a pimp, a gambler, a fink, a unionist, a "Southern Negro," a "New York Negro," a rapist, a lover, a doctor, and a good singer.
So what happens when we get slapped with that inevitable label (or two or three or four)? We can embrace or reject them, but either way, they're going to affect us, and, to some degree, determine our actions.
What makes Invisible Man so compelling is that its narrator recognizes this, reflects on it in great depth, and chooses to deal with and live in the world anyway. Not exactly an easy feat. How does he pull it off, you ask? Good question. Get on that, and tell us what you think. | <urn:uuid:31ae3e4c-f519-47d2-9be1-3100f17f55ef> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.shmoop.com/invisible-man-ellison/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95362 | 914 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Bird Lek Mating
Lekking is a curious variation on promiscuous mating. This word of Swedish derivation, describes a pattern of mating behavior seen only in a small number of birds around the world. In North America its chief practitioners are Greater and Lesser Prairie-Chickens, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Sage Grouse, and Buff-breasted Sandpipers.
During the mating season, the males of lekking species gather into small clusters of territories, called leks, or arenas. Each male defends a territory within the lek although the area may only be a few yards across. Thirty or more males can gather at a large lek. They display with frantic intensity, sometimes oblivious to most everything around them (though their intensity increases when females are present).
Females visit the lek and wander among the displaying males as if comparing their virtues. Eventually a female accepts the advances of a particular male and mates with it. Usually only a few males out of all those present on the lek ever successfully mate. The female then lays its eggs in a nest that may be distant from the lek and that will never be visited by the chosen male. Left: Lekking species, like the Sage Grouse shown here, reserve mating activity to traditional lekking grounds. In these birds, incubation and parental care is left to the females.
|Back to Bird Mating Strategies| | <urn:uuid:cd8f73c5-b398-4adb-a732-504e525ea724> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/courtship-lek.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00182-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940795 | 292 | 3.34375 | 3 |
The Optical Society
Specialty Contact Lenses May One Day Help Halt the Progression of Nearsightedness in Children
Researchers present new approach that may lead to possible cure for myopia at Frontiers in Optics 2012
Diagram of myopia in the human eye. Credit: National Eye Institute.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2012—Nearsightedness, or myopia, affects more than 40 percent of people in the U.S. and up to 90 percent of children in some parts of Asia. The problem begins in childhood and often progresses with age. Standard prescription lenses can correct the defocus but do not cure nearsightedness, and do not slow progression rates as children grow. But recent experimental work by biomedical scientist David Troilo and colleagues at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry in New York City supports the development of a potential cure for myopia by using specialty contact lenses that coax the eye to grow in a way that can correct nearsighted vision while reducing myopia progression. Troilo will describe his findings at the Optical Society’s (OSA) Annual Meeting, Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2012, taking place Oct. 14–18 in Rochester, N.Y.
Myopia develops when the eye is too long, making it difficult to focus light from distant objects on the retina. Glasses or contact lenses that correct the defocus on the main visual axis can create a slight degree of farsightedness in the peripheral retina, Troilo says. The peripheral farsightedness may worsen myopia because as children grow, the eye grows to move the retina to where the light is focused, naturally lengthening the eye even further.
Troilo has shown that specially designed contact lenses that alter how light is focused in the peripheral retina can induce changes in growth that help reshape the eye in the desired way. The experimental lenses use different focal powers within a single lens: either alternating focal powers across the lens, or confined to the outer edge. Experiments with the new lenses found that they changed eye growth and refractive state, or focus, in a predictable way. The lenses successfully reduced the elongation of the eye that causes myopia progression.
Several contact lens designs may soon be available to help eye doctors manage the progression of myopia in children, Troilo says.
Presentation FW1C.1 “Optical Approaches for Controlling Myopia Progression: Evidence from Experimental Models” takes place Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 8 a.m. EDT at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.
PRESS REGISTRATION: A press room for credentialed press and analysts will be located in the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, Sunday through Thursday, Oct. 14-18. Those interested in obtaining a press badge for FiO should contact OSA's Lyndsay Meyer at 202.416.1435 or email@example.com.
About the Meeting
Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2012 is the Optical Society’s (OSA) 96th Annual Meeting and is being held together with Laser Science XXVIII, the annual meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Laser Science (DLS). The two meetings unite the OSA and APS communities for five days of quality, cutting-edge presentations, fascinating invited speakers and a variety of special events spanning a broad range of topics in optics and photonics—the science of light—across the disciplines of physics, biology and chemistry. FiO 2012 will also offer a number of Short Courses designed to increase participants’ knowledge of a specific subject in the optical sciences while offering the experience of insightful teachers. An exhibit floor featuring leading optics companies will further enhance the meeting. More information at www.FrontiersinOptics.org.
Uniting more than 180,000 professionals from 175 countries, the Optical Society (OSA) brings together the global optics community through its programs and initiatives. Since 1916 OSA has worked to advance the common interests of the field, providing educational resources to the scientists, engineers and business leaders who work in the field by promoting the science of light and the advanced technologies made possible by optics and photonics. OSA publications, events, technical groups and programs foster optics knowledge and scientific collaboration among all those with an interest in optics and photonics. For more information, visit www.osa.org. | <urn:uuid:9faa1882-e712-49cc-98ee-4c9c9f9b6cf7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.osa.org/en-us/about_osa/newsroom/news_releases/2012/specialty_contact_lenses_may_one_day_help_halt_the/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.899256 | 905 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Timor Blue-flycatcher (Cyornis hyacinthinus) - HBW 11, p. 159
French: Gobemouche hyacinthe
Spanish: Papamoscas Jacintino
Other common names: Blue-backed/Hyacinthine Flycatcher
Taxonomy: Muscicapa hyacinthina Temminck, 1820, no locality = Timor.
Placement in genus Niltava has been considered more appropriate for this species. Forms a superspecies with C. hoevelli and C. sanfordi. Population on Roti (off SW Timor) may belong to an as yet undescribed race. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- kuehni E. J. O. Hartert, 1904 - Wetar, in E Lesser Sundas.
- hyacinthinus (Temminck, 1820) - Timor, Roti and Semau, in E Lesser Sundas.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
Locality Timor-Leste, Timor, Lesser Sundas
James Eaton 1 November 2012 2 years ago 4.5
A perched bird.
Locality Timor, Lesser Sundas (ssp hyacinthinus)
mehdhalaouate 13 April 2008 6 years ago 4
A male singing
Locality Roti (Rote), Lesser Sundas (ssp hyacinthinus)
Stijn Cooleman 13 December 2013 2 years ago 3.3
A male perched in a tree.
Locality Wetar, Lesser Sundas (ssp kuehni)
Josep del Hoyo 25 October 2011 4 years ago 2.6 | <urn:uuid:1fbc486b-a5a1-467d-b0dc-9585f9fca409> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/timor-blue-flycatcher-cyornis-hyacinthinus | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00043-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.655192 | 367 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Milford Sound History
Milford Sound and Fiordland were well known to the Maori. Many Maori legends relate to its formation, including the demi-god Tuterakiwhanoa, who is said to have carved the rugged landscape from formless rock.
The Maori named Milford Sound 'Piopiotahi' after a thrush-like bird, the piopio. Piopiotahi literally means a single piopio, which harks back to the legend of Maui trying to win immortality for mankind. When Maui died in the attempt, a piopio was said to have flown to Milford Sound in mourning.
The name Milford Sound was first given to the sound by Captain James Cook. He and his crew were the first Europeans to visit the area. He named it after Milford Haven in Wales. Following Cook's mapping of the sound, sealers and whalers formed the first European settlements there.
Historic Highlights of Milford Sound Area
- Donald Sutherland and John Mackay find Mackay and Sutherland Falls in 1880.
- Discovery of the McKinnon Pass in 1888, which later becomes part of the Milford Track.
- William H. Homer and George Barber discover the Homer Saddle in 1889. Homer suggests that a tunnel through the saddle could provide access to Milford.
- Homer Tunnel provides road access to Milford Sound in 1954 (almost 20 years since engineering work on the tunnel began).
- The Milford Track is dubbed 'The finest walk in the world' by poet Blanche Baughan, in The London Spectator in 1908. | <urn:uuid:246f4af5-7fb3-45b1-92c3-342dd2339a00> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wonderfulworldreview.blogspot.co.uk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954024 | 333 | 3.71875 | 4 |
White water is fearsome enough on the surface. Pour a river into light-swallowing limestone tunnels and it becomes terrifying.
Deep beneath the rain forests of New Britain, an island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, churning rapids jet through enormous passages, some of the largest, most remote river caves on the planet. To reach them, explorers must first descend into massive dolines—sinkholes where soluble rock, weakened by runoff from an estimated 18 feet of rainfall a year, has collapsed. From the air they appear like impact craters, as if a volley of meteorites had long ago pummeled the forest.
"It's frightening when you see one—it's just a mass of white water at the bottom of a dangerous hole," says David Gill, a British caver.
An electrical engineer by trade, Gill taught himself to cave in the wet, cold potholes and the abandoned lead mines of Derbyshire in the English Midlands. Twenty-two years ago, he led a team to a doline called Nare in New Britain's Nakanai Mountains, where he first beheld the crushing beauty of river caves.
In January, Gill returned to the Nakanai, with 11 adventurers from the U.K., France, and the United States, on a two-month expedition to plumb one of the island's largest dolines, a half-mile-wide bowl called Ora.
The team's goal: To push deep into the cave at the bottom of Ora, map its enormous chambers, and follow the river boring through it—to the very end if possible.
"It's very, very remote," says Gill. "The terrain is so difficult. You can't hike in a straight line, and it's totally unexplored. Even the local people don't go up there. There's nothing there for them."
From Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, the men traveled by plane and boat to Matong, a shore camp for loggers on New Britain. Then lumber trucks hauled them toanother camp, where the roads disappeared. A helicopter dropped them at a small settlement inhabited by a hundred members of the Kolpeople and two families of missionaries from the U.S. and Australia.
At first, villagers suspected the outsiders were gold hunters. A few even pulled team members aside to show off the yellow lumps they'd found. "We'd just say, 'Oh yeah, fool's gold,'" says Dave Nixon, 38. "It's hard to explain that gold deposits don't occur in limestone."
The community soon warmed, and most villagers agreed to work as porters hauling supplies to base camp, a three-hour trek to a ridge overlooking the Ora Doline. Then the rain began, weeks of it, transforming the forest into a gleaming, mud-slick obstacle course.
At the bottom of the doline, the explorers followed the river into one side of the cave, then the other, hugging the narrow riverbanks underground, the water rumbling like a freight train. Often the banks disappeared, forcing the men to cross the river using ropes—a dangerous traverse where one caver would swim across, water boiling over him, to fix a line for the others.
Jean-Paul Sounier volunteered for most of the swimming. Sounier, 55, has been caving for 40 years and made five previous pilgrimages to caves below the Nakanai.
"You can't afford an accident," he says. "It's not like home where if you have an injury, a rescue team will be quick to get you out." On New Britain, there was no rescue team.
Ora's upstream cave eventually opened into a massive cathedral, where a vaulted ceiling soared more than a hundred feet above a deep, turquoise lake. The downstream cave dead-ended after a third of a mile in a rock-filled sump where the river drained back into the earth.
In a connecting cave called Phantom Pot, the explorers crawled through a tight, sinuous passage lined with skin-ripping rock. Each journey into Phantom required a four-hour ordeal in the cheese grater—two hours each way. Then, back at the surface, the men slogged uphill to camp, sometimes in rain, sometimes in darkness, achorus of frogs and insects whirring in the trees.
"We're quite masochistic," says Dave Nixon, laughing. "But it's character-building stuff."
In the end, the team discovered nearly eight miles of river caves. Gill hopes the expedition's work will help persuade the Papua New Guinea government to create a conservation area protecting the Nakanai Mountains. The Malaysian government did something similar on Borneo—with instrumental guidance from Gill—at Gunung Buda, another region of giant caves, which was declared a national park in 2001.
"The thrill of exploring where nobody has ever been before, of being the first light to ever shine in the darkness . . . it's awe-inspiring," Gill says. "The world of caves remains relatively untouched. It is the ultimate adventure." | <urn:uuid:8cf0a2bb-ca12-493f-8e8e-9e2300a46945> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2006/09/raging-danger/shea-text | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00197-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948219 | 1,088 | 2.890625 | 3 |
|The history of the drive-in theater.|
Richard Hollingshead was a young sales manager at his dad's Whiz Auto Products, who had a hankering to invent something that combined his two interests: cars and movies.
Richard Hollingshead's vision was an open-air movie theater where moviegoers could watch from their own cars. He experimented in his own driveway at 212 Thomas Avenue, Camden, New Jersey. The inventor mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on the hood of his car, projected onto a screen he had nailed to trees in his backyard, and used a radio placed behind the screen for sound.
The inventor subjected his beta drive-in to vigorous testing: for sound quality, for different weather conditions (Richard used a lawn sprinkler to imitate rain) and for figuring out how to park the patrons' cars. Richard tried lining up the cars in his driveway, which created a problem with line of sight if one car was directly parked behind another car. By spacing cars at various distances and placing blocks and ramps under the front wheels of cars that were further away from the screen, Richard Hollingshead created the perfect parking arrangement for the drive-in movie theater experience.
The first patent for the Drive-In Theater (United States Patent# 1,909,537) was issued on May 16, 1933. With an investment of $30,000, Richard opened the first drive-in on Tuesday June 6, 1933 at a location on Crescent Boulevard, Camden, New Jersey. The price of admission was 25 cents for the car and 25 cents per person.
The design did not include the in-car speaker system we know today. The inventor contacted a company by the name of RCA Victor to provide the sound system, called "Directional Sound." Three main speakers were mounted next to the screen that provided sound. The sound quality was not good for cars in the rear of the theater or for the surrounding neighbors.
The largest drive-in theater in patron capacity was the All-Weather Drive-In of Copiague, New York. All-Weather had parking space for 2,500 cars, an indoor 1,200 seat viewing area, kid's playground, a full service restaurant and a shuttle train that took customers from their cars and around the 28-acre theater lot.
The two smallest drive-ins were the Harmony Drive-In of Harmony Pennsylvania and the Highway Drive-In of Bamberg, South Carolina. Both drive-ins could hold no more than 50 cars.
An interesting innovation was the combination drive-in and fly-in theater. On June 3, 1948, Edward Brown, Junior opened the first theater for cars and small planes. Ed Brown's Drive-In and Fly-In of Asbury Park, New Jersey had the capacity for 500 cars and 25 airplanes. An airfield was placed next to the drive-in and planes would taxi to the last row of the theater. When the movies were over, Brown provided a tow for the planes to be brought back to the airfield.
The drive-in theater movie experience cannot be beat.
all artwork Mary Bellis - (original photo source LOC)
Continue with >>> History of Motion Pictures | <urn:uuid:43e97585-960c-4b89-b632-3d5dc7591996> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa980121.htm?once=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973228 | 652 | 2.703125 | 3 |
A selection of articles related to petty apartheid.
Original articles from our library related to the Petty Apartheid. See Table of Contents for further available material (downloadable resources) on Petty Apartheid.
- Weight of the World
- A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along a countryman passed them and said: "You fools, what is a donkey for, but to ride upon?" So the man put the boy on the donkey and they went on their way. But...
Paganism & Wicca >> Daily Life
- Manifesting World Enlightenment: Part 1
- Amazing things take root and grow, from the minds of the world. Human creations are much more far reaching than mere cities and nations. We are also creators of mental and spiritual manifestations , and these are of world changing scope! Humans are idea and...
Mind >> World Mind
- King Arthur and the Cymry Heroes
- The Celtic Britons called themselves the Cymry, which meant "fellow countrymen" in their Celtic tongue. Once Roman rule ended in Britain in about 410 A.D., a power vacuum developed, leading to the onslaught of Germanic invasions by Angles and Saxons,...
Saga of Times Past >> Legend and Prehistory
- Bibles Do Not Equal Wisdom
- Bibles do not equal wisdom. In other words, all forms of spiritual text no matter how eloquently stated, cannot actually grant wisdom to the reader, merely through the act of reading. Words are only the representations of things, but not the things themselves....
Religion & Philosophy >> Religions
- Welcome to Tyr’s Aett, the third and final aett (group of eight) of the Elder Futhark. Tiwaz is the name of this aett’s first rune in reconstructed Common Germanic. Its name became first Teiws in Gothic, then later Tiw or Tiu in Anglo-Saxon and Tyr in Old...
Divination >> Rune Stones
- Our Pagan Village: The Importance and Persuit of Honor
- Candlelight flickers over the Beltaine revels. Food is laid out in the circle for the feast. Only one rule – no one can feed themselves. Each is dependent on friends and loved ones for sustenance, joy and delight. After an hour of laughter and revels and way...
Paganism & Wicca >> Daily Life
Petty Apartheid is described in multiple online sources, as addition to our editors' articles, see section below for printable documents, Petty Apartheid books and related discussion.
Suggested News Resources
- OPINION: Guarding against selective memory
- That show probably broke several audience attendance records and as petty apartheid starting falling, audiences of all races flocked to listen, enjoy and learn.
- Netanyahu, Lapid Play Politics Over BDS, Stand in Way of Real Fighters
- But, as in many other cases, the pyrotechnics and the bombastic patriotic speeches concealed an insipid reality, a generous helping of spin and a lot of petty politics.
- Judith February
- That musical went on to be a huge success and as petty apartheid starting falling, audiences of all races flocked to listen, enjoy and learn.
- Analyzing American Jewish anti-Zionism
- See how you look, our little country, our petty country." Since the Second Intifada (aka the Oslo War), when the doctored pictures of a ... Who would do that? | <urn:uuid:c94cce58-82d8-47b9-a1f0-e4f95d783d35> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.realmagick.com/petty-apartheid/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914077 | 730 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Cup Size -- a story about variables
The Coffee Corral coffeehouse at the Ranch is famous
around these parts for its unique cup collection. If you really need to understand the way
values and objects are used in Java, you gotta start here.
I like cups. Big cups, little cups.
Painted tea cups, huge cappuccino bowls, cups with logos from the UCLA coffeehouse. Cups I
painted myself at the "All Fired Up" pottery shop. Cups with curvy, sexy
handles. Metallic cups that I now know must never, ever go in the microwave.
So when I think of variables, I naturally think of... cups.
A variable is just a cup. It has a size, and it can hold something.
In Java, cups come in two main styles: primitive and reference.
Primitive cups hold primitive values.
Reference cups hold remote controls to objects.
We'll start with primitives. Primitive cups are like the cups they have
at the coffeehouse. If you're familiar with Starbucks' you know what I mean. They come in
different sizes, and each size has a name like short, tall, grande. As in, "I'd like
a grande mocha java with extra whipped cream. Oh, and use non-fat milk please")
Our coffeehouse has a picture of the cups on the counter, so customers
know what to order. It looks like this:
In Java, integer primitives comes in different sizes, and those sizes
have names. They look like this:
These cups hold a value.
So instead of saying, "I'd like a tall French Roast", you say to the compiler,
"I'd like an int with the number 90 please." And that's what you get. (you also
have to give your cup a name, but we'll get to that later.)
The number 90 is dropped into your int-sized cup.
But what about floating point numbers? (the things with
They get their own cups too.
And there's another cup for booleans, that can store values
of true or false. And a cup for chars, that store single characters like the letter 'c' or
In Java, each of these cups (float, char, long, etc.) is
a specific size. Byte is the smallest, double and long are the largest. Rather than
measure in milliliters (or ounces as we do in the US) Java variables have a size measured
byte - 8 bits
short - 16 bits
int - 32 bits
long - 64 bits
All of these integer types are SIGNED. The leftmost bit
represents the sign (positive or negative) and is NOT part of the value. So with a byte,
for instance, you don't get the whole 8 bits to represent your value. You get 7. This
gives you a range, for bytes, of :
(-2 to the 7th) through (2 to the 7th) -1. Why that little -1 on the end? Because zero is
in there, and zero counts as negative. Works the same way with the others.
float - 32 bits
double - 64 bits
Floating point numbers are in the IEEE 754 standard. If
that means anything to you, great. If it doesn't, well, then, you'll just have to struggle
through the long technical dissertation on floating point numbers which I feel compelled
to insert here. What the heck, I'll skip it.
We rejoin our primitive variables, already in progress.
char - 16 bits, UNSIGNED
(Unicode format -- for English, it maps perfectly to ASCII with the high 8-bits just
hanging out as a bunch of zeros)
boolean - hmmmm... you're not supposed to ask. It holds a
value of true or false, but it's really stored as a numeric value, probably in a
byte-sized cup. Try not to think about the size; all you know is that it holds a boolean.
Let's get to the Really Interesting Cups... REFERENCES
In Java, if you want to stick an object in a variable,
remember that the object is created out on the garbage-collectible heap. Always. So it's
not IN the variable. There aren't giant, expandable cups which can be made big enough to
hold any object. And unlike C/C++, there aren't cups which hold the exact memory location
of the object.
In Java, objects are created on the heap, and a
REFERENCE to the object is stored in the cup. Think of it as a remote control to a
specific type of object.
At the CoffeeCorral, a customer can ask for a remote
control to a TV They ask for it like this:
"I'd like a reference to a new Sony32 television
please, and name it TV." which in Java looks like:
But notice the NAME written on the cup. The cups have
unique names. Imagine if you had a pile of remote controls, and nobody knew which one
controlled which TV. So we make people put names on their remote control cups. But the
name is not on the object -- the object has a unique ID, like a serial number, but that
isn't the same as what you name the reference! The reference name (the name on the cup) is
It's the same for primitives -- you name the cups like
"I'd like a byte with the number 7, and name it x please".
For object references, you can also ask for a self-serve
remote control... a remote control where you don't have a television object picked out
yet. You still get the remote in the cup, but you "program" that remote for a
specific television later.
In Java you say:
Sony32 tv; // declare but don't initialize with an actual Sony32 object.
It's like saying, "I'd like a reference to a Sony32
television, and name the remote 'tv', but I'll pick out the actual television
later.". You get the cup, you get the remote, but there's no object and the remote
isn't controlling ANYTHING.
In Java, a remote which refers to nothing is a reference
with a value of null.
So what's REALLY inside that cup? What's a remote
In Java, remote controls are called references. They store
a value which the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) uses to get to your object. It sure looks and
feels a lot like a pointer, and it might very well be a pointer to a pointer, or...
You Can't Know. It's an implementation detail that you,
as a programmer, can't access. Don't even think about it. There's no way to use that
value other than to access the methods and variables of the actual object the reference
refers to. That's part of what makes Java safer than C/C++. You can not go directly to any
arbitrary memory location. The JVM allocates memory on your behalf, for your object, and
stores an address-like thing in the reference cup (which is most likely a 32-bit cup, but
not guaranteed to be).
If this depresses you, take a deep breath, have a nice big
cup of hot tea and get over it. When you start doing CORBA you'll be grateful beyond
belief that you don't have to take care of the memory.
This story continues with : Pass-By-Value | <urn:uuid:cd7af911-de12-402b-94fc-420000de42b5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.javaranch.com/campfire/StoryCups.jsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00025-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919409 | 1,613 | 2.953125 | 3 |
For years, researchers have traced the phenomenon of "undermatching," in which high-achieving, low-income students rarely enroll in or even apply to the selective colleges their wealthier peers attend as a matter of course.
Now the researchers have found a way to broaden the horizons of the 35,000 students each year who finish high school with test scores in the top 10 percent and family incomes in the lowest quarter—for only about $6 apiece.
In a new paper, Caroline M. Hoxby and Sarah E. Turner explain the results of a randomized, controlled trial that tested whether sending such students more information changed their enrollment patterns. (Ms. Hoxby discussed some of their findings at the College Board Forum in October.)
Once the researchers uncovered how many students were high-achieving and low-income, they wanted to work on solutions to undermatching, said Ms. Hoxby, a professor of economics at Stanford University. And they wanted those solutions to be scalable to the tens of thousands of affected students. "Frankly, there are a lot of solutions that are good for 30 or 50 students," she said, "and they're already out there."
The two professors also wanted to test possible solutions before publicizing them, said Ms. Turner, a professor of economics at the University of Virginia. The experiment was designed to test whether some of the high-achieving, low-income students who undermatch would change their behavior if they had better information on colleges, and whether that information could be provided in a cost-effective way. In both cases the answer was yes.
The researchers designed and tested several different approaches, which they called "interventions." One focused on general college-search information, one considered net costs, and one consisted of application-fee waivers. They also tested a combined intervention.
Ms. Hoxby and Ms. Turner were able to partly customize the materials so the sets of colleges presented to test subjects included some that were close by. A total of 39,677 high-achieving, low-income students were assigned to one of the test groups or the control group. All of the interventions made a difference, and the combined intervention made the biggest difference.
In each case, materials were sent by postal mail, as previous research had shown that students and their parents were wary of online content.
'A Huge Decision'
The materials were sent by the Expanding College Opportunities project, a group the students had probably never heard of. The researchers used that approach because the low-profile project would avoid contaminating the control group. They believe more students would have paid attention to the materials if a well-known group like the College Board had sent them.
(The researchers may soon know if that's the case. They are working with the College Board to run this style of intervention next year, Ms. Hoxby said.)
The professors surveyed a sample of students in each intervention group over the phone to determine what share of them recalled receiving the materials. That step enabled the researchers to look at the results in two different ways: the effect the materials had on the whole group of students who received them, and the effect they had on the smaller group who remembered getting them.
The materials made a difference in both cases. For example, the whole group of students who received the full intervention applied to 19 percent more colleges than the control group did.
But the results among the recipients who remembered the materials are probably more reflective of how this kind of intervention would work if a well-known group took it on, the researchers said.
Students who received the combined intervention—and remembered it—submitted 48 percent more applications than did students in the control group. They applied to colleges with a 17-percent-higher graduation rate and an 86-point-higher median SAT score.
The results were similar in admissions and enrollment. Students who remembered the materials were admitted to 31 percent more colleges than students in the control group, and were 78 percent more likely to be admitted to a college where most students shared their level of preparation—what the researchers called a "peer institution."
Those students enrolled in colleges that were 46 percent more likely to be a peer institution, where graduation rates were 15 percent higher than for the control group.
"This is a huge decision for students, choosing which college you're going to go to," Ms. Hoxby said. The goal is not to sway high-achieving, low-income students to go to a particular kind of college, she said. It's to make sure they are as well informed as their more privileged peers. "To not make decisions well simply because you don't know what's out there," she said. "That's sad." | <urn:uuid:90938d31-b80f-49cc-8047-984c1fd64321> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://chronicle.com/article/A-Low-Cost-Way-to-Expand-the/138227/?cid=at | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00052-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982071 | 968 | 2.75 | 3 |
evidence-based decision making, evidence-based medicine,ebdm,critical care,intensive care,medical education,journal club,royal north shore hospital,pre-appraised literature,gordon doig,critical appraisal,australia,ebm,ebdm,teaching case, computer simulation,patient simulation,trauma, guidelines, recommendation
The two most commonly cited definitions of Evidence-based Medicine are:
"A NEW paradigm for medical practice is emerging. evidence-based medicine de-emphasizes intuition, unsystematic clinical experience and pathophysiologic rationale as sufficient grounds for clinical decision making and stresses the examination of evidence from clinical research. Evidence based medicine requires new skills of the physician, including efficient literature searching and the application of formal rules of evidence evaluating the clinical literature." JAMA 1992;268:2420-5
"Evidence-based medicine is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research." BMJ 1996; 312: 71-2
It is clear from these two definitions that EBM is a tool that was developed to help medical practitioners insure that their patients receive the best possible care. But what about administrators, program managers and policy makers? Are there any evidence-based tools that they can use to make sure that the decisions they make are also in the patients best interest?
We define Evidence-based Decision Making as:
"The consideration of the evidence when making health care decisions at the level of the process, structure, program or system."
Therefore the primary purpose of this site is to support health care decision making by;
We hope you enjoy our site, and if you have any feedback, please don't hesitate to contact us. | <urn:uuid:39efbd0e-fd17-4079-b7c7-04319eee6084> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.evidencebased.net/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00180-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906384 | 379 | 2.828125 | 3 |
An old epithet gets a new life
As the Zimmerman case proved, a defining characteristic of the American mind is the care we take with our racial vocabularies to make sure they specify where we land in our national free fall known as “This is who I am.”
Earlier generations of blacks had no trouble finding interesting and clever ways to identify the Southern white racist. For instance, they called him a “peckerwood,” a deliberate inversion of a familiar word to describe the way he treated them: Like a woodpecker drilling into a tree, he was always at them, but switching the syllables gave them a protective cover in case he overheard their grumbling. Or he might be a “hoppergrass,” a dangerously changeable type whose next mood and next move were as unpredictable as a grasshopper flitting across a field. | <urn:uuid:f8e3b7a1-88a4-457d-a013-e6c6dfc92d52> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.nationalreview.com/nrd/articles/354937/meet-cracker | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00091-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958883 | 182 | 2.53125 | 3 |
LOS ANGELES — In a finding that is being widely hailed as the first major prevention breakthrough in the AIDS era, researchers have shown that taking a single daily pill containing two HIV drugs can reduce the risk of contracting the virus by an average of 44 percent — and by more than 70 percent if the subjects take most of their pills.
The study involved nearly 2,500 high-risk gay men, but experts hope that the results will be applicable to other populations considered at risk for contracting the virus. Several studies are already under way to determine if that is the case.
The findings, reported online today in the New England Journal of Medicine, come only a few months after an African study showed that a microbicidal gel can help protect women from contracting the virus and a little more than a year after a vaccine trial suggested that it may eventually be possible to raise antibodies against the virus.
"To see all these prevention strategies come together, we can begin to see an end to the epidemic," said A. Cornelius Baker of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. "The National AIDS Strategy introduced by the president in July called for reducing the U.S. epidemic by 25 percent. ... If we can prove this works and get this strategy into the communities, we can reach that goal much quicker than we had anticipated and move even further to more goals."
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which was the major sponsor of the study, cautioned, however, that "No single prevention strategy is going to be effective for everyone, and it is important to note that the new findings pertain only to ... men who have sex with men."
Experts agreed, however, that there is no reason to think that it would not be successful in other groups, although it must be tested.
The new strategy is called pre-exposure prophylaxis, and that is an approach that has been used successfully in certain other diseases.
Malaria or tuberculosis drugs, for example, are frequently prescribed to people entering areas with high transmission rates. Antiretroviral drugs are also used to prevent transmission of HIV from mothers to infants during and after birth and in an effort to prevent infection after accidental exposure in hospitals and laboratories.
The new study, called iPrEx, was conducted by an international team headed by Dr. Robert M. Grant of the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology at the University of California at San Francisco and Dr. Javier R. Lama of Investigaciones Medicas en Salud in Lima, Peru. They enrolled 2,499 men and transgender women who had sex with men at 11 sites in six countries.
Half were given a daily dose of Truvada, a pill containing the AIDS drugs emtricitabine and tenofovir, and half a placebo. Truvada was chosen because it is effective, has few side effects and is already used by more than 1.5 million people worldwide.
Subjects were followed for an average of 14 months, and given counseling about using condoms and safe sex practices.
The researchers observed 36 HIV infections in the group taking Truvada, compared to 64 in the control group taking the placebo, a reduction of 43.8 percent. The reduction in risk, however, was very sensitive to how regularly the subjects took the medication. For those who took it on more than 50 percent of the days, as determined by pill counts and other measures, the risk fell by 50.2 percent. For those who took it 90 percent or more of the days, the risk fell by 72.8 percent.
Side effects of the drug were mild, and included nausea in the first month, small increases in serum creatinine and unintentional weight loss.
The subjects will be followed for another 18 months to monitor for long-term effects.
In a separate study now under way, the drug is being tested in women. In separate arms of that study, researchers are also testing tenofovir only and a gel containing tenofovir. | <urn:uuid:838ec355-9af9-4d06-8060-51ac4c5a639d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/groundbreaking_pill_that_reduc.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970718 | 831 | 2.53125 | 3 |
It’s tough being a teacher. Kids have so many distractions in their lives, and it’s getting harder to engage tech-savvy students with more traditional subjects.
Elizabeth Box was struggling with engagement in her seventh-grade civics class in Okeechobee, Florida — the third-poorest Florida county, with a quarter of the population living below the poverty line. “I just started noticing a steady decline in kids’ engagement,” Box told me in a recent call. “They didn’t care. They were failing and they didn’t care. You called their parents and they wouldn’t care. I knew i had to do something; everything that I was doing wasn’t working.”
Instead of giving in, she dug around online and found the inspiration — via Chris Aviles’ Teched-up Teacher blog — to make her class into a video game.
Now Box no longer lectures her students — they come into class, log straight into their Chromebooks, and head off on their personal quests. This revolutionary approach to teaching has had a remarkable effect in her classes, raising the assignment-completion rate from just 30 percent to 100 percent. Every one of her kids gets their work done, every one logs into the game outside of schools hours, and every single one is passing her civics class.
Box spent an entire summer building the game that’s now the backbone of her civics class. It’s set in a dystopian future where the United States has been destroyed. Box’s pupils have the task of putting it back together, taking on quests that link to the State Civics standards.
Box built the game inside the Schoology learning management system, which allows her to pull in videos, information, and mini-games to sit alongside her own bespoke game content. Box can keep track of how her pupils are doing while they concentrate on beating the quests in front of them at their own pace, earning experience points and rewards along the way.
The majority of Box’s day-to-day work is now as a facilitator, helping direct kids if they hit a brick wall and making sure quests (assignments) are marked and returned quickly to maintain that game feel. It’s different to the didactic approach still seen in many classrooms, and it’s kind of scary for some teachers looking in.
“I do no direct instruction whatsoever,” said Box. “I’m never up at the front of the room talking to everybody. When I see they’re having difficulty, I step in and say, ‘Hey, why don’t you try this instead … why don’t you read this?’
“A lot of teachers struggle when they come into my room and see what I do. They just really can’t wrap their head around it because in the traditional sense I do not teach. I never give a lecture; I never do anything like that. But I feel like this is 10 times more effective because my kids are way more engaged.”
By making her class into a game, Box has engaged kids that previously didn’t care. They love competing on the class leaderboard, battling with their peers to get ahead. And they love buying items like emojis in the item store. “They’ll send me a message saying, ‘Please send my friend a heart.’ Then I have to send their friends a heart emoji, which they think is the best thing in the world,” Box said. “If it works for them, it works for me.
“Kids that are constantly in trouble, kids that have failed, kids that have learning disabilities, they flourish in my class. And when you look at my leaderboard and the top ten, about half of them are kids that flat out refuse to work for other teachers. I think that speaks for itself.”
Her game is built around the educational principle of mastery, where students keep working on a concept until they’ve nailed it. That lets high-fliers get on at the own pace, and it gives Box time to support those who are struggling by subtly pointing them to helpful resources — she does this by embedding additional games and videos in their quests as Easter eggs to discover.
And when these struggling kids do finally master a concept, Box says it gives them the wonderful sense of feeling smart — something they may never have experienced before.
“Kids who struggle like [the game] because for the first time they’re learning what success feels like,” said Box. “They can keep working at a standard … keep trying until they get it. When they hit a difficult academic concept, instead of saying, ‘Well, I don’t get it — give me my ‘F’ and I’ll move along,’ they’re being forced to re-interact with it .. and then when they get it they feel smart. I think a lot of times, [that’s what] those struggling kids don’t get to feel. They don’t know what it feels like … and they should.”
Although a lot of teachers are confused by Box’s unusual teaching methods, it’s difficult to argue with her results — especially that 100 percent participation rate.
“Every single kid is getting their work done; every single kid is growing and mastering standards,” said Box. “So, even though it’s not traditional teaching, and even though it doesn’t look the way a classroom should, it’s working!”
Box has been working with three teachers in a nearby school, and they’re now starting to adopt her methods. “They seem to like it a lot,” she said. “They’ve invested in it as a school, and they’ve really been committing to it. That’s been great to see.”
She’s also shared her game — the game she’s been curating and adding to since that first summer — on the Schoology platform, so other teachers who are signed up can try it out for themselves. “I just told them to look around and take what you want,” she told me. “It’s worked for me; I really hope it can work for other people and their students.”
Speaking to Box, her passion for this new way of teaching really shone through. The world that kids are growing up in is very different to the world five or 10 years ago, she says, and schools have to adapt to that change.
“We aren’t the keepers of knowledge any more,” she said. “Our kids live in the Google world where they can look up any kinds of facts, so they don’t really need us to stand there and lecture at them all day.”
And while Box does miss addressing the whole class slightly — simply because it’s easier than what she does now — she’s adamant that she’d never give up her new, gamified classroom. “I wouldn’t trade the engagement or the performance of my students for anything,” she said. “Having them be excited about my class is the best thing in the world.” | <urn:uuid:d27bd3f6-7521-4df0-a3c8-5350446858be> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://venturebeat.com/2015/12/12/teacher-turns-class-into-a-video-game-and-now-every-student-is-passing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974029 | 1,564 | 2.703125 | 3 |
A proposed “space elevator” consists of a cable going all the way from the ground to a space station in geosynchronous orbit (always above the same point on Earth’s surface). Elevator “cars” would climb the cable to transport cargo to outer space. Consider a cable connected between the equator and a space station at height H above the surface. Ignore the mass of the cable*. (a) Find the heightH. (b) Suppose there is an elevator car of mass 100 kg sitting halfway up at heightH/2. What tensionT would be required in the cable to hold the car in place? Which part of the cable would be under tension (above the car or below it)? | <urn:uuid:8fe904d7-ac36-45fb-963f-8679890f0a47> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/proposed-space-elevator-consists-cable-going-way-ground-spac-chapter-rs1-problem-25re-solution-9780077339685-exc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923829 | 148 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Space Station Study CSLM-3 Grows "Christmas Trees" in Space
Like snowflakes or frost on windshields, metallic castings form crystals. Known as dendrites, these crystals form and grow, or coarsen, following crystallization from a vapor or a liquid. Coarsening occurs during the processing of metal alloys and affects everything from dental fillings to turbine blades.
Dendrites that form in metal castings resemble Christmas trees with randomly spaced branches. While it's not fully understood, the strength of metal castings is in some way related to the spacing in those dendrite arms.
"What we're studying is spacing between the dendrite arms and how their shape evolves as a function of time," said Peter Voorhees
, Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures, or CSLM-3
, principal investigator at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. "We're interested in studying metallic dendrites because of the connections between those dendrites and the properties of castings made from metals."
The CSLM-3 investigation is currently taking place aboard the International Space Station
. CSLM-3 samples are a mixture of lead and tin fashioned into 0.75- by 0.5-inch hockey pucks. Each of the six samples is in its own sample processing unit, a kind of furnace that heats to 365 degrees Fahrenheit (185 degrees Celsius).
"We want to study this evolution process in a very carefully controlled fashion without all the complications that you find on Earth, such as sedimentation. That's why we have to go to space," Voorhees said.
Much in the same way that ice floats to the top in a glass of water, dendrites settle to the top of the sample because of the density difference between the solid and the liquid. CSLM-3 will use the microgravity environment of space to greatly reduce this sedimentation. Without the influence of gravity, instead of floating to the top, the dendrites will uniformly distribute throughout the sample. This makes it easier to study the coarsening process and the evolution of dendrite arms over time.
Dendrite arms can also pinch off. Once that happens on Earth, the detached arm floats to some other part of the casting where it can merge with another dendrite and change the property of the material. In space, if and when it pinches, it's not going to go anywhere.
"That's something we'll be able to check," Voorhees said. "What we'll be able to see quite clearly is the evolution of this pinching process. Maybe we can shed some light on which one of these proposed mechanisms are actually leading to the pinching."
While the CSLM-3 samples are processed on the space station, the analysis will be done on the ground. Once the samples return to Earth, the principal investigator and his team will begin the time consuming task of dissecting and studying them under microscopes. While the analysis could take years, the samples themselves could have a short life span.
“This is one of the few times an experiment will return on the same flight that delivered it to the space station," said Bob Hawersaat, CSLM-3 project manager at NASA's Glenn Research Center
in Cleveland. "We're going to go up in the Dragon capsule on the second SpaceX cargo resupply mission in March, then operate the experiment on board the station and then return it on the same return flight. The reason we're doing that is because the samples have a 100-day sample life. We need to go up and come right back. I think that's the first time we've done something like that with physical science experiments."
Another challenge facing the scientists is the low melting point of the sample. They could coarsen even at room temperature. That would change the samples that were solidified in space, making it even more challenging to analyze the data. To prevent this and preserve them for later analysis, they are kept on ice.
"When the samples return from the space station, they will be placed on dry ice," Voorhees said. "We'll bring them home and put them into a freezer that's held at -112 degrees Fahrenheit (-80 degrees Celsius)."
Researchers hope that CSLM-3 can provide fundamentally new insights into how the coarsening process occurs in dendritic structures over time. That knowledge could lead to better models.
Developing accurate models of the coarsening process is central to creating a wide range of new, stronger materials from those used in automobiles and jet turbine blades, to those used in space applications.
View an interview with Peer Voorhees -- Northwestern University's Principal Investigator of the Coarsening in Solid Liquid Mixtures-3 (CSLM-3) experiment -- here
NASA Glenn Research Center | <urn:uuid:ad3b6cf8-cd76-4431-b73d-934be5be9538> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/cslm3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00172-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938116 | 1,008 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Robert K. Greenleaf (1970) described Healing as one of the ten characteristics of a Servant Leadership. He stated that healing is the ability to help make whole. We all possess this powerful characteristic and how we use it is completely our choice. Greenleaf described a servant leader as a leader who overcomes self-indulgence in order to deeply serve humanity rather than more classical leadership models that describe leaders as dominating or controlling. Greenleaf proposed that Servant Leadership is a way of life in which the focus is on the good of others. He went on to describe Servant Leadership as leadership that involves leaders as healers. Servant Leaders work hard to be kind to others, which allows for relationship building and trust development.
Healing involves learning how to help deal with difficult situations in terms of serving the common good. Servant Leaders must recognize that they have an opportunity to help make whole those people and organizations with whom they come in contact. Many times, we come in contact with people who are struggling with life issues both personal and/or professional. Whether we are aware of those issues or not, we could affect the person with what words we choose to share with him/her.
A Servant Leader genuinely cares about other people and their welfare. The characteristic of Healing is a powerful ethical force for transformation and integration and works toward helping people become better. Servant Leadership is a leadership style that enhances both the human and ethical factors in organizations. This type of leadership tends to focus on empowering others and contributing value to other people that allows their talents to grow.
Whether you want to be or not, you are a leader. There are people out there who are watching you and making decisions based on your actions. You have the responsibility to set a good example for others to follow and to work with other people to help develop them. In addition, keep the following points in mind as you work toward being a more servant leader.
- Choose your words wisely
- Say what you mean and mean what you say
- Be responsive to other people’s needs
- Seek feedback
Baggerly-Hinojosa, B. (2010). Are you a ten? The ten characteristics of a servant leader. Lulu: USA.
Greenleaf, R. (1977). The servant as a leader. USA. | <urn:uuid:4e0f23d1-a642-4af1-99cf-1169c8e9def1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.examiner.com/article/be-kind-to-others?cid=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00184-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968346 | 473 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Brandt, Michael and Sundrum, Albert (2004) Umweltverträgliche Freilandhaltung von Mastschweinen im Ökologischen Landbau. [Environmental sustainable outdoor pig fattening in organic farming.] In: Heß, J and Rahmann, G (Eds.) Ende der Nische, Beiträge zur 8. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau, kassel university press GmbH, Kassel, pp. 1-4.
Outdoor pig fattening can lead to environmental impact due to high nutrients loads and local hot spots of nutrient inputs. In a project fattening pigs were kept outside to assess the input of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and nutrient distribution under various management conditions (reducing the daily supply with concentrate by offering field fodder and allocation of the area with field fodder). Finally, huts and troughs were shifted to provide better conditions for the distribution of faeces.
With a concentrate diet that contributed to 80 % to the calculated requirements, the nutrient input corresponded with the regulations of the organic farming associations and the EEC-Regulation. A daily ration of concentrate according to the requirements during the finishing period lead to increased nutrient inputs of N and P. Fodder losses due to too small sized pellets and unsuitable troughs increased nutrient losses around the troughs. Due to shifting the equipment (huts, feeding and watering troughs), partial nutrient accumulations in these areas decreased significantly. Dividing the paddock increased the activity of the pigs at this area. More faeces were placed in the paddock and nutrients were distributed in a more uniform way.
Results indicate that optimising the management of fattening pigs in outdoor systems can contribute to a high degree to reduce nutrient losses to an acceptable level.
|EPrint Type:||Conference paper, poster, etc.|
|Type of presentation:||Paper|
|Keywords:||outdoor pig fattening, nitrogen input, nitrogen distribution, shifting huts, BÖL, BOEL, FKZ 02OE449|
|Subjects:|| Animal husbandry > Production systems > Pigs|
Environmental aspects > Air and water emissions
|Research affiliation:|| Germany > University of Kassel > Department of Animal Nutrition and Animal Health|
International Conferences > 2005: Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture
|Related Links:||http://www.bundesprogramm-oekolandbau.de, http://www.bundesprogramm.de/fkz=02OE449, http://orgprints.org/perl/search/advanced?addtitle%2Ftitle=&keywords=02OE449&projects=BOEL&_order=bypublication&_action_search=Suchen|
|Deposited By:||Sundrum, Prof. Dr. Albert|
|Deposited On:||05 Mar 2005|
|Last Modified:||28 Jun 2010 11:30|
|Document Language:||German - Deutsch|
|Refereed:||Peer-reviewed and accepted|
Repository Staff Only: item control page | <urn:uuid:9a04cc1a-6e6d-4e1d-a643-6960c1619212> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://orgprints.org/3790/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00132-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.76356 | 679 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Peer pressure is often referred to in a negative way – such as when teenagers experiment with drugs or alcohol because their friends pressured them into it, for example. Peer pressure can also be used to encourage good habits and behaviors, including saving money, as a Harvard Business School assistant professor’s research shows.
Dina Pomeranz spent a summer in Chile, where she witnessed first-hand the anxiety a woman faced regarding her financial future. Like many people in today’s economic climate, this woman was losing sleep over concerns that she wouldn’t have enough money to support her family or send her children to school if she became unemployed or became ill.
This experience led Pomeranz, an assistant professor in entrepreneurial management at Harvard Business School, to wonder how microentrepreneurs and small-business owners with variable, low income (like the woman in Cameroon) could learn to save more. The savings would of course help provide an emergency fund, reduce the anxiety they feel over financial concerns, and give them a cushion if their businesses failed or they were unable to work temporarily.
Chile Microentrepreneur Research
In 2012, Pomeranz published a research paper based on their 2008 research of microentrepreneurs in Chile. The research paper explains how peer pressure among workers leads to greater savings, but how simple text message reminders would also have similar results.
Many people in Chile do not have access to automatic savings plans like people in developed countries use to promote saving. Pomeranz and other researchers helped small-business owners, like street vendors and coffee cart operators in Chile form financial support groups, modeled after Weight Watchers groups – with the idea that people would help motivate each other to save more money in the same way that people help others stay motivated to lose weight.
The financial support groups met once a week and would publicly announce what their savings goal would be for the week. Members would share deposit slips of the previous week savings, to show whether they met their previous goals or not. Everyone who met their weekly savings goal would receive a sticker for a booklet and once their booklet was full of stickers they would receive a “diploma as a reward for completion.
The control group in the study had similar businesses and jobs and savings accounts, but did not attend weekly support group meetings.
At the end of the study it was found that the individuals attending the support group meetings deposited 3.5 times more often into their savings account and had savings balances almost 2 times higher than those with bank accounts but no support group.
In a related experiment, a group of people with cell phones received text messages in place of in-person support groups. In one group, each person would have a “savings buddy” and when a weekly deposit was made, the savings buddy would receive a text notification of the successful deposit and the person making the deposit would be congratulated for saving. If the deposit was not made, the savings buddy was still notified of the failed deposit. In the second group of this study, there were text messages congratulating deposits but no savings buddy to report to. In the third group of this study, no text messages were received at all.
The text messages were found to be 80% as effective as in-person support groups. There was no real difference in the amount or frequency of savings between the group with a savings buddy or without; but rather it seems just having the weekly reminder was all it took to keep people accountable for making their weekly deposits.
Would Peer Pressure Keep You On Track?
Does your bank offer a texting service to remind you to reach your savings goals? Would you use it if it did? If you are interested in setting up a reminder service to receive text messages, you could use your smartphone to schedule them yourself if your bank does not offer this service, or sign up for an online reminder service to receive emails once a week. If you have been struggling to stick to your savings commitment, maybe a weekly reminder would be enough to encourage the behavior.
You may also want to try a technological method of forcing you to save. | <urn:uuid:eddd10ca-0b1d-4ef7-a94f-afd8178b9020> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mybanktracker.com/news/2012/11/16/peer-pressure-encourage-saving/ | 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 | 0.976344 | 832 | 3.21875 | 3 |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) boldly goes
where few have gone before (about 560 astronauts and cosmonauts
have been into space). The federal agency's
Aeronautics division conducts research on new flight technologies
while its Exploration Systems works on human and robotic
exploration and its Science unit studies climate, gravitation, and
the atmosphere. The Space Operations division mans and maintains
the International Space Station (ISS) in conjunction with several
other nations; it also ran the Space Shuttle
program until that was retired in 2011.
NASA has around 10 centers and facilities located in Alabama,
California, Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Ohio,
Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
In all, NASA has headed up more than 100 missions exploring
everything from particles of comet dust to the composition of solar
wind to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the solar system.
Some missions investigate Earth's own atmosphere, oceans, and
ice caps. A few missions are carried out with
international partners, including space agencies from Japan,
the UK, and Europe. Another trend is using private companies
for much of NASA's propulsion research and rocket
NASA's operations are divided into nine segments and divisions:
Aeronautics, Construction and Environmental Compliance and
Support, Education, Exploration, Office of Inspector
General, Science, Space Operations, and Space Technology.
In 2014 the agency had an estimated budget of about $20.3
For the past decade, the agency's mission has changed from
returning to the moon to heading for Mars and other parts of the
solar system. NASA hopes to send astronauts to the Red Planet by
the mid-2030s. To complete the mission, it needs to develop
heavy-lift rockets for long-range spacecraft. One of the primary
steps toward this goal is a proposed mission to find, capture, and
redirect a near-Earth asteroid safely into the Earth-Moon system,
and then send astronauts to explore it.
NASA was founded in 1958, partly in response to Russia's
launch of the Sputnik satellite, to research space and flight
technology. It successfully landed two Americans on the moon
for the first time in 1969. | <urn:uuid:b8f26165-3837-4094-8266-caa193bf39b5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/government/national-aeronautics-and-space-administration/company-overview.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896619 | 473 | 3.375 | 3 |
The Ancient Urban Food Gardens of Sana’a, Yemen
See larger image here. “What is remarkable, in the intensely urban setting of Sana‘a — a walled metropolis crowded with towers today, and the place where the Sabaeans built the 10-story Palace of Ghumdan some two millennia ago — is that not only the words survive: So, too, do the gardens.”
Miqshamah (plural: maqaashim), the garden where they grow their produce, all have an origin just as old but better preserved: qshmt, the Sabaic word for a vegetable plot.
By Tim Mackintosh-Smith
Saudi Aramco World
Tim Mackintosh-Smith lives in an ancient tower house off the “Market of the Cows” in the old city of San’a, Yemen. He is the author of the Yemen: Travels in Dictionaryland (1997) and Yemen: The Unknown Arabia (2000). He is one of the foremost scholars of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battutah. Mackintosh-Smith has published a trilogy recounting his journeys in “the footnotes” of Ibn Battutah; Travels with A Tangerine (2001), The Hall of a Thousand Columns (2005) and Landfalls (2010).
The Italian writer Alberto Moravia once described Sana‘a as a “Venice of dust.” Since his visit, the streets have been paved with stone, and the dust is less in evidence. But the first impression is still one of sun-dried palazzos, of deep-cut streets flowing with people but devoid of moisture and vegetation. Amid this, it’s easy to overlook the quiet spaces in between. And that is the only way most of the city’s gardens can be seen at all: by overlooking them. Climb to the fifth floor of my house, and two gardens reveal themselves. To the east is Maryam’s, the miqshamah of Khudayr Mosque, a rectangle of green—mostly chives (bay’ah), the dominant garden crop—subdivided by little banks of raised earth. To the west, there is Bustan Na’man.
Go up another couple of floors, and the tops of what are locally called “pepper trees” mark the edges of other gardens, otherwise unseen. A bit more than a stone’s throw to the south, there is another miqshamah, totally concealed behind a curtain wall of tower houses: I didn’t even know it was there until I began to write this and looked at the map. Other great Islamic cities, such as Damascus and Bukhara, are famous for the gardens that surround them, but in Sana‘a, they are all on the inside, walled gardens wrapped in a walled city, doubly hidden.
See larger image here. Despite being a city of around 2 million inhabitants, almost every quarter in the medina (old area) of Sana’a has its own community garden where palm trees and vegetables are grown for the benefit of the population.
Altogether there are 43 of them. They range in area from nearly three hectares (7.4 acres) down to less than 1000 square meters (10,500 sq ft), all within the ring of mud wall and bastions that protects the historic core of Sana‘a. Only a handful are visible at all from street level, and of these, one alone, Miqshamat al-Qasimi, can be seen in its entirety. The unsuspecting visitor would never guess that these urban oases occupy 13 percent of the space within the city wall. Most of them bear that ancient name, miqshamah, and most are also attached to nearby mosques as waqf, property of a foundation and inalienable under Islamic law. A few, known by the more usual Arabic name bustan, are held by individual families. None are public parks (except for the fortunate eyes of neighboring householders). Whether stadium- or backyard-sized, miqshamah or bustan, they were all founded as working market gardens. | <urn:uuid:bccb828f-bff0-4089-aa71-fce9b6da0f1d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cityfarmer.info/2013/04/27/the-ancient-urban-food-gardens-of-sanaa-yemen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399106.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00051-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953838 | 871 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Today we have transatlantic cables of massive capacity, handling all sorts of telecom traffic (including the internet). However, these submarine cables had a modest beginning. The first successfully deployed commercial transatlantic cable was in 1866, after a decade-long series of less successful attempts. Sending messages over this cable was incredibly expensive.
The cost of speed in 1866
The 1866 transatlantic cable could transfer 8 words a minute, and initially it cost $100 to send 10 words ($10 per word and a 10 word minimum).
That was 10 weeks’ salary for a skilled workman of the day. After inflation, $100 translates to about $1,340 today. Due to the cost, it was mainly used by the British and American governments and large corporations.
It should be mentioned that after a while they cut the prices to a “mere” $46.80 for 10 words.
For truly urgent information, cost clearly wasn’t an issue. A New York Tribune editor spent $5,000 in 1870 to transmit one report about the Franco-Prussian War.
A larger version of this image can be found over at Wikipedia.
The 1866 transatlantic cable was laid out by the Anglo-American Telegraph Company, a company founded specifically for this reason by Cyrus West Field, a pioneer in the field.
The past 150 years
A lot has happened with our transatlantic cables in the last 150 years. Here is a look at how the capacity has changed over time.
|Cable||Year||Speed or Capacity|
|Atlantic, Ireland-Newfoundland||1858||A few words per hour|
|Atlantic, Ireland-Newfoundland||1866||6 – 8 words per minute|
|Long cables with automatic transmitting equipment||1898||40 words per minute|
|Newfoundland-Azores||1928||2,500 characters per minute (~400 wpm)|
|Atlantic, TAT-1||1956||36 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, TAT-2||1959||48 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, CANTAT||1961||80 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, TAT-3||1963||138 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, TAT-4||1965||138 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, TAT-5||1970||845 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, TAT-6||1976||4,000 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, TAT-7||1978||4,000 telephone channels|
|Atlantic, TAT-8||1988||280 Mbits/s (40,000 telephone channels)|
|Atlantic, TAT-9||1992||2 x 565 Mbits/s (each 80,000 telephone channels equivalent)|
|Atlantic, TAT-10||1992||2 x 565 Mbit/s|
|Atlantic, TAT-11||1993||2 x 565 Mbit/s|
|Atlantic, TAT-12/13||1996||2 x 5 Gbit/s|
|Atlantic, TAT-14||2001||640 Gbit/s (9,700,000 telephone channels equivalent)|
|Atlantic, VSNL (TGN)||2001||2 x 2,520 Gbit/s|
Something tells us that our uptime monitoring service wouldn’t have been much of a success in 1866…
Wikipedia article about transatlantic telegraph cables.
The Great Transatlatic Cable from PBS.
History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications from FTL Design. (A great resource with a huge amount of information.) | <urn:uuid:c1f36f88-3d0c-48f3-b668-7f08202a760f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/03/05/transatlantic-cable-handled-8-words-a-minute-in-1866/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.874609 | 752 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The latest news from academia, regulators
research labs and other things of interest
Posted: March 19, 2010
Designer nanomaterials on-demand
(Nanowerk News) Composites are combinations of materials that produce properties inaccessible in any one material. A classic example of a composite is fiberglass – plastic fibers woven with glass to add strength to hockey sticks or the hull of a boat. Unlike the well-established techniques for producing fiberglass and other macroscale composites, however, there aren’t general schemes available for making nanoscale composites.
Now, researchers at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry, in collaboration with researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown how nanocomposites with desired properties can be designed and fabricated by first assembling nanocrystals and nanorods coated with short organic molecules, called ligands. These ligands are then replaced with clusters of metal chalcogenides, such as copper sulfide. As a result, the clusters link to the nanocrystal or nanorod building blocks and help create a stable nanocomposite. The team has applied this scheme to more than 20 different combinations of materials, including close-packed nanocrystal spheres for thermoelectric materials and vertically aligned nanorods for solar cells.
These transmission electron microscope images show (a) the original nanorod array of cadmium sulfide and (b) a composite made from cadmium sulfide and the chalcogenide copper sulfide. In the composite, nanoparticle ordering is maintained but spacing between the particles decreases.
“We’re just starting to understand how combining materials on the nanoscale can open up new possibilities for electronic properties and efficient energy technologies,” said Delia Milliron, Director of the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility at the Molecular Foundry. “This new process for fabricating inorganic nanocomposites gives us unprecedented ability to tune composition and control morphology.”
The researchers anticipate demand from users seeking this latest addition to the Foundry’s arsenal of materials synthesis capabilities, as this mix-and-match approach to nanocomposites could be used in an infinite list of applications, including materials for such popular uses as battery electrodes, photovoltaics and electronic data storage.
“The beauty of our method is not just the flexibility of compositions that can be achieved, but the ease with which this can be done. No specialized equipment is required, a variety of substrates can be used and the process is scalable,” said Ravisubhash Tangirala, a Foundry post-doctoral researcher working with Milliron.
A paper reporting this researcher titled, “Modular inorganic nanocomposites by conversion of nanocrystal superlattices,” appears in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition and is available in Angewandte Chemie International Edition online. Co-authoring the paper with Milliron and Tangirala were Jessy Baker and Paul Alivisatos.
Source: Berkeley Lab
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on reddit or StumbleUpon. Thanks!
Check out these other trending stories on Nanowerk: | <urn:uuid:5e315f1a-1b20-4ea2-b48d-81cb2cb465ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=15416.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00009-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.861688 | 673 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Why Did The Hypersonic 'Waverider' Crash?
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.
The Air Force is trying to figure out what happened to an experimental jet that fell into the Pacific Ocean last week. The X-51 Waverider is meant to fly at least six times the speed of sound and beyond.
As NPR's Larry Abramson reports, trying to achieve that feat has tempted and frustrated engineers for decades.
LARRY ABRAMSON, BYLINE: Rockets like the Space Shuttle already travel more than 20 times the speed of sound to get into orbit, so why do we need a plane that can get up to Mach 6? One reason is practical. Richard Hallion, former historian for the Air Force, points out that rockets have to carry oxygen with them. The engine in the X-51 uses oxygen from the atmosphere.
RICHARD HALLION: You don't have this burden of carrying your oxidizer with you. You have more capacity for payload. You have more flexibility in your operations.
ABRAMSON: Unlike a typical jet engine, the power behind an X-51 is called a scramjet. It has no moving parts and burns its fuel while air is rushing in at thousands of miles per hour. Richard Hallion says that task has been compared to lighting a match in a hurricane and keeping it lit.
HALLION: So you have to mix your fuel with that. You have to get a proper fuel mix, you have to ignite it, and then you have to sustain that combustion so it doesn't blow out. That's a very, very difficult challenge.
ABRAMSON: That's once it's reached hypersonic speeds. First, the X-51 has to get airborne. It is dropped from the belly of a B-52 bomber and uses a booster rocket to get past the speed of sound. Then that scramjet is supposed to kick in. In past tests, the jet has worked for a few minutes and provided valuable data. Last week's test never got to the scramjet phase. Another part failed, and the X-51 fell into the ocean. John Pike of globalsecurity.org says these craft are not designed to be recovered. It's a high-risk strategy to get information that cannot be obtained from a wind tunnel.
JOHN PIKE: The only way that they can get the data to validate their computer models to tell them how to build operational systems is by actually doing flight tests.
ABRAMSON: The Air Force would not talk about exactly what happened during last week's test, not until an investigation is completed. Four Waveriders were built by Boeing and Pratt & Whitney. Now, there's only one left. At one time, there was interest in hypersonic flight for down-to-earth reasons. President Reagan wanted to build an airborne Orient Express that could go from Washington to Tokyo in two hours. Now, the demand is strategic. John Pike says the Air Force needs a way to deliver weapons quickly over long distances without using intercontinental ballistic missiles.
PIKE: Normally, they've got big hydrogen bombs on the front end of them. And so if the Russians or the Chinese saw a bunch of these coming at them, they would assume it was a nuclear attack and quite possibly launch a nuclear retaliation.
ABRAMSON: The X-51 gets its Waverider moniker from the way it handles the aerodynamics of hypersonic flight. It's essentially wingless and is designed to ride the shock wave it creates. It's hard to say how much last week's failed test cost, but most estimates put the military's investment into hypersonic technology in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Larry Abramson, NPR News.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. | <urn:uuid:59a84ab1-f765-410d-bbfb-67e538ca15fc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.npr.org/2012/08/20/159392700/why-did-the-hypersonic-waverider-crash | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96643 | 852 | 2.53125 | 3 |
'Ignorance is like a delicate fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone'. So quipped Oscar Wilde. After reading Big Questions (I won't put the full title again, it's too tiring to type) I was reminded of the limitless range of my own ignorance.
The things most people don't know you could put in a book. And Faber have. 'Questions answered' and 'Simple guides to...' books are nothing new in children's publishing but the appeal here is the entertaining experts. There are some seriously big brains on hand - including Sir David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins, Noam Chomsky and Mirandha Hart - to answer 100 questions from children.
Offbeat 'experts' include Jarvis Cocker on music; David Crystal on language and Harry Hill (left) on hiccups. Answers are, at most, three pages long and the book, compiled by Gemma Elwin Harris, was conceived to raise money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). More than half the sales and royalties go to the charity.
So what will you learn?
Well, that lobsters have blue blood and why urine is yellow (poor mad King George III had the unfortunate mix of blue wee).
You learn that Dolly was a name used by Romans for their pets; that the earth isn't round; that birds are living dinosaurs; and that cows don't fart - they reroute gas down in their lungs and quietly breathe it out (187 pounds of methane gas a year). Oh, and comets are "big dirty snowballs made almost entirely of ice" and that's where the oceans came from.
Children ask good questions and they can handle abstract thinking about life. They also like the big questions. 'Who is God?' is answered by three different people including children's author Meg Rosoff, who says (disturbingly):
"God doesn't have to believe in you."
Some things elude even the sharpest minds. Scientists still don't know if the universe is expanding forever or will contract back.
Some of the questions are simply fun. Bettany Hughes tackles: 'Did Alexander The Great like frogs?' for example. There are also some out-takes from performers such as Stephen Fry and Sarah Millican (below). Comedian Millican's answer to 'Why do we sleep at night?' is: "Wait 'til you go to university, you'll be able to do it through the day, too."
The scientists come out well but answers from some 'celebrities' are dull and platitudinous. Gordon Ramsey (yawn) explains something about food and gold medal winner Jessica Ennis answers: 'What do you have to do to get into the Olympic Games? in just 29 words. Talk about a sprint.
Much more rewarding is Rosie Swale-Pope's reply to: "How long would it take to walk around the world?"
Her heartwarming explanation is that that it took her 1,789 days (in a charity walk after the death of her husband) during which time: 'I met a terrifying man in Russia who ran up to me with an axe . . . he kindly gave me a parcel of bread! He was a woodsman called Alexei and he thought I must be hungry."
You see, you just really don't ever know for sure.
Big Questions From Little People . . . Answered By Some Very Big People, compiled by Gemma Elwin Harris (Faber and Faber, £12.99) | <urn:uuid:5d9975d2-5231-43f3-9a19-de0580de0217> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews/9615166/Big-Questions-From-Little-People-.-.-.-Answered-By-Some-Very-Big-People-compiled-by-Gemma-Elwin-Harris-review.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967542 | 732 | 2.5625 | 3 |
NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed the discovery of its first rocky planet, which measures 1.4 times the size of Earth and is the smallest planet ever discovered outside the solar system.
The planet has been named Kepler-10b, a NASA statement said.
"All of Kepler's best capabilities have converged to yield the first solid evidence of a rocky planet orbiting a star other than our sun," said Natalie Batalha, Kepler's deputy science team leader at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and primary author of a paper on the discovery accepted by the Astrophysical Journal.
Kepler is the first NASA mission capable of finding Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone, the region in a planetary system where liquid water can exist on the planet's surface.
However, since it orbits once every 0.84 days, Kepler-10b is more than 20 times closer to its star than Mercury is to our sun and not in the habitable zone.
Kepler-10 was the first star identified that could potentially harbour a small transiting planet, placing it at the top of the list for ground-based observations with the W M Keck Observatory 10-meter telescope in Hawaii.
"The discovery of Kepler 10-b is a significant milestone in the search for planets similar to our own," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington.
"Although this planet is not in the habitable zone, the exciting find showcases the kinds of discoveries made possible by the mission and the promise of many more to come," he said.
NASA said knowledge of the planet is only as good as the knowledge of the star it orbits. Because Kepler-10 is one of the brighter stars being targeted by Kepler, scientists were able to detect high frequency variations in the star's brightness generated by stellar oscillations, or starquakes.
This analysis allowed scientists to pin down Kepler-10b's properties. In the case of Kepler-10b, the picture that emerges is of a rocky planet with a mass 4.6 times that of Earth and with an average density of 8.8 grams per cubic centimeter -- similar to that of an iron dumbbell, NASA said.
Image: Illustration of NASA's Kepler mission
Picture courtsey: Wikimedia Commons | <urn:uuid:4ca114ce-297f-42e6-b26c-d40d72d2bec6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rediff.com/news/report/nasa-finds-first-rocky-planet-outside-solar-system/20110111.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927525 | 468 | 3.875 | 4 |
A favicon (short for "favorites icon"), is an icon associated with a particular website or webpage. A webmaster can specify such an create such an icon with his site, and modern web browsers make use of them in various ways, for example displaying the icon next to the address in the location bar, and in bookmarks / favorites menus.
Explanation, and details of how to create and link a favicon.
How to Add a Favicon to your Site
Draft article from the W3C, giving details of how to associate an icon with a web page.
Program to convert .PNG files to the Windows icon format. Instructions and downloads for different platforms.
Encyclopedia article about the icons, with sections on usage and standardization.
Wikipedia: ICO (Icon Image File Format)
Encyclopedia article providing an overview of the format.
Last update:January 11, 2007 at 15:01:40 UTC | <urn:uuid:f9bebf0f-e593-4ea9-9e3a-3e8052efaafe> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Graphics/Web/Favicons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.788415 | 194 | 2.8125 | 3 |
A new finding shows that there are there are three out of every four U.S. health-care personnel make use of some form of balancing, or alternative medicine, or routine to help stay healthier.
What the general public did not know about the health personnel that they are relying too were more inclined to using wide-ranging alternative medicine options, which includes massage, yoga, acupuncture, Pilates or herbal medicines.
According to the Executive Director of the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing with the Allina Health System in Minneapolis, Lori Knutson, there were no analysis done to find out, how many health workers are putting their trust on alternative medicine. The study proves that health workers are now recognizing the beneficial effects of alternative medicine in the body.
Knutson and her colleagues shared their research this month in the journal Health Services Research.
Based on the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (part of the National Institutes of Health), there are around 38 percent of Americans that are presently availing themselves of some form of complementary/alternative medicine, including dietary supplements, meditation, chiropractic services, Pilates, and Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine.
The poll data, gathered back in 2007 is just one part of the National Health Interview Survey, looked at use amongst nationally typical sample of more than 14,300 adults that were working 18 years old and up. Around 1,300 of the participants were health-care providers and workers engaged in either a hospital or ambulatory surroundings.
The survey dealt with 36 different forms of options, involving body manipulation, mind-body and biological-based treatments, and energy-healing remedies.
Doctors, and nurses discovered to be above twice, as likely as non-clinical health-care support workers to have tested a practitioner-based balancing or alternative medicine service during the past years.
In general, health workers belong to the bigger group of people that are using alternative treatment in dealing with the diseases. Around 76 percent health-care workers admitted that they such methods in the last year, compared to 63 percent of people not engage in any form of health working environment.
Even if, diets, vitamins, minerals, and/or herbal supplements not included from the range of options, health-care workers were still incline to use complementary medicine product or service last year compared to the number of common people using alternative medicine to treat themselves.
Health workers use the alternative medicine to treat common problems such as back, neck and joint pain.
Knutson noted that the western culture still put their trust in western medicine, but that was in the old days. Times are changing, and the people now are open to the fact that there are other effective ways of dealing with ailments. | <urn:uuid:2842fb98-9cfd-4c05-a10e-92927ef2aca3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://healthdoctrine.com/more-health-workers-are-using-alternative-medicine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963983 | 562 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Social media platforms and applications are dependent upon communal participation. Members of the community share everything from names, professions and scholastic and corporate affiliations to names and photos of family and friends as well as up-to-the-minute updates on current events. Little is too personal on social media, and the greater the extent of the sharing the greater the personal reward for all involved.
As in the non-Internet world, people often do and say things that are not always appropriate - whether intentional or not. Examples include a personal opinion, a piece of confidential information about oneself, one's company or an acquaintance. Such communication can take the form of a written comment, photos, videos or other form of communication. The result of these communications can result in claims of defamation, incorrect statements of fact, harassment, etc.
Unfortunately for social media operators, those adversely affected and their representatives tend to include social media operators on the short list of culpable parties typically based upon some form of contributory negligence. Fortunately for social media operators operating in the U.S., there exists some form of protection to the extent that certain procedures are maintained.
COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 is a landmark piece of Internet legislation. Section 230(c)(1) of the CDA provides immunity from liability to providers and users of an "interactive computer service" that publishes information provided by others (e.g., user-generated content). Courts generally apply the following three-prong test to determine whether a defendant is subject to the protections afforded by Section 230.
- The defendant must be a "provider or user" of an "interactive computer service;"
- The cause of action asserted by the plaintiff must treat the defendant as a "publisher or speaker" of the harmful information at issue; and,
- The information must be "provided by another information content provider," (i.e., the defendant must not be the information content provider of the harmful information at issue).
This section of the CDA was enacted to enhance free speech by making it unnecessary for Internet service providers and other service providers to unduly restrict customers' actions for fear of being found legally liable for customers' conduct. This law effectively protects social media operators since it covers computer services that involve user-generated content
As a result of its effective protections, Section 230 is considered quite controversial because courts have interpreted Section 230 as providing complete immunity to Internet service providers and other service providers with regard to torts committed by their users. Critics of Section 230 are primarily concerned with its effectiveness at leaving victims with no hope of relief in instances where the true tortfeasors cannot be identified or are judgment proof.
Courts have upheld Section 230 in a variety of factual contexts and on numerous legal theories, including posting of:
- Defamatory information;
- Private information;
- False information;
- Pornographic information;
- Harassing commentary; and,
- Discriminatory and/or illegal advertising.
Section 230, however, is not absolute protection. For example, plaintiffs have successfully argued in a handful of cases that an "interactive computer service" was not entitled to Section 230 immunity because the person or entity in question was an "information content provider" with respect to the information at issue, thereby failing the third test noted above. Notwithstanding certain plaintiff successes, generally the social media operator is protected against liability for postings made by others so long as the operator does not contribute in whole or in part, in the creation or development of the content and provides a mechanism for detecting objectionable content.
As such, in order for social media operators to obtain the maximum protection under Section 230 of the CDA, the operator should strictly adhere to the following:
- Do not alter any contribution of user-generated content. To the extent that user-generated content is repackaged - no matter how insignificantly, the social media operator potentially voids one of the three tests and risks exposure. Competent legal counsel should opine on the risk to the social media operator to the extent that any user-generated content is repackaged or reformatted. | <urn:uuid:d2d7714b-1b30-481f-a5ca-e6e1c7b37df9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/liability-and-user-generated-content-783323.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.925258 | 847 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Intercepts and/or Slopes That Change over Time
Unlike typical cross-section analysis, which imposes a static nature to your models, a pooled cross section allows you to incorporate a dynamic time element. You can do this with a pooled cross section because cross-sectional units are observed in two or more periods.
Typically, pooled cross sections contain many more cross-sectional observations than the number of time periods being pooled. Consequently, the models usually resemble cross-sectional analysis with possible heteroskedasticity corrections. Because the time gap between the collection of cross-sectional units is usually large (anywhere from one year to several years apart), autocorrelation and other time-series issues tend to be ignored.
It’s not uncommon to confuse a pooled cross section with a panel dataset. Both contain cross-sectional measurements in multiple periods, but in a panel dataset the same cross-sectional units are included in each time period rather than being randomly selected in each period.
With pooled cross-sectional data, the population distribution from which the random samples are drawn may change over time.
If you use a pooled cross section, you’ll want to examine potential time effects. If you ignore these time effects, you may obtain biased estimates of your regression coefficients.
One possibility is that a changing population distribution results in different intercepts and/or slopes over time. The figure illustrates how accounting for a changing intercept may be important with pooled cross-sectional data. If you don’t account for time effects, you obtain the sample regression line 1A (with a biased estimate of the intercept). However, accounting for time allows you to identify lines 1B and 1C.
Time can also influence the impact of your independent variable on the dependent variable by altering the magnitude of the slope. If you ignore time effects, you’ll end up with line 2A. Regression line 2A has heteroskedasticity, and, more importantly, a biased estimate of the slope (impact of the independent variable). By accounting for time effects, you can identify lines 2B and 2C, which appropriately estimate the slope. | <urn:uuid:75e4bea0-c440-4019-a631-c3b81654c237> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/intercepts-andor-slopes-that-change-over-time.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905457 | 436 | 3.109375 | 3 |
It is important to remember that when lifting heavy items it may be necessary to use an assistive device or team lift. If this is not possible, the employee should be provided sufficient time to plan and complete any difficult lift.
Daily situations often require employees to lift items in a variety of positions. Making a lift totally risk-free is nearly impossible. The goal is to perform a particular lift in the “best way possible” if workers learn to review the brief “mental checklist” and incorporate as many of those components into the lift as possible they will be actively assuming responsibility for their own back care.
Repeated use of poor body mechanics is a major cause of back injuries. It is important that the supervisor recognize the movements and activities that are the most stressful.
Some of the common mistakes include:
1. Lifting with the back bent forward and the legs straight.
This places significant stress on the support structures of the lower back.
2. Using fast jerking motions.
Lifting objects which are hard to grip, working in an area with slipping and tripping hazards, or trying to work too fast can prevent smooth, safe technique.
3. Bending and twisting at the same time.
Not pivoting the feet or squatting to lift causes maximum stress on the structures of the lower back.
4. Handling the load too far away.
Failure to bring the load close to the body is another cause of injury. The stress increases 7 to 10 times when a load is at arm’s length.
5. Poor planning.
Failing to size up or test the load, check the path of travel, or clear an area for the object to be placed often leads to additional stress on the back.
6. Poor communication.
When two people are lifting together the movement must be coordinated. Any misunderstanding of instructions can also result in unnecessary risk.
7. Insufficient strength.
Many times a lifting devise is required to move objects safely. Lack of necessary equipment often results in unsafe lifting activities. When lifting devices are made available, employees should be trained and required to use them because injuries sometimes occur when lifting devices available but not used.
As the supervisor surveys the work area, the use of good body mechanics should be reviewed daily. The employee should be required to follow the rules of good body mechanics. Many workers take lifting “shortcuts” which may appear to be easier or save time. And often individuals who have not experienced back pain do not think body mechanics rules apply to them. The supervisor must set and enforce the standards for safe lifting. Prior to initiating any lift, employees should review a “mental checklist”.
The rules of good body mechanics include the following:
1. Test the load.
Prior to lifting or moving an object, test the weight of the load to make sure it can be moved safely. Use a lifting device if necessary.
2. Plan the move.
Check the path of travel or destination of the load to make sure it is clear. Clear the path before picking up the load. Secure open all affected doorways.
3. Use a wide, balanced stance with one foot ahead of the other.
A solid base of support reduces the likelihood of slipping and jerking movements. Placing one foot beside the load is crucial to a proper lift.
4. Keep the lower back in its normal arched position while lifting.
Bend at the knees. With the back arched, the forces are more evenly distributed on the support structures.
5. Bring the load as close to the body as possible.
This keeps your back from acting as the fulcrum and reduces the stress.
6. Keep the bead and shoulders up and keep your eyes on the load.
This helps to keep the arch in the lower back and improves your balance.
7. Tighten the stomach muscles as the lift begins.
This causes the abdominal cavity to become a weight bearing structure, thus unloading the spine.
8. Lift with the legs and stand up in a smooth, even motion.
Using the strength of the legs to straighten the knees and hips as the lift is completed decreases the lower back stress.
9. Move the feet (pivot) if a direction change is necessary.
This eliminates the need to twist at the waist, thus significantly reducing the stress on the supporting structures of the back.
10. Communicate if two or more individuals are involved in the movement.
This reduces the likelihood of an error that could result in sudden or jerking movements. | <urn:uuid:eec6e33e-c34e-47e9-a70f-57746ac238ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.riskmgmt.com/Lifting.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924852 | 939 | 3.140625 | 3 |
‘Canes4Play is a play initiative aimed at improving overall quality of life, reducing the incidence and prevalence of mental health concerns, and bolstering retention rates among University of Miami (UM) students. The program provides UM students with play-oriented programming and resources designed to enhance four dimensions of wellness: emotional, cognitive, physical, and social.
Examples of play programming include (note: some activities bridge multiple dimensions):
Emotional - journaling, stress-reduction arts and crafts (i.e. sock aromatherapy, stress balls), poetry, free-play (i.e. play dough, legos)
Cognitive - story telling, memory games, doodling, finger painting, board games
Physical - hula hoop, hopscotch, jump rope, team sports, obstacle courses
Social - team building activities, group music sessions, group games
Whether you have endless amounts of free time or operate on a tight schedule, there is always time for play! Check out the various ways to get involved in order of increasing levels of time commitment.
- Participate in ‘Canes4Play programming as an individual or with a group.
- Schedule a Play Date! Request a play program for your group.
- Use the ‘Canes4Play resource page to host your own play program.
- Make a play tutorial video for the ‘Canes4Play resource page.
- Become a play facilitator and lead play activities.
Play programming has shown promise as a means of addressing mental health concerns and improving well-being. Not only is play fun, but play activities trigger a release of endorphins that can relieve stress, transform negative emotions, and serve as a remedy for anxiety and depression. Play is believed to induce a state of ‘flow,’ a mental state that provides a perfect balance of challenge and opportunity, or relaxation and stimulation, which fosters a heightened sense of control and self-efficacy. In this state, students are able to practice mindfulness, in which they maintain nonjudgmental focus and awareness on the present moment, regaining perspective and keeping the stressors of the past and future at bay. Play also helps individuals connect with others and develop several skills (i.e. imagination, creativity, problem-solving, verbal communication, cooperation) that will serve them well in the classroom and in life. Overall, the play initiative will teach students that play is not just frivolous fun for children, but a wellness behavior that is as beneficial and important as eating well, exercising regularly, and getting sufficient sleep throughout life. | <urn:uuid:906f6cd3-c5b4-4e8c-a603-9b4b7041deae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.miami.edu/sa/index.php/wellness_center/programs_and_schedules/wellness_programs_services/canes_4_play/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00007-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934719 | 533 | 2.5625 | 3 |
A test commonly ordered by cardiologists across the country to diagnose heart disease exposes patients to radiation doses equivalent to 600 chest X-rays, researchers have found.
The test is called a cardiac CT angiogram, or cardiac CTA for short, and it is a relatively new way to look for potentially dangerous blockages in the heart arteries.
The study, released Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to look at radiation exposure from this test, and it is important because of the risk for developing cancer from radiation exposure.
"The strength of [this study] is that it is the first available survey of radiation doses in cardiac CTA," said Dr. Thomas Gerber, study author and associate professor of medicine and radiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "That information wasn't known, but it is conceivably important because of the risks of ... radiation."
However, the authors and experts in the field caution that this study should not send patients and doctors fleeing from an important way to diagnose heart disease.
"Not all cardiac CT is evil," said Gerber. "It is valuable in patients who have symptoms of heart disease."
Cancer Risk and Radiation
The risk of dying from cancer because of the radiation exposure from one cardiac CTA is difficult to estimate, but the American Heart Association puts the additional risk at around 0.05 percent in a statement released in the journal Circulation.
The actual radiation dose here may also not be as big as it initially sounds.
Radiation is commonly measured in units called millisieverts, or mSv. Authors studied almost 2,000 patients who had a cardiac CTA, and they found that the average radiation dose from these CT scans was 12 mSv.
Gerber said, "This is four times the annual background radiation [that everyone gets] from substances [in the environment] such as radon."
So in other words, an encounter with a heart CT scan equals four years worth of the radiation one would encounter in their day-to-day lives.
"It is important for patients' understanding to compare the test dose to annual background radiation ... instead of to chest X-rays," said Dr. Gilbert Raff, director of the Ministrelli Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging at the William Beaumont Hospital. "Modern technology has reduced the chest X-ray [radiation] dose so substantially that it is no longer a fair or reasonable target to use."
Comparing Cardiac CTA to Other Tests
It is also important for patients to recognize that the radiation dose from cardiac CTA is comparable to the radiation exposure with other common tests used by cardiologists to look at blockages in the heart arteries.
Gerber says patients getting a stress test with imaging (where pictures are taken of the heart during exercise) get about the same dose of radiation. A cardiac catheterization procedure, in which a cardiologist puts a catheter and contrast dye into the heart arteries and takes pictures, typically exposes patients to about half as much radiation, but it is an invasive procedure and carries other risks.
"I think the most important ... lesson is that the dose is comparable to noninvasive imaging with stress scanning, which is the most common test we use in patients with ... chest pain," Raff said.
Dr. Christopher Cannon, senior investigator for the TIMI study group at the Brigham and Women's Hospital agreed. "We need to review all cardiac tests, not just CT angiograms."
More Can Be Done to Lower Radiation Exposure
The study also examined several techniques that are used to reduce radiation exposure when doing a cardiac CTA.
Researchers found that, while these techniques were associated with a significantly reduced radiation dose, not all centers were using these methods consistently. Importantly, these radiation reducing techniques did not affect the quality of the image obtained.
"One objective of this type of study [is] to raise awareness and make sure that [we] use all the means that we have available to reduce radiation dose," Gerber said. "The techniques available today are better than those studied in 2007. We [now] have revolutionary new technology that will probably reduce radiation dose from an [average] of 12 mSv to an [average] of 3 mSv."
Dr. Armin Zadeh, associate director of Cardiac CT at the Johns Hopkins University agreed. "The take-home message is that if you use cardiac CT responsibly, you can achieve good results with radiation exposures, which are very reasonable compared to other imaging tests." | <urn:uuid:c3fc5c63-9dce-481c-9fef-ed1207796771> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/story?id=6801216&page=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959044 | 938 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Since the Red Cross has figured four times in the award of the Nobel Peace Prize (1917, 1944, and 1963), as well as in the award to Henri Dunant (1901), and has therefore been made the subject of various presentation speeches and Nobel lectures which give details of its inception, history, and activities, the following brief summary of its origins and present organization is intended as a frame of reference for all four of these awards rather than as the typical history ordinarily included for each award to an organization.
In February of 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, the Société genevoise d'utilité publique [Geneva Public Welfare Society] set up a committee of five Swiss citizens to look into the ideas offered by Henri Dunant in his book Un Souvenir de Solferino 1 - ideas dealing with protection of the sick and wounded during combat. The committee had as its members: Guillaume Henri Dufour (1787-1875), a general of the Swiss army and a writer of military tracts who became the committee's president for its first year and its honorary president thereafter; Gustave Moynier (1826-1910), a young lawyer and president of the sponsoring Public Welfare Society, who from this time on devoted his life to Red Cross work; Louis Appia (1818-1898) and Théodore Maunoir (1806-1869), both medical doctors; and Henri Dunant himself.
Guided by Moynier's talent for organization, the committee called an international conference for October of 1863 which, with sixteen nations represented, adopted various pertinent resolutions and principles, along with an international emblem, and appealed to all nations to form voluntary units to help wartime sick and wounded. These units eventually became the National Red Cross Societies, and the Committee of Five itself eventually became the International Committee of the Red Cross, with Gustave Moynier as its president (1864-1910) both before and after it took this name.
As a result of the 1863 Conference, which hoped to see its Red Cross principles become a part of international law, an international diplomatic meeting was held at Geneva the following year at the invitation of the Swiss government. The assembly formulated the Geneva Convention of 1864. This international «Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field» included provisions guaranteeing neutrality for medical personnel and equipment and officially adopting the red cross on a field of white as the identifying emblem. It was signed on August 22, 1864, by twelve states and was later accepted by virtually all.
The work of the Red Cross had been inaugurated.
Three other conventions were later added to the first, extending protection to victims of naval warfare, to prisoners of war, and to civilians. Revisions of these conventions have been made from time to time, the most extensive being that of 1949.
Although the Red Cross has always given major service and often accomplished herculean tasks during time of war, it has achieved even greater service in its gradual development and operation of humanitarian programs that serve continuously in both peace and war.
The Red Cross, a strictly neutral and impartial worldwide organization dedicated to humanitarian interests in general and to alleviating human suffering in particular, is composed of three basic elements.
1. The self-governing National Red Goss Societies, including the Red Crescent (in Muslim countries) and the Red Lion and Sun (in Iran), operate on the national level through their volunteer members, although they also participate in international work. Each must be recognized by the International Committee. Today numbering 114, these societies all have Junior Red Cross Societies as well. Virtually all have disaster relief programs, and many carry on welfare programs, with community health and safety instruction, and so on. Since World War II, many of the European and Asian societies have also established refugee services.
2. The League of Red Cross Societies, a coordinating world federation of these societies, was established in 1919 as the result of proposals made by Henry P. Davison (1867-1922) of the American Red Cross. The League maintains contacts between the societies; acts as a clearinghouse for information; assists the societies in setting up new programs and in improving or expanding old ones; coordinates international disaster operations. It functions under an executive committee and a board of governors on which every national society has representation.
3. The International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC], a private, independent group of Swiss citizens chosen by co-optation (limited to twenty-five in number), acts during war or conflict whenever intervention by a neutral body is necessary, such action constituting its special field of activity. As guardian of the Geneva Conventions and of Red Cross principles, it promotes their acceptance by governments, suggests their revision, works for further development of international humanitarian law, and recognizes new Red Cross Societies; it sends its Swiss delegates into prisoner-of-war camps, supervises repatriation, operates the Central Tracing Agency, supplies material relief, and the like.
The International Red Cross Conference, which met for the first time in 1867, is the highest legislative body. It is composed of representatives of the National Societies, the League, the International Committee, and the governments that have signed the Geneva Conventions. Meeting every four to six years, it reviews Red Cross activities and the operation of the Conventions in practice, taking under consideration, whenever necessary, any suggested revision of the Conventions or the adoption of new ones. (Actual revision and adoption are matters for a diplomatic conference convened by the Swiss government in its role as the custodian of the Conventions; texts submitted to such a diplomatic conference would be prepared by the ICRC with expert assistance and previously approved by an International Conference of the Red Cross.) Between Conferences, coordination of the work of the League with that of the Committee is ensured by the Standing Commission of the International Red Cross.
|This bibliography, like the preceding «history», is intended for reference in connection with all awards to the Red Cross: to the International Committee of the Red Cross (1917, 1944, and 1963) and to the League of Red Cross Societies (1963).|
|Boissier, Pierre, Histoire du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge de Solférino à Tsoushima. Paris, Plon, 1963.|
|Buckingham, Clyde E., For Humanity's Sake: The Story of the Early Development of the League of Red Cross Societies. Washington, D.C., Public Affairs Press, 1964.|
|Cousier, Henri, The International Red Cross, transl. by M.C.S. Phipps. Geneva, ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross], 1961.|
|Draper, G.I.A.D., The Red Cross Conventions. New York, Praeger, 1958.|
|Dunant, Jean Henry, A Memory of Solferino, English translation of Un Souvenir de Solférino. Washington, D.C., American National Red Cross, 1939.|
|Huber, Max, Principles and Foundations of the Work of the International Committee of the Red Cross, 1939-1946. Geneva, ICRC, 1947.|
|International Review of the Red Cross. English edition (since 1961) of the Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge, monthly publication of the ICRC, Geneva (since 1919).|
|Joyce, James Avery, Red Cross International and the Strategy of Peace. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1959. New York, Oceana Publications, 1959.|
|Junod, Marcel, Warrior without Weapons, with a Preface by Max Huber. Transl. by Edward Fitzgerald of Le Troisième Combattant. New York, Macmillan, 1951.|
|Liste des publications du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge de 1863 à 1944, compiled by Élie Moray, G. Vuagnat, and Daniel Clouzot. Genève, 1945.|
|Manuel de la Croix-Rouge internationale. Genève, Comité international de la Croix-Rouge et Ligue des sociétés de la Croix-Rouge, 1951.|
|Patrnogic, Jovica, «The Red Cross as a Factor of Peace», in International Review of the Red Cross, 87 (June, 1968) 283-294.|
|Pictet, Jean S., ed., Commentary: The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. 4 vols. Geneva, ICRC, 1952, 1958, 1960.|
|Pictet, Jean S., Red Cross Principles. Geneva, ICRC, 1956.|
|Red Cross World. Publication of the League of Red Cross Societies, Geneva (since 1919). [Title varies prior to 1952.]|
|Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Its Activities during the Second World War, Sept. 1, 1939-June 30, 1947. Geneva, ICRC, 1948.|
|Siordet, Frédéric, «A Hundred Years in the Service of Humanity», in International Review of the Red Cross, 29 (August, 1963) 393-428.|
1. See Dunant's biography.
From Nobel Lectures, Peace 1926-1950, Editor Frederick W. Haberman, Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1972
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1944 | <urn:uuid:2d894bab-3f86-4514-8d30-3c7c548b66df> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1944/red-cross-history.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911716 | 1,982 | 3 | 3 |
Sweet potato garden.
image by Jennifer Dickert/flickr.com
Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are warm-weather vegetables that require a long, warm growing season. Sweet potatoes are tropical vegetables, so they grow the easiest in southern states. It is possible to grow sweet potatoes in the north as well, given proper weather and conditions. Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A. There is no actual relation to the yam (Dioscorea sp.), due to popular belief. They are of entirely separate species that is grown only in tropical areas.
Choose the variety of sweet potato you would like to plant and purchase the slips (sprouts that sweet potatoes grow from). Sweet potato slips are found more commonly in the southern States, so if you have trouble locating them at local nurseries, check mail order options. You may opt to use transplants as well. See Resources for a variety listing.
Plan the garden site in a place that has full sunlight and well-drained soil. Use a tiller to loosen the soil 12 to 15 inches deep, once the last frost has passed. Mix in a 2 to 4-inch layer of compost. Optimal soil temperatures are between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. You want the soil to be moist, but never waterlogged.
Plant the slips or transplants 4 inches deep and in the soil using a spade. Ensure plants have 8 inches between them and the rows are 3 feet apart. Firm the soil around the slips or transplants and make a shallow depression around each plant.
Water the beds generously for the first few days. The plants will need 1 inch of water per week, via rainfall or irrigation. Water until the soil is moistened approximately 6 inches deep. Do not water during the last 3 to 4 weeks before the harvest, especially if you plan to store part of the harvest. Place black plastic mulch over the bed approximately 4 to 5 weeks after planting, to speed growth and control weeds.
Aim to harvest approximately 120 days after planting them. Harvest the potatoes on a dry and overcast day, or make sure to shade the roots from direct sunlight. Cut the vines before digging up the potatoes. Handle the potatoes with care while harvesting, as they easily bruise. Allow the potatoes to dry on the ground for a few hours.
Cure the sweet potatoes to heal wounds and convert some of the starch to sugar. The best curing conditions are 85 to 90 percent humidity for one week. If you are unable to achieve those conditions, keep the potatoes in the warmest place in the house (most likely the kitchen) for 14 days. Try to keep the temperature above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Store the potatoes in a cool place, but never below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not refrigerate the potatoes. Potatoes should last for at least six months in good storage conditions. | <urn:uuid:ba950b62-ede0-49ea-b3fb-8edd59622fe2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gardenguides.com/69674-grow-sweet-potato.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914786 | 586 | 3.390625 | 3 |
The battle of Pengcheng (205 BC) was a major defeat suffered by Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, after he occupied the capital of his main rival Xiang Yu.
After conquering the former Qin heartland, Liu Bang prepared to strike east into Xiang Yu’s heartland. Xiang Yu, who had been advised that this was unlikely, decided to move north to deal with a second revolt in Qi. He won a military victory at Chengyang, but his harsh behaviour only triggered a second revolt.
In the meantime Liu Bang advanced east, gathering support as he went. During this time the news reached him that Xiang Yu had murdered his nominal overlord, the former King Huai of Chu (soon after ‘promoting’ him to emperor). Liu Bang used this to give his invasion some legitimacy, claiming that he was marching to avenge the murder. He then continued his advance, and in the summer of 205 BC occupied Xiang Yu’s capital at Pengcheng.
Xiang Yu responded quickly. He split his army, leaving his generals to continue the war in Qi, and then led 30,000 picked men south to deal with Liu Bang. The Han army was camped somewhere to the west of Pengcheng. Xiang Yu attacked at dawn, and forced Liu Bang’s men to retreat east towards the city. By noon the battle was won. Liu Bang’s army had been forced back to the Qu and Szu rivers, and the survivors now attempted to escape. Many were killed attempting to cross the Sui River, which was said to have been blocked with corpses.
Liu Bang himself was almost captured. He and his last few troops were surrounded by three lines of soldiers, but a freak storm then struck the two armies. In the confusion Liu Bang and a handful of his cavalry managed to break out of the trap. He then moved to Pei, in an attempt to rescue his family member, but they had already left. By chance he found his daughter on the road, and rescued her, but his father and wife were captured by Xiang Yu and held hostage.
Although this was a major defeat Liu Bang soon recovered. His able subordinates were able to raise fresh armies, and the Chu-Han Contention continued on for another three years. | <urn:uuid:f84c9980-28c9-499a-b429-0da932be1c1a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://historyofwar.org/articles/battles_pengcheng.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.993712 | 470 | 3.46875 | 3 |
~ Erzsebet Bathory ~
(Elizabeth) Bathory was born in Hungary in 1560, approximately a hundred years after Vlad the Impaler died. One of her ancestors,
Prince Steven Bathory, was even a commanding officer who helped Vlad Dracula In 1546, when he claimed back the throne in Wallachia.
At the time Elizabeth was born, her parents George and Anna
Bathory belonged to one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the country. Her cousin was the prime minister in Hungary,
another relative was cardinal, and her uncle Stephan later became King of Poland.
The noble Báthory family stemmed from the Hun Gutkeled clan
which held power in broad areas of east central Europe (in those places now known as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania),
and had emerged to assume a role of relative eminence by the first half of the 13th century. Abandoning their tribal roots,
they assumed the name of one of their estates (Bátor meaning 'valiant') as a family name.
Their power rose to reach a zenith by the mid 16th century,
but declined and faded to die out completely by 1658. Great kings, princes, members of the judiciary, as well as holders of
ecclesiastical and civil posts were among the ranks of the Báthorys. But the Bathory-family, beside the very rich and famous, also contained some very strange relatives. One uncle
was said to be a devil-worshipper.
In the spring 1575, at the age of 15, Elizabeth was married
(for political gain and position) to Count Ferencz Nadasdy, who was 25, and a renowned war hero whose sadistic flair would
ultimately earn him fame as "The Black Hero of Hungary." The Count added her surname to his, so Elizabeth could keep
her family name "Bathory". Nadasdy was rough soldier of (nevertheless) aristocratic stock and manner.
By reason of the marriage, she became the lady of the Castle
of Csejthe, his home, situated deep in the Carpathian mountains of what is now central Romania, but which then was known only
as Transylvania. Located near no exciting urban center, the castle was surrounded by a village of simple peasants and rolling
agricultural lands, interspersed with the jagged outcroppings of the frozen Carpathians.
While her husband was pursuing his passion for war, throughout
all the 25 years they were married, Elizabeth was often left to herself, and her life became more and more boring. For amusement,
beside admiring her own beauty in the mirror for hours, she took on young men as lovers, and one time even ran off with one,
but she soon returned home and the Count forgave her.
Though much speculation has been published with regard to the Countess' marriage, Fernencz's
frequent absences were a hard fact. The first few years of their marriage produced few children, and it was during these long
periods of solitude that Elizabeth's sadistic nature took rein. There has been much speculation as to its influence.
At a young age, Elizabeth witnessed the execution of a traitorous
gypsy; the accused was stuffed in the dissected belly of a live horse and sewn inside. The gypsy's death was presented as
a public spectacle (one particularly titillating for the nobles who attended); no sympathy was shown for the man's death nor
was any remorse present on the faces of his executioners. This incident convinced young Elizabeth - in whom the seeds of cruelty
had been sown at birth - that commoners could be killed with impunity and without fear of retribution.
|Remains of Csjethe Castle
Elizabeth began amusing herself by paying visits to her aunt
Countess Klara Bathory, an open bisexual. She presumably enjoyed herself with her aunt Klara, since she visited her aunt's
It was also then she began to develop an interest in the
occult. An old maid named Dorothea Szentes, also called Dorka, who was a real witch, instructed her in the ways of witchcraft
and Black Magic. Later Dorka became Bathory's helping hand, when she was encouraging Elizabeth's sadistic tendencies, like
the inflicting of pain upon people.
Together with Dorka, Elizabeth began the task of disciplining the female servants,
and torture them in an underground chamber. In the Countess's service, as helpers in the macabre punishments of the servants,
was her old nurse Iloona Joo, her manservant Johannes Ujvary and a maid named Anna Darvula, who alleged also was Elizabeth's
Elizabeth was not alone in her 'unusual' interests. Aware
of Elizabeth's complex preoccupations, and amused by them, her aunt had introduced her also to the pleasures of flagellation
(enacted upon desolate others of course), a taste Elizabeth quickly acquired.
Equipped with silver claws -- an instrument
made of a whip tipped with claw-shaped silver talons, she generously indulged herself, whiling away many lonely hours at the
expense of forlorn Slav debtors from her own dungeons. The more shrill their screams and the more copious the blood, the more
exquisite and orgasmic her amusement.
She preferred to whip her 'subjects' on the front of their
nude bodies rather than their backs, not only for the increased damage potential, but so that she could gleefully watch their
faces contort in horror at their most grim and burning fate.
|Countess Erzsebeta Bathory
Her husband died in 1604 (some say 1602) of stab wounds imposed
on him by a harlot in Bucharest whom he had not paid, and Elizabeth immediately dreamed of a lover to replace him, since she
never cared for him in the first place.
However, the mirror showed her that her prurient indulgences,
as well as time, had taken their toll on her appearance. Her 'angelic' complexion had long since faded to something less than
perfection; she had reached 43. Her desire for a lover did not fade; she raged deep within, cursing time.
Her mood deteriorated markedly and one day, as she viciously
struck a servant girl for a minor oversight, she drew blood when her pointed nails raked the girl's cheek. The wound was serious
enough that some of the blood got onto Elizabeth's skin. Later, Elizabeth was quite sure that that part of her own body -
where the girl's blood had dropped - looked fresher somehow; younger, brighter and more pliant.
Immediately she consulted her alchemists for their opinion
on the phenomenon. They, of course, were enjoying her hospitality and did not wish to disappoint, so, fortunately, they did
recall a case many many years before and in a distant place where the blood of a young virgin had caused a similar effect
on an aged (but generous) personage of nobility and good grace.
With such clear evidence at hand, Elizabeth was convinced that
here was a brilliant discovery; a method to restore and preserve her youthful glow forever. She reasoned that if a little was good, then a lot would be better: she firmly believed that if she bathed in
the blood of young virgins -- and in the case of especially pretty ones, drank it -- she would be gloriously beautiful and
strong once again.
For years, Elizabeth's trusted helper in her various secret
pleasures had been Dorotta Szentes. Now with her, and other 'witches' to help carry the load, Elizabeth roamed the countryside
by night, hunting for suitable virginal girls as raw material for her difficult quest. | <urn:uuid:02808a93-f5d2-4b50-91fc-095f10cb0a80> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://jhb15.tripod.com/midnight/id18.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979302 | 1,644 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The Goal Is Mars: The Planetary Society's Submission to the Committee on Human Spaceflight
The following was submitted to the National Academies' Committee on Human Spaceflight in July of 2013.
The Planetary Society strongly supports human exploration of space. The planet Mars is the goal. There, humans will explore efficiently and make discoveries that would utterly change the world. While our robotic missions accomplish remarkable and often astonishing things on Mars, they are precursors in exploration. Astronaut researchers on Mars will make discoveries and create stories that will be shared by all humankind for generations to come.
In 2008, The Planetary Society and Stanford University convened a workshop to examine the future of human spaceflight. The workshop brought together nearly 50 experts, including scientists, former NASA officials and astronauts, industry executives, and space policy specialists for a frank discussion about human spaceflight and our priorities in space. Among the conclusions of this group was that “the purpose of sustained human exploration is to go to Mars and beyond, and that a series of intermediate destinations, each with its own intrinsic value, should be established as steps toward that goal.” Although some of the details have changed over the last five years, the core principles and recommendations outlined in The Planetary Society's report, Beyond the Moon: A New Roadmap for Human Space Exploration in the 21st Century still apply in 2013.
The Benefits of Human Spaceflight are Incalculable
Countries with space programs have stronger economies because of the innovations that space missions inherently require, because of the teamwork and organizational structure that must be brought to bear on solving problems that have never been solved before, and because space exploration simply brings out the best in workers and society. With all that, when humans are flying in space, organizations sharpen their focus and do their very best work to support their comrades – fellow citizens of Earth. It is a unique and especially productive use of a society's intellect and treasure.
The effect of humans in space is obvious when one compares the public’s response to human achievements on the Moon with the achievements of robotic missions, which may have accomplished somewhat more scientifically but with enormously less inspiration. The Soviet Union’s space agency was the first to land a spacecraft softly on the Moon and to drive a rover across its surface. It was the first agency to photograph the far side of the Moon. They accomplished the first robotic sample return mission from another world. They put spacecraft in the atmosphere and on the surface of Venus. Nevertheless, it was the Apollo human landings that changed the world. The exploits of the astronauts are writ larger on the pages of history, because the human stories are so compelling for us.
While the robotic planetary science program accomplishes remarkable and often astonishing things, there is a great deal more waiting to be learned by sending people to Mars. When an astronaut is engaged, the whole world is engaged. NASA's Curiosity landing was watched by millions of people around the world. A human mission will be watched by billions. When we explore Mars, two remarkable things will happen: we will make discoveries that require the unique skills and capabilities of the human brain, but we will also have an adventure. People everywhere will share in both.
Keeping humans in space is the ultimate expression of an advanced civilization. Not only does it require heavy and constant investment in technology, engineering capability, and industry, it demands cooperation by tens of thousands of people in a complex hierarchy. The sheer complexity of the mission binds people together peacefully, both at home and abroad.
Few endeavors elicit so much pride, inspiration, and optimism. Astronauts inspire countless millions of people to pursue careers in high technology, engineering, and science. While robotic spacecraft can be anthropomorphized in their adventures, human astronauts need no such conceptual leap. They represent the best in us as they push the boundaries of our species farther into space.
The greatest threat to the human spaceflight program is the lack of a clear goal.
We live in a truly remarkable time technologically, where nothing prevents humans from exploring Mars or other targets save for our own decisions not to do so. If a plan were created that united our government and the space community, we could pursue a truly adventurous, exceptional program of human exploration that would span decades. This is not unprecedented. Both the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle programs garnered the political and financial commitment to sustain them for many years.
Without a clear goal to guide NASA, the Administration, Congress, and the aerospace community, the human spaceflight program is subject to swings in focus, leading to funding cuts, inefficient spending, and ultimately the dwindling of public support. Continued division could doom the endeavor.
With Mars as the clear goal, space agencies around the world – and NASA especially – will be able to streamline their efforts. Space exploration will become more efficient. Present and future lawmakers will not need to spend time, effort, or energy proposing human missions to destinations that are not consistent with the goal of successfully landing humans on Mars.
The Planetary Society published Beyond the Moon five years ago. We stand by those recommendations today. It is in our best interest to develop an exploration architecture whose ultimate goal is to enable the human exploration of Mars. This architecture should incorporate new, culturally significant scientific achievements as steps toward Mars, including the following:
- The first human voyages beyond the Earth-Moon system.
- The first human voyages beyond the gravitational influence of Earth.
- The first human voyages to another planet, culminating with a Mars landing and safe return to Earth.
Landing on Mars is a challenging endeavor that must be recognized and planned as a multi-decade program with clear milestones, stable funding, and sustained national commitment. Current implementation of the program has lacked these essential elements.
What If We Do Not Accept the Challenge of Human Spaceflight?
The ramifications of not accepting the challenge of human exploration of space – particularly Mars – are troubling. It is the key to our nation's future in innovation. If we terminate or curtail human spaceflight, we are condemning our progeny to live their lives with less. Other countries with robust space agencies will find themselves leading the world in innovations and technology. Their superior economies will outperform that of the U.S.
There are the deep and important cultural implications if we don't explore. What does it say about a society that forever looks down at its feet? Worse yet, what does it say of a society that looks down knowing full well that it could look up and out, yet chooses not to? Are we prepared to be the first generation to declare exploration to be more trouble than it's worth? How do we explain to our progeny that we just decided to stop?
Science, exploration, and technology are inseparable. One leads to the other. Science is a beneficiary of human spaceflight but it is not the primary motivation. Many of the great human explorations of the past – including the Apollo missions to the Moon – were undertaken primarily for cultural or political reasons but still resulted in revolutionary scientific advances and new capabilities. Countless discoveries will remain unknown if we walk away from human space exploration.
We should all acknowledge that if we were to discover evidence of past life on Mars, or stranger still something still alive there, it would utterly change the world. Such a discovery would be akin to those made by Copernicus or Galileo. It would change the way everyone everywhere views his or her relationship with the cosmos, our place in space.
With Mars as the destination for future explorers, NASA can streamline its human exploration endeavor to take us where we've never been – returning unprecedented knowledge and inspiring generations to come. The human imperative to experience and understand our planetary neighborhood would continue, as it has for generations. Space exploration carries with it the promise of a hopeful future. The time to take the next bold step into that future is now.
Bill Nye & The Planetary Society
Our Advocacy Program provides each Society member a voice in the process.
Funding is critical. The more we have, the more effective we can be, translating into more missions, more science, and more exploration. | <urn:uuid:2415120b-8748-4d3b-80a3-c4a85fdc82f0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/be-a-space-advocate/2013/human-spaceflight-the-goal-is-mars.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00164-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943386 | 1,647 | 2.796875 | 3 |
1. Scene on railroad pier, Smyrna, where refugees embarked.
2. Weeding out the men. All men of military age were torn away from their wives and children and led away in groups for deportation to the interior.
3.The Long Line That Leads to Death. Deportation of Christians from their homes to the arid wastes to die.
4. Portion of the three thousand persons, who fled to the water-front in the destruction of Smyrna. They were a human wall two miles long, the blazing city behind and the Aegean Sea before them.
5. Smyrna at the Height of the Fire.
6. Smyrna burning, with populace on quay.
7. Other scenes of Smyrna in flames. | <urn:uuid:a753baf0-f3a5-4738-a262-8d70519b2d4a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hri.org/docs/Horton/pictures.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945761 | 163 | 3.0625 | 3 |
“The verdant Hawai‘i Islands in their mid-Pacific location have for over two centuries played a siren song to travelers from the greatest land mass in East Asia. The earliest Chinese emigrants landed on Hawai‘i’s shores beginning in 1789, and built the first wooden structures around Honolulu harbor that are the forerunners of the business district of modern Honolulu. In 1879, a 13-year old Chinese boy landed on these same shores, and absorbed enough modern Western (Christian) education in Honolulu’s schools to topple the religious altars in his own home, and decades later, as Sun Yatsen, helped overthrow an empire to establish a democracy in his homeland.”
Given the prominence of these early connections between Hawai‘i and the Chinese, and the composition of Hawai‘i’s population, it is not surprising that by 1930 UH ranked third among U.S.colleges and universities in the number of Asia-related courses it offered. Today, the university’s Center for Chinese Studies housed within the School of Pacific and Asian Studies, is the largest such research and training center outside of Asia.
The Confucius Institute at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa is a part of the university’s Center for Chinese Studies. Funded by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, it is operated jointly by UH Mānoa and the Beijing Foreign Studies University. It was established on November 6, 2006, and tasked with responding to local and national needs in promoting education about Chinese language and culture,
For more information, visit http://confuciusinstitutehawaii.org/ | <urn:uuid:9c708c6b-b6ef-4276-839c-807590811a9e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://manoa.hawaii.edu/media/campustalk/tag/school-of-pacific-and-asian-studies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396027.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947616 | 366 | 2.578125 | 3 |
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — There’s no question that the two Republican front-runners in the race for president are rich.
Mitt Romney paid nearly $3 million in federal taxes for 2010, Newt Gingrich paid almost $1 million. That’s wealth. In fact, Gingrich paid more in taxes than most of us make over 20 years.
Wealth has become an issue in the campaign, and it raises an interesting question: Has there ever been a common man as president?
“They’re not common men, let’s put it that way,” said Hy Berman, a University of Minnesota professor of history.
But they have had varying degrees of wealth.
Researchers at 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the net worth of the U.S. Presidents, and found some interesting patterns.
If the President wasn’t rich, he was generally a big shot political leader.
The richest president was also the first: George Washington. His salary was 2 percent of the total U.S. budget in 1789, he owned five farms on 8,000 acres in Virginia.
“In the earliest days? Every one of our founding fathers was rich,” said Berman.
The poorest? Perhaps Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson or Ulysses S. Grant would qualify.
Lincoln was a lawyer for 17 years, which was a position of prominence in Illinois. However, he was also a U.S. Representative, and a prominent speaker.
Andrew Johnson “was basically a tailor,” said Berman, but he was also the former Governor of Tennessee — hardly a common man.
Grant “is the only president that went bankrupt after the presidency,” according to Berman. Yet he ascended after being a legendary war hero.
From Washington until Polk, nearly every president was a wealthy landowner.
“After that it started getting less and less wealthy. More and more lawyers and professional people,” said Berman.
That covers the Lincoln and Johnson years, but “that changed again with professors like Wilson, then Harding and Coolidge,” said Berman. In the 20th Century, nearly every president came to office with a bucket of money.
Ironically, Andrew Jackson was “the common man’s president, and he was one of the wealthiest,” said Berman, “but he took the role of being the champion of the common person.”
According to Berman, there’s no correlation between personal wealth and success on the job for presidents.
“The most popular presidents among common people were people like Franklin Roosevelt, who was very rich,” he said.
So, that may be good news for Romney. If elected, he would be the fourth richest president of all time, according to Forbes Magazine. | <urn:uuid:f8b889b9-ab14-44cd-8d08-18ef86162064> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/02/01/good-question-have-all-presidents-been-wealthy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979658 | 591 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Prepared by editors whose scholarship fuses literary and composition studies,Making Literature Mattercombines a comprehensive writing text with a uniquely organized anthology for introductory literature courses that emphasize critical and academic writing.What makes literature matter?Writing about it argumentatively.The writing text helps students learn to analyze literature and develop responsible and persuasive claims about it making it matter to them as it hasn't before.Reading it when it explores issues that matter.The stories, poems, plays and essays in the anthology are uniquely organized into thematic clusters focusing on life issues that speak to students and evoke their engaged response.
JOHN SCHILB (Ph.D., State University of New York Binghamton) is a professor of English at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he holds the Culbertson Chair in Writing. He has co-edited Contending with Words: Composition and Rhetoric in a Postmodern Age and, with John Clifford, Writing Theory and Critical Theory. He is author of Between the Lines: Relating Composition Theory and Literary Theory and Rhetorical Refusals: Defying Audiences’ Expectations. JOHN CLIFFORD (Ph.D., New York University) is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Editor of The Experience of Reading: Louis Rosenblatt and Reader-Response Theory, he has published numerous scholarly articles on pedagogy, critical theory and composition theory, most recently in College English, in Relations, Locations, Positions: Composition Theory for Writing Teachers and in The Norton Book of Composition Studies.
Table of Contents
Preface for Instructors
Contents by Genre
Part One: Working with Literature
1. What Is Literature? How and Why Does It Matter?
James Wright, "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota" (poem)
How Have People Defined Literature?
*Why Study Literature in a College Writing Course?
What Can You Do to Make Literature Matter to Others?
*J. Robert Lennon, When I married, I became an old woman. . . . (story)
How to Read Closely *
Strategies for Close Reading *Close Readings of a Poem *Sharon Olds, "Summer Solstice, New York City" (poem) Using Topics of Literary Studies to Get Ideas Lynda Hull, Night Waitress (poem)
How to Make Arguments about Literature Daniel Orozco
, Orientation (story) Jamaica Kincaid, Girl (story) Strategies for Making Arguments about Literature Looking at Literature as Argument John Milton, "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent" (poem) W. H. Auden, "The Unknown Citizen" (poem) *Robert Frost, "Mending Wall" (poem) 4. The Writing Process William Wordsworth, "The Solitary Reaper" (poem) Strategies for Exploring Strategies for Planning Strategies for Composing First Draft of a Student Paper Abby Hazelton, The Passage of Time in "The Solitary Reaper" Strategies for Revising Revised Draft of a Student Paper Abby Hazelton, The Passage of Time in "The Solitary Reaper" Strategies for Writing a Comparative Paper Ted Kooser, "Four Secretaries" (poem) A Student Comparative Paper Marla Tracy, When Singing Is Not Singing A Writing Exercise *C. K. Williams, The Singing (poem) 5. How to Write about Stories Eudora Welty, A Visit of Charity William Carlos Williams, The Use of Force *Anton Chekhov, SleepyStudents’ Personal Responses to the Stories The Elements of Short Fiction Final Draft of a Student Paper Alison Caldwell, Forms of Blindness in "The Use of Force" 6. How to Write about Poems Rosanna Warren, In Creve Coeur, Missouri Charles Fort, We Did Not Fear the Father Philip Levine, What Work Is Mary Oliver, Singapore Yusef Komunyakaa, Blackberries Edwin Arlington Robinson, The Mill Jimmy Santiago Baca, So Mexicans Are Taking Jobs Away from Americans Louise Erdrich, The Lady in the Pink Mustang *Marge Piercy, The Secretary Chant A Student’s Personal Responses to the Poems Michaela Fiorruci, Boundaries in Robinson, Komunyakaa, and Oliver The Elements of Poetry Revised Draft of a Student Paper Michaela Fiorruci, Negotiating Boundaries 7. How to Write about Plays Tennessee Williams, From The Glass Menagerie (scene) Marsha Norman, from ‘night Mother (scene) The Elements of Drama Final Draft of a Student Paper Tim Kerwin, The Significance of What Jessie "Thinks" 8. How to Write about Essays
June Jordan, Many Rivers to Cross
, In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens A Student’s Personal Response The Elements of Essays Final Draft of a Student Paper Isla Bravo, Resisting Women’s Roles 9. How to Write a Research Paper Strategies for Identifying an Issue and a Tentative Claim Strategies for Finding and Using Secondary Sources Strategies for Working with Sources Strategies for Integrating Sources Strategies for Documenting Sources (MLA Format) Three Annotated Student Research Papers *Katie Johnson, The Meaning of the Husband’s Fainting in "The Yellow Wall-Paper" *Brittany Thomas, Substitution in Mitchell’s "The Evolution of the Rest Treatment" and Gilman’s "The Yellow Wall-Paper" *Keith Alexander, What the Argument between Tom Cruise and Brooke Shields Demonstrated about the Media Part Two: Literature and Its Issues 10. Families Memories of Family: Essays Brent Staples, The Runaway Son Rick Moody, Demonology *Paule Marshall, Poets in the Kitchen *José Raul Bernardo, Happy Blue Crabs Reconciling with Fathers: Poems Lucille Clifton, forgiving my father Robert Hayden, Those Winter Sundays Theodore Roethke, My Papa's Waltz *Li-Young Lee, My Father, in Heaven, Is Reading Out Loud Louise Gluck, Terminal Resemblance Exorcising the Dead: Critical Commentaries on a Poem Sylvia Plath, Daddy Critical Commentaries: Mary Lynn Broe, From Protean Poetic: The Poetry of Sylvia Plath Lynda K. Bundtzen, From Plath's Incarnations Steven Gould Axelrod, From Sylvia Plath: The Wound and the Cure of Words Tim Kendall, from Sylvia Plath: A Critical Study Mothers and Daughters: Stories Tillie Olsen, I Stand Here Ironing Amy Tan, Two Kinds Alice Walker, Everyday Use Siblings in Conflict: Stories Tobias Wolff, The Rich Brother James Baldwin, Sonny’s Blues Family Dramas: Re-Visions of a Play Tennessee Williams, The Glass MenagerieChristopher Durang, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls Grandparents and Legacies: Poems Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Grandfather at the Indian Health Clinic Nikki Giovanni, Legacies Linda Hogan, Heritage Gary Soto, Behind Grandma's House Alberto Rios, Mi Abuelo Yvonne V. Sapia, Grandmother, a Caribbean Indian, Described by My Father *Judith Ortiz Cofer, Claims Family Bonds: A Collection of Essays by bell hooks bell hooks, Inspired Eccentricity bell hooks, Talking Back bell hooks, Spirit A Family’s Dreams: Cultural Contexts for a Play Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun Cultural Contexts: The Crisis, The Hansberrys of Chicago: They Join Business Acumen with Social Vision Lorraine Hansberry, April 23, 1964, Letter to the *York Times Alan Ehrenhalt, From The Lost City: Discovering the Forgotten Virtues of Community in the Chicago of the 1950s Sidney Poitier, from The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography Parental Crisis: Stories Ernest Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants T. CoraghessanBoyle, The Love of My Life Kate Braverman, Pagan Night Gays and Lesbians in Families: Poems Essex Hemphill, Commitments Kitty Tsui, A Chinese Banquet Minnie Bruce Pratt, Two Small-Sized Girls *Rane Arroyo, My Transvestite Uncle Is Missing The Family as Prison: A Story and Images *Art Spiegelman, Prisoner on the Hell Planet *Images from Maus 11. Love True Love: Poems William Shakespeare, Let me not to the marriage of true minds Anne Bradstreet, To My Dear and Loving Husband e. e. cummings, somewhere i have never travelled Wislawa Szymborska, True Love Sharon Olds, True Love Michael S. Harper, Discovery *Emily Dickinson, Wild Nights — Wild Nights! *Wendy Rose, Julia Romantic Dreams: Stories Leslie Marmon Silko, Yellow Woman James Joyce, Araby John Updike, A & P *Sherwood Anderson, Adventure Love and Myth: Essays Diane Ackerman, Orpheus and Eurydice Carol Gilligan, Psyche and Cupid A Seductive Argument: Re-Visions of a Poem Andrew Marvell, To His Coy Mistress Peter De Vries, To His Importunate Mistress To Love or Not to Love: Critical Commentaries on a Poem T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Critical Commentaries: Charles Child Walcutt, Eliot’s "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" Bruce Hayman, How Old is Prufrock? Does He Want to Get Married? Leon Waldoff, Prufrock’s Defenses and Our Response Heather Brown, The Ambiguity of Romance in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" Melinda Hollis, Prufrock’s Road to Love Is Paved with Irony The Appearance of Love: A Collection of Stories by Kate Chopin Kate Chopin, The Storm Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin, Désirée's Baby Is This Love?: Stories William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily Raymond Carver, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love Zora Neale Hurston, The Gilded Six-Bits *William Trevor, The Room Jealous Love: A Play and Images William Shakespeare, OthelloImages: Eugene Delacroix, Desdemona Cursed by Her Father (painting) Eugene Delacroix, Othello and Desdemona (painting) The Need for Romantic Illusions: Cultural Contexts for a Story Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried Cultural Contexts *Sullivan Ballou, "My very dear Sarah" *Brian Sullivan, Letter to Tobie *Tyrone Parnell, Letter to Tracy Looking Back on Past Love: Stories Edith Wharton, Roman Fever Alice Elliott Dark, The Secret Spot Love as a Have? Poems Matthew Arnold, Dover Beach *Susan Minot, My Husband’s Back 12. Freedom and Confinement Freedom for Animals: Poems Maxine Kumin, Woodchucks D. H. Lawrence, Snake Elizabeth Bishop, The Fish *Thomas Lux, To Help the Monkey Cross the River Can Tradition Be a Trap?: Critical Commentaries on a Story *Shirley Jackson, The Lottery Critical Commentaries *Nick Crawford, Learning from "The Lottery": How Jackson’s Story Might Help Us Rethink Tradition *Joe Romano, Sacrifice, Solidarity, and Senselessness *Jon Schneiderman, Tradition, Justice, and Bloodlust in American Society *Aimee Wilson, Under the Guise of Tradition: "The Lottery" and Female Circumcision The Marriage Trap: PlaysHenrik Ibsen, A Doll HouseSusan Glaspell, Trifles Confined for Her Own Good: Cultural Contexts for a Story Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper Cultural Contexts Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Why I Wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" S. Weir Mitchell, From The Evolution of the Rest Treatment John Harvey Kellogg, From The Ladies’ Guide in Health and Disease Hobbled by Language: Essays Richard Rodriguez, Aria Tomas Rivera, On Richard Rodriguez’s Hunger of Memory Victor Villaneuva, Jr., Reflecting on Richard Rodriguez Trapped in Stereotypes: Poems Chrystos, Today Was s Good Day Like TB Louise Erdrich, Dear John Wayne Dwight Okita, In Response to Executive Order 9066 David Hernandez, Pigeons Sonia Sanchez, Song No. 3 *Pat Mora, Legal Alien *Naomi Shihab Nye, Blood A Torturous Confinement: Re-Visions of a Story *Franz Kafka, In the Penal Colony *R. Crumb, In the Penal Colony Remembering the Death Camps: Poems Pastor Martin Niemoller, "First They Came for the Jews" Nelly Sachs, "A Dead Child Speaks" Yevgeny Yevtuchenko, "Babii Yar" Karen Gershon, "Race" Anne Sexton, "After Auschwitz" Prisoners of War: Stories Frank O'Connor, Guests of the Nation Haruki Murakami, Another Way to Die A Letter from Jail: An Essay and Images Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail Images: Protesting Desegregation in Montgomery, Alabama (photograph) The Arrest of Martin Luther King, Jr. (photograph) Martin Luther King, Jr. in Birmingham Jail (photograph) A Dream of Freedom: A Collection of Poems by Langston Hughes Langston Hughes, Let America Be America Again Langston Hughes, Open Letter to the South Langston Hughes, Theme for English B Langston Hughes, Harlem The Cage of Socialization: Stories *Karen Russell, St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves Steven Millhauser, Kaspar Hauser Speaks 13. Doing Justice On Trial: Essays Scott Russell Sanders, Doing Time in the Thirteenth Chair *Kathleen Alcala, The Woman Who Loved Water *Slavenka Drakulic, He Would Never Hurt a Fly Maxine Hong Kingston, No Name Woman Discovering Injustice: Stories Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown Toni Cade Bambara, The Lesson Punishments: Poems Carolyn Forché, The Colonel Seamus Heaney, Punishment Rita Dove, Parsley Sherman Alexie, Capital Punishment He Said/She Said: Re-Visions of a Poem Robert Browning, My Last Duchess Gabriel Spera, My Ex-Husband Avenging a Killing: Stories Andre Dubus, Killings Yiyun Li, Persimmons Issues of Guilt: A Collection of Stories by Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado Edgar Allan Poe, The Telltale Heart *Edgar Allan Poe, Hop-Frog Eyewitness Testimony: Cultural Contexts for a Play *Ida Fink, The Table Cultural Contexts *Wladyslaw Szpilman, The Umschleagplatz *Inga Clendinnen, Assessing Witness Testimony: Flilip Muller *Dori Laub and Shoshana Felman, Bearing Witness Misfit Justice: Critical Commentaries on a Story Flannery O’Connor, A Good Man Is Hard to Find Critical Commentaries Flannery O’Connor, from Mystery and Manners Martha Stephens, from The Question of Flannery O’Connor Madison Jones, from "A Good Man’s Predicament" Stephen Bandy, from "’One of My Babies’: The Misfit and the Grandmother" Conscience on Trial: A Play and Images Sophocles, Antigone Images: Jose Domjan, Poster for a Production of Antigone Wieslaw Grzegorczyk, Poster for a Production of Antigone Moreland Theatre Company, Poster for a Production of Antigone Religious Justice: Stories Hanif Kureishi, My Son, The Fanatic *Rishi Reddi, Lord Krishna Racial Injustice: Poems Countee Cullen, Incident *Natasha Trethewey, Incident 14. Journeys An Errand of Love? Critical Commentaries on a Story *Eudora Welty, A Worn Path Critical Commentaries: *Roland Bartel, Life and Death in Eudora Welty’s "A Worn Path" *Neil Isaacs, Life for Phoenix *Eudora Welty, Is Phoenix Jackson’s Grandson Really Dead? Dangerous Journeys: Stories *Joyce Carol Oates, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? *Tim O’Brien, Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong *Sherman Alexie, What You Pawn I Will Redeem Roads Taken: A Collection of Poems by Robert Frost *Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening *Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken *Robert Frost, Acquainted with the Night Journeys to the Past: Essays *Joan Didion, On Going Home *E. B. White, Once More to the Lake N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain *Marianna De Marco Torgovnick, On Being White, Female, and Born in Bensonhurst Inner Journeys: Stories *Willa Cather, Wagner Matinee *Bobbie Ann Mason, Shiloh *John Cheever, The Swimmer A Journey’s Terrifying Beginning: Cultural Contexts for a Story Ralph Ellison, "Battle Royal" Cultural Contexts: Booker T. Washington, Atlanta Exposition Address W.E. B. DuBois, Of Mr. Booker T. Washington Gunnar Myrdal, Social Equality Journeys to a Dark Future: Stories *Octavia Butler, Human Evolution *Douglas Coupland, Shopping Is Not Creating *Ursula LeGuin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas *Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Harrison Bergeron Accidental Journeys: Poems *William Stafford, Traveling Through the Dark *John Burnside, Penitence *Robert Wrigley, Highway 12, Just East of Paradise, Idaho *James Tate, Thinking Ahead to Possible Options and the Worse Case Scenario *Loren Goodman, Traveling Through the Dark (2005) End of a Journey: A Play and Images Marsha Norman, ’night, Mother Images of Jessie and Thelma *Kathy Bates and Anne Pituiak (1983; photograph) *Edie Falco and Brenda Blethyn (2004; photograph) *Oracle Theatre Production (2006; photograph) A Journey to Death: Poems *Mary Oliver, When Death Comes John Donne, Death Be Not Proud Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night Wislawa Szymborska, On Death, without Exaggeration Journey to Experience: Re-Visions of a Story Charles Perrault, Little Red Riding Hood Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, Little Red Cap Angela Carter, The Company of Wolves Crossing the Waters: Poems *Katia Kapovich, The Ferry *Linda Pastan, Leaving the Island *Anne Sexton, Letter Written on a Ferry While Crossing Long Island Sound Mark Doty, Night Ferry Appendix: Critical Approaches to Literature Contemporary Schools of Criticism Working with the Critical Approaches James Joyce, Counterparts (story) Ann Petry, Like a Winding Sheet (story) Index of Authors, Titles, and First LinesIndex of Key Terms | <urn:uuid:e65e1d11-651a-4a5b-861b-dcd55ace5588> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ecampus.com/making-literature-matter-2009-mla-update/bk/9780312677305 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.718274 | 4,073 | 2.6875 | 3 |
In chapter 5 we learned how to analyze and describe univariate, or single-variable data. We explored ways to present our data visually with graphs and charts and how to analyze our data with numerical statistics. Also, we described our findings verbally and in context. Now we will be analyzing bivariate numerical data. This means two numerical values collected about each individual. Such bivariate data is often given in a table, or can be listed as ordered pairs. We will construct appropriate graphs, calculate numerical statistics and equations, and describe the relationship between the two variables in context. The purpose will be to explore whether or not a relationship or association exists between the two numerical variables. If an association does exist, statistics can be used to predict one variable based on the other variable. | <urn:uuid:16cfb010-d6d9-4aa7-ada6-3974a0fc6e4e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ck12.org/user:Anoka/book/Anoka-Hennepin-Probability-and-Statistics/r56/section/6.0/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00132-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.864364 | 154 | 4.09375 | 4 |
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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2016
lot /lɑt/USA pronunciation
n. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2016
- [countable] one of a set of objects, as straws or pebbles, drawn or thrown from a container to decide a question or choice by chance.
- the casting or drawing of such objects[uncountable]to choose a person by lot.
- fate; fortune;
usually singular]Her lot was not a happy one.
- a distinct piece of land[countable]a building lot.
- a distinct piece or parcel, as of merchandise[countable]The furniture was auctioned off in 20 lots.
- the whole number or amount of things or persons[uncountable; the + ~;
usually used with a plural verb]The whole lot of them are missing.
sort[countable; usually singular;
usually: a + ~]That group's a bad lot.
- [countable] a great many: [a + ~ + of + plural noun]a lot of books.[lots + of + plural noun]She had lots of books.
- [countable] a great deal: [a + ~ + of + uncountable noun]They had a lot of money.[lots + of + uncountable noun]She had lots of money.
- Idiomsa lot, to a great degree; much:I feel a lot better.
- Idiomsdraw or cast lots, to settle a question by the use of lots:They drew lots to decide.
(lot), n., v., lot•ted, lot•ting, adv.
- one of a set of objects, as straws or pebbles, drawn or thrown from a container to decide a question or choice by chance.
- the casting or drawing of such objects as a method of deciding something:to choose a person by lot.
- the decision or choice made by such a method.
- allotted share or portion:to receive one's lot of an inheritance.
- the portion in life assigned by fate or Providence; one's fate, fortune, or destiny:Her lot had not been a happy one.
- a distinct portion or piece of land:a building lot.
- a piece of land forming a part of a district, city, or other community.
- Dialect Terms[South Midland and Southern U.S.]a farmyard or barnyard.
- a piece of land having the use specified by the attributive noun or adjective:a parking lot; a used-car lot.
- Show Business[Motion Pictures.]a motion-picture studio and its surrounding property.
- a distinct portion or parcel of anything, as of merchandise:The furniture was to be auctioned off in 20 lots.
- a number of things or persons collectively:There's one more, and that's the lot.
- kind of person; sort:He's a bad lot.
- Often,lots. a great many or a great deal:a lot of books; lots of money.
- British Terms[Chiefly Brit.]a tax or duty.
- Idiomscast or cast in one's lot with, to ally oneself with;
share the life and fortunes of:She had cast her lot with the bohemian crowd.
- Idiomsdraw or cast lots, to settle a question by the use of lots:They drew lots to see who would go first.
- to divide or distribute by lot (sometimes fol. by out):to lot furniture for sale; to lot out apples by the basketful.
- to assign to one as his or her lot;
- to divide into lots, as land.
- [Obs.]to cast or draw lots for.
- to draw lots.
- Often,lots. a great deal;
greatly:Thanks a lot for the ride. I care lots about my family.
4 . part, quota. 7 . plot, parcel. 12 . group, crowd, gang.
1805–15 for def. 14;
Old English hlot portion, choice, decision;
cognate with Dutch lot, Old Norse hlutr;
akin to Old English hlīet, German Los, Old Norse hlaut, Gothic hlauts lot
- Biblethe nephew of Abraham. His wife was changed into a pillar of salt for looking back during their flight from Sodom. Gen. 13:1–12, 19.
Drugs(in prescriptions) a lotion.
- Place Namesa river in S France, flowing W to the Garonne. 300 mi. (480 km) long.
- Place Namesa department in S France. 150,725;
2018 sq. mi. (5225 sq. km). Cap.: Cahors.
Etymology: Latin lōtiō
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
lot /lɒt/ pron
- (functioning as singular or plural) preceded by a: a great number or quantity: a lot to do, a lot of people, a lot of trouble
adv (preceded by a) informal
- a collection of objects, items, or people: a nice lot of youngsters
- portion in life; destiny; fortune: it falls to my lot to be poor
- any object, such as a straw or slip of paper, drawn from others at random to make a selection or choice (esp in the phrase draw or cast lots)
- the use of lots in making a selection or choice (esp in the phrase by lot)
- an assigned or apportioned share
- an item or set of items for sale in an auction
- chiefly US Canadian an area of land: a parking lot
- US Canadian a piece of land with fixed boundaries
- chiefly US Canadian a film studio and the site on which it is located
- a bad lot ⇒ an unpleasant or disreputable person
- cast in one's lot with, throw in one's lot with ⇒ to join with voluntarily and share the fortunes of
- the lot ⇒ the entire amount or number
vb (lots, lotting, lotted)
- to a considerable extent, degree, or amount; very much: to delay a lot
- a great deal of the time or often: to sing madrigals a lot
See also lotsEtymology: Old English hlot; related to Old High German lug portion of land, Old Norse hlutr lot, share
- to draw lots for (something)
- (transitive) to divide (land, etc) into lots
another word for allot
Lot /lɒt/ n
- a department of S central France, in Midi-Pyrénées region. Capital: Cahors. Pop: 164 413 (2003 est). Area: 5226 sq km (2038 sq miles)
- a river in S France, rising in the Cévennes and flowing west into the Garonne River. Length: about 483 km (300 miles)
Lot /lɒt/ n
- Abraham's nephew: he escaped the destruction of Sodom, but his wife was changed into a pillar of salt for looking back as they fled (Genesis 19)
'lot' also found in these entries: | <urn:uuid:6c3643cb-26a7-42f8-81a8-4e543850d824> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wordreference.com/definition/lot | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00120-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908483 | 1,578 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Metabolic syndrome is a medical condition that involves multiple related conditions including obesity, elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. People with metabolic syndrome are at a high risk for developing many serious medical complications including type 2 diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. Due to the seriousness of this condition, early detection and intervention are critical.
What Are the Connections Between Metabolic Syndrome and Mental Health Conditions?
There are two connections between mental illness and metabolic syndrome:
- Lifestyle choices, including diet, exercise and substance use. Poor diet, lack of exercise, heavy smoking and abuse of substances can increase the risk of medical illnesses.
- The use of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), which can result in weight gain. This means that those with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are at the highest risk for weight gain and metabolic syndrome because these medications are often used in treatment.
Other risk factors for metabolic syndrome include:
- People with a family history of diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
- People of certain ethnicities, including African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Asian Americans.
Preventing and Treating Metabolic Syndrome
Selecting a medication should involve a careful review of the risks, as well as the benefits, the medicine offers. Some people who are taking SGAs may also find that medications used in the treatment of diabetes may be helpful in preventing metabolic syndrome. This is a possible treatment option that can be discussed when seeing your psychiatrist or other health care provider.
Fortunately, there are ways to help prevent and detect metabolic syndrome.
Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is one of the best ways to prevent developing metabolic syndrome. A healthy lifestyle includes the following:
- Regular checkups with a primary care physician. A doctor can check your weight, along with a measurement of your waist circumference and perform blood tests.
- Eating a healthy diet. A diet that is low in salt and fat and includes fruit and vegetables can help prevent obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes.
- Regular exercise. Daily walking, running or another form of aerobic exercise can help you lose weight and keep your body healthy.
- Limiting alcohol, drug and nicotine use. These substances can change the way that the body digests and metabolizes food. Quitting smoking can very quickly reduce risk of developing metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
Get Peer Support
Doctors, a NAMI Affiliate or community mental health program may offer suggestions of places to find peer support. Many communities have walking groups, nutritional and fitness groups or other peer support programs that can be helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Finding a good fit for each person is the key to keeping a person involved. Some places to start looking for support are Peertrainer, Weight Watchers and In Shape. | <urn:uuid:836bf31b-8036-40a9-a4a1-0488e6039465> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nami.org/metabolic/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932331 | 570 | 3.453125 | 3 |
On November 30, 1896, two young boys, Herbert Coles and Dunham Coretter, where bicycling along Anastasia Island. Their plan was to go to Matanzas Inlet. However, as they neared Crescent Beach, they discovered a giant carcass on the beach that was partially buried in the sand, so it had probably already been beached for several days. They thought that it was a whale.
The next day, DeWitt Webb, founder and the president of the St. Augustine Scientific, Literary, and Historical Society, visited the carcass. The part of the carcass that was visible at that time was 18 feet long and 7 feet wide. The carcass was basically a fibrous mass. It was a very light pink. More importantly, Webb decided that the carcass was not a whale, but, was instead, a giant octopus.
On December 7, the first photographs of the carcass were made by Edgar Van Horn and Ernest Howatt. These do not survive, but drawings based on two of them do.The following day, Webb wrote letters to several people trying to get someone else to investigate the carcass.
Several days later, a man living in the area named Mr. Wilson, excavated around the carcass. He found what he claimed were several arms: "One arm was lying west of body, 23 feet long; one stump of arm, west of body, about 4 feet; three arms lying south of the body and from appearances attached to same (although I did not dig quite to body, as it was laid well down in the sand, and I was very tired), longest one measured over 32 feet, the other arms were 3 to 5 feet shorter." (1)
One of the letters that Webb had sent, the one he wrote to J.A. Allen, passed through several hands, eventually reaching A.E. Verrill, a scientist who helped to discover the giant squid Verrill published a note on the subject in the January 1897 issue of the American Journal of Science. He decided that the creature was not an octopus, but was, instead, a giant squid. If it was a squid, it would have been much larger than any known specimen of this creature. In an 1897 issue of the magazine Nautilus, Webb also called the creature a squid.
Webb continued to send material on the carcass to Verrill. In the January 3, 1897, issue of the New York Herald, Verrill announced that the carcass was a giant octopus, after all. However, the paper failed to state that Verrill had written the article.
In the February issue of the American Journal of Science, Verrill named the creature Octopus giganteus. However, Verrill also said: "It is possible that it may be related to Cirroteuthis [another kind of octopus], and in that case the two posterior stumps, looking like arms, may be the remains of the lateral fins, for they seem too far back for the arms, unless pulled out of position. On the other hand, they seem to be too far forward for fins. So that they are probably arms twisted out of their true position."(2)
Between January 9 and 15, the carcass washed out to sea. Fortunately, it washed back up, this time on Crescent Beach. If the "arms" found by Mr. Wilson ever existed, they had fallen off the carcass by this time.
In early January, Webb attempted to have the creature turned over. Even with a dozen men and strong tackle, he could only partially raise it.
In a January 17th letter to W.H. Dall, Curator of Mollusks at the National Museum, Webb wrote:
"Yesterday I took four horses, six men, 3 sets tackle, a lot of heavy planking, and a rigger to superintend the work and succeeded in rolling the Invertebrate out of the pit and placing it about 40 feet higher upon the beach, where it now rests on the flooring of heavy plank...on being straightened out to measure 21 feet instead of 18 ... A good part of the mantle or head remains attached near to the more slender part of the body ... The body was then opened for the entire length of 21 feet ... The slender part of the body was entirely empty of internal organs. And the organs of the remainder were not large and did not look as if the animal had been so long dead ... The muscular coat which seems to be all there is of the invertebrate is from two and three to six inches in thickness. The fibers of the external coat are longitudinal and the inner transverse...no caudal fin or any appearance if there had been any...no beak or head or eyes remaining ... no pen to be found nor any evidence of any bony structure whatever." (3)
No details of any of the internal organs that Webb supposedly found survive.
Webb also requested that either Dall or Verrill come to Florida to examine the carcass. However, neither of them could. However, on February 12, Webb shipped several samples of the carcass to Verrill and Dall.
Another article by Verrill about Octopus giganteus was published in the February 14, 1897 issue of the New York Herald. He speculated that it would have had tentacles over 100 feet long. He also suggested that it was killed in a fight with a sperm whale, and was partly eaten by this same whale, but was washed up by a storm.
On February 23, Verrill received the samples. His comments, written on the same day, appeared in the March 5 issue of Science: "These masses of integument are 3 to 10 inches thick, very tough and elastic, and very hard to cut. They are composed mainly of tough cords and fibers of white and elastic connective tissue, much interlaced. This structure resembles that of the blubber of some cetaceans. The creature could not possibly have been an Octopus. It was probably related to the whales, but how such a huge bag-like structure could be attached to any known whale is a puzzle that I am unable to solve at present. The supposition that it was the body of an Octopus was partly based upon its bag-like form and partly upon the statements made to me that stumps of large arms were attached to it at first. This last statement was certainly untrue."(4)
Verrill restated these views in another Science article, with a commentary by F.A. Lucas, who said, "The substance looks like blubber, and smells like blubber and it is blubber, nothing more nor less."(5)
Verrill later said that it was probably a sperm whale. However, he also admitted that it was possible to criticize his hypothesis: "If we could imagine a sperm whale with the head prolonged far forward in the form of a great blunt, saccular snout, freely projecting beyond the upper jaw, and with a great central cavity, it might, if detached and eroded by the surf, present an appearance something like the mass cast ashore. It hardly seems possible, however, that the abruptly truncated and narrow snout of the common sperm whale could take on, even after being long tossed about by the waves, a form like this. No whaler who has seen it has recognized it as any part of a whale. It does not seem possible to identify such a large, hollow, pear-shaped sac, 21 feet long, with any part of an ordinary sperm whale unless its nose had become enlarged and distorted by disease, or possibly by extremely old age. No blowhole was discovered."(6)
Other scientists, even after having examined the tissue samples, continued to think that it was a giant octopus. Verrill also may have had doubts about his whale hypothesis. It is unknown what Dall thought about the subject.
In any case, the carcass, having washed out to sea and come back to the shore another time, was dragged 6 miles to a railroad and enclosed in a fence. What happened to it after this remains unknown. Verrill's specimens were lost during a move of Yale's Peabody Museum. Only Dall's specimens at the Smithsonian were left.
Despite occasional mentions, the carcass was basically forgotten until 1957. In 1957, Forrest G. Wood came across a newspaper clipping about the carcass in the files of the Marineland Research Laboratory. Wood the proceeded to rediscover what we now know about the carcass. (Gary Mangiacopra and others have also played an important role in this.)
Joseph F. Gennaro, Jr., went to the Smithsonian to get some pieces of the tissue for analysis. The tissue was so tough that to cut off two finger-sized pieces, Gennaro dulled 4 knife blades. The toughness of this carcass was nothing new. In a letter to Verrill, Webb said, "The hood is so tough that when it is exposed to the air, an axe makes very little impression on it."(7)
Gennaro prepared slides of the Octopus giganteus tissue, as well as octopus and squid. Unfortunately, Gennaro found that no cellular material had survived in the Octopus giganteus tissue. There was not very much cellular material in the octopus or squid tissue either. However, differences in the connective tissue patterns of the squid and octopus samples became readily visible:
"In the octopus, broad bands of fibers passed across the plane of the tissue and were separated by equally broad bands arranged in a perpendicular direction. In the squid there were narrower but also relatively broad bundles arranged in the plane of the section, separated by thin partitions of perpendicular fibers...I could distinguish between octopus and squid, and between them and mammals, which display a lacy network of connective tissue fibers.... Viewing section after section of the St. Augustine samples, we decided at once, and beyond any doubt, that the sample was not whale blubber. Further, the connective tissue pattern was that of broad bands in the plane of the section with equally broad bands arranged perpendicularly, a structure similar to, if not identical with, that in my octopus sample...the St. Augustine monster was in fact an octopus ..."(8)
Both Wood and Gennaro agreed thatOctopus giganteus is a true octopus. But if there was a dead octopus, were would the live ones live?
In 1956, Wood had been working on Grand Bahama Island. He had been working with a local fishing guide named Duke. Duke had previously shown that he knew a lot about the native fish. One evening, Wood asked Duke about giant scuttles. "Scuttle" is the Bahamian word for octopus, and Wood had heard about giant scuttles while working in Bimini several years before this.
Duke knew of 3 sightings, the most recent of which took place about 10 years before this (i.e., around 1946). He said that their tentacles could be 75 feet long. (If Octopus giganteus was a normal octopus, it probably had 100 foot long tentacles.) They ordinarily lived in deep water, but would come into shallower water if they were sick or dying. They were not dangerous to fisherman unless they could reach the boat with one tentacle and the bottom with another.
The commissioner of Grand Bahama Island had also had a giant scuttle encounter. When he was about 12 years old, he had been fishing with his father off Andros Island. His father had hooked something, which he originally assumed to be the bottom. However, he could still pull up his line, but only slowly. Finally, at the bottom of the line they saw a giant octopus. It detached itself from the hook and clinged to the bottom of their boat. Fortunately, it soon dropped from their boat and went away. The event had taken place so long ago that the commissioner would not estimate its size.
It turns out that there were other, similar reports from Andros Island, where it is also called the lusca. It lives in blue holes. They can be up to 200 feet deep. Luscas are often blamed for losses of ships. However, there are also whirlpools in blue holes, so these accounts may not be related to true octopuses. Other people from Andros Island report the lusca stealing people off of ships. It is also quite possible that the lusca is a giant squid. If Octopus giganteus did live in the blue holes, it would need a food source. Interestingly, several divers who have been in the blue holes report seeing giant crustaceans. Ordinary octopuses like to eat crustaceans and mollusks.
In August 1960, Ben Fenton, Jack Boote, and Ray Anthony were rounding up cattle near the Interview River in western Tasmania. They came across a large carcass. It was 20 feet long and 18 feet wide.
Although Fenton tried to get people interested in the carcass, nobody examined it until March 1962. Then Hobart businessman G.C. Cramp funded an expedition consisting of Bruce Mollison, Max Bennett, L.E. Wall, and J.A. Lewis.
Between the time of its discovery and the expedition, the carcass drifted northward with the tide. It is unclear whether or not the carcass decomposed during this time. Fenton said that the carcass had "no smell, no sign of decomposition, and the skin was as hard as ever."(9)
However, Boote said, "By the time they got there, the thing had decomposed."(10)
According to The Mercury (of Hobart), "a strong acidic reek came off the flesh, very similar to battery acid, and dogs and horses were unwilling to approach it."(11)
The first thing in the expedition was an air search to locate the carcass. They found it, and the main team left on March 2. They first contacted Cramp, by telephone, on March 7. Nobody on the team could identify the carcass. A description of it appeared on March 9, in The Mercury:
"ABOUT 20ft. long, 18ft. wide and about 4 1/2 ft. thick, with an estimated weight of between five and 10 tons. ... The part exposed was hard and rubbery and in an extremely good state of preservation. ... The party described it in general outline as like a huge turtle, without appendages. It was initially covered with fine hair, described by stockmen as being like sheep's wool, with a greasy feel. ... The animal had a hump of about four feet in front and tapered gradually to about six inches to what they presumed to the back. There were five or six gill-like hairless slits on each side of the fore part. There were four large hanging lobes in the front, and between the center pair was a smooth, gullet-like orifice. The margin of the hind part had cushion like protuberances about 2ft. wide by 18in. deep, and each of these carried a single row of spines, sharp, and hard, about as thick as a pencil and quill-like. There was no appearance of eyes or other organs. ... They made a deep incision in the high part and encountered a resilient flesh which appeared to be composed of numerous tendon-like threads welded together in a fatty substance. At no stage in the investigation did they encounter any bone material ... It was obviously exteremely durable and had withstood the weather particularly well.(12)
Over the next 10 days, the carcass became famous throughout the world. By this time, it was called the "globster." One scientist, A.M. Clark, speculated that the carcass was a giant ray. Ivan T. Sanderson suggested that it was from outer space. After the expedition returned, Mollison returned to the carcass to collect samples. This was not easy, as the carcass was extremely tough and hard to cut. Before long, questions about the creature were being asked in the Australian Parliament. The government decided to mount another expedition.
This expedition consisted of John H. Calaby, A.M. Olsen, Eric R. Guiler, and W. Bryden. None of the scientists on the original expedition were included on the government's expedition. The expedition lasted only 2 days, March 17-18. On their return, they submitted a report to Senator John Gorton, who would later become Australian prime minister.
Several of this team's observations contradicted those of the earlier expedition's. They said that the carcass was 8 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 10 inches thick (compared to 20, 18, and 4 1/2 feet, respectively, for the earlier expedition). They also did not find any spines. The government's team said that, "it is not possible to specifically identify it from our investigations so far. But our investigations lead us to believe that the so-called monster is a decomposing portion of a large marine animal. It is not inconsistent with blubber."(13)
However, later that day, Senator Gorton declared, "In layman's language, and allowing for scientific caution, this means that your monster is a large lump of decomposing blubber, probably torn off a whale."(14)
Before long, the carcass was entirely forgotten. However, according to an analysis of the tissue samples, the carcass was made up largely of collagen. Collagen is a substance that is found in cartilage, bone, connective tissue, or any other places in an animal that need to be especially stiff.
In March 1965, another globster would be found, but this time in New Zealand at Muriwai Beach. It was 30 feet long and 8 feet high.
The head of the zoology department of Auckland University, J.E. Morton, said, "The object has a tough quarter-inch thick hide. Under this is what appears to be a layer of fat, then solid meat. Hair four to six inches long covers its length. Cut from the hide and washed clean, the hair has a soft wooly texture."(15)
According to J. Robb, the creature was not covered with hair, but rather fibers of connective tissue. This was, in Robb's opinion, the remains of blubber, and the carcass was a whale, possibly a humpback whale.
In 1970, a second Tasmanian globster washed up. It was discovered by the same Ben Fenton who was connected with the 1960 find. It was found a few miles south of Sandy Cape. Fenton said that it was 8 feet long and was humped. He also said, "This is a comparatively fresh specimen of whatever it is, and probably could still be identified with certainty."(16)
It is unknown what happened to this carcass.
Meanwhile, what was left of the Florida Octopus giganteus was still being studied. (By this time, only Gennaro's samples survived. The rest of the Smithsonian's specimens were lost in a move.)
Gennaro had done some chemical analysis on the tissue, and concluded that it was made of collagen, like the first Tasmanian globster. He also stated that the type of collagen found in Octopus giganteus is not present in squids, but it is present in octopuses. Also, if the creature was made of collagen, this could account for the fact that it was so hard to cut.
As was stated above, large crustaceans were found in the possible Octopus giganteus habitat of the blue holes. In 1984, John P. Ingham, a deep sea fisherman, also found very large crabs and shrimps off Bermuda. They would also be a good size for Octopus giganteus to eat.
On August 29, 1984, Ingham brought another trap that was full of these large crustaceans to the surface. But there was something else, that was very heavy, attached to the trap. Whatever it was was heavy enough to break the line that was holding up the trap. The trap then sank.
On September 3, about a mile away, Ingham lost another trap when the line broke again. This trap was about half way up.
On September 16, Ingham encountered the creature again. He could only bring up his trap very slowly. When he looked at his sonar, it showed "a pyramid shape approximately 50 feet high" (17)
Around 20 minutes later, whatever it was was dragging his boat along at a speed of around 1 knot. Ingham said that during this time, "I put my hand down close to the rope at water level, and could distinctly feel thumps like something was walking, and the vibrations were traveling up the rope." (18)
Then, suddenly, the creature let go, and Ingham brought the trap to the surface. It was slightly beng on one side.
Both Ingham and F.G. Wood, who rediscovered Octopus giganteus, believe that the creature was an octopus.
During this time, the National Geographic Society had a boat in the area, and was filming deep sea sharks. They would have investigated the incidents and tried to film the creature, but they lost their camera in an accident and this was not possible.
Ingham had other encounters with the creature in 1985, but the details of these have not been published. He has since moved his fishing company to Belize.
In 1986, Roy P. Mackal published the results of a biochemical study of the Florida Octopus giganteus carcass. Mackal analyzed two species of whales, the spotted dolphin and beluga whale, giant squid (Architeuthis dux), as well as Octopus giganteus, for amino acid composition. He also analyzed them for their content of copper and iron.
Both Octopus giganteus and the giant squid have a lot of glycine (an amino acid) in them. This means that they have a lot of collagen in them. Octopus giganteus also has more glycine in it than the giant squid. Smaller octopuses and squid have less glycine in them, so this means that they would have less collagen than their larger relatives. Mackal points out that "since squids (including A. dux), in contrast to octopuses, have some rudimentary internal cartilaginous structural plates in addition to the chitinous vestigial pen, somewhat lesser amounts of collagen may be required to maintain their structural integrity than are required by octopuses of comparable size." (19)
Also, according to Mackal, whale blubber does not contain very much collagen, so Octopus giganteus could probably not be that. However, the spermaceti tank of sperm whales does contain a lot of collagen.
Cephalopods do not use the respiratory pigment hemoglobin (which contains iron). Their tissues would be expected to have less iron than the tissues of whales, which do use hemoglobin. The iron content of Octopus giganteus is lower than the spotted dolphin and the beluga whale. However, the iron content of the giant squid is higher than that of the beluga whale, but lower than that of the spotted dolphin. The copper content of both tissues is also lower than that of the whales.
While Mackal's analysis is not conclusive, it does support the cephalopod identification of Octopus giganteus.
Also in 1986, Bernard Heuvelmans suggested that Verrill had been correct when he said that Octopus giganteus could be related to Cirroteuthis, because two of the so-called tentacles could actually be fins. Cirroteuthis get its name from the hair-like cirri that fringe its suckers. Michel Raynal pointed out that this could account for the fact that the lusca is sometimes called "him of the hairy hands." He also proposed to change the generic name of Octopus giganteus to Otoctopus, but this has not been formally described.
In May 1988, Teddy Tucker found another strange carcass, but this time in the Mangrove Bay of Bermuda. It was soon named the Bermuda Blob. The carcass was about 8 feet long. Tucker described the carcass as "2 1/2 to 3 feet thick ... very white and fibrous, with five 'arms or legs,' rather like a disfigured star." (20)
It had no bones, cartilage, visible openings, or odor. It, like Octopus giganteus and the first Tasmanian globster, was very hard to cut. Fortunately, Tucker preserved specimens of the carcass. Shortly after he removed these pieces, the carcass floated back out to sea. It has not been seen since.
All of these carcasses have several things in common. All of them were "hairy" or fibrous. They were white or a similar color. If they were cut, this was very difficult. If any tissue samples were ever analyzed, they were found to be made of collagen.
However, it is impossible to imagine the drawings of the first Tasmanian globster as coming from a creature even remotely resembling an octopus. However, the drawings might not be accurate, the carcass might have decayed significantly, the carcass might not be related to the Florida specimen, or the Florida specimen might not be from an octopus, either.
The results of another study of the tissue of globsters, this time of Octopus giganteus and the Bermuda Blob, were published in 1995 by Sidney K. Pierce, Gerald N. Smith, Jr., Timothy K. Maugel, and Eugenie Clark. To study the tissue, they determined its amino acid content, and looked at it through an electron microscope. Both methods indicated that both carcasses were composed largely of collagen. Collagen fibers are banded. The banding patterns of both of the globsters were the same as that of rat tail tendon collagen. The banding pattern of Octopus giganteus collagen was identical to that of whale blubber, but very different from that of octopus collagen. However, they prepared all of these samples with different methods, and the banding patterns could have been altered.
Where the collagen fibers were located within the carcass was also important. They say, "The organization of the collagen fiber bundles in the two relic samples is typical of dermis from a number of vertebrate groups, including fish, amphibians, and reptiles ... A similar layering pattern of the collagen fibers was nowhere to be found in the octopus mantle tissue we examined here. Instead, the octopus mantle is composed mainly of a complex network of muscle fibers containing only small amounts of widely dispersed collagen fibers, as might be expected of an animal so capable of shape-changing. We found absolutely nothing in the octopus mantle morphology that was comparable to the collagen fiber arrangement in the two carcasses, nor has anything similar been reported in squid or cuttlefish mantle ... In contrast, the similarity between the layering pattern of the collagen fiber support matrix of the humpback whale blubber and the fiber pattern in the carcasses is quite obvious. In addition, unlike the octopus mantle, but very much like the Florida and Bermuda tissues, collagen fibers are the main component of the blubber." (21)
It is interesting to note that they say that blubber has a lot of collagen in it, while Mackal said that it does not have very much. Although they used different species, Pierce, Smith, Maugel, and Clark say that whale blubber is 32.6% glycine (the amino acid typical of collagen), while Mackal says that it is 14.2% glycine.
They also say that the collagen fiber diameters of both carcasses are similar to those of mammals and birds.
The Octopus giganteus has an extremely high level of proline--16.8%. This is another amino acid characteristic of collagen. However, invertebrate collagen does not have as much proline as endothermic (warm-blooded) vertebrate collagen. (For example, collagen from squids is 9.6% proline, while collagen from humans is 12.8% proline.) The proportions of various amino acids in the Bermuda Blob are characteristic of ectothermic (cold-blooded) vertebrate collagen. Pierce, Smith, Maugel, and Clark conclude that the Octopus giganteus carcass is whale blubber and that the Bermuda blob is the skin of some fish, possibly a shark. They say, "Altogether, and with profound sadness at ruining a favorite legend, we find no basis for the existence of Octopus giganteus." (22)
However, Richard Ellis points out difficulties in this explanation. It would be difficult for the entire coat of blubber on a whale to come off in one piece. (When whales would remove the blubber from a dead whale, they would peel it off in strips.) Also, no fish skin is thick enough to form anything the size of the Bermuda Blob.
It should also be said that the amino acid composition of tissue could be changed after being kept in formalin for nearly 100 years. Even for the short time that the Bermuda Blob had been in preservatives, its composition could also have been changed.
In conclusion, it can be said that we are still uncertain what the globsters really are.
Anon. 1985: Giant Octopus Blamed for Deep Sea Fishing Disruptions. ISC Newsletter 4(3): 1-6.
Anon. 1988: Bermuda Blob Remains Unidentified. ISC Newsletter7(3): 1-6.
Benjamin, G.J. 1970: Diving Into the Blue Holes of the Bahamas. National Geographic September.
Clark, J. 1993: Unexplained! Visible Ink Press, Detroit.
Dinsdale, T. 1972: Monster Hunt. Acropolis Books, Washington, D.C.
Ellis, R. 1994: Monsters of the Sea. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Gennaro, J.F., Jr. 1971: The Creature Revealed. Natural History March.
Heuvelmans, B. 1968: In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents. Hill and Wang, New York.
Heuvelmans, B. 1985: Annotated Checklist of Apparently Unknown Animals with Which Cryptozoology is Concerned. Cryptozoology 5: 1-26.
LeBlond, P.H., Wood, F.G., & Greenwell, J.R. 1983: Interview. ISC Newsletter 2(1): 1-5.
Lucas, F.A. 1897: The Florida Monster. Science, New Series, 5:476.
Mackal, R.P. 1980: Searching for Hidden Animals. Doubleday and Co., Garden City.
Mackal, R.P. 1986: Biochemical Analyses of Preserved Octopusgiganteus Tissue. Cryptozoology 5: 55-62.
Mangiacopra, G.S. 1976: Monster on the Florida Beach. Part One: INFO Journal 5(1): 2-6; Part Two: INFO Journal 5(2): 2-6.
Pierce, S.K., Smith, G.N., Jr., Maugel, T.K., & Clark, E. 1995: On the Giant Octopus (Octopus giganteus) and the Bermuda Blob: Homage to A.E. Verrill. Biological Bulletin 188: 219-230.
Raynal, M. 1983: Cryptoletter. ISC Newsletter 2(4): 11.
Raynal, M. 1987: Properties of Collagen and the Nature of the Florida Monster. Cryptozoology 6: 129-130.
Verrill, A.E. 1897a: A gigantic Cephalopod on the Florida coast. American Journal of Science 4th series, 3: 79.
Verrill, A.E. 1897b: Additional information concerning the giant Cephalopod of Florida. American Journal of Science 4th series, 3: 162-163.
Verrill, A.E. 1897c: The supposed great Octopus of Florida; certainly not a Cephalopod. American Journal of Science 4th series, 3: 355-356.
Verrill, A.E. 1897d: The Florida Monster. Science New Series, 5:392.
Verrill, A.E. 1897e: The Florida Sea-Monster. Science New Series, 5: 476.
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Webb, D. 1897: A Large Decapod. Nautilus 10: 108.
Wood, F.G. 1971a: Stupefying Colossus of the Deep. Natural History March.
Wood, F.G. 1971b: In Which Bahamian Fisherman Recount Their Adventures with the Beast. Natural History March. | <urn:uuid:2d5f7359-63d2-4444-a1c1-d3675f991046> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.strangemag.com/globsters1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00160-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97712 | 6,930 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Definition of irredenta
: a territory historically or ethnically related to one political unit but under the political control of another
Variants of irredenta
Origin and Etymology of irredenta
Italian Italia irredenta, literally, unredeemed Italy, Italian-speaking territory not incorporated in Italy
First Known Use: 1914
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up irredenta? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). | <urn:uuid:33460f5a-9d01-47eb-9f92-6d5f690fa9aa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irredenta | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.809979 | 105 | 2.828125 | 3 |
By Michael Breus, PhD, ABSM
New research suggests that regular practice of yoga can lead to significant improvements in sleep for people who have undergone cancer treatment. For patients with cancer, sleep problems are common. Research indicates that people coping with cancer are at significantly higher risk for sleep disorders than the general population. Lack of sleep contributes to fatigue, and can increase the risk of developing depression for people coping with cancer. Poor sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms are also associated with hormone dysregulation and immune system dysfunction. Among people with cancer, disrupted sleep can occur as a result of a number of factors, including physical pain or discomfort that interferes with falling asleep or staying asleep, side effects from medications and treatments, as well as stress and anxiety. And once triggered, problems with sleep are often difficult to reverse: disrupted sleep patterns that develop during cancer treatment can persist long after treatment has concluded.
Finding ways to help people coping with cancer to sleep better is an important goal of sleep research and clinical treatment. While short-term use of sleep medication may be useful, it’s critical to identify strategies for improving sleep that don’t rely on long-term use of sleep medicines.
Researchers investigated the effectiveness of yoga to improve sleep as part of a post-treatment care program and found that the mind-body exercise brought significant improvements to sleep quality and sleep efficiency. Yoga also helped to reduce patients’ reliance on prescription sleep medication. The study included 410 patients with cancer, all of whom had undergone one or more types of treatment—including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy—within the past 24 months. Most of the participants (96%) were women, with an average age of 54, and 75% of participants had breast cancer. All were suffering from at least moderate levels of sleep problems. Researchers divided the participants into 2 groups, both of which followed the same standard post-treatment care plan. In addition, one group also participated in a 4-week yoga program, consisting of 2 75-minute sessions each week. The yoga regimen included physical postures as well as meditation, breathing and relaxation exercises. At the beginning and the end of the 4-week study period, researchers measured sleep for both groups using questionnaires and wrist sensors worn during the night. They found both groups had improved their sleep during the 4-week period. However, the yoga group experienced significantly greater improvements to sleep compared to the non-yoga group:
- Using a scale of sleep quality with a range of 21-0, with lower numbers representing fewer sleep problems, the group that practiced yoga demonstrated more significant boost to sleep quality. The yoga group saw their average sleep quality score improve from 9.2 at the beginning of the study to 7.2 at the end. The non-yoga group’s average score improved to a lesser degree, from 9.0 to 7.9.
- Yoga practitioners also improved their sleep efficiency—the amount of time spent actually sleeping relative to the total amount of time in bed—to a greater degree than the non-yoga group.
- The yoga group experienced more significant improvements to daytime tiredness than the non-yoga group.
- The yoga group reduced their use of sleep medication by 21% per week during the course of the study. The non-yoga group, on the other hand, increased their sleep medication use by 5% per week.
This last finding is especially encouraging, that the group practicing yoga improved their sleep while also reducing their reliance on sleep medication. We know from the CDC’s first-ever investigation of prescription sleep medication that reliance on prescription sleep aids is alarmingly high, with 4% of the adult population of the U.S. taking medication to sleep. Long-term use of sleep medication is not the best method of improving sleep for anyone. For cancer patients–who may already be taking one or more other medications–effective, non-chemical treatments for sleep problems are particularly welcome and important. To date, we’ve not seen a great deal of research attention paid to the potential benefits of yoga for patients with cancer. But there are other studies that suggest that yoga and other types of gentle, mind-body exercises can help improve sleep among cancer patients:
- With a group of lymphoma patients, researchers examined the effects on sleep of Tibetan yoga, a form that incorporates breathing, visualization, mindfulness and physical postures. After 3 months, patients who did yoga reported significant decreases in sleep disturbances, increased sleep duration, and less reliance on sleep medication, compared to a group that did not participate in the yoga regimen.
- A group of patients with a variety of cancers experienced improvements to sleep and decreases to levels of stress and fatigue after an 8-week program of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). MBSR includes meditation practices designed to address both physical and psychological difficulties.
- A review of research into mind-body therapies for cancer patients found that several forms of mind-body treatment had positive effects on sleep, as well as on pain and fatigue.
These latest results provide important additional evidence that yoga and mind-body practices can play a constructive role in treating sleep problems among cancer patients. I am a proponent of yoga and mind-body exercise as a treatment for sleep problems, and as part of a healthy-sleep routine. I hope we’ll see additional research explore the possible benefits of these practices for people living with cancer.
Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor® | <urn:uuid:dd6cdf78-7ceb-4a99-a8fb-5138f9559013> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/2013/10/yoga-improves-sleep-for-cancer-patients.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00063-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954903 | 1,116 | 2.8125 | 3 |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The health of the world’s oceans is declining much faster
than originally thought — under siege from pollution, overfishing and other
man-made problems all at once — scientists say in a new report.
The mix of interacting ingredients is in place for a mass extinction in the
world’s oceans, said a report by a top panel of scientists that will be
presented to the United Nations on Tuesday.
The report says the troubles from global warming and other factors are worse
when they combine with each other. Factors include dead zones from farm
run-off, an increase in acidity from too much carbon dioxide, habitat
destruction and melting sea ice, along with overfishing.
"Things seem to be going wrong on several different levels,” said Carl
Lundin, director of global marine programs at the International Union for
Conservation of Nature, which helped produce the report with the
International Programme on the State of the Ocean. The conclusions follow an
international meeting this spring in England to discuss the fate of the
Some of the changes affecting the world’s seas — all of which have been
warned about individually in the past — are happening faster than the worst
case scenarios that were predicted just a few years ago, the report said.
“It was a more dire report than any of us thought because we look at our own
little issues,” Lundin said in an interview. “When you put them all
together, it’s a pretty bleak situation.”
The combination of problems suggests there’s a brewing worldwide die-off of
species that would rival past mass extinctions, scientists said in the
document. Coral deaths alone would be considered a mass extinction,
according to study chief author Alex Rogers of the University of Oxford. A
single bleaching event in 1998 killed one-sixth of the world’s tropical
Lundin pointed to deaths of 1,000-year-old coral in the Indian Ocean and
called it “really unprecedented.”
“We now face losing marine species and entire marine ecosystems, such as
coral reefs, within a single generation,” the report said.
“Multiple high intensity” factors also led to the previous five mass
extinction events in the past 600 million years, the scientists note.
The chief causes for extinctions at the moment are overfishing and habitat
loss, but global warming is “increasingly adding to this,” the report said.
Carbon dioxide from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels ends up
sinking in the ocean which then becomes more acidic. Warmer ocean
temperatures also are shifting species from their normal habitats, Rogers
said. Add to that melting sea ice and glaciers.
Chemicals and plastics from daily life are also causing problems for sea
creatures, the report said. Overall, the world’s oceans just can’t bounce
back from problems — such as oil spills — like they used to, scientists
However, Lundin said, “Some of these things are reversible if we change our
A separate study released Monday, unrelated to the international project,
provided the most detailed look yet of sea level rise from global warming.
It found the world’s oceans have been rising significantly over the past
century. The yearly rise is slightly less than one-tenth of an inch, but it
adds up over decades, according to the study based on sediment cores from
North Carolina marshes. That study was published in this week’s Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Online: State of
the Ocean report: http://bit.ly/kXHKOM | <urn:uuid:e2140034-60dd-43b7-8003-58d5ba30928f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://chestertontribune.com/Environment/621112%20panel_problems_with_oceans_multi.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00114-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933408 | 788 | 3.25 | 3 |
To build up their background knowledge and their understanding of their world, children need to know more than just the names of concrete objects. They also need to know the names for abstract concepts and feelings and ideas. Since children can’t physically interact with these concepts, activities that prompt conversations can be one way to help children understand the meanings of these words.
My first inspiration for this activity was Anna’s Flannel Friday post at Future Librarian Superhero, “Five Inna Bed.” I usually use clip art images of toys or teddy bears for this song, and was completely taken by her use of faces and how such a simple switch boosted the opportunities for conversation and vocabulary development.
Then, when I went looking, I found several other Flannel Friday posts with versions of the same faces-and-feelings idea!
Mary at Miss Mary Liberry doesn’t sing the song, just has children guess which emotion the face is showing. She adds in print awareness by showing word labels after the kids guess the emotion.
Nicole at Narrating Tales of Preschool Storytime made “feelings faces” to go along with a Jim Gill song, “Your Face Will Surely Show It,” to help the children anticipate which verse will come next.
And Katie at Story Time Secrets adapted a Preschool Express version of “B-I-N-G-O” to sing about feelings, and she uses clip art faces too.
So choose one of these ideas, or make up your own activity to introduce some good emotions vocabulary. I made my own faces to share with you! For the Five In the Bed/Roll Over version, you can print the yellow, blue, purple, green, and red “emotions” faces and the matching “sleeping” faces. You can laminate them separately with Velcro on the backs, or if you have a magnet board you can glue the matching colors back-to-back with a magnet inside. Or you can use these faces as templates to make them out of felt–if you plan on making the faces with a Sharpie, you might want to make two layers so the sides don’t bleed through to each other. If you’d like to use the Jim Gill song, you’ll also print out the light blue “cold” face.
Then, after you share your activity with the children, say something like this to the adults:
“Parents, when you talk about feelings with your children, they begin to learn the words for ideas that they can’t touch or see. This helps them become good readers because they will need to be able to understand abstract ideas when they are reading.”
Faces for Feelings (13 page pdf) | <urn:uuid:d48c38e6-c4b9-4aed-a9b1-163304dcc5c5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=5013 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00077-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944722 | 579 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Mild traumatic brain injury
Statistics from the Center for Disease and Control report that 1.4 million individuals each year sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, only about 300,000 of these people receive treatment. This happens because many survivors don’t realize they have sustained an injury until much later, when unexplained changes in their routine begin to happen. Many survivors' symptoms are more intense examples of problems they were already having, while in other situations symptoms are specific to the injury. A lack of awareness following a mild TBI is often supported by the survivor’s family, as well as the medical community.
The goal of this article is to raise awareness about mild TBI in the hopes to help identify it and ultimately treat its effects.
Classification that defies classification
TBI refers to those injuries that happen because of an external force; the most common causes are falls and motor vehicle accidents. According to criteria adopted by the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee and reported in the Journal of Head Trauma, a mild TBI refers to those injuries where there is loss of consciousness of not more than 30 minutes and post-traumatic amnesia periods of less than one day. However, it’s important to know that this isn’t always the case. For instance, it may be possible to sustain a brain injury where there has not been a loss of consciousness. Additionally, consciousness and memory may be affected by medications that are given at the scene of the injury (as opposed to the direct result of the impact). Therefore, the mild TBI survivor is immediately presented with several reasons to deny what they already do not want to accept -- that they have sustained a neurological injury.
The many sides to deficit awareness
In order to successfully recover from a TBI during rehabilitation, the survivor's awareness of their deficits is very important. Differing levels of deficit awareness include intellectual, emergent, and anticipatory awareness. Intellectual awareness refers to the survivor’s ability to identify the symptoms that result from their injury. This is usually accomplished through a neuro-psychological evaluation. Following this evaluation process the survivor can begin to move towards emergent awareness, or the ability to recognize deficits and symptoms. The ultimate goal of successful rehabilitation should be anticipatory awareness, or the ability to foresee those activities and routines that will be affected by the injury.
There are several challenges that face the TBI survivor attempting to understand his or her deficits. Depending upon the location and nature of the injury, the survivor may suffer from changes in cognition that happen before they recognize their deficits. This is more likely to occur with a moderate or severe TBI but can happen to the mild TBI survivor as well.
A more common obstacle to deficit awareness stems from a survivor’s tendency to attribute deficits to causes other than brain injury. Examples frequently encountered include lack of sleep, having too much stress, effects of aging, side effects of medication. These can actually be symptoms of the injury (e.g. reduced sleep, fewer available coping mechanisms for stress are common following TBI).
Reduced deficit awareness can magnify the emotional and interpersonal impact of the mild TBI. Typically the survivor is aware of changes in themselves, even if only on an unconscious level. Their first reaction is that this must be hidden from others, especially from significant others. In many instances the overriding fear is rejection by others close to them should their secret be "found out", as they will then be viewed as damaged. Sadly, the survivor's guardedness often pushes away significant others. They may lash out in anger, fall into a depression, or become overly self-conscious in social settings. All of these behaviors potentially result in either physical or emotional isolation.
Recovery from a mild traumatic brain injury presents a unique set of challenges for the survivor, the family system, and treating therapists. Due to improved methods of identifying symptoms following these types of injuries (i.e. increased appreciation of the need for neuropsychological assessment, recognition that it is possible to sustain an injury even in the absence of loss of consciousness), there are an increased number of mild TBI survivors who are seen in the clinical setting. Unless significant gains towards deficit awareness can be established, these individuals are not likely to thrive in formal treatment programs. In some instances time has passed since the initial hospitalization and the time that the survivor is seen in a rehabilitation setting.
Although this can potentially lead to a somewhat depressed mood, there are advantages to this waiting period as well. It can lead the survivor to have better awareness of TBI-related deficits, as well as the impact these deficits had had on their relationships, and attach additional value to the therapy process. This deficit awareness can be bolstered through involvement in a less intensive therapy program in the meantime (for instance, psychotherapy and/or speech therapy from a trained professional) prior to enrollment in a more structured therapy program. This can help the survivor to take on a leadership role in their own therapy.
Assuming that these issues are addressed, mild TBI survivors can make substantial improvement in their recovery. They typically have many preserved areas of strength to draw upon, in addition to milder symptoms. Successful treatment of the mild TBI survivor can lead them to be stronger, in many respects, compared to their pre-injury selves. This is because they will have learned improved self-awareness through their involvement in treatment.
From the Brain Injury Association of Kentucky. Reprinted with permission. Third-party reprinting restricted. www.biak.us. | <urn:uuid:0cc0e05d-3a8c-4827-a8a2-58b133203b0e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.brainline.org/content/2008/08/understanding-mild-traumatic-brain-injury.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00105-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964257 | 1,126 | 3.203125 | 3 |
[Source: mBio, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
Horizontal Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance Genes on Abiotic Touch Surfaces: Implications for Public Health
Sarah L. Warnes, Callum J. Highmore, and C. William Keevil
Author Affiliations: Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, United Kingdom
Address correspondence to C. W. Keevil, email@example.com.
Editor Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is largely responsible for increasing the incidence of antibiotic-resistant infections worldwide. While studies have focused on HGT in vivo, this work investigates whether the ability of pathogens to persist in the environment, particularly on touch surfaces, may also play an important role. Escherichia coli, virulent clone ST131, and Klebsiella pneumoniae harboring extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL) blaCTX-M-15 and metallo-β-lactamase blaNDM-1, respectively, exhibited prolonged survival on stainless steel, with approximately 104 viable cells remaining from an inoculum of 107 CFU per cm2 after 1 month at 21°C. HGT of bla to an antibiotic-sensitive but azide-resistant recipient E. coli strain occurred on stainless steel dry touch surfaces and in suspension but not on dry copper. The conjugation frequency was approximately 10 to 50 times greater and occurred immediately, and resulting transconjugants were more stable with ESBL E. coli as the donor cell than with K. pneumoniae, but blaNDM-1 transfer increased with time. Transconjugants also exhibited the same resistance profile as the donor, suggesting multiple gene transfer. Rapid death, inhibition of respiration, and destruction of genomic and plasmid DNA of both pathogens occurred on copper alloys accompanied by a reduction in bla copy number. Naked E. coli DNA degraded on copper at 21°C and 37°C but slowly at 4°C, suggesting a direct role for the metal. Persistence of viable pathogenic bacteria on touch surfaces may not only increase the risk of infection transmission but may also contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance by HGT. The use of copper alloys as antimicrobial touch surfaces may help reduce infection and HGT.
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) conferring resistance to many classes of antimicrobials has resulted in a worldwide epidemic of nosocomial and community infections caused by multidrug-resistant microorganisms, leading to suggestions that we are in effect returning to the preantibiotic era. While studies have focused on HGT in vivo, this work investigates whether the ability of pathogens to persist in the environment, particularly on touch surfaces, may also play an important role. Here we show prolonged (several-week) survival of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae on stainless steel surfaces. Plasmid-mediated HGT of β-lactamase genes to an azide-resistant recipient E. coli strain occurred when the donor and recipient cells were mixed together on stainless steel and in suspension but not on copper surfaces. In addition, rapid death of both antibiotic-resistant strains and destruction of plasmid and genomic DNA were observed on copper and copper alloy surfaces, which could be useful in the prevention of infection spread and gene transfer.
Citation Warnes SL, Highmore CJ, Keevil CW. 2012. Horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes on abiotic touch surfaces: implications for public health. mBio 3(6):e00489-12. doi:10.1128/mBio.00489-12.
Received 1 November 2012 - Accepted 5 November 2012 - Published 27 November 2012
Copyright © 2012 Warnes et al.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License, which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | <urn:uuid:356a438a-72b2-4a15-a224-b79ae5beac6b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://hygimia69.blogspot.com/2012/11/horizontal-transfer-of-antibiotic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896225 | 857 | 2.6875 | 3 |
What is Recovery?
Recovery means something different to everyone. Recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.
Through the Recovery Support Strategic Initiative, SAMHSA has delineated four major dimensions that support a life in recovery:
- Health: overcoming or managing one’s disease(s) or symptoms—for example, abstaining from use of alcohol, illicit drugs, and non-prescribed medications if one has an addiction problem—and for everyone in recovery, making informed, healthy choices that support physical and emotional wellbeing.
- Home: a stable and safe place to live;
- Purpose: meaningful daily activities, such as a job, school, volunteerism, family caretaking, or creative endeavors, and the independence, income and resources to participate in society; and
- Community: relationships and social networks that provide support, friendship, love, and hope.
Personal Stories of Recovery
Think Recovery Personal Success Story Videos | <urn:uuid:63da4494-b3e0-41de-a462-50afad82cdc2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dmh.ms.gov/think-recovery/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933912 | 211 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Muscle soreness is an unavoidable side effect of endurance training. The only way to avoid post-exercise muscle soreness completely is to avoid exercise.
However, there are several things you can do to minimize muscle soreness caused mainly by damage to muscle proteins without sacrificing fitness. Some obvious ones include warming up and cooling down properly and building up your training workload very gradually.
Less known and less widely practiced are some nutritional means of minimizing post-exercise muscle soreness that are based on cutting-edge sports science research.
By consuming the right balance of nutrients before, during, and immediately following workouts, this research shows, you can minimize the amount of muscle protein degradation that is caused by workouts and maximize the rate of post-exercise muscle protein repair and rebuilding.
And this will allow you to perform better in your key workouts and bounce back quicker afterward.
Start With a Full Tank
Carbohydrate, mainly in the form of muscle glycogen, is the primary fuel for moderate- to high-intensity exercise. But amino acids, supplied in part through the breakdown of muscle proteins, also provide some energy. The longer a workout or competition lasts, the less carbohydrate contributes and the more amino acids contribute to the body's energy needs.
Athletes can minimize the number of muscle proteins that must be broken down to supply energy by beginning their workouts with more glycogen stored in their muscles.
In a university study, subjects performed a prolonged one-leg strength exercise first with a randomly chosen leg and then with the opposite leg. They began the workout with normal glycogen levels in one leg (again randomly chosen) and depleted glycogen levels in the other. The researchers found that muscle protein breakdown was much greater in the glycogen-depleted leg than in the normal leg during the course of the workout.
More: Why Are Carbs Important?
It is important, then, that athletes top off their muscle glycogen stores before workouts. The best way to do this is to eat a meal comprising mostly low- to moderate-glycemic carbohydrates two to three hours before exercise.
In a Penn State University study, one group of athletes ate a rolled-oats cereal (moderate-glycemic) while another group ate a puffed-rice cereal (high-glycemic) before a stationary cycling test. Both breakfasts contained 75 grams of total carbohydrate. | <urn:uuid:53c3da28-60cb-4f48-bad6-742d73e57302> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.active.com/a3_articles/ffcee604-af93-4515-80f7-336be36b7723/1?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948323 | 483 | 2.875 | 3 |
Panspermia is a theory that originated in the 19th century in opposition to the theory of spontaneous generation. Panspermia propounded that reproductive bodies of living organisms exist throughout the universe and develop wherever the environment is favorable. The basic tenet of panspermia is that primitive life, which originated someplace else, was deposited on Earth’s surface by means of a collision with some other object that already harbored life.
Objections to Panspermia
The full theory of panspermia requires two events to explain the presence of life on earth:
- The generation of life outside the earth, and then
- The transfer of this life to earth.
Many scientists have objected that the generation of life cannot occur, or have occurred, outside of a planetary environment, where heavier elements are plentiful. Almost the only elements present in interstellar space are hydrogen and helium—and the latter, being an inert or noble gas, is not a component of life in any form known to man.
The generation objection by itself would not destroy panspermia. But the transference event requires a transit through space, followed by a passage through the earth's atmosphere and then an impact on the ground or at sea. Either of these events is fraught with danger. The unprotected space outside of an atmosphere is subject to unfiltered radiation in various forms. These include the products of radioactive decay, cosmic rays (the highest-energy form of electromagnetic radiation known to man), and the stellar wind, a stream of particles that fly out from any star as it continuously burns. Even if any life forms could survive the spatial passage, it must then somehow penetrate the atmosphere and risk incineration from sheer friction, and then must survive the impact.
A test done by attaching a piece of bacteria-smeared rock to a returning Russian spacecraft in September 2008 showed the difficulty of life surviving a fall through Earth's atmosphere, with temperatures on the rock reaching 1700 degrees Celsius, despite an entry speed little more than half that which a meteorite would experience.
In 1973, Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, and Leslie Orgel proposed a new mechanism, which they called directed panspermia, to mitigate the hazards of transport and entry detailed above. They assume that an advanced civilization fired a brace of rocket missiles, each laden with a payload of bacteria and/or blue-green algae, in all directions. Crick and Orgel estimated that a payload of one metric ton could contain 1017 micro-organisms organized in ten or a hundred separate samples.
The theory has gained some attractiveness primarily by proposing to explain why so many life-forms on earth depend on the element molybdenum, which is rare on earth but might not have been so rare on the planet of origin of these micro-organisms.
However, this theory is subject to a number of logical objections:
- Where and how did life form or come to this other world, for an intelligent race to build a civilization capable of launching guided missiles into interstellar, or even inter-galactic, space? Did life originate on that world, or was it deposited on that world in the very fashion in which that other world allegedly deposited life on earth? Directed panspermia thus appears to be an example of infinite regression, and violative of Occam's razor.
- Crick and Orgel totally ignore the question of the motive for firing this hypothetical brace of missiles. The attitude of such a civilization toward humanity would have to be one of four things:
- Irrelevant—that civilization was dying when it fired the missiles, and is now dead.
- Indifferent—having fired the missiles, they really don't care whether any of them landed intact or not, or whether any of them spawned a new civilization or not. But if so, then why bother with such a project? One can only imagine the sort of political debate that might have begun before the first launch-pad gantry crane was erected, and plagued the project for its duration. Such debates on alleged wastefulness ultimately curtailed Project Apollo, constantly threaten the abandonment of the International Space Station, and place the current plans for re-exploration of the moon by NASA in serious doubt. (They also invite disaster to themselves. Suppose, for instance, one of their "child" civilizations should decide to look for them and go to war with them to poach their technology, resources, and so on?)
- Friendly—that civilization plans a follow-up visit with a view to establishing trade and travel. Such a theory would no doubt have its appeal to non-believers hoping for a God-substitute to solve all the world's problems—which is a common theme in the science fiction of the twenty-first century. (Indeed, the intellectual heirs of Gene Roddenberry explicitly proposed a race of "Progenitors" who were ultimately responsible for the spawning of humanity, "Vulcankind," and all the other hundreds of races that Mr. Roddenberry and his successors conceived for the fictional Star Trek "universe".)
- Hostile—that civilization intended to create new planets for its own people to settle, in which case we are in the way, and "they" will follow up their life-seeding project with an expeditionary force consisting of warships. This theme pervaded the popular science fiction of the middle part of the twentieth century, especially in the early years of the Cold War between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
For all the attention that Drs. Crick and Orgel paid to the design of one of those missiles, and the stresses and radiation bombardment it must have had to withstand while in transit, they said absolutely nothing in consideration of motive. Without such predictions, one cannot even make a decent public-policy recommendation.
- Sarfati, Jonathan, Panspermia theory burned to a crisp: bacteria couldn’t survive on meteorite, 10th October 2008 (Creation Ministries International).
- Crick, F. H. C., and Orgel, L. E. "Directed Panspermia," Icarus, 19, 341 (1973). | <urn:uuid:e1a6e279-6ade-45f6-9589-5e7f50fe485e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.conservapedia.com/Panspermia | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947201 | 1,268 | 3.953125 | 4 |
Roots of our problems
A meeting of planters in Trelawny in 1838, the year of 'full free' from slavery, drew the conclusion that "the people will never be brought to a state of continuous labour while they are allowed to possess the large tracts of land cultivated by them for provisions, which renders them perfectly independent of their employers". [Philip Sherlock, West Indian Nations: A New History]. The House of Assembly passed several laws "with the express purpose of compelling the labourers to work for whatever wages [estate owners] chose to give and to do such work as they required".
I am not one to blame slavery for all our problems, but a number of contemporary problems have their taproot in our national failure to resolve many of the issues from the legacy of slavery. The marginalisation of the majority of the people and the controlling dominance of special interests - not always white planters or their wealthy replacements - have been defining features of Jamaica's post-emancipation history. So have been a deliberate low-wage economy and the educational preparation of the majority of the people to fit into it.
Exhausted their capacity
By the time of the Morant Bay uprising in 1865, the emancipated people had exhausted their limited capacity to prosper in freedom. The famous Underhill letter of January that year noted: "All accounts, both public and private, concur in affirming the alarming increase of crime, chiefly of larceny and petty theft. This arises from the extreme poverty of the people. That this is its true origin is made evident by the ragged and even naked condition of vast numbers of them, so contrary to the taste for dress they usually exhibit.
"They cannot purchase clothing, partly from its greatly increased cost, which is unduly enhanced by the duty which it now pays, and partly from the want of employ-ment. The people, then, are starving, and the causes of this are not far to seek."
Edward Underhill, secretary of the London branch of the Baptist Missionary Society, made several recommendations based on his fact-finding mission to Jamaica. One was for an enquiry into the legislation of the island since emancipation and its taxation, and its economic and material condition, which "would go far to bring to light the causes of the existing evil, and, by convincing the ruling class of the mistakes of the past, lead to their removal". He recommended "the growth of exportable produce by the [emancipated] people". Underhill called for just laws and light taxation to encourage capitalists to invest in the island, creating employment.
"It is more than time," he concluded, "that the unwisdom - to use the gentlest term - that has governed Jamaica since emancipation should be brought to an end."
But bear in mind that these conditions prevailed across the British West Indies and across the British Empire, in some cases worse than Jamaica. I call attention to this historical stuff not so much to blame slavery, but to point out that when we had the opportunity for change, we blew it badly. So many others have had a better go at building peaceful, ordered, productive and prosperous societies from a similar starting point.
The Edward Seaga-led Five-Year Independence Development Plan, 1963-1968 - which I have regularly cited, making me a Labourite in the eyes of some - using 1865, "one of the principal turning points in the history of this country", as its point of departure, very explicitly recognised the historical injustices against the majority of the Jamaican people and saw Independence as both a tool and an opportunity to fix them.
"After tracing the history of the country and some of its basic geographical features," the plan "settles down to describe the major problems of the country in the broad, national sense", the minister of development and welfare told Parliament on July 24, 1963, 11 months and two weeks into Independence. Nearly every one of those enumerated problems remains as critical issues facing the country today; many have worsened.
Very soon after its presentation, the country descended very much deeper into political tribalism, which substantially derailed the quite realistic aspirations of the Independence Development Plan. It is my considered opinion that the Seaga/Manley 18-year contest for political power is the most defining factor determining the condition of the Jamaican society and economy.
But the genesis of political tribalism, which has done so much to derail our development and to feed our crime problem, is much older than the 1970s and the 1960s. As I have pointed out repeatedly, political violence began almost with the emergence of the People's National Party (PNP)-Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) two-party system. The first commission of enquiry into political violence was conducted in 1949, 11 years after the founding of the PNP, and six years after the JLP was established. As Amanda Sives concludes in The Historical Roots of Violence in Jamaica in Understanding Crime in Jamaica [Anthony Harriott, Editor], "By 1949, both political parties were engaged in violence to achieve political goals."
Obika Gray, in Demeaned but Empowered: The Social Power of the Urban Poor in Jamaica, comprehensively traces the "fateful alliance" between politics and crime from the 1940s. Gray concludes: " ... The use of violence as a political tactic to win elections,defend political territory against rivals and secure representation of workers in the trade union movement actually began in the 1940s and not in the 1960s ... . Thus from the moment Jamaicans won the right to vote, and native politicians got the opportunity to be incumbents of state power, political violence ... became an organising feature of Jamaican politics," with all the costs attached.
Forty-eight years after the Hearne Report of 1949, the Kerr Report of the National Committee on Political Tribalism of 1997 documented, among other things, the formation of political garrisons from political patronage and violence, and the massive negative consequences to those communities themselves and to the nation at large. Some 80 per cent of murders now take place in the garrisons.
Another fateful alliance costing us dearly has been that between the trade union movement and the political parties, one of the tightest in the world. Ken Jones has in his new book, Bustamante: Notes, Quotes Anecdotes, a section titled 'Union Before Party', in which he advises that Bustamante always regarded the political party as the creature of the union. Sylvia Wynter, from interviews with the 'Chief', noted: "Bustamante's central base was the union, and he made his party followers aware that the party was the offshoot and appendage of the union and not vice versa."
Apart from the contribution to the use of violence for political and labour ends, this fateful alliance, still firmly holding between the parties and their affiliated unions specifically, but the labour movement more generally, has had huge negative consequences for the transformation, modernisation and performance of the Jamaican economy. Never mind the very successful efforts to spin the history into burnished glory, just think of the stagnation of the sugar industry as an employer of unskilled manual labour and a drag upon the public purse today. Labour-leader-turned-Prime Minister Bustamante was dead set against mechanisation in the industry and blocked it with political muscle.
The lingering injustices of the post-emancipation period, which we missed the opportunity to decisively correct with Independence, and our modern political history, with its tribalism, clienteles, special-interests domination, including the poor, the labour movement, the rich, the creditors, the political party and other powerful organised groups, the dons, are deep roots of our present problems.
A third of the Jamaican population, we are told by Minister of Housing Dr Horace Chang, are squatters, with some 20,000 housing units being needed annually to begin to solve the historical housing problem, which the Independence Development Plan vowed to fix, while vast tracts of 'crown lands' still remain unused, and 80 per cent of National Housing Trust contributors cannot afford the cheapest mortgages from the trust.
The economy, supported by the poor education and training system, remains predominantly low-skilled and low-wage. Income disparities between the very rich and the very poor remain some of the worst in the world.
Some 1,600 Jamaicans are now slaughtered annually in violence, with deep roots in political tribalism, in a country which also produces the greatest sprint stars in the world, and world-acclaimed artistes. The country, outspending its own historically weak productive capacity by borrowing from other people's surplus, now has one of the highest debt:GDP ratio in the world. Critical systems are distorted and corrupted from pandering to special interests: the public service, the tax system, the financial services, the labour market, law enforcement, and on and on. There is no national interest, and no leader interested in it, only a tangled conglomeration of special interests.
Underhill in 1865 had warned that the 'unwisdom' that governed Jamaica would render certain "the ultimate ruin of every class - planter and peasant, European and Creole." The Economist Intelligence Unit is now warning of the likelihood of social unrest in 2010.
None of the critical problems of the country is directly the creation of an administration a mere two years and three months in office, however inept. The prior 18-year long government significantly aggravated our fiscal difficulties and left the problems of injustice and inequity largely undisturbed as it focused on winning elections. It presided over a ballooning debt stock and murder rate, and a shrinking dollar. It made its own sterling contribution to the distorting and corrupting of the systems of an ordered society. Captured and controlled by special interests, like others before, it led no revolution for social and economic change.
But judging from its lustreless approach to governance in its first two years, it may be too much to expect any radical [Latin - of the root] action on the part of the present Government. And it will be the International Monetary Fund's fault, or global conditions, or the undistinguished previous administration - or history. | <urn:uuid:6d546815-6328-44fc-9129-f93951b77d3b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100103/focus/focus3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961926 | 2,087 | 3.21875 | 3 |
June 6, 2010
Definition of Language
“Many definitions of language have been suggested. An English Phonetician and language scholar, Henry Sweet stated, Language is the expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words. Words are combined into sentences, this combination answering to that of ideas into thoughts” (language, 2010). The American linguists George L. Trager and Bernard Bloch have the following definition, a language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group cooperates. Any concise definition of language makes a number of assumptions and brings up many questions. The first focuses on thought and the second on arbitrary: in a specialized but genuine way” (language, 2010). “Language is both a working system of communication in the time and in the community, it is a product of its history and the source of its future development. Any account of language must look at it from both points of view. Language interacts with every part of human life. It can be understood only if it is considered as part of its society” (language 2010). “The science of language is known as linguistics. It includes what are generally distinguished as descriptive linguistics and historical linguistics. Linguistics is now a highly technical subject; it embraces, both descriptively and historically, such major divisions as phonetics, grammar (including syntax an morphology), semantics, and pragmatics, dealing in detail with these various aspect of language” (language, 2010).
Definition of Lexicon
“In its most general sense, the term is synonymous with vocabulary. A dictionary can be seen as a set of lexical entries. The lexicon has a special status in generative grammar, where it refers to the component containing all the information about the structural properties of the lexical items in a language, i.e. their specification semantically, syntactically and phonologically. In later models (see aspects model), these properties are formalized as features, and put in square brackets, e.g. word-class assignments include noun [+N], etc. Given this component, the terminal symbols in phrase-markers can then be related directly to the lexicon through the use of lexical transformations; e.g. any item in the lexicon specified by [+D] can be attached to the node D, and so on. The mental lexicon is the stored mental representation of what we know about the lexical items in our language” (Crystal, 2003).
Key Features of Language
There is a critical period of development in which humans are innately predisposed to the assimilation of the grammar and syntax of language. A classic study conducted by Jackie Johnson and Elissa Newport to Chinese and Korean immigrants to the United States concluded that at or around the age of 16 the ability to easily learn a new language decreases drastically, specifically the ability to become fluent in the languages syntax. In addition, language seems to be a specifically human attribute, even excluding close genetic relatives, the primates. It is clear that primates use some symbolic level of communication to converse; however, the fact still remains that primates do not use anything like the language that humans use every day, nor are they capable of learning grammatical language. Primates seem to be quite adept at memorizing the surface structure of language and using it in limited circumstances, but they are not capable of ascertaining the deep structure of language and then transforming the underlying meanings of language to other phrases. In short, they are good at understanding words, not language. Levels of Language Structure
There are four primary levels of language: phonemes, words, sentences, and texts. Phonemes are the individual sounds that constitute the audible and written reproduction of words. There are about 46 phonemes in the English language, but about 200 phonemes are used worldwide... | <urn:uuid:3c55110a-cb33-404a-87b6-f31be223a078> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.studymode.com/essays/Language-Paper-394054.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940658 | 790 | 4.1875 | 4 |
Human Ecology - Basic Concepts for Sustainable Development
Environmental success stories from around the world with their lessons on how to turn from decline to restoration and sustainability.
Author: Gerald G. Marten
Publisher: Earthscan Publications
Publication Date: November 2001, 256 pp.
Paperback ISBN: 1853837148
Hardback SBN: 185383713X
Chapter 6 - Ecological Succession
Natural processes continually change ecosystems. The changes can take years or even centuries, working so slowly that they are scarcely noticed. They have a systematic pattern generated by community assembly, following an orderly progression know as ecological succession, another emergent property of ecosystems.
Ecosystems change themselves and people change ecosystems. People change ecosystems to serve their needs. Intentional changes by people can set in motion chains of effects that lead to further changes - human-induced succession. Sometimes changes are unintended. They can be unwanted and they can be irreversible. This chapter will give three examples of human-induced succession:
- Overgrazing and pasture degradation.
- Overfishing and replacement of commercially valuable fish by trash fish.
- Severe forest fires when forests are protected from fires.
Since ecological succession can be of immense practical consequence, humans have responded by developing a variety of ways in which to integrate their use of ecosystems with the natural processes of succession. Modern society uses intensive inputs to maintain agricultural and urban ecosystems by opposing the natural processes of ecological succession. Many traditional societies have drawn on centuries of experimentation and experience to develop strategies that take advantage of ecological succession in ways that allow them to use fewer inputs. This chapter will describe examples from traditional management of village forests and traditional agriculture.
Do places with the same physical conditions always have exactly the same ecosystems? The answer is ‘no’. Firstly, random elements in biological community assembly can lead to different ecosystems. Secondly, ecosystems experience slow but systematic changes as community assembly proceeds. A single site has different biological communities, and therefore different ecosystems, at different times. The slow but orderly sequence of different biological communities at the same site is ecological succession. Each biological community is a stage of ecological succession.
Change from one biological community to another can happen because:
- Smaller species of plants and animals generally grow and reproduce rapidly. Larger plants and animals take more time to grow, and their population growth is slower. As a result, the rapidly growing plants and animals populate a site first, and the slower ones take over later. For example, if a fire or logging destroys a forest, there will be many species of grass growing on the site within months because grasses grow quickly. Later, shrubs grow over the grasses, and after that trees grow over the shrubs.
- A biological community can create conditions that lead to its own destruction. For example, as trees grow older, they become weak and vulnerable to destruction by insects or diseases. When this happens, a biological community ‘grows old’ and ‘dies’, and another biological community takes its place.
- One biological community can create conditions that are more suitable for another biological community. A biological community can change the physical or biological conditions of a site, making it more favourable for another biological community. One biological community therefore leads to another.
- A biological community can be destroyed by natural or human-generated ‘disturbances’ and replaced by another biological community. Fires, storms and floods are examples of natural disturbances. Human activities such as logging or clearing land to make agricultural or urban ecosystems can also destroy a biological community. Activities such as excessive fishing or livestock grazing can change a biological community so much that it is replaced by a different community.
Earlier stages of ecological succession are known as ‘immature’. They are simpler, with fewer species of plants and animals. As community assembly progresses, the biological community becomes more complex. It accumulates more species, many of them more specialized with regard to diet and the way they interact with other plants and animals in the food web. The ecosystem consequently becomes more ‘mature’. The last stage of succession is a climax community. Climax communities do not change to another stage by themselves. The progression from immature biological communities to mature and climax communities is ecological succession.
An example of ecological succession
Ecological succession typically begins when the existing biological community has been cleared away by human activity or natural disturbance such as a fire or severe storm. This may happen over a large area, but succession can also begin in a small patch of forest that is opened up where an old tree has fallen. In western Japan, short grasses and small annual flowering plants generally mark the first stage of succession (Figure 6.1A). After a few years, they may be outgrown by taller grasses. Eventually, young trees and shrubs grow up through the grasses to form a mixture of tree saplings and shrubs that is dense enough to shade out most of the grass (Figure 6.1B). Some of the saplings ultimately grow above the shrubs to form a forest. Some of the shrubs disappear, while others survive between the trees.
If the soil is deep, the first forest is typically a mixture of deciduous oaks with other trees and shrubs (Figure 6.1C). The oaks and most of the other trees are eventually replaced by shii and kashi trees to form a climax forest (Figure 6.1E). (Shii and kashi are broadleaf evergreen trees in the beech family.) As the plant species in the biological community change, the animal species also change because particular species of animals use particular species of plants for food or shelter.
Figure 6.1 - Typical ecological succession on deep soil in western Japan
Why does oak forest appear first in ecological succession, and why do shii and kashi eventually replace it? Shii and kashi grow slowly, but they live for hundreds of years. With time they can grow to a great height. Oak trees grow rapidly if they have plenty of sunlight, but they do not grow as tall. When shii, kashi and oak seedlings grow together in an open immature ecosystem (Figure 6.1B), the large amount of sunlight favours oaks, which grow faster than the shii and kashi. The first forest in the ecological succession is therefore oak trees with shrubs and small shii and kashi trees beneath them (Figure 6.1C). Shii and kashi can survive in the shade of oak trees, and they slowly increase in height. After about 50 years the forest is a mixture of oaks with shii and kashi all about the same height (Figure 6.1D). By this time some of the oak trees are old and senile and some may be covered with vines that ‘smother’ them. The oaks begin to decline.
Eventually the shii and kashi grow above the oaks to form a dense leaf canopy that shades everything below. Oaks cannot survive in the shade of shii and kashi, so the biological community changes to a climax forest of tall shii and kashi with a scattering of young shii and kashi and shade-tolerant shrubs below (Figure 6.1E). The entire progression from a grass ecosystem to a mature shii and kashi forest takes 150 years or more. Because younger shii and kashi trees grow into the space that opens up when an old tree falls down, the climax forest stays more or less the same unless it is destroyed by human activity, fire or some other severe disturbance.
The ecological succession on shallow soil in western Japan is different from the succession on deep soil (Figure 6.2). Oaks, shii and kashi require deep soil to grow tall, but pine trees do well even if the soil is shallow, provided they have plenty of sunlight. The climax ecosystem on shallow soil is pine forest. Pine saplings may also thrive in open sunny areas with deep soil, but other trees eventually predominate on deep soil because pines cannot tolerate their shade.
Figure 6.2 - Ecological succession in western Japan Note: Sites with shallow soils have a different sequence of biological communities compared to sites with deep soils.
It is evident then that a landscape mosaic contains different biological communities at different places not only because of spatial variation in physical conditions but also because of ecological succession. Sites with similar physical conditions have similar ecological successions, but sites with similar physical conditions can have very different ecosystems because they are in different stages of the same succession.
Because climax communities stay more or less the same for many years, one might expect a lot of shii and kashi forest in western Japan. The regional landscape was dominated by shii and kashi climax forest in the distant past, but people cut down most of the shii and kashi forests many centuries ago. Shii and kashi, including some very old and large trees, are scattered across the landscape today, but fully developed shii and kashii climax forests are unusual. Remnants of the climax forests remain primarily in sacred groves around temples and shrines.
Ecological succession as a complex system cycle
Ecological succession is cyclic (see Figure 6.3). It follows the four stages of the complex systems cycle described in Chapter 4: growth; equilibrium; dissolution; and reorganization. Immature biological communities such as grasses or shrubs are the growth stages of ecological succession. Because immature communities have relatively few species, newly arriving species do not face strong competition from species already in the community. Most new arrivals survive the community assembly process, and the number of plant and animal species in the community increases rapidly. The most successful species in immature ecosystems are ones that can grow and reproduce quickly with an abundance of resources.
Figure 6.3 - Ecological succession as a complex system cycle
Ecosystems mature as additional species of plants and animals become established over the years through the community assembly process. It becomes increasingly difficult for newly arriving species to join the mature ecosystem because it has so many species, which already occupy all potential ecological niches. Newly arriving species can survive in the mature ecosystem only if they can outcompete and displace species that are already there. Eventually the biological community changes little. This is the climax community (equilibrium). It has the largest number of species, and they are all efficient competitors, good at surviving with limited resources. A climax ecosystem may last for centuries, provided outside disturbances such as fire or severe storms are not too damaging.
However, sooner or later, the climax community is destroyed by some kind of disturbance. This is dissolution. Most plant and animal species disappear from the site. Then comes the reorganization stage. Because many niches are empty at this time, competition is low and survival is easy for newly arriving species if the site has suitable physical conditions and the biological community has an appropriate food source. The reorganization stage is a time when the community might acquire one group of plants and animals, or a very different group, depending upon which species happen to arrive at the site by chance during this critical time. Ecological succession then proceeds from immature to mature communities (growth) until there is another disturbance or succession once again reaches the climax community.
The disturbances that cause mature communities to be replaced by earlier stages of succession vary in scale. As a result, landscape mosaics have patches of many different sizes. For example, lightning can strike one tree in a forest. The tree dies and falls over, opening up a small gap in the forest, which is occupied by early successional species. At the other extreme, a severe typhoon or fire, or large-scale logging, can tear down hundreds of square kilometres of forest.
Interaction of positive and negative feedback in ecological succession
This section examines the tension between positive and negative feedback in ecological succession. Negative feedback tends to keep ecosystems the same (ecosystem homeostasis) but they change from one stage to another as positive feedback takes effect.
We will look once again at the succession of an ecosystem from grass to shrub community, beginning with an ecosystem in which the ground is carpeted with grasses (see Figure 6.4A). Shrubs may be present, but they are young and scattered. The ecosystem may stay this way for 5 to 10 years, or even longer, because shrub seedlings grow very slowly. They grow slowly because grass roots are located in the top soil, while most of the shrub roots are lower down. Grasses intercept most of the rainwater before it reaches the roots of the shrubs. Because the grasses limit the supply of water to the shrub seedlings, they maintain the integrity of the ecosystem as a grass ecosystem. At this stage, negative feedback acts to keep the biological community the same.
However, after a number of years, some of the trees and shrubs, which have been growing slowly, are finally tall enough to shade the grasses below them (see Figure 6.4B). The grasses then have less sunlight for photosynthesis, and their growth is restricted. This results in more water for the shrubs, which grow faster and shade the grasses even more. This process of positive feedback allows the shrubs to take over. They now dominate the available sunlight and water, and the grasses decrease dramatically.
Figure 6.4 - Competition between shrubs and grasses for sunlight and water
This example shows how negative feedback can keep an ecosystem in one stage of ecological succession until there is enough change in some part of the ecosystem to trigger a positive feedback loop that changes the ecosystem to the next stage of succession. This example is about much more than grasses, shrubs and trees. The same kind of interplay between positive and negative feedback is responsible not only for ecological succession but also for much of the behaviour of all complex adaptive systems. Ecosystems, social systems and other complex adaptive systems stay more or less the same for long periods because negative feedback predominates until a small change triggers a powerful positive feedback loop to change the system rapidly. Negative feedback then takes over to hold the system in its new form.
Urban ecosystems and their social systems change in ways that are similar to ecological succession. As a city grows, every neighbourhood within it experiences changes in its social system. A neighbourhood can change drastically over a period of 25 to 100 years. It may be primarily residential during one time and become commercial or industrial during another. Neighbourhoods experience growth, vitality and progress during certain times, and at other times they deteriorate as the focus of growth and vitality shifts to other neighbourhoods. The same is true for entire cities. Cities grow and decline as the focus of growth and vitality shifts from one city to another.
Human activities can have a powerful effect on ecosystems and the way they change. This is known as human-induced succession, which can lead to changes that are often unexpected and sometimes seriously detrimental to the benefits that people derive from ecosystems. Pollution of the lagoons that surround small South Pacific islands provides a striking example. Many South Pacific communities now consume imported packaged and canned foods, disposing of the empty cans and other waste in dumps. Rainwater runoff from the dumps pollutes the lagoons, reducing the quantity of fish and other seafood. With less seafood, people are forced to buy more and more cheap canned food, the pollution becomes worse and the lagoon has fewer fish. This positive feedback loop changes the lagoon ecosystem while also degrading the people’s diet.
Pasture degradation due to overgrazing
Another example of human-induced succession is the effect of overgrazing on pasture ecosystems. Overgrazing occurs when a pasture ecosystem has more grazing animals such as sheep or cattle than its carrying capacity for those animals will support.
Pastures usually have a mixture of different grass species that differ in their nutritional value. Many species of grass are not nutritious as a defence against being eaten by animals. Some species of grass are even poisonous. Because grazing animals know which grasses are best to eat and which are not, they select the nutritious species and leave the rest uneaten. Different species of grass in the same pasture compete with each other for mineral nutrients in the soil (mainly nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), water and sunlight (see Figure 6.5). A mixture of different grass species can coexist in the same ecosystem as long as no species has an advantage. However, if some species have a disadvantage, they will disappear and the other species will take over.
Figure 6.5 - Competition between grasses that are nutritious or not nutritious for sunlight, water and mineral nutrients
What happens when too many cattle graze for a prolonged period of time? Because cattle select nutritious grasses, these species have a disadvantage in their competition with grasses that are not nutritious. The population of nutritious grasses decreases, leaving more resources for other species to grow and increase in abundance. A positive feedback loop is set in motion for grasses that are not nutritious to replace nutritious grasses. By tracing the arrows through the diagram in Figure 6.5, it is possible to see that each species of grass has a positive feedback loop that passes first through its ‘food’ in the soil and then through the other species of grass. This replacement process can take years, but when it is finished, the pasture has changed from an ecosystem with a mixture of grasses to an ecosystem dominated by grasses of low nutritional value. As a result, the carrying capacity for cattle is much lower than it was before.
Grass ecosystems are an early stage of succession in regions where the mature ecosystems are forests. However, grass ecosystems are climax ecosystems in grassland regions, where there is not enough rainfall to support a forest. Desert ecosystems are climax ecosystems where there is not enough rainfall even for grassland. Desertification is the change from a grassland ecosystem to a desert ecosystem in a region where the climate is suitable for grassland. There is enough rainfall for grass, but overgrazing can change the grassland to desert.
In a healthy grassland ecosystem, all of the ground is covered by grasses, which protect the soil from erosion due to wind or rain. If there are too many cattle, grass cover is reduced. Bit by bit, wind and rain carry away the fertile topsoil from ground that is no longer protected by grasses. When topsoil is lost, the soil becomes less fertile and its capacity to hold water declines. Grasses then grow more slowly and are replaced by shrubs whose roots can reach water deeper in the soil. Because the shrubs are not nutritious for cattle, the carrying capacity for cattle declines. People may then use goats instead of cattle because goats can eat shrubs that cattle cannot. Goats can also eat grass, which they pull out by the roots. If there are too many goats, they destroy the remaining grasses, and more ground is left without its protective cover. There is more erosion, and eventually the soil is so badly degraded that grass can no longer grow at all. The grassland has changed to a desert with scattered shrubs (see Figure 6.6)
Figure 6.6 - Human-induced succession from grassland to desert caused by overgrazing
These changes are slow. It can take 50 years or more for a grassland ecosystem to become a desert ecosystem that provides very little food for people. The entire ecosystem changes. Desert shrubs replace grasses and the rest of the biological community changes because it depends upon the plants. Physical conditions change as well, often irreversibly. Because degraded soil cannot hold enough water to support the growth of grasses, a desert ecosystem may not change back to a grassland ecosystem, even if all the grazing animals are removed.
Worldwide, about 50,000 square kilometres of grassland change to desert every year. The causes are complex and varied, but overgrazing is often a major factor. Why do people put too many grazing animals on grasslands when the consequences are so disastrous? The main reason is human overpopulation. The human population in many grassland areas already exceeds the carrying capacity of the local ecosystem. People use too many grazing animals because they need the animals to feed themselves now, even if it means less food in the future. Desertification has contributed to famine in places such as the African Sahel. This is an example of population overshoot that can cause the human population and its ecosystem to crash together.
Commercial fishing can have far-reaching effects on fish populations in oceans and lakes. If fishermen focus heavy fishing on a few species of high commercial value, those species have a higher death rate than other species of fish with which they compete for food resources. The populations of commercially valuable fish decline and are replaced by trash fish or other aquatic animals of little or no commercial value. This is known as fisheries succession. It is basically the same ecological process as replacement of nutritious grasses by species that are not nutritious because of overgrazing. During the 1940s and 1950s, the sardine population off the California coast declined and was replaced by anchovies. While recognizing that long-term climatic or biological cycles may have a role in this story, it appears the change was primarily due to overfishing. In a similar fashion, sardines replaced anchovetas off the coast of Peru and Chile when there was heavy fishing during the 1960s and 1970s, and similar stories have occurred numerous times with other species of fish in oceans and lakes throughout the world.
When this happens, a decline in the population of a particular fish species can set in motion a chain of effects through the aquatic ecosystem that alters the biological community in many other ways. Physical conditions sometimes change as well. The fish that disappeared may not be able to return even after overfishing has ceased. When people damage part of an ecosystem, it adapts by changing to a different kind of ecosystem - one that may not serve human needs as well as before. A multitude of changes through the ecosystem have ‘locked’ it into a new biological community (see Figure 6.7).
Figure 6.7 - Disappearance of commercial fish due to overfishing
The ‘okay/not okay’ principle of human-induced succession
Desertification and fisheries succession are examples of a more general emergent property of ecosystems. Human-induced succession can make ecosystems switch from a stability domain that serves human needs (‘okay’) to another stability domain that does not (‘not okay’).
Ecosystems continue to be ‘okay’ as long as people do not change them too much. If an ecosystem is altered drastically, natural and social forces can transform it even more to a different stability domain that may be okay but often is not.
Ecosystems are impressively resilient in their capacity to continue functioning and providing services over a range of uses and even moderate abuse. Moderate levels of fishing, grazing, logging or other uses may alter the state of a natural ecosystem, but the ecosystem remains in the same stability domain and continues to provide fish, forage or wood (see Figure 6.8). The same is true for agricultural and urban ecosystems that include a healthy natural biological community, such as animals and microorganisms that maintain soil fertility on a farm, or trees that remove pollution from the air in a city. However, if an ecosystem is transformed too much, a chain of effects can be set in motion through ecosystems and social systems that changes the ecosystem even more. Fish, forage, forests, soil animals or urban trees can disappear. The ecosystem state passes from one stability domain to another, and the new ecosystem may not serve people’s needs as it did before.
Figure 6.8 - The okay/not okay principle of human-induced succession
Traditional forest management in Japan
Human-induced succession is not always detrimental. People who know how to interact with ecosystems on a sustainable basis can encourage ecosystems to change - or not change - in ways that best serve their needs. They can use natural processes to change ecosystems to a stage of ecological succession that they want. People can also structure their activities in the ecosystem so that the biological community remains at a desired stage of succession instead of developing into a stage that they do not want.
The traditional Japanese satoyama system (literally ‘village/mountain’) is an example of sustainable landscape management that for many centuries provided essential materials for village life. The villagers maintained young oak forests and patches of a tall perennial grass (susuki) as a major part of their landscape because of the valuable products they provided. The long tough stems of susuki grass were used as thatch for houses and as mulch or compost on the farmers’ fields. Villagers prevented their susuki grass areas from changing to forest by setting them on fire after cutting the grass stems for use. The fire killed young trees and shrubs but the underground roots of the grass survived to sprout soon after the fire.
Village forests were the main source of construction materials, charcoal for cooking food and heating houses, and leaf litter for application as mulch to agricultural fields. Oak forests were more useful than the more mature shii and kashi forests because oaks grow faster. The villagers used a very simple procedure to ensure that they had enough oak forest to meet their needs. Each year they cut all the oaks in a small area, doing so in a way that allowed new oak trees to sprout from the stumps of the cut trees. Because the new oaks could use the large root systems of the cut trees, the new oaks could grow so fast that within 20 to 25 years they were once again ready for cutting. Once the 20 - 25-year-old trees were cut, the same process was repeated, with new trees sprouting from the cut stumps; more oak trees were then ready for cutting in another 20 to 25 years. Because different parts of the forest were cut at different times, the landscape had a mosaic of oak forests of different ages that provided a diversity of forest products and a diversity of habitat for many species of plants, insects, birds and other animals.
Every year the villagers cut all young shii and kashi trees so that they could not grow above the oak trees. In this way they retained oak forest as a major part of their landscape mosaic for centuries. It was essential to cut the oaks every 20 - 25 years. If they waited too long and did not remove shii and kashi, the oaks would eventually be replaced by shii and kashi. If they cut too soon, the oaks would never grow large enough to produce the seeds necessary for new trees. Without new trees the oak forest would eventually disappear and be replaced by other kinds of trees or an earlier stage of succession with grasses and shrubs.
The situation is very different today. For the past 40 years, Japan has imported petroleum and gas instead of using charcoal. Moreover, Japan has imported large quantities of timber from other countries for construction while using less wood from its own forests. Most farmers apply large quantities of chemical fertilizers to their fields instead of mulch from the forest. Oak forests are no longer cut on a regular basis, the trees are becoming senile, and some are starting to die. Oak forests may eventually be replaced by shii and kashi forests.
Forest fire protection
Frequent fires - started mainly by lightning - are a natural part of many forest ecosystems. The seeds of some plants germinate only when stimulated by fire. Dead tree leaves accumulate on the ground to form leaf litter, which provides fuel for fires that are usually started by lightning. When the quantity of litter is small, there is not much fuel, fires burn slowly and are not excessively hot. Most of the leaf litter burns away and some of the leaves on the trees may be burned; however, few trees are killed. If fires kill any trees (usually old trees), young trees quickly grow to fill the canopy gaps.
Fires have an important function for forests. Fallen leaves contain minerals such as phosphorous and potassium that the ashes from a fire return to the soil as mineral nutrients for trees and other forest plants. However, if a forest has too much leaf litter on the ground, a fire can burn at extremely hot temperatures because the large amount of litter provides so much fuel. A fire with too much leaf litter can spread over a large area and burn with such intensity that it destroys all of the trees and buried tree seeds in the soil. When this happens, the forest is destroyed and a grass ecosystem emerges from the ashes. It can take many years before there is forest again, particularly if there is no longer any woodland close by to provide a seed source.
Frequent fires are a negative feedback mechanism that prevents excessive accumulation of leaf litter in forest ecosystems (see Figure 6.9A). Because frequent fires seldom result in serious damage, they are nature’s way of protecting forests from severe fires that could destroy them. This is ‘ecosystem homeostasis’. A forest landscape with frequent natural fires is a mosaic of mature forest with grass and shrub ecosystems, and less mature forest in areas where there were fires in recent years (see Figure 6.10). The kind of ecosystem in each patch depends upon how many years have passed since a fire occurred and how severe it was. People generally consider a varied landscape, punctuated with different kinds of forest and open areas, to be more pleasant than a landscape that is solid forest.
Figure 6.9 - Natural regulation of forest litter by fire (no fire protection) and accumulation of litter with fire protection
Figure 6.10 - Landscape mosaic of a forest without fire protection
Around 1900, the United States Forest Service initiated a policy of protecting forests from fire because foresters did not understand the value of frequent forest fires. They did not want any tree damage due to fire. For 80 years they put out all forest fires as quickly as possible. More and more leaf litter accumulated on the ground because so much time passed without frequent small fires to get rid of the leaf litter (see Figure 6.9B). By 1980, leaf litter had accumulated within forests to the extent that they were increasingly susceptible to fire. New forest fires became very difficult to control, particularly in the extensive dry areas of Western United States.
The more the forest service tried to protect forests from fires, the worse the problem became because every fire was more difficult to extinguish and could destroy such large areas of natural habitat. Forest protection became increasingly costly because it was necessary to use large numbers of fire fighters, fire trucks and airplanes to drop water. Despite this effort, thousands of square kilometres of forest were sometimes destroyed by a single fire.
This example shows how human interference with fire as a natural part of ‘ecosystem homeostasis’ caused fires to become a disturbance that could destroy mature ecosystems and transform them to an earlier stage of succession (grass ecosystems). The solution to the problem is controlled burning to get rid of the leaf litter and selective logging to reduce the number of trees that provide fuel for a fire. This is what the forest service does now. Even a large quantity of leaf litter does not burn at high temperatures if it is wet, so there are times (for example, after rainfall) when foresters can start a fire and burn away the accumulated leaf litter without destroying the trees. These new forest management practices are working in harmony with the natural feedback loops in ecosystems instead of fighting them. However, it has not been easy to correct the situation. Many forests still have excessive quantities of combustible material such as decaying trees, litter or shrubs, and the United States government still spends many millions of dollars combating destructive forest fires. Moreover, controlled burning occasionally escapes control, leading to serious and unexpected destruction of forests, millions of dollars worth of property damage and considerable political controversy.
The forest fire example shows how the response of ecosystems to human activities can be counterintuitive - the opposite of what we expect. Our actions can have not only the direct effects that we intend; they can also generate a chain of effects through other parts of the ecosystem that come back in unexpected ways.
Ecological succession and agriculture
Agricultural ecosystems such as farms and pastures contain few species of plants and animals compared to mature natural ecosystems. People make agricultural ecosystems simple because simple ecosystems channel a large percentage of their biological production to human use. Agricultural ecosystems are immature ecosystems, and like all immature ecosystems they are continually subject to natural processes of ecological succession that change them in the direction of mature natural ecosystems. Weeds invade fields. Insects and other animals that eat crops join the ecosystem. The basic strategy of modern agriculture is to counteract these forces of ecological succession. Modern society uses intensive human inputs in the form of materials, energy and information to prevent ecological succession from altering its agricultural ecosystems.
It is typical for traditional agriculture to follow a different strategy. It reduces the need for intensive inputs by harmonizing agriculture with the natural cycles of ecological succession. For example, swidden agriculture, which is also known as slash-and-burn agriculture or shifting cultivation, is common in tropical areas where the soil is unsuitable for permanent agriculture. Swidden agricultural is particularly useful on:
- forested hillsides that are susceptible to erosion when a forest is cleared for agriculture;
- infertile forest soils that are vulnerable to leaching of plant nutrients to soil depths beyond the reach of crop roots.
A typical swidden procedure is to clear a patch of forest by cutting and burning the trees and shrubs. Fire is a means that swidden farmers employ to use a large supply of natural energy to prepare their fields for crops. Fire converts trees and shrubs to ash that serves as natural fertilizer, and fires kill pests in the soil. The ash provides natural liming to ensure suitable soil pH for crops. A farmer can grow crops in the cleared patch for one or two years. After that, soil fertility declines and crop pests increase, so that harvests are too small to justify the effort. The farmer abandons the patch before these problems materialize, moving to another part of the forest where he clears a new patch for crops. The abandoned patch is left in fallow for at least ten years.
Once a patch is left in fallow, numerous plants and animals invade from the surrounding forest, generating a sequence of biological communities that follows the usual progression of ecological succession from grasses and shrubs to trees. Natural vegetation and a covering of leaf litter protect the soil from erosion. Fertility is eventually restored to the soil surface by the forest’s nutrient pump, as deeply rooted trees bring plant nutrients to their leaves and deposit the leaves on the ground. Crop pests disappear because they cannot survive in a natural ecosystem without crops as food. The farmer can return to the same place after about ten years of fallow, repeating the process of cutting and burning trees and shrubs and planting a crop. A landscape in swidden agriculture has a mosaic of patches, some of them agricultural fields with crops, but most of them different stages of ecological succession in the course of forest fallow.
Swidden agriculture is a highly efficient and ecologically sustainable way to use fragile lands when the human population is small enough for farmers to leave the land in fallow for the required time. Unfortunately, swidden does not work if the human population is too large. When land is in short supply, farmers are compelled to clear the forest and plant crops before the fallow has had enough time to fully restore the land. The result is a vicious cycle of soil degradation and declining harvests. Population explosion in the developing world has changed swidden agriculture from ecologically sustainable to unsustainable in many places. One solution to the problem is agroforestry, which mixes shrub or tree crops such as coffee or fruit trees with conventional food crops to create an agricultural ecosystem that mimics a natural forest ecosystem.
The human population of Java in Indonesia is too large for swidden agriculture with a natural forest fallow. Most Javanese farmers are quite poor because they must meet all of their family needs with only one or two hectares of land, but they make the best of this difficult situation with traditional agriculture that simulates the natural cycle of ecological succession. They start by planting a polyculture of crops such as sweet potatoes, beans, corn and several dozen other food crops that grow quickly. They plant a scattering of bamboo or trees in the same field. The fast-growing crops predominate during the first few years (kebun agricultural ecosystem in Figure 6.11), and the trees or bamboo take over later (talun in Figure 6.11). As soon as the trees and bamboo are large enough, they harvest them for use as construction material and fuel, clear the field, burn unused plant materials, and once again plant a polyculture of food crops and trees. Much of the Javanese landscape looks like natural forest but is, in fact, carefully cultured agroforestry - ‘forest’ stages of an agricultural cycle that takes full advantage of ecological succession. Each family manages a small landscape mosaic of different fields in different stages of the cycle, so they have a continuous supply of the various foods and other materials that they need.
Figure 6.11 - Succession of a Javanese polyculture field from domination by annual field crops to domination by tree crops Source: Christanty, L, Abdoellah, O, Marten, G and Iskandar, J (1986) ‘Traditional agroforestry in West Java: The pekerangan (homegarden) and kebun - talun (annual - perennial rotation) cropping systems’ in Marten, G, Traditional Agriculture in Southeast Asia: A Human Ecology Perspective, Westview, Boulder, Colorado Kebun Kebun campusan Talun
Things to Think About
- What are the typical sequences of natural succession in your region (as in Figures 6.1 and 6.2)? Do sites with different physical conditions have different sequences? What role does chance seem to have in the sequences that actually occur?
- Have there been examples of human-induced succession in your region? What were the human activities that made them happen? Were they reversible?
- Talk to your grandparents or other relatives or friends that have lived in the vicinity of your family home for a long time. How have natural, agricultural, and urban ecosystems changed? Make a map showing the landscape mosaic over a radius of 1 kilometre around your family home 50 years ago. Compare the map of 50 years ago with the map from ‘Things to think about’ in Chapter 5 (ie, a map of the ecosystems today). How has the landscape mosaic changed during the past 50 years? (If there were no houses in your area 50 years go, make the map for a more recent time such as 30 - 40 years ago.) If possible, make a series of maps that show progressive change in the landscape mosaic over time. | <urn:uuid:9b5609c7-103f-4dbc-a9d3-9dd13458f095> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gerrymarten.com/human-ecology/chapter06.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95158 | 7,985 | 3.875 | 4 |
These tips are general ideas that may or may not work for you. Give them a try and find out which ones work for you and your particular learning style. You'll be glad you did, especially at exam time.
- Complete assigned readings and projects.
- Bring a three-ring binder—it is easier to add notes, add handouts, and take pages out to look at them together.
- Bring a ball-point pen—pencils smear and are hard to read.
- Choose a seat carefully when you get to class, one where you will be alert and where you can see and hear the professor well.
- Review notes before class starts.
- Label and date the page.
- Use an outline of what the professor is saying, not word-for-word or paragraph style.
- Use mind-maps. Draw a diagram of the concepts being taught with main ideas in the center and supporting ideas branching out from there.
- Leave blank spaces—this is easier on your eyes than words crammed together, and it allows room for extra notes when reviewing.
- Use different colors to take notes—colors help you visualize the organization of your notes.
- Use symbols (be consistent so you remember what you have done). Examples: & (and) + (and or plus) - (minus) = (equal to) < (less than) > (greater than) # (number) % (percent).
- Abbreviate commonly used words. Examples: w/ (with) gov't (government) ex. (example) OT (Old Testament) approx. (approximately) Tues. (Tuesday) @ (at) info. (information).
- Note: When you make up a new abbreviation, write a key for it somewhere in your notes so you remember what it means.
- Mark the notes that the professor stresses.
- Phrases to listen for: “Know this material.” “You may see this again.” “This would make a good essay/matching/multiple choice question.” “This will be on the test.”
- Listen for key words and mark them: repeated words or phrases, concepts written on the chalkboard or in PPT, ideas read directly from the professor's notes and technical terms.
- When a professor repeats a sentence word for word, write it down.
- If you like to doodle, draw pictures that illustrate the notes you are taking.
- Develop a symbol to indicate confusing or missed material. Ask the professor about the notes you have marked with this symbol.
- Ask questions.
- Review your notes as soon as possible.
- Fill in any blanks you left. Borrow someone else's notes if you missed notes in class or need to clarify something said in class.
- Consider typing your notes. By doing this you make them more readable, and you are reviewing information as you type.
Email The Learning Center (email@example.com) or call 574-372-5100, ext. 6421. | <urn:uuid:54519d58-ecf9-4aed-b9a3-6b89d7cad6fc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://tammy.denlinger@grace.edu/resources/academic-assistance/academic-success-tips/note-taking | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00091-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.895546 | 646 | 4.21875 | 4 |
10 August 2012
Last updated at 09:15 ET
A navy officer described the floating spectacle as the “weirdest thing” he had seen at sea
A vast “raft” of volcanic rocks covering 10,000 sq miles (26,000 sq km) of ocean has been spotted by a New Zealand military aircraft.
A naval ship was forced to change course in order to avoid the cluster of buoyant rocks, located 1,000 miles off the New Zealand coast.
The unusual phenomenon was probably the result of pumice being released from an underwater volcano, experts said.
One navy officer described it as the “weirdest thing” he had seen at sea.
Lieutenant Tim Oscar told the AFP news agency: “As far ahead as I could observe was a raft of pumice moving up and down with the swell.
“The [top of the] rock looked to be sitting two feet above the surface of the waves and lit up a brilliant white colour. It looked exactly like the edge of an ice shelf,” the officer said.
Researchers aboard the ship, HMNZS Canterbury, suggest that the source of the pumice was an underwater volcano (seamount) known as Monowai, located to the north of New Zealand.
The pumice is likely to have been formed when lava from the seamount came into contact with seawater, and as it is less dense that water it quickly rises to the surface of the ocean. | <urn:uuid:809cb8ed-7ba0-4240-83e6-72e7e5939e8c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rocketnews.com/2012/08/vast-volcanic-raft-in-pacific/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982449 | 311 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Kansas Geological Survey, Nov. 3, 2011
Developed originally in response to a question from Southwest Groundwater Management District No. 3
Donald O. Whittemore (with input from other KGS staff)
November 3, 2011
The challenge in trying to "sufficiently" establish baseline ground-water quality relative to hydraulic fracturing is that, because a variety of chemicals are used in the industry, a complete analysis would be very expensive. The chemicals used depend on such factors as whether the fracturing was for oil or gas, the particular formation, and the company conducting the fracturing. For example, differences could exist between the types of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in sandstones and carbonate rocks versus gas in shale. The web site www.energyfromshale.org has a fracking fluids page with a summary of some of the different types of fluids used. The summary diagram available on that page in October 2011 is shown below.
From http://www.energyfromshale.org/hydraulic-fracturing-fluid accessed October 2011. Sources: DOE (U.S. Department of Energy); GWPC (Ground Water Protection Council); Modern Gas Shale Development in the United States: A Primer (Acrobat PDF from DOE, 2009, 5.1 MB)
A more complete list of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, including the order in which they most appear, is available in a report by the United States House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Minority Staff, April 2011, entitled "Chemicals Used In Hydraulic Fracturing" available at http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Hydraulic%20Fracturing%20Report%204.18.11.pdf (Acrobat PDF, 160k)
Table 1 in the report lists the most commonly used compounds in hydraulic fracturing fluids.
|Table 1. Chemical Components Appearing Most Often in
Hydraulic Fracturing Products Used Between 2005 and 2009
|Chemical Component||No. of
|Methanol (Methyl alcohol)||342|
|Isopropanol (Isopropyl alcohol, Propan-2-ol)||274|
|Crystalline silica-quartz (SiO2)||207|
|Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (2-butoxyethanol)||126|
|Ethylene glycol (1,2-ethanediol)||119|
|Hydrotreated light petroleum distillates||89|
|Sodium hydroxide (Caustic soda)||80|
The report states "The oil and gas service companies used hydraulic fracturing products containing 29 chemicals that are (1) known or possible human carcinogens, (2) regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act for their risks to human health, or (3) listed as hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. These 29 chemicals were components of 652 different products used in hydraulic fracturing." Table 3 lists these chemicals and their frequency of use.
|Table 3. Chemicals Components of Concern: Carcinogens, SDWA-Regulated
Chemicals, and Hazardous Air Pollutants
|Chemical Component||Chemical Category||No. of Products|
|Methanol (Methyl alcohol)||HAP||342|
|Ethylene glycol (1,2-ethanediol)||HAP||119|
|Diesel19||Carcinogen, SDWA, HAP||51|
|Hydrogen chloride (Hydrochloric acid)||HAP||42|
|Benzyl chloride||Carcinogen, HAP||8|
|Benzene||Carcinogen, SDWA, HAP||3|
|Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate||Carcinogen, SDWA, HAP||3|
|Acrylamide||Carcinogen, SDWA, HAP||2|
|Hydrogen fluoride (Hydrofluoric acid)||HAP||2|
|Ethylene oxide||Carcinogen, HAP||1|
|Lead||Carcinogen, SDWA, HAP||1|
|Propylene oxide||Carcinogen, HAP||1|
|Number of Products Containing a Component of Concern||652|
The Groundwater Protection Council (http://www.gwpc.org/home/GWPC_Home.dwt) has been involved in examining hydraulic fracturing practices and impact on ground water. They published a letter related to the film Gasland in 2010 and gave testimony to the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on June 4, 2009. The text of the testimony is available in the link http://www.gwpc.org/e-library/documents/general/KellHouseTestimony6-4-2009.pdf (Acrobat PDF, 20 kB)
The Groundwater Protection Council has also recently (August 2011) published a report "State Oil and Gas Agency Groundwater Investigations" available at the link State Oil & Gas Agency Groundwater Investigations.pdf (Acrobat PDF, 13 MB)
If an individual wishes to have some basic, affordable, inorganic analysis made of ground water, they could contact a company certified by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, for example, Servi-Tech Laboratories in Dodge City; see the following web links for a more complete Kansas list.
The basic inorganic analysis (pH, specific conductance, and calcium, magnesium, sodium, alkalinity or bicarbonate, chloride, sulfate, nitrate, and fluoride concentrations) would at least establish the general chemistry of the water. This would allow later determination if any oil or gas brine from waste at the surface or through a poorly plugged old oil or gas well nearby that was affected by the fracking process allowed brine to enter the ground water.
The other fracking chemicals are organic and much more expensive to determine. In general, the organic chemicals are not ones that a landowner would use, but some are, such as ethylene glycol (used in antifreeze), methanol (in some types of antifreeze and windshield washer fluid, and in denatured ethanol), isopropanol (in some glass cleaners and fuel additives). If the landowner wanted to expend extra funds on some organic analysis, then an analysis of the water for methanol, isopropanol, and ethylene glycol would probably be appropriate because a higher probability exists that some of these might be in the fracking fluid. This would establish whether their water had concentrations below detection limits or, if some were detected, then perhaps their well has been impacted by their own septic wastewater or by leaks from vehicles or wastes disposed around their home (such as antifreeze).
Other chemicals that can be associated with oil and gas operations include BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes, and sometimes napthalene). These are some of the volatile organic compounds commonly cited in contamination from petroleum drilling and storage sites.
If a land owner is being approached to lease their land, a baseline laboratory analysis paid by the oil/gas company could be negotiated as part of the leasing agreement. This is not costly compared to the total leasing agreement and drilling, and it could protect both the property owner and the company. In this case, a third party could collect and submit a water sample to an independent certified laboratory and both the oil/gas company and landowner should receive the results.
Kansas Geological Survey, Geohydrology
Placed online March 26, 2012
Comments to email@example.com
The URL for this page is http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hydro/Publications/2012/Fracturing/index.html | <urn:uuid:f98058fa-9dc3-452e-8d3d-feb33e1b1c39> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hydro/Publications/2012/Fracturing/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.871141 | 1,652 | 2.9375 | 3 |
This tip is excerpted from Craig Mullins' new book Database administration: The complete guide to practices and...
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procedures. The second and third parts of this series are also available.
Database performance focuses on tuning and optimizing the design, parameters, and physical construction of database objects, specifically tables and indexes, and the files in which their data is stored. The actual composition and structure of database objects must be monitored continually and changed accordingly if the database becomes inefficient. No amount of SQL tweaking or system tuning can optimize the performance of queries run against a poorly designed or disorganized database.
Techniques for Optimizing Databases
The DBA must be cognizant of the features of the DBMS in order to apply the proper techniques for optimizing the performance of database structures. Most of the major DBMSs support the following techniques although perhaps by different names. Each of the following techniques can be used to tune database performance and will be discussed in subsequent sections.
- Partitioning — breaking a single database table into sections stored in multiple files.
- Raw partitions versus file systems — choosing whether to store database data in an OS-controlled file or not.
- Indexing — choosing the proper indexes and options to enable efficient queries.
- Denormalization — varying from the logical design to achieve better query performance.
- Clustering — enforcing the physical sequence of data on disk.
- Interleaving data — combining data from multiple tables into a single, sequenced file.
- Free space — leaving room for data growth.
- Compression — algorithmically reducing storage requirements.
- File placement and allocation — putting the right files in the right place.
- Page size — using the proper page size for efficient data storage and I/O.
- Reorganization — removing inefficiencies from the database by realigning and restructuring database objects.
A database table is a logical manifestation of a set of data that physically resides on computerized storage. One of the decisions that the DBA must make for every table is how to store that data. Each DBMS provides different mechanisms that accomplish the same thing — mapping physical files to database tables. The DBA must decide from among the following mapping options for each table:
- Single table to a single file. This is, by far, the most common choice. The data in the file is formatted such that the DBMS understands the table structure and every row inserted into that table is stored in the same file. However, this setup is not necessarily the most efficient.
- Single table to multiple files. This option is used most often for very large tables or tables requiring data to be physically separated at the storage level. Mapping to multiple files is accomplished by using partitioned tablespaces or by implementing segmented disk devices.
- Multiple tables to a single file. This type of mapping is used for small tables such as lookup tables and code tables, and can be more efficient from a disk utilization perspective.
Partitioning helps to accomplish parallelism. Parallelism is the process of using multiple tasks to access the database in parallel. A parallel request can be invoked to use multiple, simultaneous read engines for a single SQL statement. Parallelism is desirable because it can substantially reduce the elapsed time for database queries.
Multiple types of parallelism are based on the resources that can be invoked in parallel. For example, a single query can be broken down into multiple requests each utilizing a different CPU engine in parallel. In addition, parallelism can be improved by spreading the work across multiple database instances. Each DBMS offers different levels of support for parallel database queries. To optimize database performance, the DBA should be cognizant of the support offered in each DBMS being managed and exploit the parallel query capabilities.
Raw Partition vs. File System
For a UNIX-based DBMS environment, the DBA must choose between a raw partition and using the UNIX file system to store the data in the database. A raw partition is the preferred type of physical device for database storage because writes are cached by the operating system when a file system is utilized. When writes are buffered by the operating system, the DBMS does not know whether the data has been physically copied to disk or not. When the DBMS cache manager attempts to writes the data to disk, the operating system may delay the write until later because the data may still be in the file system cache. If a failure occurs, data in a database using the file system for storage may not be 100% recoverable. This is to be avoided.
If a raw partition is used instead, the data is written directly from the database cache to disk with no intermediate file system or operating system caching, as shown in Figure 11-1. When the DBMS cache manager writes the data to disk, it will physically be written to disk with no intervention. Additionally, when using a raw partition, the DBMS will ensure that enough space is available and write the allocation pages. When using a file system, the operating system will not preallocate space for database usage.
Figure 11-1 Using raw partitions to avoid file system caching
From a performance perspective, there is no advantage to having a secondary layer of caching at the file system or operating system level; the DBMS cache is sufficient. Actually, the additional work required to cache the data a second time consumes resources, thereby negatively impacting the overall performance of database operations. Do not supplement the DBMS cache with any type of additional cache.
Creating the correct indexes on tables in the database is perhaps the single greatest performance tuning technique that a DBA can perform. Indexes are used to enhance performance. Indexes are particularly useful for
- Locating rows by value(s) in column(s)
- Making joins more efficient (when the index is defined on the join columns)
- Correlating data across tables
- Aggregating data
- Sorting data to satisfy a query
Without indexes, all access to data in the database would have to be performed by scanning all available rows. Scans are very inefficient for very large tables.
Designing and creating indexes for database tables actually crosses the line between database performance tuning and application performance tuning. Indexes are database objects created by the DBA with database DDL. However, an index is built to make SQL statements in application programs run faster. Indexing as a tuning effort is applied to the database to make applications more efficient when the data access patterns of the application vary from what was anticipated when the database was designed.
Before tuning the database by creating new indexes, be sure to understand the impact of adding an index. The DBA should have an understanding of the access patterns of the table on which the index will be built. Useful information includes the percentage of queries that access rather than update the table, the performance thresholds set within any service level agreements for queries on the table, and the impact of adding a new index to running database utilities such as loads, reorganizations, and recovery.
One of the big unanswered questions of database design is: "How many indexes should be created for a single table?" There is no set answer to this question. The DBA will need to use his expertise to determine the proper number of indexes for each table such that database queries are optimized and the performance of database inserts, updates, and deletes does not degrade. Determining the proper number of indexes for each table requires in-depth analysis of the database and the applications that access the database.
The general goal of index analysis is to use less I/O to the database to satisfy the queries made against the table. Of course, an index can help some queries and hinder others. Therefore, the DBA must assess the impact of adding an index to all applications and not just tune single queries in a vacuum. This can be an arduous but rewarding task.
An index affects performance positively when fewer I/Os are used to return results to a query. Conversely, an index negatively impacts performance when data is updated and the indexes have to be changed as well. An effective indexing strategy seeks to provide the greatest reduction in I/O with an acceptable level of effort to keep the indexes updated.
Some applications have troublesome queries that require significant tuning to achieve satisfactory performance. Creating an index to support a single query is acceptable if that query is important enough in terms of ROI to the business (or if it is run by your boss or the CEO). If the query is run infrequently, consider creating the index before the process begins and dropping the index when the process is complete.
Whenever you create new indexes, be sure to thoroughly test the performance of the queries it supports. Additionally, be sure to test database modification statements to gauge the additional overhead of updating the new indexes. Review the CPU time, elapsed time, and I/O requirements to assure that the indexes help. Keep in mind that tuning is an iterative process, and it may take time and several index tweaks to determine the impact of a change. There are no hard and fast rules for index creation. Experiment with different index combinations and measure the results.
When to Avoid Indexing
There are a few scenarios where indexing may not be a good idea. When tables are very small, say less than ten pages, consider avoiding indexes. Indexed access to a small table can be less efficient than simply scanning all of the rows because reading the index adds I/O requests.
Index I/O notwithstanding, even a small table can sometimes benefit from being indexed — for example, to enforce uniqueness or if most data access retrieves a single row using the primary key.
You may want to avoid indexing variable-length columns if the DBMS in question expands the variable column to the maximum length within the index. Such expansion can cause indexes to consume an inordinate amount of disk space and might be inefficient. However, if variable-length columns are used in SQL WHERE clauses, the cost of disk storage must be compared to the cost of scanning. Buying some extra disk storage is usually cheaper than wasting CPU resources to scan rows. Furthermore, the SQL query might contain alternate predicates that could be indexed instead of the variable-length columns.
Additionally, avoid indexing any table that is always accessed using a scan, that is, the SQL issued against the table never supplies a WHERE clause.
Query performance can be enhanced in certain situations by overloading an index with additional columns. Indexes are typically based on the WHERE clauses of SQL SELECT statements. For example, consider the following SQL statement.
select emp_no, last_name, salary
where salary > 15000.00
Creating an index on the salary column can enhance the performance of this query. However, the DBA can further enhance the performance of the query by overloading the index with the emp_no and last_name columns, as well. With an overloaded index, the DBMS can satisfy the query by using only the index. The DBMS need not incur the additional I/O of accessing the table data, since every piece of data that is required by the query exists in the overloaded index.
DBAs should consider overloading indexes to encourage index-only access when multiple queries can benefit from the index or when individual queries are very important.
This tip is excerpted from Craig Mullins' new book Database administration: The complete guide to practices and procedures. The second and third parts of this series are also available.
For more information
- Read Craig Mullins' new book Database administration: The complete guide to practices and procedures.
- Craig's webcast Database Administration 101.
- Craig answers your tough DB2 questions.
- More great DBA, Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2 tech tips. | <urn:uuid:84c38019-9c26-4be0-96df-42ffe1166859> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/tip/Optimizing-database-performance-part-1-Partitioning-and-indexing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00009-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.895554 | 2,447 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Department of History
Bringing World History Research into the Classroom
The question of how best to teach world history is a topic of central importance to historians, young and old alike. The most pressing problem faced by both established scholars and emerging professionals is the lack of training in world history. Disciplinary training in history continues – for the most part – to revolve around traditional chronological and regional boundaries; and this leaves historians in the uncomfortable position of being highly trained specialists who must teach a subject in which we have very little training. This more than anything else, I believe, accounts for the tendency of many to fall back on a traditional, narrative approach to world history courses, which have at their core the dreaded textbook/document reader dyad. While textbooks (some more than others) do have the virtue of being inclusive, of making an effort to incorporate all of the world’s major regions into a narrative of global developments, I want to argue in favor of a more skills-oriented approach to university-level world history courses.
The focus of this paper are the two core issues raised by the recently published volume, edited by Ross E. Dunn, The New World History: A Teacher’s Companion: what are the goals of the world history movement, and what kinds of pedagogical strategies are best suited to the achievement of these goals? As expressed by the authors in this volume, the primary aim of world history courses is to overcome the ethnocentrism and phallocentrism of traditional Western Civilization courses by giving students, instead, a “…clear and vivid sense of the whole human past.” While agreeing with the general intention underlying this position, I must point out that most historians remain poorly equipped to do an adequate job of this; and courses based on textbook readings more often than not provide at best only superficial outlines and at worst caricature-like snapshots of the “whole human past.”
I want discuss the relative merits of two different approaches to teaching world history courses. First, I want to propose shifting the focus of such courses to historiography. After reading some of the debates spurred by the publication of David Landes’ most recent work, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some are so Rich and Some So Poor, I was struck by the idea that perhaps the best way to teach world history survey courses might be to expose students to the different interpretations put forward by historians to explain significant events and processes (in this case, the so-called “Rise of the West.”). Such an approach has much to recommend it, in my view. It would allow instructors to integrate recent research in world history into the classroom, and would also shift the focus of such courses away from mastering a body of information (i.e., memorizing facts from a textbook) to developing analytical and rhetorical skills that will help students both in their other academic ventures and in their everyday lives. Secondly, I hope to generate discussion about some of the ideas for comparative and thematically focused courses discussed by the various contributors to The New World History: A Teacher’s Companion. These include, for example, comparative regional histories; the history of migrations; the history of disease; environmental history; gender and women in world history; and the diffusion of technologies.
Daniel Headrick cites this formulation of the task of world history survey courses in a recent review of the book in the Journal of World History 13:1 (Spring 2002), p.184.
See, for example, Gail Stokes, “The Fate of Human Societies: A Review of Recent Macrohistories,” American Historical Review 106: 2 (April 2001), pp.508-525. | <urn:uuid:f2a4829e-0194-4243-a21d-feeda8d35ac5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ucworldhistory.ucr.edu/RiversideAbstracts/Monty.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00111-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936064 | 756 | 2.5625 | 3 |
February 8, 2013
Child Hackers Use Malicious Code To Level Up In Online Games
Michael Harper for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online
To be honest, we all should have seen this coming.According to BBC News, AVG´s Virus Labs have discovered that children as young as 11 years old have been writing malicious code to hack into other systems. Unsurprisingly, these young children are using this code to hack into online gaming networks in order to steal digital currency used in the games as well as extra tools and weapons to help them progress through the levels.
And, again unsurprisingly, these children aren´t very good at hiding their tracks, leaving their email addresses and other identifiers open for anyone to see. Thus, these hacking attacks were easily located by the virus team.
Now, AVG is saying children must be taught the “rights and wrongs” of coding by parents and schools, teaching them that using code to cheat or steal from a game is the same as theft.
"As more schools are educating people for programming in this early stage, before they are adults and understand the impact of what they're doing, this will continue to grow." said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer at AVG in an interview with BBC News.
According to their blog post revealing these child hackers, AVG claims that these kids are mostly writing the malware in order to show off to their friends. They might also use this code to steal other´s log in information or play pranks on one another. Though these attacks are seemingly innocuous, AVG points out that these log ins are often tied to sensitive data, such as credit card numbers. Once a log in is cracked, this could leave victims open to further attacks, should the child hackers feel up to the task.
“Furthermore, many gamers unfortunately use the same login details for social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, potentially putting the victim at risk of cyber-bullying, in addition to identity theft and major inconvenience,” reads the AVG blog post.
Most of the code written by these child hackers are simple Trojans written with the .NET framework. These Trojans are not only easy to write, but are also easily deployed through email or social media networks. Essentially, this code is easily written by amateurs and often makes victims out of amateur users.
“Unlike fully fledged cyber criminals, we don´t believe these junior programmers are motivated by making money but more likely the thrill of outwitting their peers and the admiration of their friends,” claims AVG´s experts.
In one specific example of these amateur hacks, a program disguised as a cheat program for online gamers was actually used to steal data and email it to the hackers responsible for the code.
"The malware author included in that code the exact email address and password and additional information - more experienced hackers would never put these type of details in malware,” said Ben-Itzhak, speaking to the BBC. In this example, the email address belonged to an 11-year old Canadian boy.
Though these child hackers have a narrow view for what they plan to obtain through their attacks, Ben-Itzhak believes they should be taught that stealing online is the same as stealing in real life.
"You teach your children that you can't take a toy without paying - so I think this type of a message needs to get to the kids when they're writing software too." | <urn:uuid:c1fcc097-05bb-4d19-a210-b2277c5affaa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112780368/hacking-by-children-a-growing-trend-020813/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00097-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967816 | 707 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Exploring The Science Of Flying, From Your Window Seat
IRA FLATOW, HOST:
This holiday season I'm sure is finding many of us on airplanes, flying around the country. It could take tedious hours of body scans, the crummy back-of-the-seat TV and scary airplane bumps and noises. But if you marvel at nature and technology, though, you can turn this torturous event into a more enjoyable learning experience.
My next guest has written a book about all the technology that goes into airline travel and the interesting stuff, and there really is, and I can tell you from personal experience, there really is a lot of interesting stuff going on, and you can hear it, you can see it from your window seat, like the wings flapping.
Have you ever watched the wings flapping, and you get scared? Well, don't worry, they are engineered to do that and not to fall off, and that's one of the things you'll learn in this new book by Brian Clegg. He's a science writer and author of "Inflight Science: A Guide to the World From Your Airplane Window." He joins us from Swindon, England. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY.
BRIAN CLEGG: Hi there.
FLATOW: That's what a lot of people worry about, Brian Clegg, that those wings are going to fall off, right?
CLEGG: That's right, but in fact they're tested to such incredible tolerances, you can push these wings up on a modern plane, you know, through feet, yards even, out of their normal position, and they'll just spring back.
They're actually designed, as you say, to flap around a little as you fly because that means they're not taking so much stress. If they were actually totally rigid, they're much more likely to snap off. It'll actually keep you safe.
FLATOW: It's better to flap than break off.
FLATOW: Well, how did you get interested in this topic?
CLEGG: Well, I used to work for an airline. I worked for British Airways for - getting on for 20 years, and obviously there I did a lot of flying, but my background originally is in physics. And it was just a great opportunity to look at all the science that's around you when you're on a flight.
FLATOW: And let's talk about - we have to take a break, but before we go, let's talk about one thing that, you know, that's enjoyable. In the first part of your flight, you're on the runway, and you look out the window, and you see the runway has numbers on it. Do those numbers mean something?
CLEGG: Well, that's right. There at the ends of the runway, it's most obvious, maybe, when you're coming in to land, but these numbers just indicate the direction the runway is in. If you imagine sort of like a 360-degree clock, then you just take the first two numbers of the degrees, so say 100 degrees would be 10, 200 degrees would be 20 or whatever, and the numbers on the runway basically indicate the direction that the runway is pointing in.
FLATOW: Wow. 1-800-989-8255 if you'd like to talk about the science of flight, the technology, what those wacky noises you hear coming out from under the wings, or the flaps, and all kinds of stuff like that. You can also tweet us, @scifri. Talking with Brian Clegg, author of "Inflight Science: A Guide to the World from Your Airplane Window."
And some of the stuff you can see out of the window, on the ground. We'll talk about what there is to see. So your flight doesn't have to be so terrible this holiday season. Stay with us. We'll be right back after this break.
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FLATOW: I'm Ira Flatow. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR.
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FLATOW: I'm Ira Flatow. You're listening to SCIENCE FRIDAY. We're talking with Brian Clegg, author of "Inflight Science: A Guide to the World from Your Airplane Window." Our number, 1-800-989-8255. So we started talking about the runway, taking off, and you can learn your compass direction by adding a zero to the runway number, and that'll be the direction you're taking off.
And how long is the runway? Why - how long do runways have to be, Brian?
CLEGG: It depends, obviously, on the plane you're dealing with. We are talking a significant size with a modern plane. In fact, if you think about it, the way planes have come on over the years, it is quite incredible. Something I like to compare is if you look back to the Wright brothers, I don't know if you've ever seen the Wright brothers flyer in the Air and Space Museum, but the size of the entire flight that the Wright brothers took, originally, is actually shorter than the wingspan of a 747.
And to get a 747 off the ground, we're talking about a runway that has to be, you know, a significant length. I have to say I don't have the absolutely specific numbers in my head, but I think it's interesting that we've had examples in the past of planes that have actually landed on a runway that was too short for them and then couldn't take off because the length of the runway, you need a longer runway to be able to take off than you do to be able to land.
And in the early days at Heathrow, we had an American 707 that landed at another airport. They thought it was Heathrow, they landed at the wrong airport, and the runways were just too short to get off.
FLATOW: Still sitting there?
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CLEGG: Well, no, what they did is the stripped absolutely everything out of the plane to try to get it off. They took all the seats out. They took anything with weight out. And the legend is - I've never actually seen these - but one of the buildings near the runway, there are actually tire marks on the roof because it was so close.
FLATOW: Oh, no kidding.
CLEGG: We're talking really, you know, up to three miles long, a modern runway has to be.
FLATOW: Well, speaking of the weight, you have a story about coins in your book, About the weight on the plane and how important that they didn't think it was, but tell us that story.
CLEGG: Well, that's right. This is really about the weight of passengers. If they had their way, airlines would love to weigh passengers as they get on the planes, but it would be too embarrassing. In fact, they actually used to do it in the very early days of flight. And we just have to then estimate how much passengers are going to weigh, and on the whole, that works pretty well.
But occasionally, you'll get something that goes a little wrong, and this was a true story. It happened taking off from a German airport. The plane was taking off for a city that had a coin fair on, and a lot of the passengers on the plane were coin dealers, and their favorite coins they didn't want to put in the baggage in the old, they wanted it on their person.
So they all weighed more than usual because they had their pockets full of coins, and they literally had trouble getting this plane off of the runway. They only just got it off. It counted as an air incident that was basically caused by these coins.
FLATOW: Wow, here's a tweet coming in from Eve(ph). She says: I love turbulence, but I notice it frightens some people. Please let them know it won't break the plane in half.
CLEGG: That's right. There have been no modern airliners ever brought down by turbulence, small planes yes, occasionally, but a modern airliner, a modern big airplane is not going to be brought down due to turbulence.
It's not totally trivial. I mean, it is important to strap in, put your seatbelt on when they tell you to because there is a risk, if there's a lot of turbulence, that you might hit your head on the ceiling or something of that kind. But in terms of actually damaging the plane, you can regard it as going on a rollercoaster ride, you know, sit back and enjoy it.
What great things, if you look out your window, and you look at the ground, what interesting things can you try to pick out? Well, obviously when you're low, you've got some great opportunities to see things you don't normally see. So when you're taking off, when you're landing, it really is a great opportunity to look out there.
In the nighttime, one little thing you can do is just have a go at estimating the size of the town or city that you're over from the number of streetlights, which, you know, you can get an idea of the streetlights that are down there. But obviously, you can see things like coastlines in a way that you wouldn't normally see them. There's a really good opportunity to see all kinds of things.
One thing is that old buildings, archeology is essentially being done sometimes from the air because sometimes when you're low down in a plane, you can actually see the pattern in the crops or where buildings used to be, and you can pick out a building you just can't see from the ground. So you can actually discover ancient buildings that you just can't see at all from the ground and things like that.
So it really is worth, you know, getting over the, oh, I've done it so many times, I'm fed up with it, and looking at it with fresh eyes.
FLATOW: Especially if you fly over a big city, and you get to see, you know, New York or San Francisco or London. You know, people pay 100 bucks to take a helicopter ride just to look at the city, and you're flying over it, well, you've already paid for your fare for a freebie.
CLEGG: Well, that's right, and so many people spend their time, you know, glued to the in-flight entertainment, which is fine, but you really ought to take a look out the window and see what's out there.
FLATOW: 1-800-989-8255, let's go to Jerry(ph) in Racine, Wisconsin. Hi, Jerry.
JERRY: Hi, how are you? Thanks for taking my call.
FLATOW: You're welcome.
JERRY: First I'd like to give a shout-out to your guest, since he's from Swindon, to the best band in the world from Swindon, XTC. And - but then my question was: Your guest had mentioned a pilot landing at the wrong airport. And I guess that just brought up the question in my mind is how much do the pilots pay attention to looking at the ground and what they see or how much do they rely on GPS or how much has that changed, where they're going and how their path takes?
FLATOW: Good question: Is GPS basically the basic navigation system now?
CLEGG: It is, but it's not the only one. I mean, when that thing happened, we're going back to the 1960s. Back then, they relied a lot more on eye and what you could see out of the window. And as it happened, there was a structure on the approach to Heathrow that was very similar to another structure on the approach to this little airport called Norfolk.
And what they ended up doing in the end was painting on large letters to say this one is the Heathrow one, effectively, so the pilots used it correctly. But these days, yes GPS will be one of the main things that are used, but planes also use what's called inertial navigation, which basically makes use of how the plane turns and twists and effectively keeps track of where you're going from the way the plane turns.
And that's kind of important because just occasionally, you might lose the GPS, you might have a problem with the GPS, and you've got the backup then. You've also got radio beacons that are used for navigation. So the whole spate of systems that are in there that weren't used so effectively back in the 1960s.
FLATOW: But could you basically say that on a long flight, you know, a few hours at a high altitude, that pilots have turned on an autopilot and are flying that instead of sitting there for hours at a time?
CLEGG: Well, there's an element of that, but I think what you have to remember is that, you know, they are involved in this. They're up there on the flight, and they're going to be making sure that things are safe. So yes, a fair amount of a flight these days can be done on autopilot, but at the same time, they will be checking out, always keeping an eye on the instruments and also obviously looking for other planes that might be in the area, things of that kind.
FLATOW: Let's go to Margie(ph) in Columbus, Ohio. Hi, Margie.
MARGIE: Hey, thanks for having me.
FLATOW: Go ahead, please.
MARGIE: Here's my question. I had the pleasure of working on the B1 Bomber program at Rockwell in the mid-'80s, and back then, all the old engineers that taught us young pups everything said there's a 15-second rule. And I want to see what you - if you agree with this.
The first 15 seconds and last 15 seconds are the most dangerous of the flight. So theoretically, if you make it to 15 seconds off the ground, a plane is supposed to be able to glide, so you lose the engines. A plane should be able to glide safely back to the runway.
I wonder if that's true. I've told many people that story, and one of my friends holds other people's hands and counts every time she's on a plane.
CLEGG: OK, I want to say, by the way, I saw a B1 coming into - we had one come into Heathrow when I was working there, and they are amazing-looking planes. Excuse me, but...
FLATOW: Fifteen seconds...
CLEGG: Essentially, it's true that the first part of a flight, the last part of the flight, the first, I mean, 15 second, 30 seconds, I wouldn't say it's exactly down to 15 seconds but the first - certainly within the first minute of a flight, the last minute of a flight is the most dangerous.
It's not really the case of once you pass that, you can just glide down safely. I mean, a modern airliner does not glide particularly well because they're incredibly - a fully loaded 747 is 400 tons, and that isn't going to glide pretty well. But the fact is you are in the most dangerous period there because you have very little time to correct problems.
When you're further up, you've got time to sort things out. You know, if an engine stalls, you've got time to restart it.
FLATOW: So the higher you are, the safer you are?
CLEGG: Yeah, absolutely.
FLATOW: Most people are afraid of the height, but the higher you are, you're actually safer up there.
FLATOW: Thanks, Margie. 1-800-989-8255 is our number. Lots of people would like to talk about - let's talk about on the approach and the landing, all these different sounds and noises start happening. And give us a progression of the first noises you might hear as you're approaching the landing, and what's going on there.
CLEGG: I think the thing to be aware of, you know, is that there are mechanical things happening out on the plane, so there will be noises. You have to expect that. The first thing, typically, that's going to happen is - particularly, if it's a night, they're going to turn the lights down, and they do that so that your eyes can get used to it being relatively dark. So if you had to evacuate the plane for any reason, which, of course, is very unusual, then you would have better nighttime vision.
You will hear things like the flaps starting to go out. So basically these extend the surface area of the wing. And the idea of that is it makes it possible to fly at a lower speed, because obviously you don't want to land at a full cruising speed. A 747, you're cruising at over 500 miles an hour. You want to get it down. And by extending the wings, you make it - it has more drag, so it's not so good for flying when you're cruising. But when you're slowing down, when you want to be landing, you'll hear those flaps going out. If you look out the window, you can actually see them effectively extending the back end of the wing. They make quite a lot of noise.
The other thing that makes a lot of noise is the undercarriage going down. So you could hear the doors opening, the wheels coming down and locking into place. That all does make quite a bit of noise. And then, of course, as you come down onto the ground itself, you had that little bump, a little screech from the tires, but then you'll get a roar from the engines, usually they're going into reverse thrust. So it's pushing backwards on the plane. And one of the interesting things about planes is that there's loads of physics in there. All your Newton's Third Law and things like that starts coming into it.
And the engines start operating effectively in the opposite direction, basically just by shoving a screen behind them that sends the blast that's going out of the back of them forwards; that helps slow down the plane. But again, it can sound a little scary but it's not.
FLATOW: Let's go get some more call. This one from Thomas in Bettendorf, Iowa. Hi, Tom.
TOM: Hi, thanks for taking my call. My wife and I take the trip to New Zealand, that long trek, every couple of years, and I notice the air speed differs from ground speed. And I was just wondering if you can explain the difference between the two.
FLATOW: Good question.
CLEGG: It's an excellent question, yeah, because it's something that's really important and useful. Basically, a plane is flying through air. And the thing that keeps it up out there is the air itself, it's the air moving over the wings. And so what you're interested in in terms of flying is the air speed, how fast you're moving with respect to the air around you. Now, often there are winds up there. If, for instance, you cross across the Atlantic, between America and Europe, there's really powerful winds up there that can be going as much as 200, 250 miles an hour. And I've been on a 747 crossing the Atlantic where we've actually gone faster than the speed of sound compared with the ground because we're being pushed along by that air.
So basically the difference between the air speed and the ground speed - the ground speed is just how fast you're going over the ground, how fast you're traveling. The air speed is how fast you're traveling with respect to the air. If the air is going in the opposite direction (unintelligible) the two speeds add together, and the result is effectively you go through that air faster.
FLATOW: Talking with Brian Clegg, author of "Inflight Science: A Guide to the World from Your Airplane Window" on SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. Of course, if you have that as a headwind, 215 (unintelligible), your ground speed is going to go way down, take you much longer to get there...
CLEGG: That's right.
FLATOW: ...cause you have to fight that wind, right?
CLEGG: That's right. And you'll find, you know, the time to cross the Atlantic differs - can differ by an hour or two depending upon the direction you're going in. So if you've got those winds with you, obviously what they do going the other way is they don't get into the jet stream, which is what those sort of high-speed winds are called in that particular area. They try to avoid that as much as possible so they don't get that as a headwind. You don't want to have a fight against that; it only operates at a certain height.
FLATOW: One really interesting thing you can see from an airplane that you can't see from the ground is a rainbow that's a full circle.
CLEGG: That's right. Naturally, a rainbow is a circle because basically it's coming from a drop of water or set of drops of water. And what it's doing is the drop of water is acting like a prism; it's turning the white light into a rainbow of colors, and that should be circular, around - effectively coming from around the whole drop. But in practice we don't see that because effectively the Earth gets in the way. But when you're up in the sky, you can actually see a whole circle of a rainbow. (Unintelligible) really impressive as you're over clouds because what tends to happen, because you have to have the sun behind you to cause a rainbow, you can actually see a shadow of your plane flying in the middle of the rainbow of the clouds. It looks quite stunning.
FLATOW: Yeah. I have seen that once. 1-800-989-8255. Let's go to John in Grants Pass, Oregon. Hi, John.
JOHN: Hi. You know, from the ground looking across San Francisco Bay, it sometimes looks like there's a massive amount of fog out there. I was flying out of San Francisco, was able to look down; the entire Pacific Coast was covered in fog, but the Golden Gate provided a notch. And a thin stream of fog came across the bay and impacted the El Cerrito Hills. So from the ground it would have look like a massive fog bank. But from the air you can see it was just a narrow stream pushed through the Golden Gate and across the bay, like a little curtain.
FLATOW: Yeah, it's great stuff that you - thanks for that tip. There's great stuff you can see from air, that you think you're in the middle of a cloud, and the cloud has a height to it.
CLEGG: That's right. And clouds you can experience in a totally different way when you're up in a plane. Seeing them from above, far from anything else, I think they can look much more impressive. And one of the things about clouds that I came across researching this book, which I think is really kind of neat, is the whole business of cloud nine. I don't know if you've come across this. But basically the idea that if you're on cloud nine, you know, you're happy, you're on top of the world, this was because, originally, there were nine types of cloud in the international classifications of clouds, and they actually added one to make 10.
So briefly, it was actually cloud 10 that was the highest one. But unusual in science, they decided to be romantic, so they renumbered them. So they went from naught to nine instead of one to 10. So cloud nine was still the highest you could be. You are still on top of the world if you're on cloud nine, which I think is rather nice.
FLATOW: What a great story. We're going to take a break right now. Our number, 1-800-989-8255, talking with Brian Clegg, "Inflight Science: A Guide to the World from Your Airplane Window." A great read this holiday to take along with you and into the plane and figure out what's going on there and all the physics about flight and atmosphere and the Earth.
Our number, 1-800-989-8255. You can tweet us, @scifri, @S-C-I-F-R-I. We'll come back and talk more with Brian. We're also going to talk about the questions we've asked before. Why do you have to turn off all those electronic devices on your plane? We've got some interesting answers, so we'll talk about that when we get back. So stay with us.
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FLATOW: You're listening to SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow.
We're ending up this hour talking about the science of flight with - talking with my guest, Brian Clegg, author of "Inflight Science." Last month, we had the MythBusters on. We talked about cell phones on airplanes, and the MythBusters tried this out, and they concluded this myth - that cell phones do not interfere with airplane navigation systems. But they couldn't get the FAA to let them try an experiment. They wanted to experiment on the airplane. The FAA said no way, you're not going to do that.
Well, someone else has been looking into this. Joining me now is Nick Bilton. He's a lead writer of the Bits blog and a columnist at The New York Times. He's done some of his own investigating into this. He joins us from San Francisco. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY, Nick.
NICK BILTON: Thanks for having me on.
FLATOW: So what is with all these electronic devices? You've looked into it. What have you concluded?
BILTON: Well, you know, one of the things, I think, that's happened is recently we've had more and more incidents of people that have been frustrated when they can't use their Kindles and iPads in airplane mode while they're, you know, taxiing to - on the runway or when they're taking off or actually on descent.
And, you know, we had an incident last week where Alec Baldwin was, of course, kicked off a plane for playing "Words with Friends" as that flight was delayed. And I've been looking into it recently, and a lot of the rules that apply to the devices that we now - a lot of people use to read content, the rules that were set in place, actually these devices didn't even exist at the time. So there's a lot of curiosities of why these rules still exist, and I don't think the FAA really can answer these questions yet.
FLATOW: We heard this week that pilots are going to be allowed to use iPads...
FLATOW: ...in the cockpit.
BILTON: Yes. So the first - actually, ironically, the flight that Alec Baldwin was kicked off was an American Airlines flight, and American Airlines is actually the first airline that is going to be allowing pilots to use iPads instead of flight manuals in the cockpit. And, you know, American Airlines said they've done extensive testing, and the FAA approved it based on this testing.
But the reality is they're doing exactly what passengers wanted to be doing. And, you know, no one's really - I mean, there probably are people that are arguing for this, but no one's really arguing to be able to have a conversation on their cell phone during takeoff and landing. I think people just want to be able to actually read devices...
BILTON: ...that are, essentially they're replacements for books and magazines, like Kindles and iPads.
FLATOW: Yeah. And if you don't want people to use an iPad with a Wi-Fi, turn the Wi-Fi off on the plane.
BILTON: Well, exactly. And, you know, some of the rules that exist, it's really strange. So one of the things that the FAA requires is that we shut down our devices...
BILTON: ...and then restart them when we reach 10,000 feet. And that rule is actually - it's causing more trouble than they actually really understand because what happens when you restart one of these devices - a lot of the devices we have today - iPhones, iPads and so on - they're not designed to be shut down. They're designed to just go to sleep when you press a little button that tells them to do that.
And when you shut these things down and they restart, they actually flood the entire device with a lot of electricity that hits every single sensor. And the electromagnetic interference that comes from that is much more drastic than if you had a device that was just turned on in airplane mode during takeoff and landing.
FLATOW: Mm-hmm. And is it a fact that Air Force One on the president's plane, no one is asked to turn off their devices for anything?
BILTON: Yes. So I wrote this column a couple of weeks ago saying, you know, that these rules don't make sense for the devices that we use on a daily basis today. And I got, you know, several people, reporters that I work with and from other organizations that said that they, you know, were on Air Force One, and they were never asked to turn off any device. And people were actually on their cell phones during takeoff and landing, and the Secret Service never required anyone to do that.
And so if, you know, the plane and the Secret Service that carries the president is - the people are allowed to use these devices, well, why can't passengers on regular airlines? And people that I've spoken to, you know, pilots, have said that, you know, they don't even actually understand why the rules exist when it comes to devices that can be turned into airplane mode.
FLATOW: Brian Clegg, did you discover anything at all in your research, doing the book on "Inflight Science" about this?
CLEGG: Well, I think the problem is that we lump everything together. The fact is a cell phone is totally different from something like a Kindle or an iPad in terms of its potential for causing any problems at all. I mean, there is a small possibility for a cell phone to cause a problem because basically it's a radio transmitter.
I was actually told, before coming on this radio program, have you got a cell phone near the phone? Turn it off if you have because it could cause interference, and that's the same worry. Basically, a radio transmitter causes electricity to flow in cables, and there is a very small possibility that could genuinely cause a problem. So I can understand why the cell phones.
As far as the other electronic devices, e-book readers, there really is no reason at all why they shouldn't be used. I can see with MP3 players, maybe they don't want people to have their iPod earphones in while they're doing the flight briefing and safety briefing, that kind of thing. So maybe there's a kind of excuse there.
And the other thing I've seen said is, with something like a laptop, maybe you don't want people having those loose and handy during takeoff and landing because if you did get in a situation where you get a lot of acceleration, like a crash situation, then they could turn into missiles, effectively. You don't really want to be hit on the back of the head by a 100-mile-an-hour laptop, which I can kind of understand.
FLATOW: Yeah. Let me get a quick call in...
CLEGG: (unintelligible) at all.
FLATOW: Let me get a quick call in from Matt in Salt Lake. Hi, Matt.
MATT: Hi. Yes. I'm just calling - I'm a professional pilot myself. And one of the biggest problems that we have is when people have their headsets or their cell phones and electronic devices on, it actually comes through our headset, and it creates a lot of problems for us hearing air traffic control, whereas until we're at 10,000 feet, we are told not to talk amongst ourselves. That's myself and the co-pilot.
FLATOW: And you think that's why that rule is there.
BILTON: Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that one of the things is that - the - it's like you just said, you know, people are lumping everything together. And the reality is I don't - I can't find anyone that really just wants to be able to talk on their cell phone during takeoff and landing. But I've spoken to hundreds of people that want to be able to read an e-book, and those devices are not transmitting anything to the cockpit or anything. And you can see that by the fact that American Airlines has approved that the pilots actually use these devices during take off and landing. They're not shutting them down until they reach 10,000 feet. They're on the entire time.
FLATOW: All right, Nick. Thank you, Nick. Thank you, Brian. Nick Bilton is the lead writer of the Bits blog and columnist of The New York Times. Brian Clegg, science writer and author of "Inflight Science: A Guide to the World from Your Airplane Window." Thank you, gentlemen, for joining us. And happy holidays to you.
BILTON: Thank you.
CLEGG: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. | <urn:uuid:2be85426-3853-4eaa-9a94-3e892c294bf4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://kasu.org/post/exploring-science-flying-your-window-seat | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980081 | 7,113 | 2.765625 | 3 |
OECD Factbook 2009 is the fifth edition of a comprehensive and dynamic statistical annual from the OECD. More than 100 indicators cover a wide range of areas: economy, agriculture, education, energy, environment, foreign aid, health and quality of life, industry, information and communications, population/labour force, trade and investment, taxation, public expenditure and R&D. This year, the OECD Factbook features a focus chapter on inequality. Data are provided for all OECD member countries with area totals, and in some cases, for selected non-member economies.
For each indicator, there is a two-page spread. A text page includes a short introduction followed by a detailed definition of the indicator, comments on comparability of the data, an assessment of long-term trends related to the indicator, and a list of references for further information on the indicator. The next page contains a table and a graph providing - at a glance - the key message conveyed by the data. A dynamic link (StatLink) is provided for each table directing the user to a web page where the corresponding data are available in Excel® format.
OECD Factbook 2009 is a key reference tool for everyone working on economic and policy issues.
- 06 Apr 2009 | <urn:uuid:a41bfc9f-5a65-4788-aa45-1de687ae6f9c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/oecd-factbook-2009/regional-unemployment_factbook-2009-51-en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.846648 | 252 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Researchers with this Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program perform projects identified by industry. Examples are carbon storage in soils under biofuel feedstock production and net energy analysis and greenhouse gas emissions from Eucalyptus plantations activities.
HNEI retained FACTS, Inc. to evaluate the potential importation of LNG to Hawaii, including potential demand, the costs and benefits compared to other fossil fuels, potential impacts on the State economy, and an assessment of appropriate regulatory processes and practices. The study concluded that LNG could dramatically cut energy costs for Hawaii consumers if obtained from the right source and on gas-indexed prices.
HNEI researchers have initiated an investigation of thermochemical hydrogen production strategies from waste resources. Results will be reported when available.
HNEI developed a bioenergy master plan in accordance with Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2007, to “set the course for the coordination and implementtation of policies and procedures to develop a bioenergy industry in Hawaii.” Development of the plan included substantial contributions from industry, government agencies, and academia. Issues addressed included: land and water Resources, distribution infrastructure, labor resources, bioenergy technology, permitting, financial incentives, business partnering, economic impacts, and environmental impacts.
The Hawai‘i Renewable Hydrogen Program was established by HRS 196-10 to manage the State’s transition to a renewable hydrogen economy. HNEI was tasked with developing a plan for implementation during the years 2010-2020, to transition Hawai‘i Island to a renewable hydrogen economy and to extend the application of the plan throughout the State.
HNEI has contracted with PICHTR to assess the current environment for geothermal development in the state, and to prepare a strategic development plan that will help agencies be prepared for the complex planning, assessment, regulatory, and permitting activities required.
To validate a new geophysical inversion and analysis procedure to map the subsurface structure of the geothermal resource and lower exploration costs, with near-term target areas on both the Island of Hawaii and Maui.
In this project a method of analysis was developed and applied to a generic bio-oil from microalgae process. In practice many of the bottlenecks revealed remain to be solved. The analysis framework presented herein was developed to aid analyses of future systems that propose specific solutions.
Under the Hawaii Distributed Energy Resource Technologies for Energy Security Project, HNEI researchers conducted a variety of bioenergy resource studies including assessments of invasive species, lease instruments for State lands, a statewide GIS analysis of phototrophic open pond algae production potential, and bioenergy value chain components life cycle and related work.
HNEI researchers are evaluating LPG reforming as a potential source of hydrogen for distributed fuel cell power applications in Hawaii. | <urn:uuid:bcb64e85-6ba2-4840-85ae-f88ea8b54d2b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hnei.hawaii.edu/taxonomy/term/71/0/feed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00083-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910418 | 573 | 2.5625 | 3 |
There’s an old standard for judging what doctors really think: What do they do themselves? Many doctors will apply something to their own health long before they’d recommend it to patients. This makes good sense: Your doctor wants to err on the side of caution when it comes to giving you health advice.
At this point, though, it’s a good bet that your doctor, and particularly your cardiologist, eats a small amount of chocolate every day, much as they might take a baby aspirin. That’s because many years of research is beginning to build to a consensus: Chocolate is good for your heart and your blood vessels. People who eat chocolate experience less heart disease, less heart attacks, and less strokes. While dark chocolate has gotten most of the positive attention, some recent studies seem to indicate that all varieties of chocolate made with cocoa powder (white chocolate won’t work) are heart-healthy.
Now, this isn’t a reason to throw caution to the wind and have a pint of chocolate ice cream with fudge sauce. No one knows exactly why chocolate is so good for you, though it is probably a result of two important nutritional elements in chocolate. First, cocoa contains the most potent natural antioxidant compounds of any food. And, second, dry cocoa powder is one of the best nutritional sources of magnesium.
Here’s just a sampling of what the research tells us about the value of chocolate for our heart health:
- People who eat chocolate more frequently (not in larger amounts) tend to weigh less than those who eat it less often.
- People who eat more chocolate have about 30% less heart disease and strokes compared to people who don’t eat chocolate.
- In one study, researchers gave men dark chocolate and found it improved the circulation in their heart, whereas white chocolate had no such effect.
- People who ate chocolate more than twice per week had over 30% less atherosclerotic plaque – one of the main causes and symptoms of heart disease – no matter their sex, age, calorie intake, smoking or diabetes status.
- Another study found that people who eat chocolate more than five times per week had 50% less heart disease than people who don’t eat chocolate.
- Chocolate lowers all the big heart disease risk factors: cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation.
- Chocolate improves sugar metabolism in diabetics. (This obviously wouldn’t be true for large amounts, and dark chocolate would be better than milk chocolate. Straight cocoa powder would probably be best, in fact. Diabetics don’t need any extra sugar.)
In other words, there are lots of good reasons to eat chocolate regularly – but no good reasons to overdo it. And, of course, eating chocolate works much better if you also eat a diet rich in plant foods and fiber, exercise regularly, and manage your stress. | <urn:uuid:56435397-531d-4cc7-8e14-6802714809ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/daniel-heller-nd/why-your-doctor-eats-chocolate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957285 | 596 | 2.953125 | 3 |
DIOCESE OF CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE (CATALAUNENSIS)
The Diocese comprises the department of Marne, exclusive of the arrondissement of Reims. United in 1802 with the Diocese of Meaux and in 1821 with that of Reims, the diocese of Châlons was re-established in 1822, and is suffragan to Reims. Local legends maintain that the evangelization of Châlons by St. Memmius, sent thither by St. Peter and assisted by his sister Poma, also by Sts. Donatian and Domitian, took place in the first century, but in the revised list of the diocesan saints in the Breviary these legends have been suppressed. Abbé Duchesne assigns the founding of the See of Châlons to the fourth century, Amandinus, who attended the Council of Tours in 461, being its ninth bishop. St. Lumier (Leudomerus), Bishop of Châlons about 580, was noted for his miraculous power over animals. The bishops of this see played an important part in early French history, and at the coronation of the Capetian kings the Bishop of Châlons always carried the royal ring. The cathedral was consecrated in 1147 by Eugene III, assisted by St. Bernard and eighteen cardinals. Among its celebrated abbeys the diocese counted those of St. Memmius, founded in the fifth century by Alpinus; Toussaints, founded in the eleventh century; Montier-en-Der, founded in the seventh century by St. Bereharius, a monk from Luxeuil ; Saint-Pierre au Mont, founded during the same period. Notre-Dame de l'Epine, near Châlons, was a place of pilgrimage as early as the beginning of the fifteenth century.
Prior to the law of 1901 there were Jesuits and Lazarists in the Diocese of Châlons, which has many schools in charge of the local congregation of Notre-Dame, founded in 1613 by the Venerable Mère Alix Leclerc. In 1900 there were in the diocese the following religious institutions: 16 infant schools, 3 boys' orphanages, 9 girls' orphanages, 7 dispensaries, 15 hospitals and asylums, 11 houses for religious nurses, 1 house of retreat, and 1 insane asylum. At the close of 1905 (the end of the period under the Concordat ) statistics showed that the diocese had a population of 231,411, with 25 parishes (cures), 312 succursal parishes (mission churches), and 6 vicariates supported by the State.
The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed between 1907 and 1912 in fifteen hard copy volumes.
Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.
No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.
Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912
Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online | <urn:uuid:7f90acfd-ac86-4dd7-8fe7-add4f513b22c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=2779 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00136-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955317 | 952 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Dangerous Games Children Play
Sharron says for generations, young people—mostly pre-teens and teenagers—have been finding ways to suffocate themselves on purpose. The lure is a drug-free way to achieve a euphoric, light-headed high that lasts a few seconds. Some children play the game together, helping each other cut off the oxygen flow to the brain using everything from ropes to plastic bags to just their bare hands. Jesse used a computer cord to cut off his airway the day he died. "They don't think they are going to die," she says. "They have these mechanisms they use that they think are going to release, but they don't release."
Sharron started the organization GASP (Games Adolescents Shouldn't Play) to educate parents, children and teachers about the dangers of this high-risk activity. She is also trying to get the nation's DARE programs to teach students about the dangers of the game, including loss of brain cells and death. "All we need to do is show them what happens to their bodies when they do it, and I believe that most of these deaths can be stopped," Sharron says.
Here are some signs that your child may be taking part in the choking game:
- Bloodshot eyes
- Change in attitude and more aggressive behavior
- Belts, ropes, strings and dress ties are in places where they shouldn't be
- Wear marks on bedroom furniture or in closets | <urn:uuid:732b40dd-e2b9-4e60-9f21-7f00d0148279> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oprah.com/oprahandfriends/Dangerous-Games-Children-Play | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978802 | 303 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Ancient Near East
Images & Art
Maps & Geography
Mythology & Beliefs
People in History
Timelines & Charts
Click around the Image of Herodís Temple for Pop-up DescriptionsThe Construction of the Temple On the northern and southern sides of the building were the enclosed halls or rooms where the priests prepared for the service, and where the Sanhedrin met. The large open court on the east, facing the Temple proper, was divided into several parts. Closest to the Temple was the portion set aside for the altar and the officiating priests. Next to it was the court for the Israelites who came to watch the service. By the side of that was the gallery for the women, and behind it was the court of the Gentiles. A wall surrounded the whole area, part of which remains to this day, known as "The Wailing Wall," to which Jews have gone on pilgrimage during the recent centuries of exile. The Temple took many years to build. Begun in 19-20 BC, it was not finished till long after Herod's death. The Jews prided in Herod's accomplishment until Herod placed a huge Roman eagle over the most important gate of the new Temple. Before long there was a conspiracy to pull the eagle down. When rumor circulated that Herod was dying, a group of young men gathered before the gate on which the golden eagle was set and began to pull it down. The soldiers interfered and arrested about forty of them. Herod was so enraged at this sign of insubordination and insult to Rome, that he had the "rebels" burned alive. See Also: Israel Gentiles Sadducees Caiaphas
Gal 4:4 "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law"
The Court of the Gentiles was the outermost court in the Jerusalem Temple during the time of Jesus. No gentile or non-Jew could proceed any further into the inner temple areas, and even Roman citizenship did not protect a Gentile who intruded into prohibited areas.
The Story of the Bible
© Bible History Online (http://www.bible-history.com) | <urn:uuid:092999be-0ce7-42d3-851e-160435cff682> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bible-history.com/gentile_court/TEMPLECOURTThe_Temple.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964258 | 454 | 3.65625 | 4 |
A new book on the French and Indian War (the Seven Years War in Europe) highlights the role New York merchants played in trading with the French enemy. Thomas M. Truxes’s Defying Empire: Trading with the Enemy in Colonial New York gives an engaging narrative account of New York City’s heavy involvement in a thriving, forbidden commerce with the French enemy and how the suppression of that trade by British authorities contributed to the coming of the American Revolution. The book was recently named a finalist for the Society of American Historians’ prestigious Francis Parkman Prize.
Readers will recognize elements of our current economic situation in the story of how a few ambitious businessmen put their personal financial interests ahead of their country in order to enrich themselves. Upstate New York served as a major center for the French and Indian War military activities beginning when the remnants of the disastrous Braddock expedition, after having destroyed most of their equipment and supplies, retreated to Albany which Truxes describes “with its fort, guns, and small garrison of regular soldiers, the last physically secure place along the northern frontier.”
Upstate New York then suffered much of the brunt of the ensuing war as all the while New York City traders continued to deal amicably with the French on the high seas. With French, British, and American economies increasing linked through trade, Truxes makes a convincing argument that New York City’s former Dutch openness inspired a growing sense that individual and corporate ties of trade and commerce, at leasat for some, might override national alliance. Delancey, Chambers, Duane, and White streets in New York were all named for historical figures chronicled in Trading with the Enemy and whose names figure prominently in the conflict over what could be considered a kind of free trade movement. “French agents moved with ease in the shadows of wartime New York [City],” Truxes notes, “Agents and spies entered and departed unseen aboard vessels shuttling between New York City and French settlements in Maritime Canada, the western Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.” Some of New York City’s most prominent trader-businessmen did the same. Well worth the read.
Truxes is a Senior Lecturer in the History Department at Trinity College. His current project (now in the works) 1756: The Year the World Ended will also have a lot to say about New York (city and province) during the French and Indian War.
The author sent me the following synopsis, which I’ll include here:
Prologue: “The Informer”
The book opens in the autumn of 1759 with a dramatic account of the public humiliation of a government informer. George Spencer, a failed New York wine merchant, has responded to a notice from the custom house offering an award for information related to the shipping of provisions, supplies, and “warlike stores” to the French enemy. Spencer stands to recover his fortune by bringing ruin to New Yorkers doing business with the French. When word spreads that an informer is loose in the city, a dozen members of the city’s merchant elite—main characters in the story—meet in secret to plan the punishment of George Spencer. The following day (November 2, 1759), an angry mob “carts” the informer through the city, pelting him with stones, dirt, and “the filth of the streets”. He is then taken to the New York City Jail where he spends 27 months unraveling a web of false charges and planning his revenge.
1: “A City at War”
New York during the Seven Years’ War (1755-1763) was an attractive, thriving, and self-confident city. It was the headquarters of the British Army in North America and a principal link in the chain of military supply—for both sides. Its large and aggressive fleet of privateers, the most successful in British America, was emblematic of the swagger that pervaded the city. Most importantly, New York was a commercial center, driven by a business ethos that placed commercial success above all else.
2: “Admiral Hardy and the Smugglers”
Early in the war, New York’s provincial governor, Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, fears—quite rightly—that large-scale smuggling operations in New York City have the potential to undermine the British war effort. In the spring of 1756, Hardy stages an aggressive campaign to eradicate all forms of illicit trade. Since its founding in the seventeenth century, colonial New York City has benefited from a delicate balance between legal and extra-legal trade, and there is a long tradition of cooperation between political and commercial elites. When Hardy upsets that balance in the interest of the war effort, he unwittingly drives New Yorkers into large-scale trade with the French enemy.
3: “Frenchified Bottoms”
At midnight at an East River wharf in May 1756, Samuel Stilwell, one of the conspirators in the punishment of George Spencer, loads a cargo of provisions for the neutral Dutch island of St. Eustatius. The goods will be turned over to enemy agents for transshipment to French Saint-Domingue. Stilwell’s vessel departs New York just as Great Britain declares war against France. In the weeks that followed, British warships and privateers sweep the French carrying trade from the sea, creating a crisis for military planners in Versailles. In desperation, they turn to neutral “Frenchified bottoms”, as well as North America vessels bound for neutral Dutch and Danish islands in the Caribbean. High-handed British countermeasures take a severe toll on neutral shipping and create a diplomatic crisis.
London is more cautious in its dealings with neutral Spain, fearing Spanish entrance into the war on the side of the French. Britain’s toleration of Spanish neutrality contributes to the rise to prominence of an obscure Spanish port on the north coast of Hispaniola just a few miles east of the border with French Saint-Domingue. By 1757, Monte Cristi is one of the busiest shipping points in the North Atlantic, with as many as 180 vessels riding in the bay at one time. Each day, a fleet of Spanish coasting vessels carries high-priced North American provisions and other goods (many manufactured in Britain) to the French at Cape François and elsewhere in Saint-Domingue. There they are exchanged for sugar, coffee, indigo, and other island produce at bargain prices. From the British perspective, the trade is legal so long as there is no direct contact with the subjects of the French king. New York ships and resident merchants are a conspicuous presence at Monte Cristi, as are the sulking British warships patrolling off the coast.
The chapter opens with a New York trading vessel flying a white flag of truce slipping silently beneath the guns at the entrance to the harbor at Cape François. British harassment of ships doing business with the French through neutral sites—and the high costs that accompany indirect trade—give rise to a more creative ruse: trading with the enemy under the protection of government-issued permits to exchange prisoners-of-war. When the commander of the British naval squadron at Port Royal, Jamaica, discovers that “flag-trucers” from North America are outfitting French warships in the summer of 1759, he takes the law into his own hands, rounding up flag-of-truce vessels and initiating prosecutions in the Jamaican court of vice-admiralty. The British admiral’s actions cause consternation in New York where the faint-of-heart begin to exit wartime trade with the French.
6: “Mixed Messages”
From his cold and dank room in the New York City Jail, George Spencer plots his revenge and launches a barrage of lawsuits in the early weeks of 1760. Some are to gain his “informer’s share” of ships and cargoes trading with the enemy; others are to recover personal damages from his tormentors. The Navy’s interdictions in the West Indies and Spencer’s initiatives at home spark a lively but inconclusive debate on trading with the enemy. In late July, the sudden death of Lieutenant-Governor James Delancey (Hardy’s replacement and a friend of the traders) further demoralizes the city and brings Cadwallader Colden (a less skilled and more confrontational politician) to power. In London, the de facto prime minister, William Pitt, responds to a chorus of complaints from the British military with a circular letter to all colonial governors demanding that they look into allegations of widespread trading with the enemy. In November 1760, after Spencer’s prosecutions are thrown out of the New York Court of Vice–Admiralty by a corrupt judge, the informer throws himself at the mercy of the British commander in North America, General Jeffery Amherst. Pressured to act, Colden calls for formal hearings. After two weeks of testimony, the provincial council in New York finds no basis for Spencer’s charges. In late December—the day Colden completes his report to Pitt—news arrives of the death of King George II.
7: “Business as Usual”
In January 1761—in the midst of a blizzard—King George III is proclaimed in New York. The guest list at the governor’s reception includes the city’s leading traders with the enemy, several of them kinsmen of prominent politicians and judges. Meanwhile, in the West Indies, the Royal Navy is stepping up its campaign to eradicate the practice and becomes increasingly aggressive in its disruption of trade with the French via Spanish Monte Cristi. News arrives in New York that an appeals court in London has begun to reverse lower-court condemnations of ships trading with the enemy where there was no evidence of face-to-face contact between British traders and subjects of the French king. George Spencer is released from the New York City Jail in January 1762 following the appointment of a new chief justice without ties to the New York mercantile community. By June, Spencer is in London.
New York City has become a nest of French agents coordinating the movement of provisions and supplies to the French West Indies and Gulf of Mexico. At the time of Spencer’s release from jail, a British warship departs a naval base on the south coast of England for New York City. It carries news of Britain’s declaration of war against Spain, as well as urgent orders for General Amherst to prepare an expeditionary force to join an assault on Havana, Cuba. In April, Amherst is unable to meet London’s deadline because of the scarcity of provisions and supplies created by the city’s trade with the French. When naval patrol boats seize New York ships returning from Cape François, captured documents reveal the full extent of the city’s involvement in the trade. Raids lead to the seizure of French agents, following which prominent New York merchants are arrested and jailed. At a public meeting on May 29, 1762, fifty-four New York merchants sign an appeal to Lieutenant-Governor Colden begging forgiveness for what they had done and the harm it may have brought to the war effort.
9: “The Trial”
Cadwallader Colden and New York’s attorney general, John Tabor Kempe, prepare for the prosecution of leading figures in New York’s trade with the French. The first of these, the Cunningham-White trial, opens in April 1763. Waddell Cunningham and Thomas White (among the principal characters in the book) are among the leading participants in the trade. Readers will be taken through the twists and turns of the trial and follow Kempe’s presentation to the jury. The defense, caught off-guard by the rigor of the Crown’s case, argues that Cunningham and White are being prosecuted for behavior that was commonplace during the war. To the consternation of the city’s merchant community, the jury finds the defendants guilty and the court imposes a stiff fine. The defense petitions the court for permission to argue later for an “arrest of judgment” based on the severity of the penalty.
10: “Fruits of Victory”
New York slips into a severe postwar recession. George Spencer—now in London—haunts the corridors of power, demanding justice for himself and punishment for those aiding and comforting the enemy. We learn about the politics of the government’s lackluster response to colonial smuggling and trading with the enemy. In America, the war ends in the summer of 1763, and Waddell Cunningham—the principal defendant in the Cunningham-White trail—becomes involved in a violent altercation on the streets of New York with a fellow merchant, Thomas Forsey. The British government, facing staggering wartime debt, deputizes naval officers as customs officials and sends warships to America to enforced laws governing trade. New Yorkers feel the heavy hand of commercial reform as the remaining trading-with-the-enemy cases go to trial. The mood turns ugly, and juries now refuse to convict. At a hearing in January 1764, a judge sharply reduces the fines against Cunningham and White.
Epilogue: “Path to Revolution”
In London, George Spencer—now busier than ever—is in contact with British Treasury officials as prime minister George Grenville puts the finishing touches on tough new legislation to reform the customs administration in America and raise revenue to pay for the long and expensive war. In New York, at the Cunningham-Forsey civil trial in October 1764 (a much anticipated event), the jury rules in favor of Forsey and imposes a huge fine on Cunningham. When the court refuses to hear an appeal based on the size of the penalty, friends of the defendant persuade Lieutenant-Governor Colden to allow an appeal based on his powers as chief executive of the province. Colden defers the matters to London and earns the wrath of the citizenry for interfering the sanctity of jury verdicts. In the spring of 1765, the Stamp Act is passed in London and New Yorkers edge toward open resistance against what they see as tyrannical and arbitrary rule. On the day the Stamp Act goes into effect (November 1, 1765), violence erupts in New York, and the city teeters on the edge of anarchy. Within a fortnight, Colden is replaced by a new governor who defuses the tension. In January 1766, George Spencer offers the British Treasury a solution to the thorny problem of raising revenue in America—a tax on tea.
The book ends with brief accounts of what happens to the principal characters later in their lives. Many go on to play prominent roles as Patriots and Loyalists during the American Revolution. A few of those who had earned their fortunes trading with the enemy during the last of the eighteenth-century Anglo-French colonial wars become Founding Fathers of the United States of America. | <urn:uuid:7996946f-5761-4b33-b557-acb720f3e1d9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2009/04/21/defying-empire-trading-with-the-enemy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00046-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945854 | 3,104 | 2.921875 | 3 |
September 10, 2010
New Sickle Cell Screening Program For College Athletes Comes With Serious Pitfalls
The Johns Hopkins Children's Center top pediatrician is urging a "rethink" of a new sickle cell screening program, calling it an enlightened but somewhat rushed step toward improving the health of young people who carry the sickle cell mutation.
Beginning this fall, all Division I college athletes will undergo mandatory screening for the sickle cell trait. The program, rolled out by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), is an attempt to prevent rare but often-lethal complications triggered by intense exercise in those who carry the genetic mutation yet don't have the disease.Nationwide, newborns are screened for sickle cell disease, but carriers, or people with one mutant and one normal sickle cell gene, do not have symptoms of the disease and may be unaware that they are carriers.
While the program's goal is laudable, its implementation has been hasty and its consequences poorly thought out, warns Johns Hopkins Children's Center Director George Dover, M.D., in a Sept. 9 commentary for The New England Journal of Medicine.
The program is expected to affect nearly 170,000 college athletes and identify anywhere between 400 to 500 new cases each year. Carriers of the sickle cell trait are asymptomatic but are at higher risk for infarction of the spleen caused by lack of oxygen supply to the organ and exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis, a condition marked by the rapid breakdown of injured muscle followed by the release of proteins in the bloodstream that harm the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure. Research has shown that the risk of sudden death during exercise is between 10 and 30 percent higher among those who have the sickle cell trait than those without it. The program stems from the 2006 death of a 19-year-old freshman who died after football practice from exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis.
Dover and co-authors Vence Bonhaj, J.D., and Lawrence Brody, Ph.D., of the National Human Genome Research Institute, call the program "an enlightened first step by the NCAA toward improving the health of student athletes," but one rife with pitfalls and raising many questions. Such questions include: "Will any positive test results be followed by a second test to eliminate false positives?" and "Who is responsible for counseling students who test positive in order to explain the difference between actual disease and carrier status and the risks associated with each?"
Dover and his co-authors say that the following stipulations should be included in the program:
* Verifying test result accuracy by follow-up testing to eliminate false positives
* Post-test counseling
* Measures to prevent discrimination based on positive test results
* Making athletic practice safer to reduce or eliminate the risk for death among carriers by instituting proper hydration and avoiding workouts during high humidity and peak heat
Students will be allowed to opt out of screening if they show proof of previous testing or sign a waiver releasing their college of any legal liability. These suggest that the program was designed primarily as a legal defense measure, but its medical, social and psychological consequences remain unaddressed, the authors say.
As the most extensive sickle cell screening program in the past 30 years, this initiative will likely pave the way for other mass screening programs among college athletes, including ones aimed at identifying the carriers of cardiac anomalies, the most common cause of sudden death in athletes.
"The precedent-setting nature of this screening program dictates that we proceed with caution because any subsequent genetic screening programs may be modeled after this prototype," says Dover, a pediatric hematologist and expert on sickle cell disease.
Some 100 million people worldwide and 2 million people in the United States are believed to be carriers of the sickle cell mutation (sickle cell trait) but do not have sickle cell anemia. Named for the unusually sickle-shaped red blood cells caused by an inherited abnormality, sickle cell anemia affects nearly 100,000 Americans, most of them African-American. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid, which reduces their oxygen delivery to vital organs and causes them to get stuck in the blood vessels, leading to severe pain and so-called "sickling crises," which require hospitalization.
On the Net: | <urn:uuid:092ba4c9-6275-4f73-8c33-7ee4d40b3739> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1915307/new_sickle_cell_screening_program_for_college_athletes_comes_with/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951029 | 890 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Hot answers tagged objective-c
I am trying to mitigate SSL bypassing on a jailbroken iOS. ... My application handles confidential data so securing from SSL kill switch and mobile substrate is necessary. There is nothing to mitigate here. SSL is only used for transport level security, that is to protect everything between the client and the server. It is not used to protect the data on ...
The issues are mostly the same as for secure software development in general. Note that the most critical issue for secure software development is (1) integrating security into your software development lifecycle (so security is integrated into each step of the process: design, implementation, maintenance, ops), and (2) training of developers. It is a ...
If the device is jailbroken, then you have already lost. You cannot trust a jailbroken system. You can make an effort to detect the jailbreak and then refuse to run. But none of these detection methods are foolproof. Because, well, you cannot trust a jailbroken system. Further reading: Questions about (detecting) Jailbreaks: https://apple.stackexchange....
You can do this by setting kSecAttrTokenID to kSecAttrTokenIDSecureEnclave when generating the key. According to the documentation (which consists of some comments in SecItem.h), the only kinds of keys the secure enclave can store are elliptic curve secp256r1 keys. You can't put RSA keys there, for example.
Apple themselves use 256-bit AES for their apps, but you can choose from AES, RC4, or 3DES in a variety of key lengths. See Apple's Certificate, Key, and Trust Services Reference and Cryptographic Services Guide
Quite a few things have been published since the question was asked back in January, including: ENISA Smartphone Secure Development Guidelines for App Developers viaForensics Secure Mobile Development Best Practices (you need to register to download the PDF version) W3C Mobile Web Application Best Practices: W3C Recommendation 14 December 2010 Denim Group: ...
The secure element is not exposed to developers, and likely requires a custom entitlement in the App Store / App review process that isn't given out
OCLint works on Linux and OSX. It doesn't focus on security, but integrates with Clang, a static code analyser to do style and security at the same time. Of course, if you don't care about style you can just use Clang to begin with! But if your code is tidy and readable, your security reviews will be a little less painful. Agnito also scans objective-C, and ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible | <urn:uuid:e3fc2b36-6383-49dc-8af9-b2c2aaf6332f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://security.stackexchange.com/tags/objective-c/hot | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934632 | 557 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Carbon 12 vs. Carbon 14
Difference Between Carbon 12 and Carbon 14
The two isotopes of carbon are Carbon 12 and Carbon-14. Carbon atom is composed of 6 protons. They generally have six neutrons; too, this is the reason for their being called as carbon 12. At times, instead of 6 neutrons there are 8 which is when it becomes carbon-14. In chemical reactions, carbon 12 and carbon-14 behaves in a similar way. Generally carbon exists in C 12 form, but occasionally it is also found as C 14. Let us see the differences between the two isotopes of carbon.
Since the weight of protons and neutrons is the same, having eight neutrons, 14 C is 20% heavier than C 12. The atomic number of an element is the number of protons present in its nucleus. Since both C 12 & C 14 that have the same number of protons, its atomic number is the same but their atomic weights are different because of different number of neutrons. C 12 and C 14 also behave differently when it comes to nuclear reactions.
Another difference between the two isotopes is that C 12 is found in abundance in the earth’s crust, whereas C-14 is uncommon. C 12 is an isotope of carbon which has stability while C-14 is an unstable isotope. Because of instability radioactive decay of C-14 occurs. This process occurs for each unstable isotope and is a natural process. This unique property of C 14 is used for the determination of age of the objects that are thousands of years and is used extensively in archeology. The half life of 14 C is 5730 years.
C 12 is further taken as a standard to measure atomic weights of other elements. It has become a standard for measuring atomic weights in 1961, replacing the oxygen atom. C 14 was discovered in 1940 by Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben. | <urn:uuid:f9fcb971-25db-4fa4-8cc8-d995462fd03d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://vspages.com/carbon-12-vs-carbon-14-5650/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957566 | 391 | 3.609375 | 4 |
A place is called in the shade when the sun is shining, and some object, a tree for example, blocks the direct sunlight. So the sunlight can not reach the spot. The dark image, which the object casts on the ground (or on another object) is called shadow, not shade.
Shade can also mean a darker or lighter color of the same base color. For example: in a picture of a tree's shadow, the grass in the shade will be a darker shade of green than the grass out of the shade. | <urn:uuid:4ac4c29f-c5f5-4d02-a598-761307b9d957> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shade | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00076-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.908758 | 109 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Steep Point, AK Steamer OHIO Sinking, Aug 1909
Wireless Operator and Purser of the Ohio Give Lives to Save 128 Passengers.
Seattle, Wash., Aug. 28. – Five lives were lost in the sinking of the Alaska Steamship Company’s steamer Ohio off Steep Point, Alaska. There were 128 passengers on board, but all these escaped, the victims being from among the crew.
The drowned were: Purser F. J. STEPHEN, Wireless Operator GEORGE E. ECCLES, two seamen and the quartermaster, names not given.
Purser Stephen and Operator Eccles stuck to their posts and gave their lives to save the passengers.
Some of the passengers were taken ashore in lifeboats and picked up by the fishing boat Kingfisher and taken to Swanson Bay. Others were taken on the Humboldt and Rupert City.
Turtle Mountain Star, Rolla, ND 2 Sept 1909 | <urn:uuid:fe9e427e-78cc-435c-9673-29032646d3b7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www3.gendisasters.com/alaska/5115/steep-point%2C-ak-steamer-ohio-sinking%2C-aug-1909 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00171-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957394 | 206 | 2.515625 | 3 |
This research guide is designed to help you locate musical scores, articles, books, excerpts, and other resources for the violin. This guide is just a starting point - not every resource available in the library is included. If you have any questions, stop by the Music Library's service desk for assistance, or contact Sara Manus, the Music Librarian for Education and Outreach.
If you have recommendations for other sources on violin that aren't owned by the Music Library, please let us know by filling out a purchase request form. We rely on students and faculty input to help us build our collection.
Do you need to look up a musical term? Find information on a performer or composer? Background information about a genre? Try looking in one of these basic music reference sources:
Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th ed., is the best source for locating brief definitions of musical terms. It is located in the Music Library's reference section, call no. ML 100 .H37 2003
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an excellent starting point for research on any music topic, including instruments, genres, composers, and major performers. Each composer has a complete works list in his/her article, which is extremely helpful for choosing repertoire or finding out more information about a piece. It is available in print in the Music Library's Reference Section (call no. ML 100 .N48 2001 v.1-26) or online from Oxford Music Online.
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians is helpful for finding brief biographies of many performers, conductors, and composers. It is located in the Music Library's Reference Section, call no. ML 105 .B126 2001 v.1-6 | <urn:uuid:138fb7ce-d9ce-4f62-9b1a-b132383f19eb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://researchguides.library.vanderbilt.edu/violin | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918097 | 351 | 2.75 | 3 |
Grape powdery mildew in the Pacific Northwest is an ongoing problem in wine grape vineyards; grape powdery mildew research is also ongoing. For nearly two decades, Washington State University researchers have conducted fungicide efficacy trials, screening hundreds of products.
In the early 1990s, Washington State University pathologist Dr. Gary Grove planted a small fungicide evaluation vineyard to study experimental and registered products, their rates, and timing of application.
Dr. Michelle Moyer, WSU extension viticulturist, gave a tour of the fungicide plot during a WSU grape field day last summer.
“When it comes to powdery mildew and Botrytis bunch rot, Chardonnay and Riesling are the ‘white rats’ in the Vitis vinifera world,” Moyer said. “Those two cultivars were selected for the trial because if a grape plant is going to get powdery mildew, those are the two that will get it.”
Chardonnay and Riesling are also susceptible to Botrytis bunch rot, allowing Grove to study efficacy against bunch rot in the same block.
The outside rows of the 1.5-acre block have never been sprayed for powdery mildew or bunch rot control.
“So, we have our very own naturally occurring disease, and we don’t need to inoculate the vines with a fungus or pathogen,” she said. In years of high disease pressure, the efficacy trial shows disease symptoms several weeks before commercial vineyards in Yakima Valley.
Multiple irrigation drip lines are included in the block so researchers can add extra water to encourage disease, if needed. Also, a weather station that is part of WSU’s statewide AgWeatherNet system is located next to the trial and provides accurate data to help researchers develop and fine-tune disease models.
Throughout the season, fruit and foliage are evaluated for disease severity and phytoxicity. Researchers want to know if the product controls disease on the fruit or foliage, or both. Hooded sprayers are used to minimize drift.
In 2013, more than 34 fungicide treatments were evaluated.
WSU scientists typically apply five to six fungicide sprays in a growing season, starting when shoots are 10 to 15 inches long.
“For powdery mildew control for fruit, we usually spray early in the season at prebloom, 50 percent bloom, fruit set, and then it depends on the weather if we spray more,” said Moyer. “We almost always stop applications around four weeks after bloom.”
For control on foliage, an additional early spray is applied and a few later if researchers are looking at Botrytis bunch rot control. Timing is everything in a powdery mildew control program.
“Most people spray too early and continue to spray too late,” she said. “If you’re having continual difficulty controlling mildew, you may need to consider if you have the right match of tractors and sprayers for your acreage.”
Although some growers apply dormant applications of lime sulfur to target overwintering cleistothecia, Moyer discouraged such applications. Dormant applications can help in areas with high levels of trunk diseases like eutypa and phomopsis, but for powdery mildew, the rates that are needed to be effective are much higher than the label allows.
“It’s always good to do your own spray trials if you are trying a new material,” she said during the field day. “On-farm spray trials are easy to set up, but the key is to have a control within your vineyard so you have something to compare the new treatment to.”
WSU has developed powdery mildew bulletins to help eastern and western Washington grape growers manage the disease. Bulletins contain a fungicide list of registered fungicides, active ingredients, fungicide class, fungicide grouping, mildew efficacy, and resistance risk. Such information is useful in developing fungicide resistance management programs.
Fungicide lists are updated annually in WSU’s Grape Pest Management Guide, a publication available as a download or hard copy. •
The grape powdery mildew bulletins can be found at http://wine.wsu.edu/research-extension/plant-health/grape-diseases/. The 2014 Grape Pest Management Guide is available at https://pubs.wsu.edu. | <urn:uuid:cdef1d35-6e1f-4a26-9d50-4f3852ffb2cb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.goodfruit.com/mildew-wanted-in-this-vineyard/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00148-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938679 | 940 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Domestic violence is a pattern of physical, emotional, verbal, and/or sexual abusive behaviors that adults or adolescents use against their partners. Domestic violence occurs in intimate relationships where the perpetrator and the victim are currently or previously have been dating, living together, married or divorced, or have children in common.
Domestic violence is a crime, and it should to be accorded the same prosecution efforts as any other violent offense. Communities and the justice system have a critical interest in reducing the prevalence of domestic violence, particularly because such violence tends to escalate in frequency and severity if unchecked.
In addition to holding criminals accountable for their conduct, there are other significant reasons that underscore the importance of a diligent response to domestic violence from members of the criminal justice system. Prosecution of offenders in domestic violence cases can protect the victim from additional acts of violence, reduce children’s exposure and possible injury, deter the abuser from committing further acts of violence, and reinforce a community’s refusal to tolerate domestic abuse.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
415 S Church St
|Franklin County Offices 400 E Locust, Union, MO. 63084 hours: M-F 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM| | <urn:uuid:0325e4c8-2da2-488d-8b3c-bb852f06e272> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.franklinmo.org/Prosecuting_Attorney/Domestic_Violence/Domestic_Violence.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00043-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917722 | 254 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The Name Game
With a group of children have them sit in a circle and have them take turns clapping out the rhythm for a name, especially their own, while saying the name. The other children should repeat the name while clapping the rhythm. For example Mi-chael would be Clap clap or Ma-lin-da would be Clap clap clap. An excellent introduction to the concept of syllables. | <urn:uuid:749c03cb-5bb9-43b1-8c6a-193269d7fcf5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.savvysource.com/activities/activity_b821_the-name-game | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00180-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.890299 | 88 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Virginia Earthquake Could Affect Some Water Wells
Rare East Coast earthquake might have caused changes in local groundwater
What happens above the Earth’s surface was dramatically apparent this week in places from Mineral, Va., to Washington, D.C., but what’s not so obvious are impacts beneath the surface to groundwater, said the National Ground Water Assn. (NGWA).
While it’s too early to assess in Virginia and surrounding areas, earthquakes commonly cause fluctuations in groundwater levels and damage to water wells systems, said NGWA Public Awareness Director Cliff Treyens.
“Since aquifers are water-bearing subsurface formations, it makes sense that water levels and wells would be affected,” Treyens said. “One well driller after a California quake cited a well that produced 60 gallons per minute prior to a moderate earthquake slowing down to ‘practically nothing’ after.”
Sometimes the reason for such impacts is obvious. In bedrock formations, the well will be drilled until it hits a fracture or crevice that holds water. A moderate earthquake could easily alter that configuration, Treyens said.
Aquifers consisting of unconsolidated materials can compact, or become unstructured as a result of seismic energy moving though during the earthquake, in a process called “liquefaction.” This results in a loss of storage for groundwater and subsidence on the ground’s surface.
While surface structures are often designed to resist earthquakes, the same cannot be said of water well construction, and as a result wells are often destroyed. Earthquakes also can affect groundwater quality, sometimes causing turbid well water.
In addition, water wells can actually function as seismometers. In a sense, water wells can reflect the Earth tide, which is a separate—but related—phenomenon from the ocean tides. The Earth is “pulled” by the moon much in the same way the ocean is. This “surface tide” can cause the water in a well to go up and down in the hole, referred to as oscillation. This can occur in the aftermath of an earthquake. A water well in Christianburg, Va., has become renown, picking up 200 large earthquakes around the world since real-time monitoring began in 2004. | <urn:uuid:c0205ba6-389a-42d3-9624-a718c58a7b9b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wqpmag.com/virginia-earthquake-could-affect-some-water-wells | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951817 | 472 | 3.390625 | 3 |
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