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Have a fire safe Halloween | State Fire Marshal
October 29, 2012 · 3:16 PM
To make the most of your Halloween this season, there are several ways to help you and your family stay fire safe. “Taking simple fire safety precautions, like making sure fabrics for costumes and decorative materials are flame-resistant, can prevent fires,” says State Fire Marshal Charles Duffy.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal recommends practicing these safety habits for a safe and happy Halloween:
- Purchase only costumes, wigs and props labeled flame-resistant or flame-retardant. When creating a costume, choose material that will not easily ignite if it comes into contact with heat or flame.
- Provide children with lightweight flashlights or glow sticks to carry for lighting or as part of their costume.
- Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decorations well away from all open flames and heat sources.
- Use flashlights or battery-operated candles as alternatives to candles or torch lights when decorating. Use extreme caution when decorating with candlelit Jack-o-lanterns, and supervise children at all times when candles are lit.
- Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, ensuring nothing blocks escape routes.
- Instruct children to stay away from open flames or other heat sources. Be sure children know to Stop, Drop and Roll in the event their clothing catches fire. | <urn:uuid:24952496-5f8d-489a-b550-56896b703b3c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.centralkitsapreporter.com/news/176328881.html?mobile=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.87529 | 297 | 2.75 | 3 |
The world's leading health officials are frantically studying a new mystery virus called MERS in an effort to avoid a serious outbreak. It's a disease that's killed half of all the people diagnosed with it, and experts say it's only a matter of time before it arrives in the United States.
Its victims all have one thing in common: they've either traveled to the Middle East or have come in very close contact with someone who did.
"We really need as fast as possible to learn how to control this virus. We have to try to run faster than the virus does," Gregory Hartl, spokesperson for World Health Organization, said.
Forty-nine cases of the new disease have been reported since June. Twenty-seven of those cases have died. That's a 52 percent mortality rate.
The first cases were reported in Saudi Arabia, but already people in at least seven countries have become infected.
Health experts compare the virus to SARS, the deadly respiratory virus that took off nearly 10 years ago.
It first spread between 12 hotel guests and then across the entire globe after those guests got on airplanes. Within nine months there were more than 8,000 cases and more than 700 deaths.
Researchers say they are clueless, but warn MERS is as deadly, if not more so than SARS. For now, they know that the symptoms of MERS include fever, chills, and muscle aches, followed by breathing problems. But its still unclear what the host animal of the virus is, and how it spread to humans. | <urn:uuid:ad9c6ac9-6ef6-4ad3-aa40-c4e5af4eb1cb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2013/June/Experts-Fear-New-Killer-MERS-Virus-Heading-for-US/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98065 | 315 | 3.203125 | 3 |
The A to Z of Ancient Mesoamerica covers some of the major discoveries throughout ancient Mesoamerica from the last 100 years. The results of previous and continuing research and explorations, plus recent interpretations of ancient cultures and new work at archaeological sites in Mesoamerica are summarized here. Included in this volume are information and insights on archaeological sites, material culture, social and economic organization, religion and belief systems, and the social history of ancient Mesoamerica. The entries contain geographical, chronological, historical, and interpretive data that serve as a condensed and accessible resource of reference material.
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Rent The A to Z of Ancient Mesoamerica 1st edition today, or search our site for other textbooks by Joel W. Palka. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Scarecrow Press, Incorporated.
Need help ASAP? We have you covered with 24/7 instant online tutoring. Connect with one of our tutors now. | <urn:uuid:80219858-4991-4087-b6de-1803f081b53f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chegg.com/textbooks/the-a-to-z-of-ancient-mesoamerica-1st-edition-9780810875661-0810875667 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00132-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901376 | 208 | 3.125 | 3 |
January 7, 2015 - Even with modern genomewide analysis techniques, it has proven difficult to identify genetic factors affecting risk for depression, according to a topical review in the January issue of Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.
"Given the established heritability of depression, there is every reason to expect that with larger studies we will be able to identify genetic loci," said Erin C. Dunn, ScD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues. "Identifying ways to generate these larger samples is one of the many challenges before us."
So Far, Limited Success in Identifying Genetic Factors in Depression
Dunn and coauthors review recent findings and future directions in research on the genetics of depression. Depression is one of the most common, disabling, and costly mental health conditions. Understanding its causes--including genetic and environmental factors and the interactions between them--has important implications for prevention and treatment.
Depression is known to run in families. Based on studies of twins, it's estimated that genetic factors account for about 40 percent of the variation in population risk of depression.
In recent years, techniques such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have accelerated efforts to identify the genetic factors underlying a wide range of diseases. But so far, GWAS of depression have found no associations. The limited success of GWAS in identifying depression-associated genetic variants is in contrast to the results for other psychiatric disorders. For example, studies have identified more than 100 genetic variants for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
What's more, genetic factors previously suggested as contributors to depression risk--such as genes affecting dopamine or serotonin neurotransmission--haven't been confirmed.
Possible Gene-Environment Effects?
Another issue is that GWAS have not as of yet accounted for the role of environment. Studies of gene-by-environment (GxE) look at how genes may modify the effect of environmental factors on depression risk (or vice versa).
A 2003 study suggested an interaction between a gene variant affecting serotonin and stressful life events--for example, childhood maltreatment. Thus far, studies have yielded conflicting results for GxE--while some studies supported this GxE effect, others showed no associations with the serotonin variant. However, other GxE studies have suggested more consistent associations for other genes, including genes involved in regulating the stress response.
Dunn thinks the combination of GWAS and GxE may help yield new insights. "Large-scale GxE studies may lead to new discoveries about the genetic basis of depression," she said.
The researchers discuss the reasons for the lack of success of GWAS and GxE studies, and the many challenges that lie ahead. Because of the complex genetic architecture of depression, very large studies will be needed to detect the individually small contributions of multiple genes. Approaches to account for the multiple types of depression will be needed as well.
Meanwhile, Dunn and colleagues believe that research on the genetics of depression is at "at an exciting, yet challenging crossroad." Dunn added, "Although the search to identify genes associated with depression has proven challenging, many scientists worldwide are working hard to identify its genetic underpinnings. With this knowledge, we can ultimately help prevent the onset of the disorder and improve the lives of those who already suffer."
About the Harvard Review of Psychiatry
The Harvard Review of Psychiatry is the authoritative source for scholarly reviews and perspectives on a diverse range of important topics in psychiatry. Founded by the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, the journal is peer-reviewed and not industry sponsored. It is the property of Harvard University and is affiliated with all of the Departments of Psychiatry at the Harvard teaching hospitals. Articles encompass all major issues in contemporary psychiatry, including (but not limited to) neuroscience, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, history of psychiatry, and ethics.
About Wolters Kluwer Health
Wolters Kluwer Health is a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Serving more than 150 countries worldwide, clinicians rely on Wolters Kluwer Health's market leading information-enabled tools and software solutions throughout their professional careers from training to research to practice. Major brands include Health Language®, Lexicomp®, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Medicom®, Medknow, Ovid®, Pharmacy OneSource®, ProVation® Medical and UpToDate®.
Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company. Wolters Kluwer had 2013 annual revenues of €3.6 billion ($4.7 billion), employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).
Follow our official Twitter handle: @WKHealth. | <urn:uuid:8f78d835-4c47-4ed2-825e-88f193385998> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/wkh-gid010715.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927202 | 1,107 | 2.75 | 3 |
AlcoholAlcohol is a drug, that when consumed slows the function of the central nervous system. The primary areas of the brain affected by the consumption of alcohol are those that control judgment, coordination and memory. Although alcohol is socially accepted, it is imperative for alcohol to be consumed responsibly. Please click on the following video to learn more about a standard drink.
Is there such a thing as Responsible Drinking? Learn the warning signs of problem drinking, symptoms of alcohol poisoning and the differences in effects of alcohol on males and females.Responsible Drinking Presentation
For more information, please visit http://www.higheredcenter.org/high-risk/alcohol | <urn:uuid:8d7a45ac-e234-4928-ba1f-7c15fff8d0ad> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fullerton.edu/alcohol_drug_info/Aboutalcohol.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928117 | 135 | 3 | 3 |
What We Know
The attrition rate of new teachers has reached a crisis point in which 30–40% leave the profession within their first 5 years (Darling-Hammond, 2003; McCann & Johannessen, 2005; McCann, Johannessen, & Ricca, 2005; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004) Research suggests that the reasons for this are many, but significant among them is a lack of quality support for teachers as they begin their careers (Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). These so-called “induction years” present a variety of challenges for all new teachers as they are immersed in the complex world of curricular planning, teaching, assessment, and professional responsibilities—a world that they too often enter in isolation. Navigating the social and political corridors of schools only complicates the induction process for early career teachers.
CEE’s diverse membership (as university level ELA teacher educators, as administrators within school districts, and as teacher leaders within schools) allows us to bring specific understandings of the multiple ways we might be able to support English Language Arts teachers as they begin their careers. Our goal is not only to reduce that attrition rate, but also to move beyond that: to help teachers do more than just survive—to help them grow and thrive in this profession.
We realize that our attempt to help early career teachers become successful must be focused in a number of areas: (1) the multiple stages of teachers’ careers (from pre-service coursework through field work, student teaching, and into the first years on the job), (2) the multiple roles of English educators (as methods instructors, as student teaching supervisors, as facilitators of networks and support communities, as instructors of graduate level courses), and (3) the collaborations we are able to forge with numerous groups (from faculty in departments of English and colleges of education to district curriculum coordinators to principals and department heads to policy makers).
This document outlines what we see as the role of ELA teacher educators and CEE in helping pre-service teachers successfully make the transition toward becoming successful classroom teachers. We divide the document into three parts: The stances and resources ELA teachers need to succeed during the induction period, the role ELA teacher educators play in that transition, and the action steps CEE might take to support that role.
1. What stances and resources do ELA teachers need to succeed during the induction period?
Research demonstrates that early years teachers who are most successful bring certain stances to their professional lives (McCann, Johannessen, and Ricca, 2005, for example, identify 6 traits identified by successful teachers). One of our roles as ELA teacher educators is to help new teachers discover these stances in themselves, understand the importance of these stances to their teaching, and find ways to seek out the resources that will help them continually develop these stances in their pre-service and early career years.
- An openness toward constructive collaboration with other teachers: In contrast to the age-old myth of teachers shutting their doors and doing whatever they want, research suggests that early career teachers are most successful when they join a constructive community that provides them with opportunities to share experiences, think, learn, consider questions, reflect, and support each other. Such communities might be local ones located within their own department, school, or district (such as book clubs, inquiry or teacher research groups) or they might be extended ones, as teachers link with a larger professional community (such as NCTE & local affiliates or NWP) (Bush, 2005; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999, 2003; Robb, 2000). Often these communities arise naturally from like-minded colleagues collaborating around a particular issue of concern; sometimes they are more formal creations of a school district or other entity. While traditionally these communities meet face to face, increasingly teacher support networks are virtual communities, conducted over email, blogs, and websites—and sometimes they are both (Swenson, 2003).
- An ability to face challenges and find the support to navigate critical junctures: Research suggests that teachers who are successful find ways to work through the critical junctures that all teachers face: recovering from mistakes, contending with fatigue, managing developing relationships with students, learning to communicate and work effectively with supervisors and colleagues, and developing positive working relationships with parents and other community members (McCann & Johannessen, 2005; McCann, Johannessen, & Ricca, 2005; Smith & Ingersoll, 2004).
- An ability to negotiate tensions and balance binaries: Teachers face a number of very real tensions; those who are most successful accept those tensions as a part of the profession, find ways to negotiate the tensions, and find a balance: between their personal and professional lives, between accountability and effective pedagogical practices, between idealism and realism, and among multiple pedagogies (Hillocks, 1999).
- Development of their Teacher Identity/Persona: Again, research suggests that those teachers who develop a sense of self-as-teacher or efficacy (Alsup, Morrison-Sadder) are more likely to succeed. Often teachers achieve this stance through recognizing their own classrooms as vital sources of information and appropriate sites for research and by becoming reflective teachers through action research.
2. How can ELA teacher educators best support early career teachers?
We see the role of the ELA teacher educator as an ongoing interaction with teachers—from their initial methods classes through their practica and student teaching experiences into their early career years and beyond. The roles that teacher educators play in this ongoing endeavor vary depending on the multiple contexts and situations through which the early career teachers move. Across all of these settings, though, ELA teacher educators:
- Help early career teachers develop stances as knowledgeable practitioners who inquire into, collaborate on, and reflect on teaching and learning (Fecho, Price, & Read, 2004);
- Help early career teachers know how to find and select, develop, and use the resources and partnerships they need to succeed ((DiPardo et al., 2006; McCann & Johannessen, 2005; McCann et al., 2005);
- Work with other stakeholders in the induction endeavor (Darling-Hammond, 2003), i.e., student teaching supervisors, cooperating teachers, school administrators, and district curriculum coordinators.
In order to achieve these goals, ELA teacher educators help early career teachers at various points along their journey:
- We begin this work in pre-service courses like the methods class: For example, ELA teacher educators often invite pre-service teachers to join professional communities (e.g., NCTE, IRA, state affiliates, CoLEARN) and receive their publications; attend professional conferences (local, state, and national); and participate in collaborative reflection, inquiry, and research. Sometimes these invitations become part of the course requirements.
- We continue this work by offering ongoing support for pre-service teachers in their field experiences and student teaching: For example, ELA teacher educators often engage and maintain support communities for student teachers via email, online and other networks, and professional organizations. Others invite student teachers to present at conferences, organize local conferences for student teachers, or create blogs and websites.
- We collaborate with other stakeholders as those parties work with early career teachers: For example, many ELA teacher educators partner with schools to offer specific professional development for teachers, offer district-wide teacher research groups or book clubs, get involved in mentoring situations, and work with ELA teachers on research projects.
- We offer graduate level courses for early career teachers as they work toward master’s degrees and continuing certifications: ELA teacher educators work especially toward offering courses specific to the needs of these teachers in time frames and alternative formats that confirm with the complicated schedules of teachers’ lives.
- We offer graduate level courses for experienced teachers who want to work as mentors with early career teachers: For example, many universities offer both specific courses and experiences to support teachers in their transition to become teacher leaders. Such leaders learn to work specifically with early career teachers.
3. What is the role of CEE to support ELA teacher educators in this endeavor?
CEE has a vital role to play in coordinating the efforts of ELA teacher educators across the country to support early career ELA teachers. In order to provide advice and advocacy for ELA teacher education, however, we must work on many fronts to develop both a professional stance in the academic community and become more visible to those institutions who set educational agendas and policy (at the local, state, and national level). In order to achieve those goals, we suggest the following action steps:
- Become a resource center for ELA teacher educators: Through CEE’s website, we could create an electronic clearinghouse that focuses on opportunities and links for ELA teacher educators who work with early career teachers: providing resources and links to successful mentoring programs, collaborative networks, research, and grant possibilities. We believe this could be linked successfully to a larger NCTE website that provides pertinent research and classroom-based articles for early career ELA teachers (including a bank of ELA syllabi for various courses; listservs for early career teachers; an on-line mentoring program; and links to grants and to national networks for support).
- Create a CEE award that recognizes quality programs/research/initiatives to promote successful teacher induction: One way to provide more visibility to vibrant and meaningful induction programs is to honor and publicize these initiatives. An award would go a long way toward valuing the work ELA teacher educators do in teacher induction.
- Create a CEE Commission on Induction/Retention: Such a commission would work with the CEE Executive Committee toward accomplishing these goals, specifically establishing and administering an award and creating an electronic resource center.
Alsup, J. (2006). Teacher identity discourses: Negotiating personal and
professional spaces. NCTE-LEA Research Series. Mahwah, NJ: NCTE and LEA.
Bush, J. (2005). Keeping new English teachers “young”: Toward best practice in new teacher development. English Journal 95 (2), 105–108.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Research in Education, 24, 249–305.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (2003). Teacher learning communities. In J. Guthrie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Education (pp. 2461–2469). New York: Macmillan.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers: Why it matters, what leaders can do. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 6–13.
DiPardo, A., Whitney, A., Fleischer, C., Johnson, T. S., Mayher, J., McCracken, N., et al. (2006). Understanding the relationship between research and teaching. English Education, 38(4), 295–311.
Fecho, B., Price, K., & Read, C. (2004). From Tununak to Beaufort: Taking a critical inquiry stance as a first year teacher. English Education, 36(4), 263–288.
McCann, T. M., & Johannessen, L. R. (2005). The role and responsibility of the experienced teacher. English Journal, 95 (2), 52–57.
McCann, T. M., Johannessen, L. R., & Ricca, B. (2005). Responding to new teachers' concerns. Educational Leadership, 62 (8), 30–34.
McCann, T. M., Johannessen, L. R., & Ricca, B. (2005). Supporting beginning English teachers: Research and implications for teacher induction. Urbana: NCTE.
Morrison-Sadder, M. (2007). Building teacher efficacy in literacy instruction:
What reading specialists and literacy coaches need to know. Powerpoint.
Robb, L. (2000). Redefining staff development: A collaborative model for teachers and administrators. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Smith, T. M., & Ingersoll, R. M. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 681–714.
Swenson, J. Transformative teacher networks, on-line professional development, and the Write for your Life project. English Education, 35 (4), 262–321.
This document was created in part as a result of the 2007 Conference on English Education Leadership and Policy Summit, Don Zancanella, CEE Chair, and Dawn Abt-Perkins, CEE Leadership and Policy Summit Chair.
Participants and authors in the “What should English education consist of during the first years of teachers’ careers?” thematic strand group of the CEE Summit included:
Co-Conveners: Cathy Fleischer and Jill Van Antwerp
Tammy Cook, University of Alabama
Tara Star Johnson, Purdue University
Thomas McCann, Elmhurst College
Connie Mietlicki, Governors State University
Paula Ressler, Illinois State University
Kia Jane Richmond, Northern Michigan University
Sue Steffel, Central Michigan University
Michelle Zoss, University of Georgia
Leah Zuidema, Dordt College
¥ Did not attend the CEE Summit but participated in online discussions.
If you wish to respond to this CEE belief statement, please comment below or email firstname.lastname@example.org and specify which statement you are commenting on in the Subject of your email. | <urn:uuid:5c07d0d4-dd73-43ed-b868-eaa4156dbe5a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ncte.org/cee/2007summit/firstyears | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939945 | 2,848 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Plantations and Finding AidsHamakua Sugar Co. (Hawaii)
History Scope and Contents
Register of the
In 1877, Mr. Theophilus H. Davies demonstrated his entrepreneurial foresight and his faith in the potential growth of sugar in the Hamakua District by establishing a partnership with Mr. Charles Notley, Sr., to promote sugar production. During the following year, Mr. Notley began planting cane and Mr. Thomas Hughes from the Honolulu Iron Works, commenced building a mill for Mr. Davies.
The Hamakua Mill Company (HMC) concerned itself with milling operations in the area and was incorporated in 1883 with Mr. Hughes as its manager. The factory's first season was in 1885. Mr. Notley was the manager for the Hamakua Plantation Company whose main objectives were the growing and cultivating of sugarcane. The Theo. H. Davies Company was agent for both sugar interests.
The Hamakua Mill Company was located at Paauilo on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. The plantation encompassed six miles and was three miles across at its widest point. One side of the Company bordered the ocean with a windbreak of ironwood trees and sea cliffs. The other side rose to an elevation of 2000 feet.
The date of consolidation between Hamakua Mill and the Hamakua Plantation Companies could not be discerned from the records and other sources indicate conflicting dates. However, according to cashbooks LSCv. 108 & 109, it appears that these companies may have merged in September 1899.
By 1910, 4800 acres were planted in cane and nine miles of railroad track and three locomotives with numerous cane cars were used for transporting sugarcane. A warehouse at the boat landing was located on an overhanging cliff which allowed ships to anchor close enough to load sugar bags b crane. Contrasting with a labor population of twenty-nine in 1890, over six hundred people were employed by HMC in 1910. At this time, there was also a company store, a school and several churches in Pauuilo.
By the 1920s, twenty-one contracting gangs supplied the cultivation necessary for growing the cane and HMC employed close to 1200 people. The water supply for both domestic and mill purposes came from either water storage tanks or springs. As typical for plantations on the Hamakua Coast, no irrigation was necessary.
When sugarcane was harvested from the fields, it was taken down to the cane cars or railroad by wagon or wire rope slings. Some fields at higher elevation were so difficult to harvest, that a cable and steam hoist system was used to bring the cane down to the railroad. By the 1930s, all cane was delivered to the mill by railway, which consisted of fourteen and a half miles of track and over thirty railroad bridges crossing numerous gulches. Varieties of cane included D-1135, yellow tip and striped tip cane.
Mr. Anthony Lidgate managed the Hamakua Mill Company for the longest period of time, form 1888 (1886?) to 1921. The following men were managers during the time span encompassed by the Archives HMC collection; Robert M. Lindsay, 1921-1933, and William F. Robertson, 1933-1956.
Kukaiau Plantation became part of the Hamakua Mill Company in 1914. Since its inception, the agent for the Kukaiau Plantation Company was H. Hackfeld and from 1884 to 1912, Messrs. J.M. Horner and Albert Horner were the plantation managers.
Under the direction of Mr. Davies, the Kukaiau Mill was built and first managed by Mr. George F. Renton, 1888-1899. The Kukaiau Mill and the Kukaiau Plantation appear to have merged in 1914. Subsequent managers for the Mill were; E. Madden, 1900-1911, and J. McLennan, 1912-1918. The Kukaiau Mill ground its last crop in 1917 at which time the mill and the boiling house were sold to the Japanese for use in Formosa.
By 1972, cane from HMC was being ground at Laupahoehoe and in 1974, the Hamakua Mill Company became part of the Laupahoehoe Sugar Company.
BACKGROUND, UNPROCESSED RECORDS
During October 1987, all Hamakua Sugar Company records, approximately 445 cubic feet, were removed from storage, fumigated and brought into the Archives. The Hamakua Mill Company records, 23 boxes and 21 volumes, were segregated for procession in March 1988, and were ready for use in April, 1988.
PROCESSED RECORDS, NOTES
Hamakua Mill Company records are organized into the following series
or major categories:
Other Company Records
Personnel and Payroll
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Hamakua Mill Company Collection
Hamakua Mill Co.
University of Hawaii at Manoa Library
Copyright © University of Hawaii at Manoa Library | <urn:uuid:c93fb1b0-5fdb-46b3-bdf4-9ef63cc9df3a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www2.hawaii.edu/~speccoll/p_hamakua.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00198-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966298 | 1,052 | 2.828125 | 3 |
This course explores the painting, sculpture, architecture, and other media (textiles, prints, and even armor) from the historical eras conventionally known as the Early and High Renaissance, Mannerism, and Counter Reformation. We consider the work of such artists as Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto, and Mantegna as well as the careers, personalities and reception of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian. With emphasis placed upon artists cultivation of particular styles, we look closely at works originating from various contexts: political (city-states, princely courts, and the Papal States); spatial / topographic (inner chambers of private palaces, family chapels, church facades, and public squares); and geographic (Florence, Siena, Rome, Naples, Venice, and Milan). Topics include artistic creativity and license, religious devotion, the revival of antiquity, observation of nature, art as problem-solving, the public reception and function of artworks, debates about style, artistic rivalry, and traveling artists. Rather than taking the form of a survey, this course selects works as paradigmatic case studies, and analyze contemporary attitudes toward art of this period through study of primary sources. | <urn:uuid:ac4baa09-d0de-4979-800e-fa42a104530f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.sas.upenn.edu/arthistory/pc/course/2013C/ARTH650 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00077-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929292 | 251 | 3.59375 | 4 |
A group of Dutch researchers have found that the green house gases produced by insect livestock are far less than cattle, prompting them to suggest insects replace sources of meat for human consumption.
"Other sources of animal protein, like edible insects, are currently being considered," the team wrote in the study. "Insects could serve as a more environmentally friendly alternative for the production of animal protein with respect to [green house gas] and [ammonia] emissions."
They examined the emissions resulting from raising insects that are suitable for human consumption, including crickets, mealworms, locusts, sun beetles and cockroaches.
They compared the emissions released by the animals per kilogram of body mass produced and found that some species of insect produce only half the green house gases and other emissions per kilogram than cattle or swine.
Further study, they argue, could help produce "conclusive evaluation of the sustainability of insects as a protein-rich food source."
The team's research was conducted at Wageningen University and published in the open-source journal PLoS ONE. | <urn:uuid:be0d732f-7747-4b43-8863-327e7887a374> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.torontosun.com/news/weird/2011/01/10/16825996.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965979 | 219 | 3.5 | 4 |
(Redirected from Tucker, Benjamin)
- 1 Quotes
- 1.1 Liberty's Declaration of Purpose (1881)
- 1.2 State Socialism and Anarchism: How Far They Agree, and Wherin They Differ (1888)
- 1.3 The Relation of the State to the Invididual (1890)
- 1.4 Individual Liberty (1926)
- 2 Quotes about Tucker
- 3 External links
- Education is a slow process, and may not come too quickly. Anarchists who endeavor to hasten it by joining in the propaganda of State Socialism or revolution make a sad mistake indeed. They help to so force the march of events that the people will not have time to find out, by the study of their experience, that their troubles have been due to the rejection of competition. If this lesson shall not be learned in a season, the past will be repeated in the future, in which case we shall have to turn for consolation to the doctrine of Nietzsche that this is bound to happen anyhow, or to the reflection of Renan that, from the point of view of Sirius, all these matters are of little moment.
- Editorial postscript to and edition of State Socialism and Anarchism : How Far They Agree, and Wherin They Differ (11 August 1926)
Liberty's Declaration of Purpose (1881)
- Liberty Vol. 1, No. 1 (6 August 1881)
- LIBERTY enters the field of journalism to speak for herself because she finds no one willing to speak for her. She hears no voice that always champions her; she knows no pen that always writes in her defence; she sees no hand that is always lifted to avenge her wrongs or vindicate her rights. Many claim to speak in her name, but few really understand her. Still fewer have the courage and the opportunity to consistently fight for her. Her battle, then, is her own, to wage and win. She — accepts it fearlessly and with a determined spirit.
Her foe, Authority, takes many shapes, but, broadly speaking, her enemies divide themselves into three classes: first, those who abhor her both as a means and as an end of progress, opposing her openly, avowedly, sincerely, consistently, universally; second, those who profess to believe in her as a means of progress, but who accept her only so far as they think she will subserve their own selfish interests, denying her and her blessings to the rest of the world; third, those who distrust her as a means of progress, believing in her only as an end to be obtained by first trampling upon, violating, and outraging her. These three phases of opposition to Liberty are met in almost every sphere of thought and human activity.
- Monopoly and privilege must be destroyed, opportunity afforded, and competition encouraged. This is Liberty's work, and "Down with Authority" her war-cry.
State Socialism and Anarchism: How Far They Agree, and Wherin They Differ (1888)
- Online text. Originally published in Liberty 5.16, no. 120 (10 March 1888), pp. 2-3, 6.
- Probably no agitation has ever attained the magnitude, either in the number of its recruits or the area of its influence, which has been attained by Modern Socialism, and at the same time been so little understood and so misunderstood, not only by the hostile and the indifferent, but by the friendly, and even by the great mass of its adherents themselves. This unfortunate and highly dangerous state of things is due partly to the fact that the human relationships which this movement — if anything so chaotic can be called a movement — aims to transform, involve no special class or classes, but literally all mankind; partly to the fact that these relationships are infinitely more varied and complex in their nature than those with which any special reform has ever been called upon to deal; and partly to the fact that the great moulding forces of society, the channels of information and enlightenment, are well-nigh exclusively under the control of those whose immediate pecuniary interests are antagonistic to the bottom claim of Socialism that labor should be put in possession of its own.
- ¶ 1
- Almost the only persons who may be said to comprehend even approximately the significance, principles, and purposes of Socialism are the chief leaders of the extreme wings of the Socialistic forces, and perhaps a few of the money kings themselves. It is a subject of which it has lately become quite the fashion for preacher, professor, and penny-a-liner to treat, and, for the most part, woeful work they have made with it, exciting the derision and pity of those competent to judge. That those prominent in the intermediate Socialistic divisions do not fully understand what they are about is evident from the positions they occupy.
- ¶ 2
- The two principles referred to are Authority and Liberty, and the names of the two schools of Socialistic thought which fully and unreservedly represent one or the other of them are, respectively, State Socialism and Anarchism. Whoso knows what these two schools want and how they propose to get it understands the Socialistic movement. For, just as it has been said that there is no half-way house between Rome and Reason, so it may be said that there is no half-way house between State Socialism and Anarchism.
- ¶ 4
- The economic principles of Modern Socialism are a logical deduction from the principle laid down by Adam Smith in the early chapters of his “Wealth of Nations,” — namely, that labor is the true measure of price. But Adam Smith, after stating this principle most clearly and concisely, immediately abandoned all further consideration of it to devote himself to showing what actually does measure price, and how, therefore, wealth is at present distributed. Since his day nearly all the political economists have followed his example by confining their function to the description of society as it is, in its industrial and commercial phases. Socialism, on the contrary, extends its function to the description of society as it should be, and the discovery of the means of making it what it should be.
- ¶ 6
- It was at this point — the necessity of striking down monopoly — that came the parting of their ways. Here the road forked. They found that they must turn either to the right or to the left, — follow either the path of Authority or the path of Liberty. Marx went one way; Warren and Proudhon the other. Thus were born State Socialism and Anarchism.
- ¶ 10
- First, then, State Socialism, which may be described as the doctrine that all the affairs of men should be managed by the government, regardless of individual choice. Marx, its founder, concluded that the only way to abolish the class monopolies was to centralize and consolidate all industrial and commercial interests, all productive and distributive agencies, in one vast monopoly in the hands of the State. The government must become banker, manufacturer, farmer, carrier, and merchant, and in these capacities must suffer no competition. Land, tools, and all instruments of production must be wrested from individual hands, and made the property of the collectivity. To the individual can belong only the products to be consumed, not the means of producing them. A man may own his clothes and his food, but not the sewing-machine which makes his shirts or the spade which digs his potatoes. Product and capital are essentially different things; the former belongs to individuals, the latter to society. Society must seize the capital which belongs to it, by the ballot if it can, by revolution if it must. Once in possession of it, it must administer it on the majority principle, though its organ, the State, utilize it in production and distribution, fix all prices by the amount of labor involved, and employ the whole people in its workshops, farms, stores, etc. The nation must be transformed into a vast bureaucracy, and every individual into a State official. Everything must be done on the cost principle, the people having no motive to make a profit out of themselves. Individuals not being allowed to own capital, no one can employ another, or even himself. Every man will be a wage-receiver, and the State the only wage-payer. He who will not work for the State must starve, or, more likely, go to prison. All freedom of trade must disappear. Competition must be utterly wiped out. All industrial and commercial activity must be centered in one vast, enormous, all-inclusive monopoly. The remedy for monopolies is monopoly.
Such is the economic programme of State Socialism as adopted from Karl Marx.
- ¶ 11 & 12
- What other applications this principle of Authority, once adopted in the economic sphere, will develop is very evident. It means the absolute control by the majority of all individual conduct. The right of such control is already admitted by the State Socialists, though they maintain that, as a matter of fact, the individual would be allowed a much larger liberty than he now enjoys. But he would only be allowed it; he could not claim it as his own. There would be no foundation of society upon a guaranteed equality of the largest possible liberty. Such liberty as might exist would exist by sufferance and could be taken away at any moment. Constitutional guarantees would be of no avail. There would be but one article in the constitution of a State Socialistic country: “The right of the majority is absolute.”
- ¶ 13
- The claim of the State Socialists, however, that this right would not be exercised in matters pertaining to the individual in the more intimate and private relations of his life is not borne out by the history of governments. It has ever been the tendency of power to add to itself, to enlarge its sphere, to encroach beyond the limits set for it; and where the habit of resisting such encroachment is not fostered, and the individual is not taught to be jealous of his rights, individuality gradually disappears and the government or State becomes the all-in-all. Control naturally accompanies responsibility. Under the system of State Socialism, therefore, which holds the community responsible for the health, wealth, and wisdom of the individual, it is evident that the community, through its majority expression, will insist more and more in prescribing the conditions of health, wealth, and wisdom, thus impairing and finally destroying individual independence and with it all sense of individual responsibility.
- ¶ 14
- This brings us to Anarchism, which may be described as the doctrine that all the affairs of men should be managed by individuals or voluntary associations, and that the State should be abolished.
- ¶ 17
- Laissez Faire was very good sauce for the goose, labor, but was very poor sauce for the gander, capital.
- ¶ 19
- Marx, as we have seen, solved it by declaring capital to be a different thing from product, and maintaining that it belonged to society and should be seized by society and employed for the benefit of all alike.
- ¶ 20
- If the individual has a right to govern himself, all external government is tyranny. Hence the necessity of abolishing the State.
- ¶ 28
- In the matter of the maintenance and rearing of children the Anarchists would neither institute the communistic nursery which the State Socialists favor nor keep the communistic school system which now prevails. The nurse and the teacher, like the doctor and the preacher, must be selected voluntarily, and their services must be paid for by those who patronize them. Parental rights must not be taken away, and parental responsibilities must not be foisted upon others.
- ¶ 31
- I will simply call attention to the fact that it is an ideal utterly inconsistent with that of those Communists who falsely call themselves Anarchists while at the same time advocating a regime of Archism fully as despotic as that of the State Socialists themselves.
- ¶ 34
The Relation of the State to the Invididual (1890)
- Anarchism, in dealing with this subject, has found it necessary, first of all, to define its terms. Popular conceptions of the terminology of politics are incompatible with the rigorous exactness required in scientific investigation. To be sure, a departure from the popular use of language is accompanied by the risk of misconception by the multitude, who persistently ignore the new definitions; but, on the other hand, conformity thereto is attended by the still more deplorable alternative of confusion in the eyes of the competent, who would be justified in attributing inexactness of thought where there is inexactness of expression. Take the term "State," for instance, with which we are especially concerned today. It is a word that is on every lip. But how many of those who use it have any idea of what they mean by it? And, of the few who have, how various are their conceptions! We designate by the term "State" institutions that embody absolutism in its extreme form and institutions that temper it with more or less liberality. We apply the word alike to institutions that do nothing but aggress and to institutions that, besides aggressing, to some extent protect and defend. But which is the State's essential function, aggression or defence, few seem to know or care. Some champions of the State evidently consider aggression its principle, although they disguise it alike from themselves and from the people under the term "administration," which they wish to extend in every possible direction. Others, on the contrary, consider defence its principle, and wish to limit it accordingly to the performance of police duties. Still others seem to think that it exists for both aggression and defence, combined in varying proportions according to the momentary interests, or maybe only whims, of those happening to control it.
- Anarchists, whose mission in the world is the abolition of aggression and all the evils that result therefrom, perceived that, to be understood, they must attach some definite and avowed significance to the terms which they are obliged to employ, and especially to the words "State" and "government." Seeking, then, the elements common to all the institutions to which the name "State" has been applied, they have found them two in number: first, aggression; second, the assumption of sole authority over a given area and all within it, exercised generally for the double purpose of more complete oppression of its subjects and extension of its boundaries.
- Aggression is simply another name for government. Aggression, invasion, government, are interconvertible terms. The essence of government is control, or the attempt to control. He who attempts to control another is a governor, an aggressor, an invader; and the nature of such invasion is not changed, whether it is made by one man upon another man, after the manner of the ordinary criminal, or by one man upon all other men, after the manner of an absolute monarch, or by all other men upon one man, after the manner of a modern democracy.
- This distinction between invasion and resistance, between government and defence, is vital. Without it there can be no valid philosophy of politics. Upon this distinction and the other considerations just outlined, the Anarchists frame the desired definitions. This, then, is the Anarchistic definition of government: the subjection of the non-invasive individual to an external will. And this is the Anarchistic definition of the State: the embodiment of the principle of invasion in an individual, or a band of individuals, assuming to act as representatives or masters of the entire people within a given area.
- Defence was an afterthought, prompted by necessity; and its introduction as a State function, though effected doubtless with a view to the strengthening of the State, was really and in principle the initiation of the State's destruction. Its growth in importance is but an evidence of the tendency of progress toward the abolition of the State.
- Taking this view of the matter, the Anarchists contend that defence is not an essential of the State, but that aggression is.
- What relations should exist between the State and the Individual? The general method of determining these is to apply some theory of ethics involving a basis of moral obligation. In this method the Anarchists have no confidence. The idea of moral obligation, of inherent rights and duties, they totally discard. They look upon all obligations, not as moral, but as social, and even then not really as obligations except as these have been consciously and voluntarily assumed. If a man makes an agreement with men, the latter may combine to hold him to his agreement; but, in the absence of such agreement, no man, so far as the Anarchists are aware, has made any agreement with God or with any other power of any order whatsoever. The Anarchists are not only utilitarians, but egoists in the farthest and fullest sense. So far as inherent right is concerned, might is its only measure.
- The exercise of authority over the same area by two States is a contradiction.
- "But," it will be asked of the Anarchists at this point in the argument, "what shall be done with those individuals who undoubtedly will persist in violating the social law by invading their neighbors?" The Anarchists answer that the abolition of the State will leave in existence a defensive association, resting no longer on a compulsory but on a voluntary basis, which will restrain invaders by any means that may prove necessary.
- Why, the very first act of the State, the compulsory assessment and collection of taxes, is itself an aggression, a violation of equal liberty, and, as such, initiates every subsequent act, even those acts which would be purely defensive if paid out of a treasury filled by voluntary contributions. How is it possible to sanction, under the law of equal liberty, the confiscation of a man's earnings to pay for protection which he has not sought and does not desire? And, if this is an outrage, what name shall we give to such confiscation when the victim is given, instead of bread, a stone, instead of protection, oppression? To force a man to pay for the violation of his own liberty is indeed an addition of insult to injury. But that is exactly what the State is doing.
Individual Liberty (1926)
- Online text, Individual Liberty: Selections From the Writings of Benjamin R. Tucker Vanguard Press, New York, 1926
- Voluntary taxation, far from impairing the "State's" credit, would strengthen it. In the first place, the simplification of its functions would greatly reduce, and perhaps entirely abolish, its need to borrow, and the power to borrow is generally inversely proportional to the steadiness of the need. It is usually the inveterate borrower who lacks credit. In the second place, the power of the State to repudiate, and still continue its business, is dependent upon its power of compulsory taxation. It knows that, when it can no longer borrow, it can at least tax its citizens up to the limit of revolution. In the third place, the State is trusted, not because it is over and above individuals, but because the lender presumes that it desires to maintain its credit and will therefore pay its debts. This desire for credit will be stronger in a "State" supported by voluntary taxation than in the State which enforces taxation.
- The Anarchists never have claimed that liberty will bring perfection; they simply say that its results are vastly preferable to those that follow authority.
Anarchism and Crime
- Where crime exists, force must exist to repress it. Who denies it? Certainly not Liberty; certainly not the Anarchists. Anarchism is not a revival of non-resistance, though there may be non-resistants in its ranks. The direction of Mr. Ball's attack implies that we would let robbery, rape, and murder make havoc in the community without lifting a finger to stay their brutal, bloody work. On the contrary, we are the sternest enemies of invasion of person and property, and, although chiefly busy in destroying the causes thereof, have no scruples against such heroic treatment of its immediate manifestations as circumstances and wisdom may dictate. It is true that we look forward to the ultimate disappearance of the necessity of force even for the purpose of repressing crime, but this, though involved in it as a necessary result, is by no means a necessary condition of the abolition of the State.
- Can you not see that it is the State that creates the conditions which give birth to thieves and murderers, and that to justify its existence on the ground of the prevalence of theft and murder is a logical process every whit as absurd as those used to defeat your efforts to abolish slavery and the Church?
Once for all, then, we are not opposed to the punishment of thieves and murderers; we are opposed to their manufacture.
- As a general rule, the better people are, the more Anarchists and Socialists will be found among them.
- If the defenders of privilege desire to exclude from this country the opponents of privilege, they should see to it that Congress omits the taking of the eleventh census. For the eleventh census, if taken, will undoubtedly emphasize these two lessons of the tenth: first, that foreign immigration does not increase dishonesty and violence among us, but does increase the love of liberty; second, that the population of the world is gradually dividing into two classes, Anarchists and criminals.
Liberty and Politics
- The Anarchists believe in the family; they only insist that free competition and experiment shall always be allowed in order that it may be determined what form of family best secures this object.
- The Anarchists believe in civil society; only they insist that the freedom of civil society shall be complete instead of partial.
- The Anarchists believe in the State; only they insist that the greater part, if not all, of the necessity for its existence is the result of an artificial limitation of the freedom of civil society, and that the completion of industrial freedom may one day so harmonize individuals that it will no longer be necessary to provide a guarantee of political freedom.
- The Anarchists most certainly believe in the Church; only they insist that all its work shall be purely voluntary, and that its discoveries and achievements, however beneficial, shall not be imposed upon the individual by authority.
Anarchism and Capital Punishment
- I have also seen it stated that Capital punishment is murder in its worst form. I should like to know upon what principle of human society these assertions are based and justified.
- But this is not to say that the society which inflicts capital punishment commits murder. Murder is an offensive act. The term cannot be applied legitimately to any defensive act. And capital punishment, however ineffective it may be and through whatever ignorance it may be resorted to, is a strictly defensive act,—at least in theory.
- I insist that there is nothing sacred in the life of an invader, and there is no valid principle of human society that forbids the invaded to protect themselves in whatever way they can.
- It is not wise warfare to throw your ammunition to the enemy unless you throw it from the cannon's mouth. But if you can compel the enemy to waste his ammunition by drawing his fire on some thoroughly protected spot; if you can, by annoying and goading and harassing him in all possible ways, drive him to the last resort of stripping bare his tyrannous and invasive purposes and put him in the attitude of a designing villain assailing honest men for purposes of plunder; there is no better strategy.
- "Passive resistance," said Ferdinand Lassalle, with an obtuseness thoroughly German, "is the resistance which does not resist." Never was there a greater mistake. It is the only resistance which in these days of military discipline resists with any result. There is not a tyrant in the civilized world today who would not do anything in his power to precipitate a bloody revolution rather than see himself confronted by any large fraction of his subjects determined not to obey. An insurrection is easily quelled; but no army is willing or able to train its guns on inoffensive people who do not even gather in the streets but stay at home and stand back on their rights. Neither the ballot nor the bayonet is to play any great part in the coming struggle; passive resistance is the instrument by which the revolutionary force is destined to secure in the last great conflict the people's rights forever.
- The idea that Anarchy can be inaugurated by force is as fallacious as the idea that it can be sustained by force. Force cannot preserve Anarchy; neither can it bring it. In fact, one of the inevitable influences of the use of force is to postpone Anarchy. The only thing that force can ever do for us is to save us from extinction, to give us a longer lease of life in which to try to secure Anarchy by the only methods that can ever bring it. But this advantage is always purchased at immense cost, and its attainment is always attended by frightful risk. The attempt should be made only when the risk of any other course is greater.
- When a physician sees that his patient's strength is being exhausted so rapidly by the intensity of his agony that he will die of exhaustion before the medical processes inaugurated have a chance to do their curative work, he administers an opiate. But a good physician is always loath to do so, knowing that one of the influences of the opiate is to interfere with and defeat the medical processes themselves. He never does it except as a choice of evils. It is the same with the use of force, whether of the mob or of the State, upon diseased society; and not only those who prescribe its indiscriminate use as a sovereign remedy and a permanent tonic, but all who ever propose it as a cure, and even all who would lightly and unnecessarily resort to it, not as a cure, but as an expedient, are social quacks.
- Passive resistance and boycotting are now prominent features of every great national movement.
Quotes about Tucker
- Tucker opposed violent revolution and believed in the achievement of his goals by education: When all are rational egoists, none will submit to exploitation, and by passive resistance they will starve out the state and the monopolists.
- Robert Anton Wilson, in Everything Is Under Control : Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups (1998), p. 405
- Works by Benjamin Tucker at Project Gutenberg
- Individual Liberty collection of essays
- Tucker on Property, Communism and Socialism
- BlackCrayon.com: People: Benjamin Tucker
- Benjamin Tucker Anarchy Archives
- Benjamin Tucker, Liberty, and Individualist Anarchism by Wendy McElroy
- Benjamin Ricketson Tucker from "CLASSicalLiberalism" archive
- Benjamin Tucker and His Periodical, Liberty by Carl Watner
- Benjamin Tucker, Liberty and Taxation
- Memories of Benjamin Tucker by J. William Lloyd| (1935)
- An Interview With Oriole Tucker Tucker's daughter reveals biographical information, by Paul Avrich
- Benjamin R Tucker & the Champions of Liberty - A Centenary Anthology Edited by Michael E. Coughlin, Charles H. Hamilton and Mark A. Sullivan | <urn:uuid:c2a38f54-2369-40de-9636-64c0809b6c13> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tucker,_Benjamin | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00046-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964175 | 5,613 | 2.625 | 3 |
At the river end of the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization is a dome rising seven stories above the granite floor. Nineteen metres (62 feet) in diameter, the dome is adorned with the striking abstract painting Morning Star, the work of Dene Suline artist Alex Janvier. With the assistance of his son Dean, Janvier began painting in June 1993 and finished in September the same year. Morning Star covers 418 square metres (4,500 square feet).
Prior to the first brush stroke being applied to the dome, the ceiling surface had to be prepared. Taking a full month, preparation entailed washing the surface, applying a sealer and then coating it with gesso. Following this, progressive coats of sealer and white primer (9 coats in total) were applied until the surface was suitable for the artist to paint his design. After Morning Star was completed, a coat of UV-rated sealer was applied over the entire painting and finally, a matte finish was added to eliminate glare.
The title Morning Star refers to the morning star as a guide or a means of finding direction. Janvier explains:
"My people had used the morning star as a guide light in the early mornings of the winter hours. They would leave camp... maybe 4 o'clock in the morning and head in some direction... According to the stars in the sky, and especially that one, they pretty well have an idea the direction that they are going to."
Janvier similarly views his painting as a guiding light.
Features included in the painting reflect common aboriginal values and philosophies. The circle motif represents the circle of life: spiritual and physical, human and natural. Human life, for example, is believed to make a complete circle; a person dies and then life starts again. Likewise, the colours used are meaningful. Among the Chipewyan for example, white, yellow, blue and red are significant colours, seen more frequently than others. Among Native groups generally, these colours are often seen in regalia. In addition, the creation of four distinct areas of colour is important. The number four is significant for Native Peoples: 4 seasons, 4 cardinal points, 4 directions. Janvier refers to these as "natural indicators".
The painting is a commentary on the clash of cultures that took place after Europeans arrived in North America and encountered Native peoples. This is one of the major themes addressed in the Museum's permanent exhibitions.
The white central circle represents the morning star, the source of all creation. The geometric lines of colour radiating out from the centre (similar to the porcupine quillwork traditionally used by the Dene to decorate clothing and other objects) represent the various aboriginal cultures; each is a separate colour yet, when viewed together, they have the appearance of unity. That ring, representing the Native value system, is juxtaposed with a ring of more organic forms, representing the appearance of European ideas and beliefs. The juxtaposition of geometric and organic symbolizes the struggle between the two value systems.
Each of the four distinct areas of colour in the outside ring represents a period in Native history.
In the yellow quadrant, a balance of colour and shape reflects a time when the First Peoples were in harmony with nature, with the Great Spirit, and with each other. However, also represented in this yellow area is the arrival of Columbus in 1492, which changed the world of the First Peoples forever.
In the blue quadrant, a lack of decoration signifies the weakness of Native culture, overwhelmed by European culture. According to Janvier, the more Christianized Native people became, the more they turned to organic, flowing designs and the less they produced geometric designs.
The red quadrant depicts a time of revival and a new optimism. Struggle and disenchantment give way to a new determination on the part of First Peoples to take charge of their own future.
The last quadrant, white to link back to the white centre of Morning Star, portrays healing, renewed self-respect, reconciliation and restructuring - a return to a state of harmony. It represents the period following the point at which Janvier created Morning Star.
Of Morning Star, and of his work in general, Janvier has said, "I am painting and I am also telling the story of the way things happened to me and to my tribe and to my people and it's a true story."
Morning Star was a gift of Ralph and Roz Halbert of Toronto, Ontario, to the people of Canada.
See the Alex Janvier Collection in the Cyberboutique
About the Artist
Born in 1935 on Le Goff Reserve near Cold Lake, Alberta, Alex Janvier was raised in the Chipewyan tradition, speaking the Dene language until attending the Blue Quill Residential Indian School when he was eight years old. Following high school, Janvier attended the Alberta College of Art in Calgary, where he first experimented with modernist abstractions. Although he achieved some personal and critical success in the early 1960s, it was not until 1971 that he devoted himself to his art on a full-time basis.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Janvier's works involved a critical assessment of European influences and alienating experiences that had weakened his spiritual self. Increasingly, his paintings addressed issues related to the concerns of aboriginal peoples.
Janvier's paintings are sought after by prominent art collectors and included in many exhibitions of Native art. The Canadian Museum of Civilization is home to one of his major works The Seasons. His abstract style is particularly suited to large-scale works. He completed many murals. Among them is the one in the Muttart Conservatory in Edmonton and another in the Indians of Canada pavilion at Expo '67.
Since the late 1980s, aboriginal peoples throughout Canada entered into an era of heightened political awareness and activism. Outstanding land claims, environmental destruction, abuse within the residential school system, Elijah Harper and the Meech Lake Accord, and the armed standoff by Mohawk people at Oka have greatly affected Native communities. Janvier is at the forefront of this new politicism, providing visual commentary on contemporary situations.
Janvier is hopeful about the future of aboriginal culture and art, noting that many people are recovering traditional values and practices. According to Janvier, belief in Mother Earth and the Great Spirit is the basis upon which future generations can reclaim true spirituality and freedom as aboriginal people.
"Janvier's calligraphic lines are always in motion, recalling natural phenomena like the motion of branches in the wind. The symbolism he ascribes to color is that of the Dene. And his compositions which often flow outward from the centre in four directions, refer to the four cardinal points of the native cosmos, the points of the compass, and the seasons." Nancy Tousley, art critic, Calgary Herald | <urn:uuid:ba2ff1a3-e269-4684-a417-5373c2a28b6e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/treasure/283eng.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961903 | 1,392 | 3.265625 | 3 |
What is Service Tax?
Service tax is, as the name suggests, a tax on Services. It is a tax levied on the transaction of certain services specified by the Central Government under the Finance Act, 1994. It is an indirect tax (akin to Excise Duty or Sales Tax) which means that normally, the service provider pays the tax and recovers the amount from the recipient of taxable service.
Who is liable to pay service tax?
Normally, the ‘person’ who provides the taxable service on receipt of service charges is responsible for paying the Service Tax to the Government (Sec.68 (1) of the Act). However, in the following situations, the receiver of the Services is responsible for the payment of Service tax :
- Where taxable services are provided by foreign service providers with no establishment in India , the recipient of such services in India is liable to pay Service Tax.
- For the services in relation to Insurance Auxiliary Service by an Insurance Agent, the Service Tax is to be paid by the Insurance Company
- For the taxable services provided by a Goods Transport Agency for transport of goods by road, the person who pays or is liable to pay freight is liable to pay Service Tax , if the consignor or consignee falls under any of the seven categories viz. (a) a factory (b) a company (c) a corporation (d) a society (e) a co-operative society (f) a registered dealer of excisable goods (g) a body corporate or a partnership firm
- For the taxable services provided by Mutual Fund Distributors in relation to distribution of Mutual Fund the Service Tax is to be paid by the Mutual Fund or the Asset Management Company receiving such service.
What are the various taxable services?
Taxable Services have been specified under Section 65(105) of the Finance Act, 1994. All the taxable services as on 01.07.2010 are listed here. The list also shows the relevant Accounting Heads required to be mentioned on the tax payment documents (GAR-7), while depositing the Service Tax and other related dues in the banks.
What is the rate of Service Tax?
At present, the effective rate of Service Tax is 10.3% on the value of the taxable service. The above effective rate comprises of Service Tax @10% payable on the “gross value of taxable service”, Education Cess @ 2% on the service tax amount, and Secondary and Higher Education Cess @ 1% on the service tax amount.
Where can I download the forms for the service tax payment, rebate and other applications? | <urn:uuid:1c34d7af-910b-40ec-8950-0a14761c00ec> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://tax-india.com/service-tax/service-tax-in-india/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951511 | 532 | 2.75 | 3 |
Drinking water gets a drug test
Federal scientists surveying fish in the Potomac River continue to find smallmouth bass with a freakish quirk: The males are making eggs and sperm.
Researchers suspect that these "intersex" bass are victims of a newly recognized form of pollution: trace amounts of pharmaceuticals and other chemicals flushed down toilets or flowing from farms' animal waste.
Compounds including antibiotics and caffeine drain through sewage systems largely untouched, collect in rivers and streams, and eventually return in tiny amounts to drinking water.
Until recently, those pollutants had been virtually undetectable because the concentrations are so low. But instruments now can identify substances in parts per trillion - each part equivalent to a grain of sand in an Olympic-size swimming pool - and scientists are finding traces of man-made chemicals in streams in Chester County and drinking-water supplies in Philadelphia and other cities.
The effect on human health is unknown, but the discovery has prompted a flurry of research to measure and remove the trace chemicals.
The Philadelphia Water Department is participating in a $1 million national study to measure pharmaceuticals and other chemicals in drinking water.
Governments in places as diverse as Maine and Ireland are moving to keep the compounds out of the water supply.
Even a town as small as Buckingham Township has gotten in the act. The farm-rich Bucks County community plans to require residents to dispose of drugs in special boxes rather than flushing them.
And Villanova University scientist Rominder Suri has received a federal grant to use sound waves to break apart trace compounds and render them inert.
Some experts fear that traces of antibiotics could worsen bacterial resistance and cause those lifesaving drugs to lose potency. Or that the wide range of compounds could have some unknown cumulative effect on people. No one really knows.
Christopher S. Crockett, manager of watershed protection at the Philadelphia Water Department, said the concerns must be kept in perspective. "In 1948, the Delaware smelled so bad that you could smell it at Broad Street" - 14 blocks away, said Crockett, whose agency found several parts per trillion of 13 common drugs in the Schuylkill in 2004.
"To be able to look for these chemicals at these levels is a luxury," Crockett said, adding "we are ready to take action if necessary."
There is no mystery how the compounds get into water. They pass through the sewage system in waste or pill form.
They flow from pharmaceutical plants that make drugs and flush away the residue. Or they seep from animal farms that use antibiotics and rarely treat their waste.
Fish seem to have borne the brunt of the chemicals' effects so far.
The presence of dual-sex bass in the Potomac is likely connected to the widespread use of "endocrine disrupters," substances that mimic hormones and cause male fish to develop female attributes, researchers said.
Those chemicals include the synthetic hormones in birth-control and hormone-replacement therapy and substances in such common products as shampoos and sunscreens.
While no one has found intersex fish in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Vicki S. Blazer, a fish pathologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said she would not be surprised if someone did.
Blazer first found the deformed fish in the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Many of the chemicals that cause intersex fish also weaken their immune systems, causing them to die or develop lesions, she said.
Fish kills in the last year on Pennsylvania's Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers resembled those that led to the discovery of intersex fish in Maryland and West Virginia, Blazer said.
The estrogens that worry Blazer have been found in the Philadelphia area. A survey directed by Villanova's Suri found natural or synthetic estrogens in all 21 streams tested in southern and central Chester County in the fall of 2004.
Levels of a potent synthetic estrogen in birth-control treatments - ethinyl estradiol - were found in 10 streams at levels up to 30 times the amount that, in the lab, had been shown to affect the sexual organs of fish, he said.
Suri called the contaminants an "emerging environmental issue" that should change the way sewage is treated. Hospitals and nursing homes may eventually have to install equipment to remove the drugs from waste, he said.
The Schuylkill basin, which supplies water to 1.5 million people, could pose a special challenge. Water intake pipes are downstream from the river's confluence with Wissahickon Creek, which carries effluent from five sewage plants and a Merck pharmaceutical factory.
City water officials found tiny amounts of 13 drugs in tests of Schuylkill water during the summer of 2004. Among those were over-the-counter painkillers, antibiotics, antidepressants, and the contrasting agents that patients drink to make X-rays work better.
The department also tested drinking water and found parts per trillion of six chemicals, including estrogen, antidepressants, and the insect repellent DEET.
"It is a limited snapshot, and that is why we are doing the follow-up work," said Crockett, who thinks the water is safe.
Nick DiNardo, coordinator of the Environmental Protection Agency's Innovation Action Council for the Mid-Atlantic region, said the EPA was far from setting acceptable levels of pharmaceuticals in treated waste. Such limits would be established "way after the research is done," he said.
Last month, DiNardo's group gave a $101,000 grant to Villanova's Center for the Environment, which Suri directs, to develop ultrasound technology that can remove the waste.
Suri has also gotten support from a Villanova neighbor, the pharmaceutical firm Wyeth, to explore the technology. Wyeth does not make pills in Pennsylvania, a spokesman said.
The ultrasound treatment works by blasting wastewater with sound waves, creating heat and chemical reactions that destroy pharmaceuticals.
Suri also is looking into low-tech methods, such as collection boxes for drugs at universities and health facilities.
But this method could be complicated because of federal guidelines for handling controlled substances. Collection sites require the presence of a law enforcement officer.
Last year, Maine arranged its first drug collection in a pharmacy. Fifty-two people turned in 55,000 pills as police looked on.
But Maine psychiatrist Stevan Gressitt, a key supporter of the state's drug-collection law, said a more thorough solution was needed. In a few months, Maine will begin allowing residents to mail unused drugs to the state.
Gressitt called this "an industrial-sized solution" that could help keep drugs out of drinking water nationally.
A highly successful brand from Australia, Cottons has a range of 100% natural cotton tampons, liner and pads which have no dyes, or chemicals in them and the range ishypo-allergenic. Available at Boots stores and through www.mypure.co.uk. Go to www.cottonsbrands.co.uk for more information and to contact us | <urn:uuid:fdf2a724-02b4-4873-896d-128ff6167306> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.naturalmatters.net/news-view.asp?news=1302 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949508 | 1,456 | 2.8125 | 3 |
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — NASA now says that one of its six-ton satellites could hit the United States when it falls to earth late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
The space agency had said its Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, would fall somewhere in the South Pacific on Friday, but it appears the satellite will arrive later and closer to California.
“The satellite’s orientation or configuration apparently has changed, and that is now slowing its descent,” NASA officials wrote in a morning status update Friday. “There is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent.”
“At this point, it’s really too hard to tell,” Michael Duncan of the Vandenburg Air Force Base told CBS2 earlier this week. “When we create these orbits, they’re only accurate to a certain period of time, and when you’re talking about being off by 15 minutes, it can relate to a 5,000- to 7,000 -mile-footprint difference.”
It’s unknown if California is at greater risk than middle America or the East Coast because of its closer proximity to the satellite’s originally projected path.
UARS, which was launched in 1991, will fall apart upon re-entering earth’s atmosphere, but some pieces are expected to be several hundred pounds.
NASA says the chance of UARS hitting a person is 1 in 3,200, far better than winning a lottery, but much more painful. | <urn:uuid:ae4b3b90-f9ba-406f-b3fc-dd54d40384ba> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/09/23/nasa-says-satellite-has-slowed-may-now-hit-america/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949691 | 339 | 2.625 | 3 |
Following the recent claim by U.K. physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking that the universe “created itself from nothing,” the Holy Father spoke about “the most important question” of existence on Friday. Addressing interfaith leaders, the Pontiff explained that religion operates on “another level” than science in the question of explaining human existence.
The Holy Father spoke to leaders from Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh traditions present for an inter-religious meeting on Friday morning. There was a visible mutual respect and warmth between the leaders, especially the Pope and the two other speakers, Dr. Khaled Azzam, a school director and Muslim, and Chief Rabbi Baron Sacks of Aldgate.
In his address, the Pope told all present that he appreciated their commitment to religion at a time "when religious convictions are not always understood or appreciated.
"The presence of committed believers in various fields of social and economic life speaks eloquently of the fact that the spiritual dimension of our lives is fundamental to our identity as human beings, that man, in other words, does not live by bread alone," he said.
Noting the importance of cooperation and dialogue to all the religions, he said that all are in search of an answer to the "most important question of all - the question concerning the ultimate meaning of our human existence."
The initiative for this "adventure," he said, "lies not with us, but with the Lord: it is not so much we who are seeking him, but rather he who is seeking us, indeed it was he who placed that longing for him deep within our hearts."
Observing that human and natural sciences provide humanity with "invaluable understanding of aspects of our existence and they deepen our grasp of the workings of the physical universe," he emphasized that "these disciplines do not and cannot answer the fundamental question, because they operate on another level altogether."
"They cannot satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart, they cannot fully explain to us our origin and our destiny, why and for what purpose we exist, nor indeed can they provide us with an exhaustive answer to the question, 'Why is there something rather than nothing?'"
This takes nothing away from the scope of human investigation, noted the Pope. "On the contrary, it places them in a context which magnifies their importance, as ways of responsibly exercising our stewardship over creation."
In Genesis, he pointed out, one can read of God entrusting mankind with "the task of exploring and harnessing the mysteries of nature in order to serve a higher good," when he says, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it."
This higher good, he explained, is the love for God and neighbor in the Christian faith, from which inspiration is drawn to "engage with the world wholeheartedly and enthusiastically."
But, he added, this is always done "with a view to serving that higher good, lest we disfigure the beauty of creation by exploiting it for selfish purposes."
"So," said the Pope, "that genuine religious belief points us beyond present utility towards the transcendent. It reminds us of the possibility and the imperative of moral conversion, of the duty to live peaceably with our neighbor, of the importance of living a life of integrity."
"Properly understood, it brings enlightenment, it purifies our hearts and it inspires noble and generous action, to the benefit of the entire human family. It motivates us to cultivate the practice of virtue and to reach out towards one another in love, with the greatest respect for religious traditions different from our own." | <urn:uuid:7fff6466-cc2d-472f-aa72-257599b5ef3b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/holy-father-addresses-question-of-existence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959265 | 741 | 2.640625 | 3 |
March 12, 2013 -- Albuquerque, NM (UNM Cancer Center) -- It's the spread of the original cancer tumor that kills most people. That's why cancer researchers vigorously search for drugs that can prevent metastases, the spread of cancer. The research team co-led by Angela Wandinger-Ness, PhD, and Larry Sklar, PhD, at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center has found a chemical compound that appears to control cell migration and adhesion, two important characteristics of metastatic cancer cells. The team recently published a paper describing how the first-in-class compound acts on various cells.
Dr. Wandinger-Ness, a UNM Professor of Pathology and Director of the Fluorescence Microscopy and Cell Imaging Shared Resource, studies proteins called GTPases. GTPases act like chemical switches to control how cells behave: how much a cell grows, what shape it assumes, when it enters the next growth stage, and how tightly it sticks to its surroundings, among several hundred other things. Dr. Wandinger-Ness was interested in a particular GTPase called Cdc42; it controls cell migration and cell adhesion. "It's an important target in many diseases," says Dr. Wandinger-Ness. "Cancer is just one. But there were no compounds that target this GTPase." So she collaborated with Dr. Sklar and Tudor Oprea, MD, PhD, to find a compound that did. And they were successful.
Dr. Sklar is a UNM Professor of Pathology and co-Leader of the Cancer Biology and Biotechnology Research Group at the UNM Cancer Center. He created and now oversees the UNM Center for Molecular Discovery. Dr. Oprea is a UNM Professor of Medicine and co-Director of the Flow Cytometry & High Throughput Screening Shared Resource at the UNM Cancer Center. He analyzed Cdc42 using three-dimensional molecular rendering software. The team used Dr. Oprea's analysis of Cdc42 to visualize how a compound might interact with the Cdc42 GTPase to stifle its activity. Then they searched for such a compound in the UNM Molecular Discovery library.
The search process was akin to finding a needle in a haystack, but the latest high throughput flow cytometry equipment and molecular rendering software available at the UNM Cancer Center speeded their analysis significantly. The team analyzed thousands of compound candidates by first narrowing their search to the few hundred likely candidates and then testing those against several kinds of GPTases at a time. "From a purely discovery perspective, that's a high impact, novel way to look for small molecules," says Dr. Sklar. The compound they found is called CID2950007.
Structurally similar to NSAIDs -- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs -- CID2950007 restrains the Cdc42 GTPase from changing a cell's cytoskeleton. Much like a skeleton gives a human body shape, a cell's cytoskeleton keeps the cell from collapsing on itself. The cytoskeleton enables a cell to move by growing amoeba-like legs called filopodia. Cdc42 also helps to keep cells where they need to be by enabling them to adhere more tightly to their surroundings. So, while uncontrolled growth and movement are hallmarks of metastatic cancer cells, growth and adherence are important traits for healthy cells. Tightly controlling just how Cdc42 causes a cell to behave is crucial.
In the paper published February 4, 2013, the team of scientists report that CID2950007 was the only compound they found that affected the Cdc42 GTPase without affecting any other GTPases. This selectivity is important to control the compound's effects on a cell. They also found that the compound works by changing the physical structure of Cdc42, so it doesn't destroy Cdc42 but it does control how Cdc42 interacts with other proteins in the cell. Their studies showed that CID2950007 decreased filopodia growth and cell adhesion in ovarian cancer cells and prevented cell adhesion in white blood cells. And their studies demonstrated that CID2950007 blocked Hantavirus infection in monkey kidney cells. By affecting the Cdc42 GTPase, and thus the cytoskeleton, CID2950007 has the potential to fight not only cancer but also infectious diseases.
Human use of CID2950007 as a cancer drug is a long way off. Before the Food and Drug Administration approves any drug for human use, it first requires the successful results of several toxicity and dose escalation studies on several types of animals. Then, the clinical trials process, which can take over 10 years, may begin.
"There are going to be a lot of side effects because these adhesion proteins have many other functions," says Dr. Sklar. So refining CID2950007 into a drug will take further collaboration and studies before toxicity studies and dose escalation studies can begin. To refine the compound, the UNM Cancer Center researchers will continue to collaborate with Jeffrey Aubé, PhD, Kansas University Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, and Jennifer Golden, PhD, Assistant Director of the Specialized Chemistry Center at Kansas University. Still, control of GTPase Cdc42 offers promise as a way to control cancer metastasis. Says Dr. Wandinger-Ness, "there's a lot of enthusiasm for a compound like this -- because there weren't any. This is a first-in-class."
"Characterization of a Cdc42 Inhibitor and its Use as a Molecular Probe" was published online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on February 4, 2013. Authors are: Lin Hong (University of New Mexico); S. Ray Kenney (Univerisity of New Mexico); Genevieve K. Phillips (UNM Cancer Center); Denise Simpson (Univerisity of Kansas); Chad E. Schroeder (Univerisity of Kansas); Julica Nöth (Univerisity of Kansas); Elsa Romero (University of New Mexico); Scarlett Swanson (University of New Mexico); Anna Waller (University of New Mexico); J. Jacob Strouse (University of New Mexico); Mark Carter (University of New Mexico); Alexandre Chigaev (UNM Cancer Center); Oleg Ursu (UNM Cancer Center); Tudor Oprea (UNM Cancer Center); Brian Hjelle (University of New Mexico); Jennifer E. Golden (Univerisity of Kansas); Jeffrey Aubé (Univerisity of Kansas); Laurie G. Hudson (UNM Cancer Center); Tione Buranda (University of New Mexico); Larry A. Sklar, co-senior author (UNM Cancer Center); Angela Wandinger-Ness, co-senior author (UNM Cancer Center).
The paper is available to the public at: http://www.
About the UNM Cancer Center
The UNM Cancer Center is the Official Cancer Center of New Mexico and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in the state. One of just 67 NCI-designated cancer centers nationwide, the UNM Cancer Center is recognized for its scientific excellence, contributions to cancer research and delivery of medical advances to patients and their families. Annual federal and private funding of over $65 million supports the UNM Cancer Center's research programs. The UNM Cancer Center treats more than 65 percent of the adults and virtually all of the children in New Mexico affected by cancer, from every county in the state. It is home to New Mexico's largest team of board-certified oncology physicians and research scientists, representing every cancer specialty and hailing from prestigious institutions such as MD Anderson, Johns Hopkins and the Mayo Clinic. Through its partnership with Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, the UNM Cancer Center brings world-class cancer care to the southern part of the state; its collaborative clinical programs in Santa Fe and Farmington serve northern New Mexico. The UNM Cancer Center also supports several community outreach programs to make cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment available to every New Mexican. Learn more at http://www.
UNM Cancer Center contact information
Dorothy Hornbeck, JKPR, (505) 340-5929, email@example.com
Michele Sequeira, UNM Cancer Center, (505) 925-0486, firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:bf5ea12c-c47e-453b-b1e6-783623948a85> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uonm-sdn031313.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928996 | 1,748 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Claire Lee Chennault
The founder of the "Flying Tigers" (American Volunteer Group), fighter pilots who fought the Japanese in China the year before the U.S. declared war on Japan, was born September 6, 1893, in Commerce, Texas. He died of cancer on July 27, 1958.
Chennault was descended from eighteenth century Huguenot immigrants, related to Sam Houston on his mother's side, and related to Robert E. Lee on his father's side. He was raised and educated in Louisiana, where his mother died when he was five. He graduated from Louisiana State Normal College after attending Louisiana State University.
On December 25, 1911, he and Nell Thompson were married. They had eight children. They divorced after thirty five years, and Chennault married Anna Chan on December 2, 1947. They had two children.
Claire Chennault taught school in Louisiana, Mississippi and Kentucky before becoming a flight instructor upon U.S. entry into the First World War. He was commissioned a first lieutenant. From 1919 to 1936, Chennault served with the border patrol (until 1923); with the Hawaiian Pursuit Squadron (until 1926); and with the U.S. Pursuit Development Board and Air Corp Exhibition Group starting in 1930. In 1937, Chennault was forced to retire from the Army Air Corps due to disagreements with superiors and problems with his hearing.
He was soon hired by Chiang Kai-shek as an advisor to the Chinese Air Force, which led to his forming the famous "Flying Tigers" squadron. His success with the group contributed to his return to the U.S. military as a major general with command of the 14th Air Force. Disagreements with his new superior office, theater commander Lt. General Joseph Stilwell, led to his second forced retirement in July 1945. Both times, the disagreements were over military tactics.
Chennault soon formed what was essentially another "Flying Tigers" squad. He founded Civil Air Transport (CAT) and served as chairman of the board. Whiting Willauer, who worked with Chennault in the Far East during the war, was co-founder, backing the company with personal financial and legal contacts in New York. Chang Kai-shek's Nationalist Chinese government also supported the venture, as did the U.N. Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. This new "private" air force was created to fight Nationalist China's new perceived enemy, communism.
Chennault's paramilitary groups were not truly undertakings of purely civilian private business, however. The Flying Tigers had been a covert entity of the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime precursor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 1950, Chennault and Willauer sold CAT to the Office of Policy Coordination, the first covert action arm of the CIA, for $950,000, a move that revealed the true nature of the company. As CIA historian John Ranelagh put it, "Companies such as CAT, Southern Air Transport (based in Miami), Air America, Air Asia, and Intermountain Aviation were owned and operated by the CIA to provide air support under commercial cover to CIA and other U.S. government agency operations."
In 1958, as a final indication of his secret government status, Chennault died at the Ochsner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans. A year earlier and again in 1959, the hospital's founder, Dr. Alton Ochsner, who had many important relationships within the U.S. espionage establishment, received FBI clearance for a "Sensitive Position" for the U.S. government.
Bibliography: Ron Tyler, ed., The New Handbook of Texas, Vol. 2 (Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association, 1996) p. 57. John Ranelagh, The Agency: The Rise and Decline of the CIA (New York: Touchstone, 1987) pp. 217-18, 335. FBI file, Alton Ochsner, "Security Investigation Data for Sensitive Position," October 30, 1959. | <urn:uuid:12b63499-1526-4c30-bbdd-e02856e9462e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.famoustexans.com/claireleechennault.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97636 | 838 | 2.8125 | 3 |
MERCK HELPS VANQUISH RIVER BLINDNESS
By: Patti Strand Date: 01/27/2012
In 1987, Merck & Company began a plan to donate its drug Mectizan to tropical nations suffering from river blindness, a debilitating parasite-borne disease that can infect millions of people annually. As a result of the company's generosity, millions of people have been delivered from the misery of infection and the invasion of eye tissue by microscopic worms, and nation after nation has announced that the disease is no longer a major health threat.
In October 2003, the Lions Club International, a partner in the international effort to fight the disease, announced that a milestone of 50 million doses of Mectizan had been reached and that river blindness is no longer a major health threat in Africa.
Caused by a bacteria that lives in parasitic worms that infest the human body, river blindness (onchocerciasis) is spread by black flies that live along rivers and insert the microscopic worms under the skin when they bite. The worms multiply into the hundreds of thousands, causing severe itching that leads victims to tear at their own skin and in its severest form leads to visual impairment and eventual blindness.
A human form of Merck's animal drug ivermectin, Mectizan kills the worms before they can multiply and travel through the body to the eyes. Recent research indicates that the disease can also be cured by treatment with antibiotics, but Merck was ahead of the game with its Mectizan donations to the international effort to eradicate the disease.
Along with human misery, onchocerciasis has an enormous economic impact - it prevents people from working, harvesting crops, receiving an education, or caring for children. More than 18 million people in tropical Africa, parts of Central and South America, and the Middle Eastern country of Yemen have been infected with the disease, and more than a million suffer visual impairment as a result.
In the 16 years it has been involved in the program, Merck has donated more than 700 million Mectizan tablets. The company also helped form a coalition of public agencies, private organizations, and on-site health care workers to create a workable system for delivering the medication to those who need it. The result is a model for development of health care delivery systems in the developing world.
The river blindness program has been so successful that the company will donate more doses to fight lymphatic filariasis in African countries where this disease occurs along with river blindness. Millions of Africans are at risk from lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis.
For more information, see the Congressional Record comments by New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine, September 12, 2002, and the October 21, 2003, press release from Lions Club International Foundation.
About The Author
All Authors Of This Article: | Patti Strand | | <urn:uuid:2e25b063-549e-4716-8eb8-752cb59dc7ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.naiaonline.org/heroes_winners_and_success_stories/page/merck-helps-vanquish-river-blindness | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952753 | 596 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Hidden world: molecules inside cells that grab DNA like rock climbers
October 29, 2012
“Each machine functions in much the same way as a rock-climber clinging to a cliff face,” says Mark Leake of Oxford University’s Department of Physics.
“It has one end anchored to a portion of cellular DNA while the other end opens and closes randomly by using chemical energy stored in a ubiquitous bio-molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the universal molecular fuel for all living cells. …
Using new imaging technology, Oxford University researchers have found how the molecular machines that remodel genetic material inside cells grab onto DNA like a rock climber looking for a handhold.
The experiments use laser light to generate very bright patches close to single cells. When coupled with fluorescent tags this “spotlight” makes it possible to image the inner workings of cells fast enough to see how the molecular machines inside change size, shape, and composition in the presence of DNA.
The molecular machines in question are called Structural Maintenance of Chromosome (SMC) complexes. They remodel the genetic material inside every living cell and work along principles similar to a large family of molecules that act as very small motors performing functions as diverse as trafficking vital material inside cells to allowing muscles to contract.
The researchers studied a particular SMC, MukBEF (which is made from several different protein molecules), inside the bacterium E.coli. David Sheratt and his team found a way to fuse fluorescent proteins directly to the DNA coding for MukBEF, effectively creating a single dye tag for each component of these machines.
Up until now conventional techniques of biological physics or biochemistry have not been sufficiently fast or precise to monitor such tiny machines inside living cells at the level of single molecules.
It is hoped that pioneering biophysics experiments such as this will give fresh insights into the complex processes which are vital to life, and pave the way for a whole new approach to biomedical research at the very tiny length scale for understanding the causes of many diseases in humans, and how to devise new strategies to combat them. | <urn:uuid:26d1b6db-1429-4467-843e-1669ac33e26c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kurzweilai.net/hidden-world-molecules-inside-cells-that-grab-dna-like-rock-climbers/comment-page-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917732 | 440 | 3.5 | 4 |
Everyone in this class can use the Serial Set for their research paper. It is a rich source with an enormous scope. The Serial Set is the collection of documents and reports from the House of Representatives and the Senate of the US Congress. A report refers to formal document that congressional committees submit to the Senate or House explaining the official recommendation of that committee on a specific piece of legislation. It generally includes the issues addressed, the findings, and the deliberations done by the committee. Documents are the texts used by the House and Senate to create the reports, or to gather information on other topics. The documents and reports are numbered and bound, and collected for each congressional term, beginning with the 15th Congress.
The Serial Set was created because the decision makers of the times acknowledged that the United States of America was a new nation and that it is important to keep formal records of what goes on in a state. There was not already a successfully broad way of keeping track of what was going on, and the Serial Set alleviated this problem.
The serial set is huge and there are numerous ways of searching it for topics of interests. For our purposes, (topics from the 19th century) the best way to search it is by logging on the LexisNexis-Conressional search engine. This can be accessed by visiting the Bowdoin College library homepage and searching though the "Indexes and Databases" scroll-down box. Once you have reached the Lexis-Nexis-Congressional search engine, click on "Historical Indexes" - this will limit your search down to the time period we are working on. After opening the historical indexes search engine, you will be given the opportunity to search in a number of different ways. The most straightforward and simplest way of beginning a search of the Serial Set is by choosing either the "Subject" or "Title" to search. I would suggest starting out by searching "Title." Essentially, a "Title" search allows you to enter any word or words, and see if they are part of the title of any congressional document or report. It is important to remember that the language of the 19th century is differs from today. Words we might use to describe an event today may be different from how they were described in the past. If at first you are not able to find relevant material doing a title search, spend some time thinking about the language and words that might have been used to describe an event during the 19th century. Another way to gather this information is through a "Subject" search. The database is actually sorted by specific subjects decided upon by the creaters of the database. Therefore, only specific, pre-decided terms work on a "Subject" search. If the terms you are using for your "Subject" search are not turning up any results, click on "Subject list" and search the index of searchable words to see if you can find something that closely matches what you are researching. Even if this does no lead you to relevant sources, it may help you decipher the right words to use for a "Title" search.
When you get results from your searches, it may seen confusing as to what to do with the information. There are a number of different codes and numbers and they are different than the call numbers we are all used to dealing with. The first number you need is the one that follows the letters "CIS-NO" as this is the number of the Serial Set volume that has information relevant to your search. As the Serial Set was being compiled, each time there were enough new documents and reports to create a new volume, the new volume would have a new number. There is no duplication or repetition within the serial set. It is not necessary, though may prove useful, to know the Congress number or the dates of that Congress when searching. (As a helpful tool, the dates and corresponding Congress numbers are posted in the basement of H&L along the bookcases that store the serial set.) The LexisNexis-Congressional Historical Indexes searches more that just the Serial Set. After submitting a search, it will show you how many matches it found and from what sources the matches came from. All may be useful, just make sure you note where each source is located.
When "Capital Punishment" is searched by "Subject" 43 sources appear, ten of which are located within the Serial Set. This is how a selected source looks on the website:
TITLE: To amend D.C. code relative to death penalty
CIS-NO: 6334 H.rp.1390
DOC-TYPE: Serial Set Collection
DOC-NO: H.rp.1390, 62-3
SESSION-DATE: 1912, 1913
BILL-NO: 62 S. 7162
DESCRIPTORS: D.C.; CODE; CAPITAL PUNISHMENT; PENALTIES
From this information we see that the information regarding this search is located in volume 6334 of the Serial Set. In "H.rp" the H represents House of Representatives and the rp stands for report. 1390 refers to the assigned number of the report within the volume. With this information, one could ask a Librarian to accompany her to the basement of the library, through the glass doors to where the Government Document are located. The reason you need the librarian is to unlock the bookcases storing the Serial Set volumes from the 19th century. They are locked up because they are rare, and have been vandalized in the past. This is in no way supposed to deter students from using this source, but simply to protect and preserve it. Once it is unlocked, one can find Serial Set volume 6334 (this number is located in large numbers on the spine of the book) and then search through that volume for report 1390. Be sure to note that the document or report number does not correspond with the page number. One can also see from the information given by the search that this report is from 1912/1913, during the 62nd Congress. When you have gained access to the actual volumes of the Serial Set, you can search them by browsing appropriate dates, Congresses, or subjects from the index.
If it is a person that you are interested in gathering data about, there are a couple of helpful things you can do. First, search the LexisNexis indexes by trying out the name in the "Subject" search and the "Title" search. Additionally, if the person you are trying to gather information on was a Representative in either the Senate of the House of Representatives, a useful hint for researching is by simply checking the indexes from the series corresponding to the dates of when that person was a representative. Often, people are better indexed than topics. In the first part of the 19th century, the indexes of the Series are located in the backs of the books. Later in the 19th century, there are specific volumes dedicated to the index.
The serial set is massive. There is undoubtedly information in this source that can be of value to every research topic in this class. It is a rich, valuable source, but because of its size, it can be viewed as daunting and intimidating. Do not be overwhelmed. With patience one will surely find valuable information. The Serial Set is so enormous because Congress is publishing it about everything that it deals with. Instead of individual agencies publishing reports as might be seen today, Congress took the task of publishing everything. The Serial Set has information on cultural as well as "political" topics. It allows us to see what the important topics and issues were of a certain time. It is an invaluable tool for researching social histories. In addition to its all encompassing nature, the Serial Set is invaluable because it not only shows us what the actual legislation created by specific congress, it shows us what went on behind the scenes. It shows us what documents and evidence the congressmen used to make their decisions. It might give us the dissenting views on a piece of legislation. Additionally, the Serial Set documents the "Resolutions" and "Memorials" that were submitted to Congress by a specific state. A "Resolution" or "Memorial" was a way for a state to express its view on a certain issue as a whole. These can offer an interesting view of the stand any given State took (or did not take) on a specific issue.
In addition to the written information given by the Serial Set can also be researched as a means of providing statistics. Within the documents and reports of Congresses, there is an immense amount of Statistics that can be as a primary source. As broad as the topics deliberated upon by Congress are the statistics regarding those topics.
When citing information from the Serial Set, I would suggest referring to The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: A manual for Writers and Librarians for specifics. Ginny Hopcroft is the librarian at H&L who specializes in Government Documents. She would be happy to help with any steps of the research process. Good luck and have fun with this daunting but exciting source. | <urn:uuid:32788eae-50ca-4c6d-930e-0491cce38430> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bowdoin.edu/~prael/source_reports_wiki/c3fe41195ad86c36be637b3f43d4b03c.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394937.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95569 | 1,863 | 3.328125 | 3 |
These days female action heroes are becoming ever more popular. In addition to The Hunger Games book and movie trilogy, there is Black Widow of The Avengers, Snow White in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman, and more.
Perhaps now is therefore a good time to take a look at an under-appreciated real-life warrior, Tomoe Goezen.
She was a female samurai warrior (female samurai were known as onna bugeisha).
An example of the consummate woman warrior, Tomoe Goezen was a legendary fighter at the time of the Genpei War (1180-85), a period that saw the birth of the samurai tradition in Japan. Goezen is not a surname but an honorific applied principally to women.
The sources differ on the details of her life. She was either the wife, concubine, or female attendant of the Japanese commander Minamoto no Yoshinaka. Skilled in the martial arts and fearless in battle, she was one on Yoshinaka's senior officers in the struggle for the control of Japan between the Taira and Minamoto clans.
Tomoe Goezen's beauty and prowess are described in the Hieke Monotogari (Tales of the Monotogari): "Tomoe was especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors. "
Minamoto no Yoshinaka's ambition to head the Minamoto clan eventually led to his downfall. The clan chieftain, Minamoto no Yoritomo, decided to nip his cousin's designs in the bud and dispatched his brothers to kill him. Yoshinaka did battle with Yoritomo's forces at Awazu in February 1184, where it was said that Tomoe Goezen decapitated at least one of the enemy. With only a few of his soldiers left standing, Yoshinaka ordered Tomoe Goezen to quit the field. One account has her remaining and meeting death at Yoshinaka's side. Another has her surviving to become a member of a religious order. In yet another she casts herself into the sea, clutching Yoshinaka's severed head.
In the 1980s Tomoe Goezen was used as a character in a trilogy of fantasy novels, known as "The Tomoe Goezen Saga", by American fantasy and horror author Jessica Amanda Salmonson. Here you can see her life told in fantasy form.
References: The Tale of the Heike, translated by Helen Craig McCullough, 1988.
Hell Hath No Fury by Rosalind Miles and Robin Cross (pgs. 22-23). | <urn:uuid:e47f64e9-b0fe-4a23-a40c-df39e1917a9c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://echidneofthesnakes.blogspot.com/2012/09/on-life-of-tomoe-goezen-guest-post-by.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971806 | 638 | 2.625 | 3 |
This article discusses colorful blown glass produced predominantly at the New England Glass Company and the Mount Washington Glass Company (although also attempted by various other glass manufacturers) in the 19th century. It notes some of the most talented craftsmen and innovative colors of the time, and provides a step-by-step explanation of the process of creating colored glass, illustrating the differences in production compared with normal overlay glass. It originally appeared in the January 1940 issue of American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers.
American glass of the last quarter of the 19th Century means to many nothing but pattern glass. Yet during this same period tremendous advances in the art of blown glass were made by four or five men of genius working in the few factories where appreciation of the glassblower’s skill and creative ability still continued, and where it was realized that there was still an excellent market in America for delicately blown and colorful glass. Naturally, it was Victorian in design and spirit, but the fine craftsmanship and technique of achieving colors and gradations of tone in a single piece mark one of the high points in American glass.
Up to now scant regard has been given these pieces by collectors. In fact, they have been dismissed offhandedly as Victorian decorative pieces, with little consideration of the artist’s skill or of the houses at which they were made. Also, except for a few scattering comments, relatively little has been written about this special class of American glass. Therefore, any discussion of it must be based largely on a critical study of representative examples in the collection recently gathered by Mrs. John N. Bergstrom of Neenah, Wisconsin, which now forms a special loan exhibition at The Art Institute of Chicago.
Comprising some fifty or more pieces, these examples of colorful blown glass in the Victorian manner were acquired by Mrs. Bergstrom within the past year. From the places where they were obtained, and from facts learned at that time, they are obviously work done chiefly at the New England Glass Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Mount Washington Glass Company (later the Pairpont Glass Company) of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Possibly some were made at Sandwich.
In addition, there were three other factories where first quality glass of this sort may have been made. These were at Wheeling, West Virginia, where, in 1883, William Leighton, Jr., developed spangle glass for Hobbs, Brochunier & Co.; Pittsburgh, where at the Phoenix Glass Company, Joseph Webb originated the distinctive glass that he named mother-of-pearl; and the Vasa Murrhina Art Glass Company, Hartford, Connecticut, where John C. De Voy further developed a glass with flakes seemingly of gold, silver, or copper imbedded in it.
So, at the time when most glass factories were giving their attention to pattern glass produced as tableware in about three hundred designs, skillful craftsmen in the few houses referred to were concentrating on this totally different type. They made vases, fancy baskets of various sizes, pitchers, and other strictly ornamental pieces. Nearly always the colors were in the pastel shades and not infrequently there was the most delicate shading in a piece.
Also, for contrast, opaque or opalescent glass was combined either as an overlay or an underlay with a transparent glass of pastel color.
Basically, these pieces combined Venetian skill of shaping, when still plastic, with Bohemian practice of achieving color by the addition of metallic oxides. To this was added the American accomplishments of pastel shades and contrasting colors shading one into the other.
These were the work of such men as Joseph Locke and Edward D. Libbey of the New England Glass Company; Frederick S. Shirley of the Mount Washington Glass Company; William Leighton, Jr., of Wheeling, West Virginia; Joseph Webb of Pittsburgh; John C. De Voy, first of Sandwich and later of Hartford, Connecticut; and other men whose names and accomplishments in originating special kinds of glass or finishes have been forgotten.
Practically all of these decorative examples of blown glass depended for their color effect on the use of a combination of two kinds of glass. Sometimes it was an opaque or opalescent core with a transparent glass over it which would develop the desired shade by reheating; sometimes the core was of transparent glass and that applied on the second dipping was opaque. Still another practice was the use of two distinct mixtures of opaque glass. These, because of different mineral oxide content, would develop contrasting colors when reheated.
In comparison with the ordinary overlay glass, where color contrast was achieved by grinding through the outer layer or casing after the piece had been annealed, this process required a high degree of skill in glass mixing and fabrication. The two mixtures had to be homogeneous otherwise they would not work together when hot, or would not contract at the same rate in cooling — and so a ruined piece would result. Similarly, the shading of the pastel shades was accomplished by a technical skill in heating the piece in the glory hole, part of it being subjected to intense heat while the rest remained relatively cool.
Further, after being shaped and annealed, many of these pieces were given a special finish different from the smooth surface normal to glass. The use of acid fumes resulted in what is known as satin glass and frequently the outside of one of these vases, baskets, or pitchers was so treated while the interior retained the smooth surface. Then there was the crackle finish which was another technique highly developed in some of the American glasshouses. Further, for some effects, a practice of staining with a metallic oxide was favored. Obviously, the craftsmen who made these late 19th-Century pieces were masters of their art.
In fact, for some comprehension of the skill required, here are the steps followed in making a typical decorative basket:
In the blowing shop worked the gaffer, seated at his chair. To him his servitor brought a blowpipe on which there was a ball of transparent glass that had already been partly shaped on the marver. After an initial blowing, a “blob” of opaque glass was dropped on the base of the ball. Then, working with a hooked iron tool like a bent bodkin, the gaffer picked or drew up the opaque glass somewhat in the design desired.
Then the blowpipe, with the two kinds of glass, went back to the glory hole for reheating and fusing. Following this, it was further expanded by blowing and shaped by the gaffer with his various tools. Then the pontil rod was attached to the base and the piece cut from the blowpipe. Again it was reheated and returned to the gaffer for shaping of the outward flare of the upper rim.
The frill of this rim was accomplished with a crimper, a tool which the gaffer either made himself or had made for him. This individuality accounts for the variety of crimped edges found on such pieces.
If necessary, the piece was once more heated and then the clear or colored glass handle was brought hot from the pressing shop to the gaffer who, with the help of his servitor, applied it to the sides of the basket, twisting it into the particular shape and form desired.
After this, the exact shading of the pastel shades was accomplished by skillful heating in the glory hole. If a crackle finish was desired, that was now added. Then the piece was ready for annealing. If a satin finish was wanted an acid treatment followed. If this was done on the outside only, the smooth surface of the interior was protected by a coating impervious to acid fumes.
In making these pieces only the best grade of lead glass was used. Where applied decorations of flowers done in high relief were used, these were formed and shaped by a lampworker following the old Venetian technique.
Although a basket or Pitcher of this type of glass shows the makers to have been masters of all the methods used in glass blowing, the process does not seem intricate enough to have required the carefully timed work of seven men working in two distinct shops — but such was the case. In the blowing shop worked the gaffer; his first assistant, called the servitor; a second man, whose duty it was to keep the blowpipes, pontil rods, and other tools in condition and free of stray bits of glass that might have adhered from previous use during the day; and a “carrying-away” boy who took the finished pronged fork to the annealing lehr.
In the pressing shop, where the handles were given their initial form and pattern, there were the presser, his helper, and another “carrying-away” boy who brought the hot and plastic handles to the gaffer’s seat in the blowing shop at proper intervals.
Most of these pieces of two-, three-, or four-color glass were made as individual items and varied in design, but some were made occasionally in pairs as mantel garnitures. Although I have not seen them in many years, I still remember a pair of vases in a delicate leaf-green, shading to an opaque white at the flair of the upper rim, that stood for a long time on the white marble mantel of a long-established Victorian parlor. The gaffer who formed these must have been a craftsman of unusual skill for they were identical in every detail.
The ornamental baskets varied in size from those large enough to be used for fruit dishes to small ones for bonbons or calling cards. The colors used in them, and kindred pieces, were nearly always pastel shades of rose, blue, green, and yellow. Some were made in such special types of glass as amberina, pomona, and roseware. Occasionally, one is found in the spangleware devised by Joseph Webb and improved by John C. DeVoy, where the use of flake mica gave the effect of fine particles of gold, silver, or copper imbedded in the glass.
The period of this highly decorative and colorful glass was from about 1875 to the end of the century, with probably the best examples made during the decade ending approximately 1890. As stated earlier, the majority of the fine work was done at the plants of the New England Glass Company and the Mount Washington Glass Company. Examples from either of these factories usually have a ground pontil.
Other factories, of course, tried to copy this type of glass, but the workmanship was generally cruder. Thus it is not too difficult to identify such pieces as originating at some of these other glass factories — probably those of the Ohio River Valley.
The one exception was Hobbs, Brochunier & Co., of Wheeling. Here, from identified examples, it is clear that work as delicately colored and finely executed as that of Cambridge or New Bedford was produced under the supervision of William Leighton, Jr. He was probably the son of the William Leighton who, in 1864, invented the lime glass that was so widely used in making the later pattern tablewares.
This article originally appeared in American Collector magazine, a publication which ran from 1933-1948 and served antique collectors and dealers. | <urn:uuid:6fb89c43-d3a9-40bc-a174-2fd8ae955689> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/colorful-american-blown-glass-in-the-victorian-manner/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00117-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978378 | 2,317 | 3.171875 | 3 |
ARI WIBOWO, KUNANTO (2008) PENERAPAN PERSAMAAN DIFERENSIAL LINIER HOMOGEN ORDE DUA UNTUK PERHITUNGAN DAYA PELEPASAN PANAS PADA PROSESSOR HEATSINK. Other thesis, University of Muhammadiyah Malang.
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Processor Heatsink was defined as tool for absorb heat of computer processor in order to optimize processor function and to make processor working under allowed temperature. In principle, heatsink can transfer heat energy from processor to free air that it was lower temperature than processor. This heat transfer heat energy has two process conduction and convection. Fusion two process can be say with differential equation . With boundary condition value from condition or situation fins then have solution . The similiarity of this q that used to search a energy total of warm occur in the processor. From the calculation result there are three kinds heatsink processor, Pentium 4 LGA Intel can release warm with Watt, Pentium 4 2,66 Ghz can release warm with Watt and AMD Athlon 64 – Bit can release warm with Watt. From the data is above can conclused that release warm. This result AMD processor case become more fast hot. From the calculation result of free warm energy in heatsink processor make from alumunium material before modification is as big as Watt. Beside that, after modification with use a material make of bronze material release the warm with Watt. So that the heatsink processor material made from alumunium to be able to release warm from heatsink processor that made bronze material needs minimal three kinds addition. Better than to choose to be able to realease a warm with maximal and keep on computer condition to maximal work.
|Item Type:||Thesis (Other)|
|Subjects:||L Education > L Education (General)|
|Divisions:||Faculty of Teacher Training and Education > Department of Mathematics and Computing|
|Depositing User:||Anggit Aldila|
|Date Deposited:||26 Apr 2012 03:11|
|Last Modified:||26 Apr 2012 03:11|
Actions (login required) | <urn:uuid:37c37e3d-e048-4df4-9725-797fbfb14834> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://eprints.umm.ac.id/3041/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00188-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.828641 | 462 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Adaptations to Life Processes
Active and passive transport, aerobic respiration, autotrophs vs. heterotrophs, auxins and tropisms, mechanical & chemical Digestion, nerve control, and photosynthesis.
Anatomy and Physiology
The study of the structure, relationship between body parts,function of body parts and the body as a whole.
Biomes, energy relationships, human effect on environment, niches, nutritional relationships, and succession.
Darwin’s theory and natural selection, evidence and variations caused by evolution, and heterotroph hypothesis.
Blood, types, genotypes, vessels, carbohydrates, digestive, endocrine, excretory, heart & circulation of blood, immune system response, nervous system, lungs & respiratory system, skeleton, muscles, and cartilage.
DNA, nucleotides, replication, mutations, genes, chromosomes, genetic disorders, mutations, technology of genetics, population genetics, punnet square, RNA & protein synthesis.
Reproduction and Development
Reproduction, menstruation, fertilization, embryo development, prenatal development, gametogenesis, germination, reproductive systems, mitotic cell division, pollination, sex linkage, asexual reproduction.
Structure of Life
Abiotic, biotic, cell organelles, cell theory, classification of life, enzymes, organic vs. inorganic, life functions, respiration, transport & nutrition.
Multiple Biology Topics
Games are created across a wide variety of topic including several questions from multiple topics above.
Other Biology Games (topic not present above)
These are games that the teacher felt did not fit to any of the topics above. These may be from biology field not represented on this site. | <urn:uuid:d44b4ccd-8ed7-4e85-a63a-18808de24868> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://reviewgamezone.com/site/subjects/biology-games.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00196-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.838761 | 356 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Henry J. Allen House
National Register of Historic Places (1973)
Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Wichita, Kansas residence in 1915 for Henry J. Allen, one of Kansas' most influential twentieth-century statesmen. The Allen family moved in after construction finished in 1919 and lived in the house until the late 1940s.
The Henry J. Allen house is an L-shaped two-story structure with a basement. This large Prairie style residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright measures approximately 125' long east to west while the one-story north-south wing is about 90' long. There is a courtyard on the north side of the main section of the house, which is enclosed by the building on the south and east, by a garden teahouse on the west, and by a massive brick wall on the north. -NRHP Nomination Form
The house is located in the northeast portion of Wichita, Kansas and still sits on its original site of approximately one acre of flat land in a residential neighborhood. The house is revered within the Wright World for being one of his last examples of the Prairie style, and as having influences from his Imperial Hotel, as seen in the curved roof lines, and his Usonian houses, as seen in the concrete blocks in the front of the house.
Still on original site. The house, located in the northeast portion of Wichita, Kansas, was built on approximately one acre of flat land in a residential neighborhood. Designed as a part of the total environment, the backyard courtyard area boasts a rectangular pool and plants.
The exterior walls are built of yellow-buff brick laid with the vertical joints cut flush and the horizontal joints deeply raked, typical of the Prairie Style. Ornamental stone trim is used extensively throughout the building, especially for column bases, window sills and planter boxes. Brick pilasters are used to separate each window or door opening. The roof features broad overhangs and a low-pitch, hip style covered with massive red-clay tiles. The casement windows are rectangular with brown painted wood frames. -NRHP Nomination Form
The house’s social history comes into play in the context of local and state politics. The house was originally designed for prominent statesman Henry J. Allen who became the Kansas governor from 1919-1923. He then went on to serve as a United States senator from 1929-1930 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charles Curtis. Before his stint in politics, Allen was known as a newspaper mogul, buying multiple papers such as the Salina Republican (later the Salina Journal), Manhattan Nationalist, Ottawa Herald and Wichita Beacon. As a prominent social and political entity in Wichita, Allen most likely would have been aware of how Wright was transforming the American household and understood how associating with Wright's progressive idea's would advance his career and political goals in the social realm of the city.
Known as the last Prairie-Style house designed by Wright, the building speaks to his unique horizontal aesthetic, as seen in the roof, brick work and window and furniture details. The house was built during a transitional period, not only for the United States as the nation entered World War I in 1917, but also for Wright and Allen individually. Wright was in the midst of designing and building the Imperial Hotel in Japan while Allen was running a bustling newspaper business only to soon become the governor of Kansas in 1919. The Allen House is thought to be the last Prairie style design of Wright's career and embodies the ideals of a "democratic architecture" for America. There are three main characteristics seen in the exterior that link this house to the design aesthetics of the Prairie style: the brick work, the window placement and the roof design.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1973 for its association with Frank Lloyd Wright and Henry J. Allen. These relations and the fact that this is the only Wright designed house in Kansas give historical importance to the building. The building is also the only house museum in Wichita.The Allen House is not only Wright's last statement of Prairie style architecture, acting as a transition piece between Prairie style, Usonian and Japanese influences, but it is also a symbol of an architectural democratic movement that began when Wright began to question the "classic" architecture expressed in countless homes across America.
The Henry J. Allen house is a combination of the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie-Style and a local political celebrity. The house is in great condition and is being maintained by the Allen-Lambe House Foundation however; it is only open for tours by appointment booked ten days in advance and no photography is permitted inside. The Allen House is of great importance to Kansas and should be more accessible for the local residents to enjoy.
City of Wichita. Wichita's History at a Glance. 2012. Web.
Connelley, William. Kansas. Kansas State Historical Society and Department of Archives. History of Kansas Newspapers: A History of the Newspapers and MagazinesPublished in Kansas from the Organization of Kansas Territory, 1854, to January 1,1916. Topeka: Kansas State Printing Plant, 1916. Web.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Allen-Lambe House. The Allen-Lambe House Foundation, 10 July 2008. Web. 20 Feb 2012.
Hall, Charles, and Richard Pankratz. United States. Kansas State Historical Society. National Register of Historic Places- Nomination Form. 1973. Web.
Huxtable, Ada Louise. Frank Lloyd Wright. New York City: Lipper/Vicking, 2004. Print.
Kansas. Kansas State Historical Society. Henry J. Allen. 2009. Web.
Kansas. Kansas State Historical Society. Henry J. Allen House. 2012. Web.
"Kansas Museums." Blue Skyways. State Library of Kansas. Web. 21 Feb 2012.
Legler, Dixie. Prairie Style : Houses and Gardens by Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie
School. New York City: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999. Print.
United States. United States Congress. Henry Justin Allen (1868-1950). Web.
Wright, Frank Lloyd. An Organic Architecture: The Architecture of Democracy. Cambridge:
MIT Press, 1970, c1939. Print.
Yount, Lori. "Architect's Grandson Visits Rare Open House." Wichita Eagle [Wichita] 09 May 2010, n. pag. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. | <urn:uuid:da3abb8f-f882-4155-ac3b-6c0760e38572> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://docomomo-us.org/register/fiche/henry_j_allen_house?mini=calendar%2F2013-08 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949792 | 1,317 | 2.953125 | 3 |
The Revolution, like most of the wars in which America has been engaged, was one in which the army did the greater part of the fighting, but also one in which sea power was a deciding factor. Great Britain had the most powerful navy of the time, against which no force in open battle could have escaped defeat. But she fought at a disadvantage against an enemy •3000 miles distant, easily hidden in the countless harbors and inlets of an extensive coast line. The colonists, on the other hand, were of the same stock as the English, even better inured to hardship, and ready to take desperate chances as they attacked merchantmen or isolated units of the Royal Navy.
As the Continental Army seemed to spring out of the soil, so the navy seemed to spring out of the sea. When, on June 12, 1775, a party of Maine Woodsmen, armed, for the most part, with pitchforks and axes, and fired by the news of the battle of Lexington, captured with a lumber sloop an armed British schooner off Machias, Me., O'Brien, their leader, quickly armed his sloop with the captured cannon and ammunition, and p10put to sea in quest of prizes. Without a commission, letter of marque, or legal authority of any sort, this freebooter captured several prizes and sent them to Machias. O'Brien's example was quickly followed by others. Our coasts soon swarmed with the privateers of New England, and those of Massachusetts were particularly successful.
The daring and success of these privateers so angered Admiral Graves, the commander of the British fleet on the coast, that he reduced to ashes the town of Falmouth (now Portland), Me., thus leaving the inhabitants shelterless at the beginning of the bleak New England winter. Smarting already under the wrongs that precipitated the war, the hardy coast dwellers of the new world, whose rights to fisheries and navigation had been curtailed by shortsighted acts of Parliament, hardly needed this act of Admiral Graves to spur them to building ships of war.
Other causes contributed to the beginning of a naval force along the Atlantic coast. The colonists, from their origin and environment, were naturally seafarers. Some of the New England Colonies even before the Revolution had made remarkable progress in ship-building, fishing, and commerce; they were thus not unprepared to furnish vessels and daring sailors. Then, too, the country, being new and largely agricultural, needed manufactured articles, clothing, and munitions of war; and these things had to be either captured from the enemy, or brought from European countries, at the risk of seizure by British men-of‑war. In order to capture from English supply ships designed for Boston articles much needed by his troops, Washington, in the fall of 1775, fitted out several small vessels, manned by soldiers, under the command of army officers. Washington had the entire management of this fleet. One of these ships, the Lee, whose commission, p11as well as that of her captain, John Manly, was signed by Washington, captured the Nancy, "an ordnance ship . . . containing, besides a large mortar upon a new construction, several pieces of brass cannon, a large quantity of small arms and ammunition, with all manner of tools, utensils, and machines necessary for camps and artillery, in the greatest abundance. The loss of this ship was much resented in England."1 Altogether Washington's fleet captured about thirty-five prizes.2
Thus not only the bitter feelings of resentment against tyranny, coupled in numerous instances with motives of personal gains from prize money, but also the needs of the Continental Army quickly gave birth to a heterogeneous collection of ships. This was composed partly of privateers, partly of vessels owned and commissioned by individual Colonies, and partly of vessels commissioned by Congress.
A letter from General Washington, reporting the burning of Falmouth, was read in Congress, November 1, 1775; and Congress acted promptly. The following day it voted $100,000 for a naval armament and appointed a committee to buy the ships. A few weeks later it appointed a second committee, which suggested a fleet of thirteen vessels ranging from 32 to 24 guns, to be ready by March, 1776, and recommended the appointment of a third committee to supervise their construction and equipment. The report was adopted by Congress. In the third committee, known as the Marine Committee, there were thirteen members, one for each colony. Its personnel was practically the same as that of the second committee, p12and included such men as Robert Morris, John Hancock, and Samuel Chase, a remarkable body of men, who worked with the greatest ardor and patriotism.
The Marine Committee administered our naval affairs from December, 1775, to December, 1779. It was the forerunner of our Navy Department, but its functions were far more complex. Like the Congress of its day, it exercised legislative, judicial, and executive powers, always, however, under the direction of that body; and the same weaknesses, the lack of an administrative head and of actual authority over the States, hampered the committee as they did Congress.
Some of the confusion with which the Marine Committee struggled is suggested by the fact that naval officers then, instead of being commissioned by the President with the consent of the Senate, might be appointed in any one of the following ways: by the Marine Committee itself, by its subordinate boards at Philadelphia and Boston, by any naval commander, by recruiting agents, by commissioners abroad, or even by local authorities in the several States. Further, besides building and equipping ships of war and directing their movements, the committee had to hold courts-martial, send abroad dispatches and diplomatic agents, and trade American produce for European munitions of war. Under such conditions it is remarkable that the committee accomplished as much as it did.
As the Marine Committee proved to be a clumsy administrative machine,3 it was superseded in 1779 by a "Board of Admiralty," consisting of three commissioners and two members of Congress, which was in power until 1781. Finally, Robert Morris was appointed "Agent of Marine," and he managed very efficiently what was left p13of the American Navy. By this time, Congress realized that an administrative department, especially in time of war, must be under one head.
The first naval committee bought and fitted out two 24‑gun frigates, the Alfred and the Columbus, and two brigs, the Andrea Doria and the Cabot, and supplied them with powder and muskets borrowed from the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety. On December 22, 1775, Congress organized the first "American fleet" by granting commissions to Esek Hopkins, commander-in‑chief of the fleet; Dudley Saltonstall, captain of the Alfred; Abraham Whipple, captain of the Columbus; Nicholas Biddle, captain of the Andrea Doria; and John Burroughs Hopkins, captain of the Cabot. John Paul Jones headed a list of five first lieutenants commissioned at the same time.
By the end of January, 1776, the committee had added to this fleet the sloops Providence and Hornet and the schooners Wasp and Fly. For these first eight vessels of the navy the committee had spent $134,333. With this tiny force, the commander-in‑chief was ordered to proceed directly to Chesapeake Bay to attack the British fleet of Lord Dunmore; then, if successful, he was to proceed to the Carolinas and attack the British force there, and thence he was to sail to Rhode Island and "attack, take, and destroy all the enemy's naval force that you may find there." This was the gigantic task of a fleet of eight vessels carrying 110 guns, and manned by landsmen or, at least, men without naval discipline. To oppose this force, the British had in American waters, or on the way hither, seventy-eight men-of‑war mounting 2078 guns. In Commodore Hopkins' fleet, only forty p14guns threw shot of nine pounds or more in weight, while the seventy-eight British ships on this coast had at least 500 18‑pounders and heavier guns. The orders of the Marine to the Committee to the commander-in‑chief of the navy, Esek Hopkins, were therefore foredoomed to failure.
Perhaps Commodore Hopkins himself foresaw the futility of trying to adhere too strictly to his orders, for, instead of going to Chesapeake Bay, he proceeded to Nassau in the Bahamas, which he captured. After taking a large quantity of shot and shell, besides some eight cannon, fifteen mortars, and other munitions of war, he sailed northward with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor as prisoners. As he neared his destination, Rhode Island, he came upon his Majesty's ship Glasgow, of 20 guns. Captain Tyringham Howe, which singlehanded, inflicted considerable damage on Hopkins' fleet, and made good its escape. The loss of the British was four men; that of the Americans, twenty-four, among the latter two lieutenants.
This injury inflicted upon a fleet by a single vessel which escaped showed little tactical skill on the part of the officers of the American fleet. As Commodore Hopkins had, besides, disobeyed his orders, he was court-martialed and finally dismissed.
Commodore Hopkins was the only man to hold the rank "commander-in‑chief of the navy." This title was later merged in that of the President of the United States. During the rest of the Revolutionary War, the only commissioned officers in the navy were captains and lieutenants; but Congress, evidently providing for the future, fixed the relative ranks of army and navy officers as follows: admiral equivalent to general, vice-admiral equivalent to lieutenant-general, rear-admiral to major-general, commodore to brigadier-general, captain of a ship of forty guns and upwards to colonel, captain of a ship of twenty p15to forty guns to lieutenant-colonel, captain of a ship of ten to twenty guns to major, and lieutenant in the navy to captain. This table, taken from the British regulations of those times, has, in the main, continued in force to our day.
From our standpoint it will hardly be profitable to follow all of the various actions fought by the little United States Navy during the Revolution. Paullin, in his Navy of the American Revolution, makes the total number of vessels under the Continental Congress forty‑two. These were practically all annihilated before the end of the war; but the heroic struggles of this early navy were not without result. In considering them, we shall outline the work of Benedict Arnold on Lake Champlain, of Wickes, Conyngham, and especially Jones, in British waters, and of Biddle, Barry, and others on the American seaboard; and we shall not omit some mention of the State navies and the privateers, as well as of the assistance rendered by France.
The possession of Lakes Champlain and George was felt early in the war to be of strategic importance. Not only did these lakes furnish an excellent waterway from Canada to the Colonies, but it was the design of the British that Carleton's army from Canada should rendezvous about Albany and thereby cut off all communications between the northern and southern Colonies. The American Army had invaded Canada in September, 1775, and during the following winter it had held Governor Guy Carleton shut up in Quebec. On the arrival of a p17British fleet with reinforcements, the Americans retreated to Crown Point, where they arrived on July 3, 1776. Brigadier-General Benedict Arnold, who, earlier in his career as a West India merchant, had at times commanded his own ships, started immediately to build a fleet on the lakes in competition with the British. Late in July, he was appointed by Gates to the command of the naval forces on the lakes. By October, he was able to muster one sloop, three schooners, eight gondolas, and four galleys. These vessels mounted altogether ninety-four cannon, from 2‑pounders to 18‑pounders, and they were manned by 700 officers and men, according to Arnold, "a wretched motley crew; the marines the refuse of every regiment, and the seamen few of them ever wet with salt water." Arnold chose for his flagship one of the galleys, the Congress, a vessel of fifty-foot keel and of thirteen-foot beam, mounting one 18‑pounder, one 12‑pounder, and two 6‑pounders.
But the British, with their greater resources in skilled seamen and in manufactured articles, won this race in building a fleet. Captain Charles Douglas, who had charge of the construction work of the enemy, had ready in twenty-eight days a full-rigged ship, the Enterprise, carrying eighteen 12‑pounders. She had been begun at Quebec, and had been brought from the St. Lawrence up the Richelieu. The Enterprise was of 180 tons burden, and greatly exceeded in size and armament any of Arnold's fleet. Early in October, General Sir Guy Carleton, thanks to Captain Douglas' energy in ship-building, had under his command one ship, two schooners, one radeau (raft), one large gondola, twenty gunboats and four armed tenders. The British fleet in the St. Lawrence furnished Carleton with 700 experienced officers and seamen. The enemy also had a large detachment of savages under Major Thomas Carleton.
p18 The first squadron battle to be fought by Americans, "a strife of pygmies for the prize of a continent," as Mahan styles it, was begun on October 11, 1776. Arnold was lying in wait for Carleton behind Valcour Island, not far from the site of a later battle of Lake Champlain (September 11, 1814), where the struggle was again for the control of this great waterway.
As the British van, coming down under a fair north wind, with full press of sail, passed the Americans before discovering Arnold's fleet, Carleton's heavier vessels had to beat back slowly to help his hard-pressed gunboats. The Americans fought desperately from eleven o'clock in the morning till five o'clock that afternoon. With the British attacking in front and the Indians occupying the shore in the rear, Arnold was indeed "between the devil and the deep sea." That night, however, under cover of the lake mist, he slipped through the British line toward Ticonderoga. The British gave chase, and on the two days following they continued the battle. Finally, Arnold beached his boats, and fought with desperate courage until his men had fired their gondolas and taken refuge in the woods. Most of Arnold's vessels were either captured or destroyed. In this battle the enemy captured 110 prisoners, among them being General Waterbury, the second in command. Arnold, with the rest of his men, made good his escape to Crown Point.
Although Arnold had lost his fleet, the delay which he thus forced on Carleton was of the greatest advantage to the Americans. "Never had any force," says Mahan, "big or small, lived to better purpose, or died more gloriously; for it had saved the lake for that year." The delay compelled Carleton to give up his plan of joining Howe to the south. When, next year, Burgoyne, renewing the attempt, invaded New York, he had not the aid which p19Carleton could have relied on in 1776. Hence Arnold's work on the lakes opened the way for the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga.4
Nothing illustrates so completely the daring and enterprise of the Americans, save possibly the boldness of certain privateersmen, as the harrying of the British coast by Wickes, Conyngham, and Jones. In the fall of 1776, Captain Lambert Wickes, of the 16‑gun brig Reprisal, while carrying Benjamin Franklin to France, captured two prizes. The next spring, the Lexington joined the Reprisal, and these two vessels captured about fifteen prizes. With these the cruisers returned to France; but, as the latter country was ostensibly at peace with England, the vessels were ordered to leave. After disposing of the prizes clandestinely to French merchants, the Lexington quickly refitted and sailed from Morlaix on September 18, 1777. She was captured shortly after by the Alert, and her officers and men were taken to Plymouth and thrown into Mill prison on a charge of high treason. Richard Dale, who later distinguished himself on the Bonhomme Richard under Jones, was one of these prisoners; but he made his escape a year later by boldly walking past the guards, dressed in a British uniform. On the insistence of the British, the Reprisal also left France; she foundered on the way home, off the Banks of Newfoundland, and, with the exception of one of the crew, all hands, including the brave Wickes, were lost.
The reckless daring and success of Captain Conyngham in harrying British commerce, strained almost to the breaking point the relations between England and France. p20The American Commissioners at Paris, through an agent, had bought a cutter at Dover, and had then manned and equipped her at Dunkirk, naming her the Surprise. Congress, over the signature of John Hancock, as president, had issued blank commissions to the American Commissioners in France; it was such a commission, dated March 1, 1777, that Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, the commissioners, had filled out with the name of Gustavus Conyngham, authorizing him to sail in the Surprise as a captain of the American Navy. A great deal of difficulty was encountered in getting the Surprise out of Dunkirk. Captain Conyngham "took his arms out of the ship and said he should load it with merchandise for one of the ports in Norway. As this declaration was suspected, security was demanded. Two persons, Hodge and Allen, became responsible for him. Conyngham actually left the port of Dunkirk without arms, but he caused sailors, cannon, and ammunition to be sent out to him in the night, while he was in the road, off Dunkirk; and he shortly after took the English packet boat, Prince of Orange. As soon as this came to the knowledge of the French Government, Hodge, one of the securities, was arrested, and conducted to the Bastille. The packet boat was restored to the British Government without the form of process. After six weeks of confinement, Hodge was released."5
Shortly after this, Conyngham captured the Harwich packet and took it to a French port. This open violation of neutrality so enraged the British, that their ambassador threatened to leave France if Conyngham and his prize were not at once given up. The French Government imprisoned the captain and crew of the Surprise, and p21returned the vessel to her owners. But before England could enforce her demand for the delivery of Conyngham and his men to the sloops of war sent over for this purpose, the Americans, by some intrigue, had been released and sent to sea in another cutter, the Revenge, a vessel provided and equipped partly by the American Commissioners, and partly on private account. It seems probable that Hodge, a Philadelphia merchant, and perhaps some others, were pecuniarily interested, at least in the later cruises of this cutter.
The Revenge captured many prizes, and on two occasions boldly sailed in disguise into British ports and refitted. As Deane wrote to Robert Morris in August, 1777: "Conyngham's cruise effectually alarmed England, prevented the great fair at Chester, occasioned insurance to rise, and even deterred the English merchants from shipping goods in English bottoms at any rate, so that in a few weeks forty sail of French ships were loading in the Thames on freight — an instance never known before. . . . In a word, Conyngham, by his first and second bold expeditions, is become the terror of all the eastern coast of England and Scotland, and is more dreaded than Thurot6 was in the late war."7
On a later cruise, Conyngham sent most of his prizes to Ferrol, Spain, and thus his depredations on British commerce embarrassed France and the American Commissioners less than former expeditions had done. In 1778, Captain Conyngham was captured, and while in prison he was treated with such severity, that Congress, p22in a resolution on July 17, of that year, protested against a treatment "contrary to all dictates of humanity and the practice of civilized nations."
This matter of naval prisoners in England, combined with the violations of neutral rights committed by our vessels, was a great source of worry to the American Commissioners. These officials, having merely the status of private citizens in France, were treated by the French court with all civility, but they could not yet be openly received or recognized. Hence their work required the utmost tact and delicacy. That naval prisoners in England were treated with extreme harshness is admitted even by British authorities. This cruelty was undoubtedly due partly to the low conditions of prison systems in England, as indeed in other parts of Europe in the eighteenth century. One of the reasons for the cruises of American vessels in British waters was to capture Englishmen in retaliation for the treatment of Americans in Forton prison at Portsmouth, Mill prison at Plymouth, and the prison ship Jersey at Brooklyn.
"The British Government resisted the exchange of prisoners taken in European waters on three grounds: (1) This involved a recognition of belligerent rights in the insurgents. (2) The American prisoners could be kept out of harm's way in England; the same condition did not apply to British prisoners taken by American vessels, as long as France refused to permit such prisoners to be landed and imprisoned on her shores. (3) British seamen being far more numerous than American, exchange p23would tell more favorably for the latter than for the former."8
To end their sufferings, some of these prisoners in England enlisted in the British Navy, or in whaling fleets, while others escaped from prison. Conyngham and sixty companions, in November, 1779, burrowed their way out of captivity, thus "committing treason through his Majesty's earth," as Conyngham remarked. It was long after the secret treaty between France and the United States was signed in February, 1778, before Franklin could persuade the English to take a more liberal view as regards exchanging prisoners. In fact, the first exchange was not effected till March, 1779. The Americans, before the treaty with France, had to confine their captives taken in British waters on shipboard, or let them go. After the treaty and after the breaking out of war between Spain and England in 1779, these men were imprisoned in France and Spain. So, likewise, the question of the disposition of prizes captured in European waters was a difficult one before the treaty. Many prizes were taken to France, where they were secretly sold, in spite of official orders commanding the American captains to leave port with their prizes. Indeed, it is very probable that, if hostilities between France and England had not for other causes broken out in 1778, the countries would have gone to war because of the connivance of the French at these breaches of neutrality.
1 Dodsley's Annual Register, London, 1776, p147.
2 Paullin, The Navy of the American Revolution, p65.
3 Paullin, The Navy of the American Revolution, p182, ff.
4 Clowes, Royal Navy, III, 368.
5 Sparks, Diplomatic Correspondence, I, 292, note (Franklin and Deane to the Committee of Foreign Affairs, May 25, 1777).
6 A French corsair who did great damage in commerce-destroying expeditions against British shipping during the Seven Years War.
7 Wharton, Diplomatic Correspondence, II, 379‑380 (Deane to Morris, Aug. 23, 1777).
8 Wharton, Diplomatic Correspondence, II, 724, note (Franklin, Lee, and Adams to the President of Congress, Sept. 17, 1778).
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A Short History
of the U. S. Navy
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Page updated: 18 May 13 | <urn:uuid:0ec7bd3d-9167-429d-b19e-47279066fdc2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/_Topics/history/_Texts/A_Short_History_of_the_United_States_Navy/1*.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00007-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978061 | 5,148 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Reading Group Guide
A Reading Group Guide for
City of Orphans
About the Book
The streets of New York in 1893 are full of life: crowded, filthy, dangerous. If you are a newsboy like thirteen-year-old Maks Geless, you need to watch out for Bruno, leader of the Plug Ugly Gang whose shadowy, sinister boss is plotting to take control of all the World newsies on the lower East Side.
With Bruno’s boys in fierce pursuit, Maks discovers Willa, a strange girl who lives alone in an alley. It is she, stick in hand, who fights off the Plug Uglies—but further dangers await. Maks must find a way to free his sister Emma from The Tombs, the city jail where she has been imprisoned for stealing a watch at the glamorous new Waldorf Hotel. Maks, believing her innocent, has only four days to prove it. Fortunately, there is Bartleby Donck, the eccentric lawyer (among other employments) to guide Maks and Willa in the art of detection. Against a backdrop alive with the sights and sounds of New York tenements, Maks, as boy detective, must confront a world teeming with wealth and crime, while struggling against powerful forces threatening new immigrants and the fabric of family love.
1. Avi describes the streets on the Lower East Side of New York, Willa’s alley, Mak’s tenement, the Tombs, and the apartment of Donck, the private detective, using words that include all the senses. What are the sights, sounds, and smells of each? Using each location, explain how they are all examples of “hard times”?
2. What are newsies? What is life like for a street rat? How and why do Bruno and the Plug Ugly Gang terrorize only the newsies who peddle the World?
3. How is each member of Maks’s family expected to help support the family? How does Willa become a member of this family?
4. Who is Bartleby Donck and what is his life like? How is he able to help Maks and Willa? Give all the reasons he decides to help them.
5. Explain the circumstances of Emma’s arrest. How was she cleared?
6. Maks is disappointed with the inaction of his parents in helping his sister, Emma. Why don’t they help? Why does Maks take on this problem? How is Maks’s life different from that of his parents? Is Maks afraid of anything?
7. When Bartleby Donck meets Maks and Willa in Chapter 33 he comments that justice is blind because “No money. No justice.” Does this story prove or disprove this statement?
8. Willa doesn’t have many memories of her father but she does say, “I don’t think he was a good man.” Explain all the ways Mr. Brunswick is not a good man.
9. Avi’s first line in City of Orphans is “Amazing things happen.” How is this a story of luck, chance, coincidence, accidents, quirks, and miracles?
10. There are many stories in City of Orphans. How does each character’s story end?
Beyond the Text
1. Research wasting disease. How are the characters in this story all touched by this disease?
2. This story is told in present tense by an omniscient, or all-knowing, narrator. Find examples of this folksy style told in first person. What effect does this style of writing have on the story and on how the reader gets to know the characters and follows the action?
3. Read another historical fiction book by Avi. How does it compare to City of Orphans?
4. Avi writes a blog, a treasury of an accomplished writer’s thinking and writing. Follow Avi’s blog at avi-writer.com/blog/.
5. Write a book review of this story. Then compare it to a professional review of City of Orphans on Avi’s website. Find three ways you could improve your own review writing.
6. The historic Waldorf was a very famous example of New York architecture. Visit nyc-architecture.com/GON/GON017.htm and discover the history of this hotel.
7. The tenement at 97 Orchard St. on the Lower East Side was home to thousands of immigrants at the turn of the century. It has been restored as a living history of the time of City of Orphans. Walk through a portal to the past.
Tenement Museum site: tenement.org
Tenement Museum video walk-through on youtube.com (3 minutes):
8. Jacob Riis, a famous photographer at the turn of the twentieth century, documented tenement living and displayed it for the world to see. What can be learned from his photographs found at this site? youtube.com/watch?v=SZl4KXsaKVE
9. There are two different worlds in City of Orphans: the tenement world and the Waldorf Hotel world. Compare and contrast the two.
Common Core Standards
R.CCR.1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
R.CCR.2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
R.CCR.3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
R.CCR.4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
R.CCR.5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
R.CCR.6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
R.CCR.7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
W.CCR.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W.CCR.5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
W.CCR.7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Guide written by Jan McDonald of Rocky Mountain Readers
This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.
This guide was written to align with the Common Core State Standards (www.corestandards.org). | <urn:uuid:90189df3-5e76-4f38-aa1c-dc92078afc2e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://books.simonandschuster.com/City-of-Orphans/Avi/9781416971085/reading_group_guide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00188-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932084 | 1,526 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island owns more than 1,000 rare maps. Some are so rare that their copies are the only ones known to have survived.
Librarians are now cataloging the maps online and moving them into the digital age. Some are brittle; many date back a century or more. Placing them online will give the public (including genealogists!) access to them. According to staffers, half of the collection was unknown to outsiders; many had never been catalogued before.
The university is planning to digitize the collection.
The history of one of the many fascinating maps was detailed in a Boston Globe article:
As prospectors poured west in the 1840s to find riches during the California gold rush, they turned to a valuable map that depicted the gold fields in yellow and the best routes to get there in blue. | <urn:uuid:de36cad2-64a0-413a-8835-7d81de2f112e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com/2006/12/brown-universitys-rare-maps.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00109-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974532 | 173 | 3.25 | 3 |
1. An associate degree in applied science.
4. Any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae.
8. An antiviral drug used in the treatment of AIDS.
11. A master's degree in business.
12. A small cake leavened with yeast.
13. (used as a combining form) Recent or new.
14. A bachelor's degree in library science.
16. An adjective used as a noun.
18. A large medieval helmet supported on the shoulders.
20. Lower in esteem.
21. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens.
22. An informal term for a father.
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25. Someone who engages in arbitrage (who purchases securities in one market for immediate resale in another in the hope of profiting from the price differential).
30. (Akkadian) God of wisdom.
32. A town in central Belgium.
34. An Indian side dish of yogurt and chopped cucumbers and spices.
37. Any of numerous local fertility and nature deities worshipped by ancient Semitic peoples.
38. Electrical conduction through a gas in an applied electric field.
41. A narcotic that is considered a hard drug.
46. A police officer who investigates crimes.
48. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet.
49. A rapid bustling commotion.
50. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind.
51. A compartment in front of a motor vehicle where driver sits.
1. A woman hired to suckle a child of someone else.
2. A French abbot.
3. A deep bow.
4. A metallic element having four allotropic forms.
5. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light.
6. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.
7. An informal term for a father.
8. Small buffalo of the Celebes having small straight horns.
9. (Greek mythology) The supreme god of ancient mythology.
10. The quality of a person's voice.
15. A set whose members are members of another set.
17. The compass point that is one point east (clockwise) of due north.
19. A federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment.
23. An Arabic speaking person who lives in Arabia or North Africa.
26. The cry made by sheep.
27. A pass between mountain peaks.
28. A very poisonous metallic element that has three allotropic forms.
29. A unit of weight equivalent to 1000 kilograms.
31. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine.
33. Resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects.
35. (architecture) Forming or resembling an arch.
36. Small tropical American tree bearing edible plumlike fruit.
39. A Chadic language spoken south of Lake Chad.
40. According to the Old Testament he was a pagan king of Israel and husband of Jezebel (9th century BC).
42. An informal term for a father.
43. Title for a civil or military leader (especially in Turkey).
44. Having undesirable or negative qualities.
45. The last (12th) month of the year.
46. North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
47. A rare silvery (usually trivalent) metallic element. | <urn:uuid:7db3aa53-ba0b-42f7-a236-aae519f51f75> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com/puzzles/gt_270.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00151-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.886857 | 768 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Why the extreme risk and uncertainty of rapid climate change requires a new national-security framework.
Superstorm Sandy clearly demonstrated the ability of extreme climate events to disrupt critical economic and transportation infrastructure and cause immeasurable human suffering in and around the world's financial capital. The climate science suggests that such events will become more severe, more widespread, and more unpredictable. While Sandy has directed renewed attention to the impact of climate change on the continental United States, the global impact of climate change requires a similar level of focus and serious appreciation among national security decision-makers. If President Obama wants to be taken seriously on climate change, as his victory speech and press conference seemed to suggest, his efforts must go beyond resilience on the domestic front. The best first step the president can take is to create a new structure within the foreign policy bureaucracy, answerable to his National Security Council, which will prioritize contingency planning and make recommendations across multiple departments and agencies so that U.S. foreign policy can seriously address a whole series of coming climate catastrophes. This is a challenge that will require years of planning, billions of dollars, and political decisions that might be unpopular and most certainly won't have the urgency of a shooting war or a "fiscal cliff." Without decisive action now, U.S. policy will experience a dangerous drift in strategic planning.
If President Obama is serious about addressing climate change, he needs to demonstrate across the foreign policy bureaucracy that anticipating and mitigating the effects of climate change is a high-priority. A new report from the National Research Council only reinforces the view that combined action across a wide variety of hitherto uncoordinated agencies and departments is necessary. "These shared needs for [climate change] knowledge," the report reads, "suggest that knowledge development is best pursued as a cooperative activity involving many organizations." Federal interagency cooperation, it continues, should be advanced through the oversight of the President's national security adviser, possibly through collaboration with the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which focuses on advancing the understanding of climate science. As the report states, this combined effort should "develop priorities for research on climate vulnerability and adaptation and consider strategies for providing appropriate research support." That research support would not just focus on unique climate-related events, but on how such events interact with existing political, economic, and social forces in areas where the United States has a vital security interest.
Recent research shows there are distinctive security components to climate change, the effects of which will become critical priorities for the United States and international community in coming decades. As a recent World Bank report starkly states: "The projected impacts [of a four-degree Celsius rise in global temperatures] on water availability, ecosystems, agriculture, and human health could lead to large-scale displacement of populations and have adverse consequences for human security and economic and trade systems." As long as the United States maintains global responsibilities, it will have to react to and plan for these effects.
A warming planet presents a foreign policy challenge to the United States: it exacerbates natural resource scarcity in sensitive regions of the world, fueling inter- and intra-state conflict. The U.S. government should develop plans for adapting to and mitigating the harmful effects of a changing climate.
The Pentagon and the intelligence community have made tentative steps toward incorporating a focus on climate, but it's hard to judge its place in the hierarchy of agency and department priorities. The Pentagon's most recent Quadrennial Defense Review included a push toward climate change and clean energy strategies. The Office of the Director National Intelligence has published several reports attempting to forecast the impact of climate change on national security priorities. The Central Intelligence Agency created a Center for Climate Change and National Security, but then shut it down -- a clear reflection of misplaced priorities (ironically, the NRC report was commissioned by the intelligence community, and published only a week before the CIA turned its back on looking closely at climate).
The disappointing news from the CIA demonstrates that, while some in the federal government have made an encouraging start, much more immediate action is required. But would a presidential council on global climate change amount to another layer of red tape in the foreign policy bureaucracy? The pressing nature of the problem, its complexity, and the failure of the government to meaningfully address it so far suggest that in fact, a bureaucratic imperative, as unsexy as it sounds, would be the best first step to effectively prepare for climate change. The U.S. possesses the tools required, but not an across-the-board strategy, borne out of a highly visible, ongoing effort combining several relevant branches, departments, and agencies. One potential model of interagency cooperation is the Atrocities Prevention Board, created this past April by President Obama to coordinate action on preventing genocide, which draws together senior officials from a dozen government agencies. The APB, like a putative Climate Security Strategy Board, aims not to recreate any of its constituent agencies, but improve coordination among them. Climate change, like genocide prevention, is a concern that crosses over the established bureaucratic boundaries of regional specialization. In the absence of a centralized body, separate agencies and departments might prioritize the steps necessary to mitigate climate change's effects, and eventually build resiliency against future extreme climate events. However, this Balkanized process might lead to wasteful duplication of effort, and agencies would be deprived of best practices and lessons learned. It would be difficult to identify critical priorities for further research or action. All of the tools of American foreign policy, including development assistance, diplomacy, foreign trade, and, ultimately, military power, will have to work closely together. Changing institutional cultures is a long-term proposition; efforts at improving the interagency process must start somewhere.
What would this new Climate Security Strategy Board do? Climate and social sciences offer one promising avenue of inquiry: the development, as a planning tool, of climate "stress tests" that would help guide decision-makers on how climate-related events might affect security posture. In order to prioritize how national security resources are directed toward prospective climate emergencies, policymakers need to know which countries are the most susceptible to a serious disruption caused to some extent by a climate-related event or series of events. One sample "stress test" might look at Africa's agricultural yield under the pressure of increasingly high temperatures during growing seasons. As the World Bank reports, a one-degree Celsius rise in daily temperature over the course of a growing season could lead to suboptimal yields in 65 percent of maize-growing areas in Africa. A comprehensive climate "stress test" would then map out the likely impact on food prices, health indicators, and habitation patterns (Would there be a greater influx of human migration into urban areas?). Further analysis would assess political stability of nations most likely experiencing these adverse effects. In an ideal world, the Climate Board would issue recommendations on how U.S. aid, economic, and diplomatic initiatives could be re-engineered to head-off the worst consequences of such accumulative increases in temperature. Working either with or under the structure of the National Security Council, its recommendations could directly influence presidential decision-making. In the aggregate, such analyses would, over time, help inform responses to climate change across the U.S. foreign policy bureaucracy. It would build a body of knowledge that could buttress global efforts to prepare for and respond to extreme climate-related events.
All of the available, credible science says that climate disruptions will increase in frequency and severity. As a result, the need for mechanisms in-place to quickly and accurately advise policymakers will similarly increase. While the science may be settled, the strategy is not. Convening an interagency effort to better understand the national security implications, and make concrete recommendations is vitally necessary. | <urn:uuid:9de19911-5290-4eff-bb4c-a9fb78b8d7eb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/11/a-warming-planets-foreign-policy-challenge-for-the-united-states/265726/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00136-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946805 | 1,564 | 2.5625 | 3 |
The Vampire Squid's scientific name, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, translates to 'vampire squid from Hell'. Which is odd because it isn't a vampire, doesn't have any particularly vampiric habits and isn't actually a squid. Oh, and there is no evidence to suggest that it was created by devils and demons from the Underworld to spy on humanity and prepare for an infernal attack on the Land of Mortals. It still could be of course, but there is no real evidence to suggest it. It's all circumstantial.
It'd make for a strange scout though, since the vampire squid is found at extraordinary depths of 600-900 metres (2,000-3,000 feet) or even more, where there is scarce light and such low oxygen levels that little else can survive. In fact there are no other known cephalopods at this depth. You know, I really like octopus. A life without the octopus... sounds like Hell. Hmmm. Anyway, how does the vampire squid survive in a place that others can't, and if it's not a squid, what is it?
Firstly, the vampire squid has been given its own order: Vampyromorphida. It has eight arms, like octopus, but caped together with a webbing of skin and with suckers only at the further half. The rest is covered in fleshy spines called cirri, that may help in creating a current to draw food toward the mouth. They also have two more long, thin 'velar filaments' with which it can feel the surrounding area and search for prey, or keep in a little pouch when not in use. They're a bit like the tentacles that give squid their ninth and tenth limb, but seem to be appendages that octopus lost millions of years ago.
Yes, vampire squid are old, they used to have a lot more relatives in the Vampyromorphid family but now just one is left, in a place where cephalopod upstarts couldn't get at it.
Despite the dark and the long, feely, antenna arms, vampire squid have big eyes. Really big. The entire animal is only about a foot (30 cms) long and half that is all arms, but they have eyes an inch (2.5 cms) in diameter. A twelvth of the entire length, a sixth of its body! If we take the sixth, we're talking the equivalent of humans with basketball eyeballs! People bouncing eyeballs on the floor and throwing it at each other. Imagine that! Don't imagine that.
They also have soft, gelatinous bodies, full of ammonium rich tissues that have a density similar to that of the surrounding water, allowing them to maintain buoyancy with minimal effort. Which is good because they also have rather weak muscles, but are still agile enough for a burst of speed due to balancing organs that are quite a lot like the inner ear.
When more relaxed, the vampire squid uses fins at the side of its head to slowly 'fly' through the darkness, again requiring minimal effort.
Throw in blue blood that takes up more oxygen than that of other cephalopods and gills with an unusually large surface area and you have a creature that can survive the Oxygen Minimum Zone with aplomb.
Life in the deep sea is tough, but death is tougher, so the vampire squid uses a variety of strategies to avoid and escape predation. For a start there is the simple matter of colour, it is black or red, both of which are invisible in the deep. Secondly, it's almost entirely covered in photophores.
When the vampire moves up to the shallower end of its range it won't be shrouded in blackness, it's surrounded in twilight and just as the vampire has large eyes to make use of the smallest gleam of light, so too do its predators. To combat this, it can emit a bluish colour from the photophores and blend in with its surroundings when seen from below. It also has photoreceptors atop its head, not eyes exactly, but sensitive to movement and shadows above, and it's when that shadow turns out to be something malevolent that the fireworks really begin!
No, not guns, it's more that the vampire squid has impeccable control of its bioluminescent photophores, creating a dazzling and maddening display as they flash and glow, tentacles writhing and the actual vampire darting erratically. Deciphering the actual creature behind it all becomes frustrating in the gloom and to cap it all, it can even light up and then diminish and shrink the luminescence to mimic a creature escaping into the distance, while the vampire itself barely moves. All to conserve energy, and particularly effective when predators themselves can't afford to use up energy on a chase.
Most cephalopods have an ink sac with which they can squirt a load of dark and confusing ink at predators as they make their getaway. In the darkness of the deep sea however, the darkness of ink is pretty much irrelevent. The vampire squid gets around this by using light instead. When the situation appears particularly dire, it squirts sticky, bioluminescent mucus from the tips of its arms which can stay lit up for 10 minutes, dazing and dazzling the predator while the vampire disappears into the shadows. I don't know how sticky this stuff actually is, but it sounds like the vampire can actually watch its assailant glowing in the dark and casually drift away. Clever stuff!
One incredibly odd defense is known as the pineapple posture. Here, the arms are drawn up to expose the jet black underside of the cape. There are no photophores here and the rest of the body disappears inside. The cirri stand out proudly, but are completely harmless. Meanwhile the vampire can light up photophores at the tips of its arms and hold them up, drawing attacks away from the body and toward... well, the tips of its arms, obviously. These can be regenerated if lost, so it's a worthwhile sacrifice.
Wow! There's a lot to say about the vampire squid... from Hell! It's such a remarkable and unique creature, I feel it deserves its remarkable and ridiculous name for this alone. It's incredible the amount of adaptation and strategy it has required to survive in its niche. While octopus and squid went about killing off its ancient relatives, the vampire has survived by living life deeper than the deepest of deep sea squid could. Night of the Living Dead!
Vampire squid squirt sticky, bioluminescent mucus from the tips of their arms, check out some other squirters at In Your Face!: Squirters of the Animal Kingdom. | <urn:uuid:32f63a85-b657-4153-bcdc-d93f4d194f9a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.realmonstrosities.com/2010/10/vampire-squid.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957734 | 1,404 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Details: This poster shows a skull with glowing eyes. At the top it says Danger and at the bottom it says Do Not Enter .
A danger sign is something that warns of a hazardous situation, or a perilous or unsafe location. The skull is a bony structure which serves as the general framework for the head. In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones. | <urn:uuid:f49083fa-df20-48c7-90ae-879e693ddac8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.posterrevolution.com/poster.cfm/danger-skull-do-not-enter-art-poster-print-16x20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934663 | 78 | 2.84375 | 3 |
This data-base is freely available at http://www.poms.ac.uk/ although this morning when I attempted a search it still seemed to be on holiday! Hopefully this IT issue will be resolved soon.
Here is some more background information from the site:-
The period between 1093 and 1286 laid the foundations for modern Scotland. At its start, the king of Scots ruled no more than a small east coast realm between Lothian and Moray. At its end, his authority extended over the whole area of modern Scotland apart from the Northern Isles. During the same period, Scotland's society and culture was transformed by the king implanting a new nobility of Anglo-Norman origin and establishing English influenced structures of law and government. Rees Davies observed of Scotland that 'paradoxically, the most extensively English-settled and Anglicised part of the British Isles was the country which retained its political independence' (The First English Empire, 170).
The paradox could go deeper. Is it a coincidence that it was only in the thirteenth century, when Anglicisation became dominant in the lowlands, that the kingdom of the Scots ceased to be regarded by its inhabitants as a realm of many regions and began to be thought of as a single country and people? In one sense the kingdom was becoming more self-consciously Scottish; and yet its history in this period is typically seen in terms of native distinctiveness being eroded by the influx of English immigration, social institutions and culture. But, should this be seen primarily in British terms? How does this transformation relate to wider patterns of social and cultural homogenisation that have been identified in this period, embracing French-speaking elites, Flemish as well as English traders, and the religious life and institutions of Latin Christendom?There are also some useful links available on the site for those interested in early Scottish and English history.
Thanks to Chris Paton for highlighting this new resource at Scottish GENES and via Twitter. | <urn:uuid:1b807d18-33e8-4d3d-9735-555adcb15e23> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://yourscottishancestry.blogspot.com/2010/12/paradox-of-medieval-scotland-1093-1286.html?showComment=1294423979613 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966694 | 405 | 3.375 | 3 |
In birds, chlamydiosis results from infection by Chlamydophila psittaci (order Chlamydiales, family Chlamydiaceae). This organism, previously known as Chlamydia psittaci, is a Gram negative, coccoid, obligate intracellular bacterium. There are at least six avian serotypes.
Avian chlamydiosis can be found worldwide. C. psittaci is particularly common in psittacine birds in tropical and subtropical regions. This disease is present in the United States. In a 1982 survey, C. psittaci was isolated from 20-50% of necropsied pet birds in California and Florida.
Among birds, C. psittaci is transmitted frequently by inhalation of infectious dust and occasionally by ingestion. Fomites can also spread chlamydiosis, and biting insects, mites, and lice may be important in mechanical transmission. Birds can be asymptomatic carriers; carriers shed C. psittaci intermittently, particularly when stressed. One form of the organism, the elementary body, can survive in dried feces for months.
Humans usually become infected after inhaling contaminated dust from feathers or bird droppings. Direct contact with infected birds and bites can also spread the disease. Person-to-person transmission is rare but can occur by aerosol or venereal spread.
C. psittaci is susceptible to quaternary ammonium compounds, chlorophenols, iodophore disinfectants, formaldehyde, 80% isopropyl alcohol or a 1:100 dilution of household bleach.
The incubation period in humans is 1 to 4 weeks; most infections become symptomatic after 10 days.
Human chlamydiosis can be acute or insidious in onset. The disease varies from a mild, flu-like infection with a fever, chills, headaches, anorexia, malaise, sore throat and photophobia to a serious atypical pneumonia with dyspnea. There may be a dry cough, which sometimes becomes mucopurulent. In uncomplicated infections, the fever lasts for approximately 2 to 3 weeks then resolves. More rarely, a severe systemic illness with endocarditis, myocarditis and renal complications can develop. Hepatitis and neurologic complications including encephalitis, meningitis and myelitis have also been seen.
Person-to-person transmission is rare; the agent is occasionally spread in aerosols during paroxysmal coughing. Venereal transmission has also been reported.
Chlamydiosis can be diagnosed by isolation of C. psittaci or by serology. C. psittaci can be isolated in embryonated eggs, laboratory animals, or cell cultures of buffalo green monkey (BGM), African green monkey (Vero), McCoy or L cells. Iodine staining of inclusion bodies or immunofluorescence can differentiate C. psittaci from C. trachomatis. DNA restriction endonuclease analysis can also distinguish these two organisms in tissue samples. Serologic tests include complement fixation or immunofluorescent tests; individuals treated with antibiotics may not develop antibodies. A presumptive diagnosis is sometimes made, based on exposure to birds and clinical signs.
Treatment and Vaccination
Antibiotics (tetracycline) combined with supportive care are effective. There is no vaccine.
Morbidity and Mortality
Currently, fewer than 50 confirmed cases are reported annually in the United States; additional undiagnosed or unreported cases are thought to occur. The disease may be mild or severe, depending on age and health of the individual and the extent of pneumonia; more serious disease is usually seen in the elderly and those who are debilitated. The mortality rate can be as high as 30% in severe infections left untreated; treated cases are rarely fatal. Convalescence may be slow after severe disease.
Avian chlamydiosis occurs in most birds, but is particularly common in psittacine birds, pigeons, doves, and mynah birds. This disease is sometimes seen in ducks and turkeys but only rarely in chickens.
The incubation period in cage birds is usually three days to several weeks. However, in latent infections, active disease may be seen years after infection.
In turkeys, ducks, and pigeons, the clinical signs can include depression, ruffled feathers, weakness, inappetence, weight loss, nasal discharge, respiratory distress, yellowish-green or green diarrhea, and unilateral or bilateral conjunctivitis. Egg production is decreased. Nervous signs may be seen, including transient ataxia in pigeons and trembling or gait abnormalities in ducks.
In pet birds, common symptoms include anorexia, weight loss, diarrhea, yellowish droppings, sinusitis, respiratory distress, nervous signs, and conjunctivitis. Asymptomatic infections and mild infections with diarrhea or mild respiratory signs may also be seen. Residual disturbances in feathering may be apparent in survivors.
Yes. Infected birds can shed C. psittaci for weeks to months. Shedding may be continuous or intermittent.
In live birds, chlamydiosis is usually diagnosed by isolating C. psittaci from pharyngeal or nasal swabs, feces, cloacal swabs, conjunctival scrapings or peritoneal exudate. At necropsy, the organism may be isolated from blood, ocular or nasal exudates, inflammatory exudates, or tissue samples from the lung, kidney, spleen, liver, and pericardium. If diarrhea is present, organisms may be found in the colonic contents or feces.
C. psittaci is isolated in embryonated eggs, laboratory animals or cell cultures of buffalo green monkey (BGM), African green monkey (Vero), McCoy or L cells. The organisms can be identified by direct immunofluorescence or other staining techniques. A single negative culture may be misleading, as carrier birds may shed C. psittaci only intermittently. Treatment with antibiotics during the 2 to 3 weeks before testing may also lead to false negatives.
Chlamydiosis can also be diagnosed by demonstrating C. psittaci in tissues, feces, or exudates by histochemical or immunohistochemical staining. Antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are also used, but may lack sensitivity or cross-react with other Gram negative bacteria. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and polymerase chain reaction/ restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assays have been described.
Serology is occasionally helpful. At least a four-fold rise in titer should be seen in paired samples. Complement fixation is the standard test. Other assays include ELISA, latex agglutination (LA), elementary body agglutination (EBA), micro-immunofluorescence (MIFT), and agar gel immunodiffusion tests. The EBA test detects IgM only and can be used to diagnose current infections.
Treatment and Vaccination
Antibiotics are effective in treating the symptoms of chlamydiosis, but some birds may remain infected.
Morbidity and Mortality
Morbidity and mortality vary with the host species and pathogenicity of the serotype. Young birds tend to be more susceptible than older birds. In turkeys, serovar D strains cause 50-80% morbidity and 10-30% mortality. In broiler turkeys, up to 80% of infections with this serovar may be fatal. Other serovars in turkeys usually result in 5-20% morbidity, with mortality under 50%. In ducks, morbidity may be up to 80% and mortality 0-40%. Concurrent infections or stress increase the severity of the disease.
Post-mortem lesions in birds can include pneumonia, airsacculitis, hepatitis, myocarditis, epicarditis, nephritis, peritonitis, and splenitis. In turkeys, an enlarged and congested spleen may be the only lesion. Wasting, vascular congestion, fibrinous airsacculitis, fibrinous pericarditis, fibrinous pneumonia with congestion of the lungs, or fibrinous perihepatitis may also be seen. In pigeons, common lesions include hepatomegaly, airsacculitis, enteritis, and conjunctivitis with swollen and encrusted eyelids. The spleen may rupture. In cage birds, the liver may be enlarged and yellow with focal necrosis. The spleen is often enlarged, with white foci. Airsacculitis, pericarditis, and congestion of the intestinal tract can also be seen.
“Avian Chlamydiosis.” In Whiteman and Bickford’s Avian Disease Manual, 4th ed. Edited by B.R. Charlton et al. Kennett Square, Pa: American Association of Avian Pathologists, 1996, pp. 68-71.
“Avian Chlamydiosis.” In Manual of Standards for Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines. Paris: Office International des Epizooties, 2000, pp. 679-90.
Becker, Y. “Chlamydia.” In Medical Microbiology. 4th ed. Edited by Samuel Baron. New York; Churchill Livingstone, 1996. 14 Nov 2002 <http://www.gsbs.utmb.edu/microbook/ch039.htm>.
“Chlamydiosis.” In The Merck Veterinary Manual, 8th ed. Edited by S.E. Aiello and A. Mays. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., 1998, pp. 1300-01.
“Chlamydiosis.” In Poultry Diseases, 4th ed. Edited by F.T.W. Jordan and M. Pattison. London: W.B. Saunders, 1996, pp. 94-99.
Gerlach, H. “Chlamydia.” In Clinical Avian Medicine and Surgery. Edited by G.J. Harrison and L. Harrison. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1986, pp. 457-63.
Johnston W.B., M. Eidson, K.A. Smith, and M.G. Stobierski. “Compendium of chlamydiosis (psittacosis) control, 1999.” Psittacosis Compendium Committee, National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 214, no. 5 (1999): 640-6.
“Material Safety Data Sheet –Chlamydia psittaci.” January 2001 Canadian Laboratory Centre for Disease Control. 1 November 2001
“Psittacosis.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), July 2002. 14 Nov 2002 <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/psittacosis_t.htm>.
“Psittacosis.” In The Merck Manual, 17th ed. Edited by M.H. Beers and R. Berkow. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., 1999. 14 Nov 2002 <http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section6/chapter73/73j.htm>.
Vanrompay D., R. Ducatelle, and F. Haesebrouck. “Chlamydia psittaci infections: a review with emphasis on avian chlamydiosis.” Veterinary Microbiology 45, no. 2-3 (1995): 93-119.
Copyright 2003, ISU
Center for Food Security and Public Health
Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Ames Iowa USA 50011
Phone: 515 294 7189
Fax: 515 294 8259 | <urn:uuid:cea7a5a0-c3ae-4676-80e5-8f2f7748816f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/divisions/ah/diseases/psittacosis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00038-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.87303 | 2,518 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Breeding tomorrow’s hops... today
Is beer not good enough? Has no one made pitch-perfect hoppy ale? I mean, what if in the evolution of brewing, we’re still at that part of the chart where we’re all just hunched over, early hominids—perhaps Austr-ale-opithecus—which is why we tend to have poor posture while perched1 on bar stools? The fact is, we’re in the relatively early stages of Humulus lupulus and there are botanical geneticists who are cultivating more perfect hops as we speak, and sip.
In Washington’s Yakima Valley, Jason Perrault developed the new rock star, IPA-worthy hop that is Citra—high in all-important alpha acids and yields notes of pineapple and mango—at Yakima Chief Ranch, now part of the joint venture with John I. Haas, Inc. called the Hop Breeding Co. Dr. John Henning hopes his new Mt. Rainier hop—spicy with a hint of licorice—catches on; he created it at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, OR. It’s a workhorse Noble variety hop akin to grassy Hallertauer that is fairly disease resistant, tolerant to downy mildew and high-yielding with the added benefit of a desirable aroma—if you like a little licorice notes mixed with your citrus. And across the Atlantic, Dr. Peter Darby finally gained the EU Plant Variety Rights for his Sovereign hop, which exhibits classic English hop aroma like that of Fuggles—earthy with a kiss of tropical fruit—but as a dwarf variety so attractive to British hop growers. After years of breeding research and evaluation dating back to the 20th century, their efforts are just now blossoming in new beers. So imagine what you’ll be drinking starting in 2020 based on what they’re doing in their respective offices today.
Is it rocket science? Not exactly. NASA recently retired the space shuttle Discovery after 30 years of exploring Earth’s low orbit so as to focus on exploring deep space, beginning with the Mars Science Laboratory and plans for the Juno spacecraft already in the works. While hop-breeding programs are, by nature, futuristic, there is way less computer hardware involved and way more dirt. Sure, there’s some software involved, but hop crosses yield seedlings that are planted in test farms and evaluated based on agronomics and aromatics. There’s no HAL 9000 in this Beer Odyssey capable of olfaction. Instead, someone like Perrault, for example, simply stands in the field, grinds some leaves between his fingers, brings them to his nose and has no clue if he’s getting a whiff of the next Simcoe (the pine-and-grapefruit scented megastar for which he holds the patent). But there’s roughly one-hundredth of a percent chance that he smells the future. And it kinda smells like citrus, or tomatoes, or possibly cheesecake.
Rub and Sniff
Whether you believe that Pliny the Elder, a Roman botanist, was the first to identify hops shortly after the beginning of the common era, or the honor belongs to Leonhart Fuchs, a 16th century Bavarian botanist (as recounted by Martyn Cornells on his Zythophile blog), either way this pungent flower is a relative newcomer to the millennia-old world of beer and as divine as it is, it’s being perfected all around the world. Stan Hieronymus is presently writing For the Love of Hops (Brewers Publications), which will fully explore the past, present and future fascination with, and application of these consecrated cones.
There’s only one species of hop but there are scores—hundreds even—of varieties grown on every continent (need we say, save Antarctica). There are serious hop breeding programs around the globe selecting new varieties to cultivate or, more commonly, “cultivars,” contracted from “cultivated varieties.” We won’t dwell on the Czech Republic where they grow almost nothing but herbal Saaz hops; their pilsners are amazing, but what have you done for us lately, Bohemia? There’s the Hop Research Center in Hüll, Germany; Wye Hops Ltd in Kent, UK; Hops Product Australia down in Tasmania; and, here in the U.S., there are breeding programs in the public and private sector. That’s where Dr. Henning and Perrault come in, respectively, as there are half a dozen serious breeding programs in the U.S. alone. Incidentally, not all hop research conducted on the OSU campus falls under the USDA’s umbrella. A new craft-centric hops supplier called Indie Hops bankrolls OSU’s breeding program, making the hop breeders and chemists who work down the hall from Dr. Henning his colleagues but not his coworkers.
There are 50, maybe 70 hop farms, by Perrault’s estimate, left in America, with a few new ones boasting small acreages in less obvious places like New York and New Mexico, and even the White House garden. That number is down from around 200 back in the 1970s, but the acreage each farm accounts for, logically, has increased. According to the Hop Growers of America, U.S. farmers grew over 65 million pounds of hops last year (only Germany grows more), just under 80 percent of which was grown in Yakima where Perrault himself is a fourth generation hop farmer. Perrault Farms is one of the Hop Breeding Co.’s licensed growers. Oregon’s Willamette Valley produced roughly 16 percent of total U.S. volume thanks to growers like Blake Crosby, a fifth generation hop farmer, who plants exclusively USDA hop varieties. One solitary acre of his B. Crosby Hop Farm is set aside for experimental rather than commercial hops, specifically because he aims to be a resource for craft brewers whose hop utilization rely 80 percent on domestic hops.
It’s American craft brewers who are clamoring for new cultivars and with the growth in the craft segment compared to the industrial brewing companies, breeders are finally starting to work closer with them. How exactly does a new cultivar go from germplasm to a brewkettle? Slowly, carefully, deliberately and luckily.
The process begins with making a cross, which is to say selecting which female and male plants might create the perfect progeny, then in a year it’s ready to plant in a greenhouse. A selected seedling is then tested in a field to see if it’s strong and immune enough to survive while being hearty enough to be easily picked and stored for the sake of hop growers. Three or four years’ worth of evaluating its benefits may see fit to include the hop in a select panel for cloning and expanded trial farming before it makes its way to a brewery to evaluate its utility and desirability. More on how a brewer is given the opportunity to evaluate new cultivars in a minute.
As an overview, Henning says if he comes up with 15,000 seeds today, perhaps 1,500 will make their way to a field and of those, only five to 10 will become available to the commercial brewing industry by the year 2020 at the earliest.
In Yakima, Perrault’s journey of a thousand varieties begins not with a single whiff, but tons of them. “I’m smelling maybe 10,000 of these plants in the field, grinding samples, getting ideas,” said Perrault. This is what’s called “rub and sniff.” If the initial aroma is interesting, he may decide to expand the new line. But never is he able to tell while standing in the soil if he’s holding the next highly sought-after hop in his fingers. “Very rarely do you think you have a superstar. You have potential.”
Engineering new hops, like designing new beers, is part science and part art. And just because something smells amazing right now, there’s no way of knowing how it would translate in an actual beer a decade down the road.
“One of the beauties of the brewers in the craft industry is they’re willing to try something new and share info,” continues Perrault. After brewing with an experimental hop, the brewer “will come back and give us some feedback, as well as give us some of the beer to try. There’s a good exchange of information that goes on that allows us to move through the system confidently.”
A Hop by Any Other Name
During the trial years, all the factors that determine if a new hop is a goody or not, are scrutinized with both the farmers and then the brewers in mind. Now that all new varieties of hops are patented, breeders in the private sector stand to make some good money if they strike oil—essential hop oil that is.
Evaluating hops entails doing chemical analysis of its alpha and beta acids to determine its application and efficiency in bittering and imparting aroma. It is then selected based on agronomic factors such as resistance to diseases and pests, how well and big (or small) it grows, which influences the amount of yield (measured in terms of acres) and what is called pickability. Furthermore, storageability is an important aspect since who wants hop cones that will go bad right away? Agronomics are vital to the brewers in that they determine a hop’s price because if it is difficult to grow, produce good yield, pick or store, it’s not economically viable to the grower. Try convincing a family-owned farm to harvest an unprofitable crop.
“Private breeders have an advantage over the public program,” says Henning, because “they have marketers that supply brewers with whatever acreage they want. Whereas [the USDA] just release(s) a hop to the public and it’s up to the whims of the brewer. I can talk to the brewer, but unless they’re willing to do private contracts with the growers, it has to go through the merchants—who happen to own the private hop-breeding companies.”
On the flipside, hops bred in our public sector give botanists like Dr. Henning benefits by having “a mandate from Congress to do research in genetics for the benefit of the American industry.” One key element among global breeding programs is how varieties fare in their respective climates.
Dr. Darby said that selecting for disease resistance not to mention funding sources drives the U.K. program. Developing a resistance to wilt “has been a feature of the breeding here since the early part of the 20th century.” He adds “the U.K. is looking at a small industry with a very defined customer base for a premium market. The U.S. hop breeding [programs] serve almost the exact opposite.” Zing!
What he meant, diplomatically, is that the domestic industrial brewers, by virtue of accounting for some 80 percent of the industry, growers still rely on those contracts to keep their farms from being repossessed. American hops are “a commodity market,” as Dr. Darby called them, requiring “rapid production of a bulk product,” but as the craft segment grows and aromatics vie for alphas, the dual targets are approaching equilibrium. Even in England growers are “trending toward American-style hops” as brewers seek a change in the objectives toward stronger, unusual hop aromas.
Switching from aromatics to agronomics, those lucky Kiwis don’t have powdery mildew or aphids down there, so those are non-issues in their burgeoning Nelson region. But in Japan, back in the 1930s, they discovered the presence of Hop Stunt Viroid (HSV) and rebuilt their hop programs afresh, which solved the problem. This virus-like particle doesn’t have a protein code around it, just the RNA. Henning noted that it’s a pathogen that can severely limit hop growth and production and varies dramatically from variety to variety. Great efforts eradicated HSV in Japan, but it seems to have arrived in the U.S. possibly some five years ago. Fear not, it is not exactly the mad cow disease of hops that, if it makes its way into your beer, would turn you into a babbling idiot (unless, you know, that’s already the case), but it concerns Henning nonetheless.
So the odds of any given cross being selected for commercial growing and brewing is rather poor. Perrault estimates that “99.9 percent of everything we grow gets thrown away.”
The real test, the real magic, in what breeders do, lies in what happens between the greenhouse and the growler. They’ve designed a new hop. Sure enough it survived in the field, no matter how small. But will it be any good? If no one wants to brew with it, or, more to the point, drink that brew, what good is said hop even if it is, say, tolerant to Prunus necrotic ring-spot virus or boasts beneficially low cohumulone?
In working with commercial brewers, breeders obtain feedback on whether they’re building the next Rolling Stones or the next Milli Vanilli. And just like it takes a major record label to really support a band and turn them into rock stars, typically only larger regional breweries pony up to support growing experimental hops and see if they have something worthy of the top of the charts, or trellis as the case may be.
Widmer Bros. Brewing brewmaster Joe Casey said John I. Haas, Inc, now part of the Hop Breeding Co., approached him in late 2007 with an experimental strain created by their breeder, Gene Probasco, back in 1990, simply numbered 114. “We subsequently dubbed it ‘X-114’ inside the walls of Widmer.” Its mother was a comely Hallertauer mittelfrueh and its father was a U.S. Tettnanger on the prowl. The bouncing offspring displayed notes of citrus as well as tropical fruits like lychee and papaya.
Widmer didn’t get to play with it exclusively, since it was co-funded by Sierra Nevada and Deschutes as well. But Casey did brew with it and entered that beer into the 2008 World Beer Cup, where it promptly earned a gold medal. Convinced he had a winner on his hands, the brewery signed a five-year contract to keep them in steady supply. Having said that, contracts are generally tied to a varietal, but given a year or two’s notice, that can be swapped for a new one in case something sexier comes along.
At that same time, Sierra Nevada paid to play with three acres of this hop—a relatively tiny amount—that has proven to be a worthy investment. Moving forward, before it became trademarked, the Hop Breeding Co. started using the moniker HBC 394. Sierra Nevada’s Ken Grossman said, “You’ve got to put your money where your mouth is. Breeders don’t do this for free.”
Because of the abundant amount of experimental hops breeders work with, they are simply numbered. Naming each of the 10 or 15,000 new hops would be like naming each and every “swimmer”—there’s a reason you only name the baby.
Later that year, Perrault patented and trademarked the numbered strain under its new name, Citra. Of course, it’s wildly popular among American craft brewers and Widmer just released this gold-medal-winning beer as part of their new Rotator IPA series, sticking with the name X-114 IPA.
Famously, the first bottled beer that Citra showed up in—a canvas for this high-alpha hop that Sierra Nevada’s Bill Manley described as “Simcoe on steroids”—was Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA. Of course, their usage didn’t stop there. Citra is also featured in Sierra Nevada’s new imperial IPA, Hoptimum, along with a proprietary variety Grossman said goes by “363,” and added it will “definitely” become a named hop.
With names that often sound like Zoolander “looks”—Magnum, Hercules, Taurus—the botanist behind them can cull from inspiration wherever it washes over them.
Dr. Henning would like to see Newport be his legacy. Bred as a replacement for Galena, it boasts higher alphas and betas, higher yields and is resistant to downy and powdery mildew, which means less spraying. He named Newport after the coastal Oregon town where he loves to surf. Serendipitously, that’s where Rogue Brewing is located so he approached brewmaster John Maier about hopping with Newport. Maier called it “one of the most beautiful hops on the vine, but it doesn’t have much aromatic quality.” Rogue planted it in their own 40-acre farm and it shows up in a few beers including a wet hop ale, but otherwise it trudges along as a tool to reach desired International Bitterness Units, since it’s all about the IBUs.
“Unfortunately,” lamented Henning of his would-be legacy, “it hasn’t taken off.” Once a hop debuts, name and all, that’s no guarantee it will become highly coveted, or that it will even survive.
Up in the Yakima Valley where Perrault works, not far from Simcoe Road, there exists the Satus Pass. Perrault said his Satus hop went into commercial scale production, but yield and disease issues killed it. And Casey recalled brewing a patch on Widmer’s pilot system where the hop lent the beer “Grape Kool-Aid flavor—not very attractive. That beer didn’t go anywhere.”
Hopback to the Future
The varieties used, and manner in which brewers hop their beers is ever changing. Pelletized hops are already more abundant than whole cone hops. Increasingly, hop dealers are popularizing “downstream products” such as hop oils, CO2 extracts and isomerized extracts—refined products derived the flowers much the same way crude oil can become petrol, plastics and pesticides. In the brewhouse, will whirlpools and hopbacks themselves become obsolete?
Rather than marching in some scary direction the way the processed food industry has already done, progress in hop breeding doesn’t mean Monsanto-esque genetically modified hops. Instead of GMOs, the trend is toward organic hops since ultimately the votes that count the most are the paying consumers. As craft beer drinkers learn about the appellation of their hops—Willamette, Kent Goldings, Nelson Sauvin—the way wine drinkers know their grapes, there’s been a growing demand for local and organic hops. Dr. Henning confirmed that the USDA-ARS has a strong component in trying to address those needs, especially because the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) mandated that by 2013 organic beers could only be made with organic hops.
As such, there’s always a new direction for new hops. Varieties are ephemeral. “You’d have to assume that these varieties will evolve into something else,” said Crosby, whose personal farm abounds with Willamette hops as well as Nugget, still popular among the large breweries. He grows Cascade, too, the hop regarded as the quintessential, iconic American hop ever since Grossman popularized it with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Crosby says is hard to imagine it will ever go away, “but if you look at the past maybe it’s inevitable.” After all, his father and both grandfathers grew Brewers Gold and Bullion on acres aplenty. Where are those today?
Actually, Grossman said they have a little bit of Bullion growing on their home farm but agreed that the variety is “pretty much gone.” And to think it was used in the long-gone but not forgotten Ballantine IPA. For his part, Grossman won’t let Cascade vanish into obscurity. “Cascade won’t go away because we pay to have it planted. We buy most of the Cascade grown in the U.S. so we’re supporting that variety, like heirloom tomatoes.”
Industry-wide and industry-wise, there’s little to no interest in heirloom hops. Dr. Henning is merely interested in them for cataloging purposes. Growers don’t find them practical and breeders don’t find them profitable. Everyone wants new world hops. And the new flavors they introduce.
Another new hop that Widmer brewer Casey experimented with is called Galaxy and, while nominally in use in its native Australia, Widmer Bros. Galaxy-Hopped Barleywine Ale may be the first beer it showed up in domestically. The name is part of a trend to give such new world hops a high-profile platform.
We first saw this with Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe IPA. Of course, that hop enjoys ravenous demand today. Hop farmer Eric Desmarais paid attention and set about creating his own new cultivar on his own CLS Farms in the Yakima Valley in an attempt to, in his own words, “piggyback” off the success of Simcoe. He began working on it in 2008 during the infamous hop shortage that caused the price of hops to skyrocket. “That helped recapitalize a lot of farms including my farm. Anybody who’s been in the hops industry knows it’s boom and bust cycles.”
He is marketing El Dorado hops and there’s already Flying Dog’s Imperial IPA Single Hop El Dorado. Is it so amazing that he’s finding unimagined demand with his very first attempt? Or will craft breweries—in an attempt to be the one to claim first—release new beers with any new hop coming down the pipe? (In El Dorado’s case, no less a hop maestro than Matt Brynildson, the brewer behind Firestone-Walker’s Union Jack IPA, is singing the hop’s praises from the mountaintop; Cigar City incorporated it into their Li’l Warmer Barleywine; and the New Belgium/Elysian collaboration Hop Trip VII is a “Black Belgo IPA bittered with Argentinean Cascade hops and finished with El Dorado whole hops.”)
Galaxy is described as imparting passion fruit. El Dorado’s descriptors include watermelon and “cherry Life Savers.” What people smell while conducting rub and sniff tests don’t always translate to the finished beer, but the industry is hell-bent on discovering wild aromatics. Unlike the shuttle Discovery that is heading for the Smithsonian, breeders and brewers don’t put hops in a museum. Nostalgia doesn’t push the envelope for new beers.
The HBC almost got lucky with the timing of their release of Citra during The Great Hop Shortage, which wasn’t relegated to Yakima but occurred worldwide. The fact that hops are now being bred and grown from New Mexico to Alabama, and from Tasmania to Xinjiang (China) means that the opportunity for interesting new varietals springs eternal. Don’t be surprised if Perrault releases the one he said really picks up a cheesecake aroma. If he does, that experimental, numbered hop may become an A-lister or never even land a walk-on role. Next, his own two kids may breed hops in the future (they potentially represent his family farm’s fifth generation) with the mission to boldly spice where no beer has gone before.
Brian Yaeger is the author of Red, White, and Brew: An American Beer Odyssey. He lives in Portland, OR, with his wife (and first baby on the way) and treats beercationers at their bed-and-beer, Inn Beervana, to his homebrew. | <urn:uuid:4c6a8bcf-2aa1-49ad-bcca-691cb04013f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://allaboutbeer.com/article/hop-forward/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951507 | 5,198 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Q: I work in a garden center. A customer believes that we “train” our plants to need water every day because we water them regularly. Is this true?
A: The plants were “trained” long before they came to you. In moist soil, plants take what water they need and leave the rest. If surplus water keeps the roots soggy, they get root rot and die. Greenhouse growing media is very fast-draining because growers don’t want to fight root rot. Therefore, at the garden center you have to water often because your plants dry out quickly. Normal soil doesn’t dry nearly so fast, so homeowners should water their plants sparingly the first week or two, to allow the roots to acclimate themselves to the new drainage conditions. In this case, it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to “train” their plants, not yours. | <urn:uuid:b82a6453-0a26-4118-8e64-ca8ee5386472> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/plant-conditioning-watering/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965551 | 192 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Created By: John M. Kirkpatrick, Edison Middle School (Champaign, IL)
Grade Level: 7th
Content Area: Social Studies
Database Integration: Students will search the TDC database for information regarding the European explorer's lives, voyages, and/or inventions.
Activity that Meets this Standard
|16.A.3c: Identify the differences between historical fact and interpretation.||Students will create a Microsoft Word Document and/or a PowerPoint slide show that interprets the importance of European exploration.|
|16.B.3d (W): Describe the political effects of European exploration and expansion on the Americas, Asia, and Africa after 1500 CE.||Students will create a Microsoft Word Document and/or a PowerPoint slide show that interprets the impact of European exploration.|
|17.A.3a: Explain how people use geographic markers and boundaries to analyze and navigate the Earth. (e.g., hemispheres, meridians, continents, bodies of water)||Students will explain the significance and importance of their explorer's invention(s) or voyage(s) along with a map of the voyage or picture of the invention.|
Across the Centuries textbook, computer lab, Microsoft Word, Internet Access, Library Access, Access to a Projector, Scanner and/or Digital Camera would be an option
Students will be assessed based upon a teacher-created rubric that is presented to the students and discussed at the start of the project. | <urn:uuid:8384d0d4-e2c5-48d2-a234-018dd1316a40> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/tdc/lessonplans/EuropeanExplorers.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00132-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.817539 | 309 | 3.59375 | 4 |
The WC-130H was used in weather reconnaissance and aerial sampling. The plane is modified to penetrate hurricanes and typhoons to collect meteorological data that make advanced warnings of such storms possible. Weather reconnaissance equipment gathers information on movement, intensity and size of storms; outside air temperature; humidity; dewpoint; and barometric pressure.
The WC-130H is capable of staying aloft nearly 15 hours during missions. It is equipped with two external 1,400 gallon (5,320-liter) fuel tanks, an internal 1,800 gallon (6,480 liter) fuel tank, and has uprated engines. An average weather reconnaissance mission might last 11 hours and cover almost 3,500 miles while the crew collects and reports weather data every minute. Studies have shown that the weather data sent directly from the aircraft to the National Hurricane Center in Miami improves the hurricane forecasts by 25%.
Weather equipment aboard the aircraft include the Improved Weather Reconnaissance System (IWRS). IWRS was born from a Statement of Need following Hurricane Camille in 1969, and became operational in 1987. This system consists of the Atmospheric Distributed Data System (ADDS) and Omega Dropsonde Windfinding System (ODWS). The ADDS system provides a high density-high accuracy horizontal atmospheric sensing capability. Sensors installed on the aircraft measure outside temperature, humidity, absolute altitude of the aircraft, pressure altitude, wind speed and direction once per second. This information, along with an evaluation of other meteorological conditions, turbulence, icing, radar returns and visibility, is encoded by the onboard meteorologist and transmitted by satellite to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. The ODWS system measures the atmosphere vertically by using an expendable instrument which is dropped from the aircraft. The 16 inch-long cylinder is dropped every 400 miles while on a weather track and in the center or eye of a hurricane. A vertical atmospheric profile of pressure, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure wind speed and direction is received from the dropwindsonde as it descends to the ocean surface. The dropsonde is slowed and stabilized by a small parachute. From this information, the dropsonde system operator analyzes and encodes data for satellite transmission to the National Hurricane Center.
The flight meteorologist (officially called the Aerial Reconnaissance Weather Officer) analyzes flight-level data, measured as the airplane slices through the atmosphere at specific altitudes. Meteorologists around the world analyze weather at these standard levels: surface (the WC-130 will fly at 500-1500 feet to approximate the surface weather), 925 millibars (2500 feet), 850 mb (4780 feet), 700 mb (9880 feet), 500 mb (18,290 ft), 400 mb (23,570 ft), or 300 mb (30,070 ft). Storm missions are flown at low-level (500-1500 feet) when the storm is developing, changing to higher altitudes as the storm strengthens, but no higher than 10,000 feet.
Special weather sensors mounted on the WC-130 are tied directly into the IWRS computers, and measure temperature, dewpoint (humidity), barometric pressure, actual (radar-measured) altitude of the aircraft, and winds to calculate a complete weather observation every 30 seconds. The computers are also connected to the aircraft navigation system, which adds position to each observation.
The on-board computers display the data to the weather officer every second, and also can be used to quickly graph any parameter. The speed and flexibility with which data can be viewed aid the ARWO's analysis and decisions, dramatically improving his/her ability to maintain control of the mission in the rapidly changing environment of a hurricane. Prior to IWRS, a flight meteorologist working at top speed could manually produce a weather observation about every five minutes.
Data are archived every 10 seconds, and there is an option of saving data every second if needed for research. Observations are saved every 30 seconds, and are sent directly to the computers at the National Hurricane Center in Miami for an unprecedented level of information to initialize their forecast models.
The Hurricane Hunters fly patterns through the tropical cyclones to determine the extent of damaging winds in each sector, the sea-level pressure in the eye (lower pressure means a more powerful storm), the temperature difference inside and outside the eye (hotter eye usually means a stronger storm), and then repeat the pattern to determine current storm movement.
The weather officer also sends other observations which are disseminated to the world-wide weather network, including RECCO observations periodically along the route, and VORTEX messages from the eye. The weather officer adds additional details to these observations, such as clouds, turbulence, radar depictions, and sea-surface winds, which the computer cannot get from the sensors. Sea-surface winds are determined by looking at the condition of the water: white caps, foam, patches of green foam, and various types of streaks all point to wind direction and speed to the trained observer.
Dropsonde windfinding system
While the weather officer is developing a picture of the storm at flight level, the Dropsonde System Operator launches an instrument to get a profile of the atmosphere from the aircraft all the way down to the surface. The dropwindsonde does the same thing as a weather balloon, except it goes down instead of up.
The sonde deploys a drogue parachute 10 seconds after ejection and then falls with a vertical velocity of about 2500 feet per minute. During descent the sonde senses pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and radios these data back to the plane. The aircraft receives these data real-time from up to four sondes simultaneously.
The sonde measures winds by a rather elegant method. The sonde triangulates its position relative to several different Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites in orbit. If there were no wind, the sonde would fall straight down, and its position over the earth would not change. However, as the sonde drifts, it calculates the wind speed and wind direction needed to push the sonde by that amount.
The sonde is a meteorological instrument 16 inches long by 2.25 inches in diameter, weighing about one pound. It is comprised of : sensors, a receiver, a transmitter, plus a battery pack. The irretrievable sondes may be dropped from altitudes between 10,000 to 40,000 feet, and tracked for a distance of 200 miles.
After drop termination, the dropsonde systems operator manually edits the collected data and formats the data to a standard code. The edited and formatted message is then ready for immediate transmission to the ground station via SATCOM.
A key part of the IWRS is its ability to send data instantaneously via satellite directly to the forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, or to another transceiver at Keesler Air Force Base, or a portable station which moves with the Hurricane Hunters wherever they go to chase the storms. The weather officer can also send written messages to the forecasters and staff on the ground, providing details of the storm and coordinating the mission.
Specifics about the sensors
Temperature is measured by a Rosemount thermistor, which uses the principle that the resistance to conductivity changes with temperature in metals. The temperature is corrected for frictional heating of the probe, and is accurate to 0.25C +0.5%C.
The Edgetech Model 137-C3 Dewpoint Hygrometer measures humidity (technically "dewpoint") by cooling the air inside a chamber until dew forms. It is accurate to +0.5C for dewpoints above freezing, and +1C for dewpoints below freezing.
The Combined Altitude Radar Altimeter measures the actual altitude of the aircraft by bouncing radar waves off the ground. As we fly into low pressure (such as a hurricane), the plane descends, but the radar altimeter will tell us if we're getting too low! It is accurate to within +2% up through 5000 feet, +100 feet at 5000-10,000 feet, and +1% above 10,000 feet.
The AirResearch Pressure Altimeter measures the altitude of the aircraft with an accuracy of +10 feet, using a reference datum of 29.92 inches of Mercury. This value, contrasted against the Radar Altitude, results in a height of standard surface or sea-level pressure measurement, after correction factors are added for humidity, latitude, and aircraft-specific adjustments.
Winds are computed from a variety of sensors. There are two probes measuring changes in pressure across the openings in each probe to compute true airspeed and side-slip, while the navigator's Self-Contained Navigation System provides ground speed and heading information to complete the wind calculation.
Position is provided with pin-point accuracy from the with a hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS), within a fraction of a mile.
The Dropwindsonde contains a microprocessor to control and digitize the sensor data.
|Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list| | <urn:uuid:511b82eb-ccb7-4c6e-9cc6-4b05d5470442> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/wc-130h.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913779 | 1,869 | 3.046875 | 3 |
During World War I
28, 1914 ~ November 11, 1918
By J. Edward Thornton
The first war of the twentieth century for America began in Europe July
20, 1914, and spread from country to country. (War was declared by Austria
- Hungary or Serbia). None of the fighting was in our homelands, but was
in Europe. It got its name, World War, because there were so many nations
taking part in it. In fact there was no part of the world that was not
affected in some way by this war.
Finally, in 1917, the United States felt it her duty to enter this war
and declared war on Austria - Hungary. Once our whole nation was astir
with war-like activities.
W. H. Templeman, Howard
F. Belvin, James Jenkins, Hubert L. Shackelford, W. A. Shackelford,
John F. Shackelford, Marion F. Hogge, Robert F. Jenkins, James A.
Templeman, Earlin L. Brown, Walter L. Brown, Lemuel R. Belvin,
Clinton Jenkins, Herbert Shackelford, W. B. Thornton, Philip P.
Thornton, Aubrey F. Ash, Harvey V. Williams, William M. Buck,
William B. Lawson, Ira C. Brown, Ernest Shackelford, John W. Belvin,
Christian Rowe, Frank West, David West, Ira N. West, Neelie C.
Bonneville, Bernard F. Thomas, David E. Bonneville, John C.
Williams, Talmage Smith, John Rowe, Thomas Jenkins, James King,
Joseph Green, John Jenkins, James H. Ash, William C. Brown, George
W. Shackelford, Morgan Shackelford, Samuel Jenkins, Marion King,
Melvin Thomas, Bernard Hayes, Hadley Shackelford, Captain Marvin V.
Healey, Luther Jenkins, Marcus Rowe, Willie Roberts, Willie West,
Lawrence Smith, Voight Jenkins, Edward Brown, Luther Rowe, Willie
Shackleford, Christian Rowe, Robert F. Rowe.
Service Men from Union Baptist Church:
Service Men, Severn
C. K. Deal, Henry Berry,
Mack Bonnewell, and Thomas.
in War Time
The largest armies that had been raised in the world to this time were
collected and sent to Europe, mostly to France.
Gloucester County had its part in the war. Gloucester furnished 298 men
for the service. Almost immediately after the United States had declared
war, a company of volunteers was formed at Gloucester Village. Captain B.
D. Harwood was in charge of them. In the fall, they transferred to Fort
Wool in Hampton Roads off from Old Point. 1
"How these poor fellows suffered in the winter that followed, for
it was one of the coldest that Virginia has ever had. The poor
soldiers on Fort Wool, with the winters of Hampton Roads frozen in a
wall around them, some times almost froze. There were so many soldiers
to be outfitted in the United States that year that many of them had
insufficient clothing and other covers. But none of them did exactly
freeze. They became such good soldiers that many of them were sent to
France or other camps in the spring, where they stayed until after the
war closed on November 11, 1918. Many other ‘Gloucester boys’ were
called to service in each of the three drafts. Even after the war was
all over, some of them had to stay in France for six months or more
before the government could find ships to bring them home." 2
The service flag of Gloucester showed 13 gold stars for the following
men and one woman in the service:
Frank Cleary - Killed in battle in France
Willie C. Brown - Died of disease in France
Enoch Brown - U. S. Navy - Died
Willie Jenkins - Killed in battle in France
M. W. Marbie - Died in camp
Henley E. Pierce - Died in camp
Herbert Franklin Robins - Died in camp
John Rowe - Died in camp
John H. Hall - Died in camp
James Bland - Died in camp
R. C. Lamberth - Died of disease in camp 3
Edward G. Field Died of disease in France after
armistice was signed 4
Miss Cornelia Thornton (Red Cross Nurse ) Died in
service in England
Mary Wiatt Gray, writes in her history book written in 1936. "I have
felt the need of having a textbook on the history of Gloucester County".
"The volunteers and the drafted men of Gloucester were not the only
persons to serve their country in the World War. We have already
spoken of Cornelia Thornton, who served as a Red Cross nurse in this
war, and died in England, and whose portrait hangs in Gloucester Court
House. Everyone, big and little, showed a great deal of patriotism,
which you know means love of one’s country. The women, and even the
school girls and the boys, too, knitted sweaters, socks, and mufflers
for the soldiers. They started Red Cross meetings and rolled bandages
and picked lint to send to France for the hospitals for wounded men.
They used all foodstuffs sparingly to save that much more to send to
the armies, for of course no one knew how long the war might last and
our boys in Europe must be fed."
The people all over the United States arranged to have sweetless days,
using no sugar in anything,
DRAFT LAW AND MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS
The Gloucester County Draft Board was composed of George B.
Field, R. A. Folkes and H. A. Tabb. Out of 2,151 registrants, 253
were accepted at camp.
The following men from the county are cited by their division
commanders and are included in Virginia's Distinguished Service
roster: George E. Allen, Lieutenant Irving E. Campbell, Edward T.
Corbell, and Dave E. Bonneville.
The Eighth company, Virginia Coast Artillery, National Guard, was
recruited from Gloucester and Mathews Counties. After being drafted
into Federal service it was ordered to Fortress Monroe, arrived on
August 17, 1917, and was "split," one-half going with an overseas
organization and the other being stationed at Fort Monroe for the
duration of the war.
Virginia Communities in War Times
wheatless days in which they ate no flour, meatless days in which
they ate no meat. Of course, they did not do without these things every
day, but without some of them each day, such as Monday go without sugar,
Tuesday, use some sugar but do without flour and so on. In all towns coal
was used as savingly as possible, so one might say they had heatless days,
too, in such a bitter winter as it was. Coal was hard to get, chiefly
because of scarcity of labor and for lack of trains which were all pressed
into service for carrying soldiers to the camps.
There was a flu epidemic in 1918 which took its toll on the troops and
Many men, and lots of women also, worked in the munitions plants. A
munitions plant is a place where they make the ammunition and the big gun
shells for the soldiers to use. Work in such places was filled with
danger. The plant in which many of the Gloucester people worked was a
place called Penniman, across the York River from Cappahosic.
Gloucester mothers and sisters packed box after box of good home food
to send across the ocean to their sons or brothers, or to any soldier.
Prices of everything went up and up, higher than they had been for a great
many years, but no one complained, each did his part and sure enough
before long the side which the United States was helping won, and the war
"Gloucester Point was an amazingly busy place during the World War.
A great many of the United States battle ships were in Hampton Roads
and many of them in the York River. There were thousands of sailors
aboard them. Every few days some of them would have shore leave for
recreation. Then thousands of them would come ashore at Gloucester
Point and also over in Yorktown. The Point would be almost a solid
mass of them in white or blue according to which uniform they wore.
Some of them would form baseball teams, many were happy to just be
ashore and walk around, others rode around in jitneys or automobiles
for hire. Many stands sold them soft drinks, tobacco, ice cream and
other goodies. On shore leave day for the fleet, these places found it
a most profitable business. Some lines of business all over America
profited immensely in furnishing the government with things necessary
for carrying on the war. The soldiers were not among the money makers,
for they received but one dollar per day, unless they were officers,
and then their pay was a little more."
The war experience impacted each person in different ways. For many, it
was their first travel away from home and contact with new people and
exposure to disease and hardships foreign to Gloucester County.
Understanding these times and family contributions to the war effort is a
vital part of Gloucester History.
1. Gray, Mary Wiatt, Gloucester
County (Virginia), Richmond, VA, Cottrell & Cooke, Inc., 1936.
3. The body of Mr. Lamberth was
first buried in France, but was later brought back to Gloucester County in
July, 1920. He was the first body of a soldier of this war to be
brought back to Gloucester. His remains
now rest at Salem Church.
4. Edward G. Field - Died of
Pneumonia caused by exposure. The Gloucester Mathews Post of the American
Legion is named for him.
The supplemental items for this article were taken from the Virginia
Communities in War Time, First and Second Series, Arthur Kyle Davis,
Editor, published by order of The Executive Committee, State Capitol,
Richmond, VA, 1926. Available for reference at the Virginia State
Historical Society, Richmond, VA, with call numbers D570.85 V8 A4 v.6 c.3
(first series) and D570.85 V8 A4 v.7 c.2 (second series).
Thornton, my grandfather, who lived at Achilles, had two sons
and a future son-in-law that served in World War I: William
Buchanan Thornton, Jr., who was gassed in Germany and as a
result died in the early 1920’s; Philip Taliaferro Thornton
who was also captured and held as a prisoner of war until the end of
the war at which time the Germans dressed the prisoners and had the
formation and then surrendered to the former prisoners; and Fred
Atwood Clements, who lived near Ware Church and served in the
navy. When the war ended his ship docked in Yorktown and he rode the
ferry home to Gloucester. These were my three uncles.
J. E. Thornton | <urn:uuid:3248294e-51b6-4457-8529-69d0cf063552> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vaggsv/gloucester_county_during_wwi.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963926 | 2,422 | 2.625 | 3 |
Following the end of World War II, the United States demonstrated its belief in the important and ultimately beneficial effect of open discussion of competing ideas with support of such programs as the United Nations, the Marshall Plan, and the Fulbright Program. In different ways, these initiatives served to expose citizens of many countries, some of whom had just been at war with one another, to the openness on which the United States prides itself. It is important to remember that the war had been fought, in part, about competing ideas and that the world would soon find itself in a cold war in which ideas of democracy and communism were pitted against one other. A core assumption of all these programs is that while armies and machines may be required to win wars, it is ideas that might prevent them. This notion was expressed eloquently in George Kennan’s conclusion to his “Long Telegram” of 1946:
We must formulate and put forward for other nations a much more positive and constructive picture of [the] sort of world we would like to see than we have put forward in past. It is not enough to urge people to develop political processes similar to our own. … After all, the greatest danger that can befall us in coping with this problem of Soviet Communism, is that we shall allow ourselves to become like those with whom we are coping.1
That ideas matter is also central to the practice of science. Ideas—in the form of theories, conjectures, and experiments—are at its very foundation. The specifics of these ideas are open for discussion in such venues as classrooms, peer-reviewed publications, and scientific meetings and conferences. Science is also about openly confronting ideas with empirical evidence.2
Modern academic science is particularly well suited for the United States to engage countries with which there has been a history of mistrust. Perhaps there is no better current example of this than the United States’ relationship with North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). First, U.S. science is generally admired by citizens of other countries including those countries with which the United States has considerable political differences.3 Second, science is empirical rather than ideological in the political sense. That is, there are generally accepted standards for assessing truth claims within the scientific community. Third, science has become increasingly global with respect to areas of inquiry (e.g., climate change), data, and participating scientists.4 Fourth, scientific collaborations are increasingly virtual (e.g., high-energy physicists from Syracuse University (SU) have greatly reduced travel to Geneva as they share data with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) via high-speed digital networks). And underlying all of these factors is that science is normally quite standards based. These standards include everything from communication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, to merit-based and peer review.
These latter factors are areas where the DPRK’s isolation has led to its lagging behind in many areas of science. The point here is not that DPRK scientists are not good (all evidence I have seen suggests that their best scientists are quite strong) but that their isolation from the global community of scientists is costly to them and, ultimately, to the world of science (assuming that the more good people there are working on problems, the better, over time, the results will be). For these reasons, working with U.S. scientists has appeal to DPRK scientists. And if we believe, ceteris paribus, in the positive power of open discussion of ideas, it should have appeal to the United States as well. Moreover, if we wish to encourage the DPRK to more fully accept world standards, we also must help demonstrate the mutual benefits of such acceptance.
It is worthwhile to distinguish among several somewhat distinct objectives, listed below, that might lead scientists from different countries to become involved with one another.
- Science Cooperation: The emphasis here is on the development of science for the sake of science.
- Science Engagement: The emphases are on both building and maintaining relationships and the development of science.
- Science Diplomacy: The emphases are on relationships, science, and policy.
Given these distinctions, the work being reported on in this paper falls almost entirely within the science engagement category. We are attempting to build trusted relationships among scientists even as we endeavor to further science through collaborative research.
There is considerable anecdotal evidence suggesting that science engagement has played a significant role in trust building. Examples here include Cold War science exchanges between the United States and the Soviet Union, European cooperation in the creation and ongoing administration of CERN, cooperation in the Middle East around the region’s only synchrotron (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, or SESAME), and our own experience working with North Korea on its first digital library. Personal conversations with top scientists including Kip Thorne (about the Cold War), Herman Winnick (about SESAME), and Peter Agre (about North Korean engagement) as well as published accounts of the early days of CERN all suggest that the attractiveness of science plays an important role in overcoming political barriers to cooperation. And at least in the cases of CERN and the Cold War, there is fairly clear evidence of spillover from science engagement to high politics.
Engaging North Korea through Science
The Syracuse University Experience
SU has had a long-standing relationship with Kim Chaek University of Technology (KCUT) for more than a decade.5 In the late spring of 2001, representatives of SU met in New York with Donald Gregg (then president of the Korea Society, or TKS) and Frederick Carriere (then TKS executive director and vice president) to discuss the possibility of research collaboration in information technology between SU and a North Korean counterpart. Gregg facilitated, convening a discussion at the DPRK UN Mission in New York that was followed by a visit to SU by a delegation from the Mission led by DPRK’s permanent representative to the United Nations. At the closing dinner, SU’s then chancellor Kenneth Shaw and members of the SU Board of Trustees emphasized SU’s strong desire to extend its involvement on the Korean Peninsula to include the DPRK. I later learned this university-level commitment was important to the DPRK’s willingness to work with SU.
Pyongyang suggested KCUT as the appropriate partner for SU. Once KCUT was identified, each of the universities agreed to provide a team of researchers. The SU team was composed of faculty members and researchers from the Maxwell School, the L. C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the School of Information Studies as well as the English Language Institute and the University Library. KCUT’s Information (Computer) Center director headed the DPRK team. It was further agreed that despite technical and political difficulties in communications between the United States and DPRK, we, at SU, would do our best to share relevant information between delegation visits. The facilitation of communication by the Mission has continued to be a vital component of the engagement work with the DPRK.6
It is important to note, it was mutually agreed from the beginning that the joint work should provide substantive benefit for both KCUT and SU scientists. This was not intended as a humanitarian aid effort, nor would SU in any way engage in a pay-for-play exercise with the DPRK. In this latter regard each side has contributed the time of its scientists and administrators. SU has used external grant money to cover the direct costs of KCUT scientists’ travel to SU as well as their lodging and meals while participating in joint meetings away from Pyongyang. KCUT has shared in hosting costs while SU delegations were in Pyongyang. This agreement on mutual benefit has been important in keeping both parties focused on things that matter. That said, it also must be acknowledged that the understanding of benefit has cultural and political components, and discussions of what constitutes benefit in particular cases have, while productive, not been easy.
The activities of the joint work have focused on the areas of digital library development, English-language training for scientists, and helping to prepare DPRK undergraduate teams for participation in the Association for Computing Machinery annual International Collegiate Programming Contest.7 It is worth summarizing several key points about the SU-KCUT collaboration and activities. First, this has been, at least until recently, an ongoing relationship with a total of fifteen exchanges of personnel between SU and KCUT. These exchanges have taken place in Syracuse, Pyongyang, and China. It is important to note, there has been, by mutual agreement, considerable consistency among the participants. Each team has members who have participated in all or all but one of the exchanges. This continuity of participants has played a central role in any successes the collaborators have enjoyed.
Second, the relationship has benefited from—indeed has been made possible by—high-level support at KCUT, SU, and initially TKS. The KCUT chancellor has visited Syracuse twice. SU has supported the relationship through two chancellors and three Maxwell School deans. In addition, members of the SU Board of Trustees have been actively involved in key aspects of the relationship throughout its development. Given the difficult and often fragile state of U.S.-DPRK political relationships, keeping senior administrators informed and actively involved has been extremely important. As evidence of this, during KCUT chancellor Hong So Hon’s 2010 visit, SU chancellor Nancy Cantor reiterated SU’s long-term commitment to its relationship with higher education in the DPRK generally and to KCUT in particular. Chancellor Hong responded by inviting Chancellor Cantor to visit KCUT. To date political relations between the two countries have precluded a visit to the DPRK by Chancellor Cantor. This has been viewed quite negatively by KCUT as its chancellor has visited Syracuse twice. This illustrates one of the difficulties of harmonizing efforts between two very distinct political systems. Each has things it can do but the other cannot, and it is often difficult to interpret the other’s actions empathetically. Thus, failures of symmetric action become understandably, but incorrectly, viewed as evidence of bad faith or insincerity.
Third, there is a complex legal environment within which U.S.-DPRK relations must, at present, take place. All aspects of the work, of course, must be done in strict compliance with the laws of each of the countries. On the U.S. side this has, in particular, meant working closely with legal counsel to be certain that all activities fit within export control and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations. U.S. participants have kept relevant stakeholders aware of their activities and we are aware that our DPRK counterparts have done the same. This is quite important given the many nuances of the U.S.-DPRK relationship. To visit the United States, DPRK scientists require exit visas from their government as well as entrance visas from the U.S. government. While U.S. citizens do not require U.S. government permission to travel to North Korea, it is prudent to keep the Department of State aware of their travel. The lack of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries affects the visa process. U.S. participants must travel to Beijing to formally apply for and receive their visas at the DPRK embassy there. DPRK participants similarly must apply and obtain visas at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. While the participants have always had excellent cooperation from the U.S. Department of State, the process is necessarily a slow one with a lot of uncertainty. This has budget implications since the least expensive airfares generally are nonrefundable and require tickets be purchased well in advance. Finally, SU has many students and alumni from South Korea, and it is important to SU that the South Korean government hears firsthand from SU about its activities. SU has not asked any of these governments to endorse its initiatives; it is simply sharing information. SU has found the relevant governments to be exceedingly helpful in all areas including issuance of visas and informal advice.
Fourth, there are important differences in the way in which science priorities are set and funded between the United States and DPRK. Under the U.S. model, academic science is largely driven by investigator-initiated proposals. Americans are quite used to the notion that support for research follows only after a carefully developed, generally peer-reviewed, proposal is selected for funding. The DPRK model is much more top down. Priorities are established centrally, and funding follows. Thus, the SU team has emphasized developing clear proposals and establishing an ongoing project, while the DPRK side has expected that research equipment would be a necessary precondition for establishing a research relationship. This, together with export control and OFAC regulations, which pretty much require ongoing monitoring as a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for export license approval, has greatly complicated joint research.
The U.S.-DPRK Scientific Engagement Consortium
A goal had always been to extend U.S.-North Korean science engagement beyond KCUT and SU. First, the transaction costs for a U.S. university to work with counterparts in North Korea, or those in any other country where political relations have been difficult, are high. These costs include legal compliance issues as well as logistical ones. Developing best practices and sharing some of these costs among more institutions should decrease the marginal cost of each institution’s participation. Second, given the programmatic goal of building trust with the DPRK and not simply a single institution within the country, it made sense to involve a wider range of U.S. institutions. In addition, an important aspect of U.S. higher education is the wide range of institutional forms that it takes. These range from private research institutions, such as Syracuse, to large land-grant universities and private liberal arts colleges. As the DPRK develops its higher education system, it seemed desirable to enable its academics to experience the variety of forms higher education has taken in the United States. The importance of this latter point was made very clear as a consequence of SU’s hosting young Russian academics as a part of the U.S. Department of State’s Junior Faculty Development Program. Finally, no single U.S. university is likely to have the necessary range of scientific expertise and motivated scientists to match up with the potential range of interests of North Korean academic scientists.
Several factors initially argued against involving additional universities. Perhaps most significant was the climate of distrust and even demonization that has permeated U.S.-DPRK relations. Overcoming the distrust at the outset required working very carefully and at a personal level to build relationships of trust between key players at SU and in the DPRK. This was a very time-intensive process, and given the circumstances, it needed to be done away from the glare of publicity. Institutions are critical to maintaining trust, but in the initial stages it is individuals who must build the personal relations that can then be used to catalyze larger institutional ones. Premature publicity can poison the development of these relations. In a similar vein, the establishment of interpersonal trust depends on making certain that commitments are clearly communicated and then honored. Here, again, fewer players make this easier to accomplish. The objective, though, was always to move from interpersonal trust to trusted institutional arrangements. This meant enlarging the scope beyond SU and KCUT.
The existence of a consortium offers the promise of several benefits. Most important, it greatly enlarges the number of scientists and universities who might work with counterparts in North Korea. Second, a consortium, if successful, could leverage economies of scale by developing best practices and shared standards for working with North Korea. Areas where this could be helpful range from keeping U.S. stakeholders informed about U.S.-DPRK science engagement to working with appropriate DPRK UN Mission diplomats to develop protocols for handling communications and exchanges of science delegations. This latter point is important because the Mission has a quite limited bandwidth for dealing with requests from U.S. universities. Moreover, a lack of agreed-on standards for such things as travel and communications has, on occasion, led to higher than necessary transaction costs. Finally, given the currently difficult state of political relations between the United States and DPRK, a consortium can serve as a focal point for sharing information about the current situation and issues of which academics wishing to work with the DPRK should be aware.
After a series of workshops and consultations with representatives from universities as well as the policy and donor communities, the U.S.-DPRK Scientific Engagement Consortium was established, with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (publisher of Science & Diplomacy), CRDF Global, SU, and TKS (later replaced by the Pacific Century Institute) as founding members. Each organization made initial contributions to defray the cost of running the consortium. Foundations provided additional seed funding for specific activities. Such support has been critical to any success given that funding of activities with such inherent uncertainties is difficult and U.S. government financial support is not possible at this time.
SU’s relationship with KCUT was helpful in establishing the consortium as SU had a successful record of working with a North Korean university as well as considerable logistical and legal experience and, important to note, a trusted relationship with diplomats at the DPRK UN Mission in New York. Numerous meetings with the DPRK UN Mission helped explain how and why a science engagement consortium might make sense. First, there were beginning to be many initial requests coming to the Mission from universities. A consortium could help the Mission in vetting these requests when they dealt with possible science issues. At the same time it became clear that the Mission strongly preferred that the consortium be bilateral—that is, involve only the United States and DPRK. The reason for this was that the channels for the DPRK dealing with the United States were very specific and for most purposes distinct from those dealing with other countries. In addition, the DPRK had had some negative experiences working with some U.S. scientific organizations, feeling that initial promising relationships had turned into dead ends. So one task for the consortium was ensuring that agreements entered into were clear, in writing, and fulfilled to the extent possible.
The lessons learned in the SU-KCUT collaboration were very important. In particular, the consortium focused on negotiating written agreements with DPRK counterparts and working hard to be certain that potential points of failure, such as export control or issuance of visas, were discussed and written into the agreements. This latter point is especially important as it illustrates a spillover into higher politics. U.S. export control regulations (i.e., sanctions) have long been a sore point with the DPRK, and their diplomats, especially those from the Korea America Private Exchange Society,8 often push against these regulations during negotiations such as those between SU and KCUT. Thus, it is important to make certain that scientists on both sides are aware of the implications of the export control regime and the need to obtain export licenses for most equipment so that there are not needless misunderstandings regarding timing or even what is possible.
The consortium has initiated a variety of activities that seek to develop a broader relationship beyond the group’s individual members, especially SU, with the DPRK. This initially included, critically, the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between the consortium and the DPRK State Academy of Science that served as an important vehicle for codifying concrete projects in areas that SU had identified as priorities in interactions nearly a decade earlier. Activities now include English-language training for DPRK scientists and virtual science libraries.
A Path Forward
There is a set of issues that arises in conducting science engagement between countries when there is considerable political distrust such as is the case at present between the United States and the DPRK. First, as discussed above, is the complex legal climate. University activities require close consultation with internal compliance officers and often with external counsel to be certain that activities remain in conformance with regulations. At minimum this adds overhead to engagement and may discourage some scientists from participating. These regulations are quite technical, and it is not surprising that DPRK counterparts find them difficult to understand. Moreover, at least in the case of the DPRK, export licenses have been granted for computing-related equipment in areas of humanitarian (including some medical) assistance. This leads Korea America Private Exchange Society representatives (who manage most of these U.S.-based programs) to question why we have thus far not obtained export licenses for our initiatives.
Second, science engagements sometimes get tightly linked to high politics. This potentially can have unanticipated consequences for everything from issuance of invitations and visas to willingness of scientists to participate. Even the term science diplomacy should be carefully used. The concept of diplomacy has been undergoing shape shifting in the West from its traditional sense involving official actions of states with other states to the inclusion of activities undertaken by governments but directed at the citizens of other countries, by citizens directed toward citizens of another country, or by citizens directed toward governments of another country (or countries). However, within North Korea the responsibility for diplomacy remains with formal government officials explicitly tasked with traditional diplomatic responsibilities. Many observers of North Korea have commented on the strict stovepiping of DPRK bureaucracies. Indeed, referring to science collaborations as science diplomacy risks making it impossible for North Korean scientists who, like their U.S. counterparts, are not formal policy representatives of their government. Areas that have presented challenges range from issues of human rights to identifying funders able to provide financial support. Sometimes the political linkage becomes a positive factor. SU recently was one of the hosts of a Track II meeting. A senior DPRK participant (not a scientist) commented to me that he was reassured by the fact that SU was one of the organizers. Similarly, I believe both SU and the consortium have earned considerable trust with the U.S. government that we will conduct their science engagements in a responsible manner. On the DPRK side, Ministry of Foreign Affairs diplomats who have been involved in the initiatives have generally been promoted. Several have since become ambassadors or been promoted within their departments.
In addition to the political relations between the United States and DPRK, there is, of course, the issue of the political leadership of each country. North Koreans have long commented on the impact of U.S. leadership changes on their relations with the United States. Democracies can be messy when policy directions shift as a consequence of electoral outcomes. Most recently there was a leadership change in the DPRK. While it is far too early to have any confidence regarding the implications of Kim Jong Un’s leadership on consortium activities, the consortium was able to have a visit to Pyongyang this past March, and North Koreans traveled to Bellagio, Italy, to participate in the consortium conference there this past April.
A fourth issue is communications. Modern science works at high speed. Easy email communications and data sharing are standard practice. Still, though, no such communications are yet available between DPRK and U.S. scientists due to political constraints on the DPRK side. This greatly slows down collaboration and also, on occasion, leads to misunderstandings that could have been avoided had communications been more immediate.
Finally, there is the challenge of funding. In the present legislative environment most sources of U.S. government funding are not available to support work with North Korea. U.S. corporations generally do not see the DPRK as a viable market in the near term and are understandably cautious about supporting work there. We have been fortunate that several foundations have been willing to support aspects of engagement work. Moreover, SU has been generous in providing both support and access to legal counsel. Private individuals have also been helpful in selected instances.
A theme throughout this article has been the interplay between the geopolitical environment and academic science engagement. Science engagement efforts must work within that larger environment. While in the near term high politics is mostly exogenous to science collaborations, examples such as those provided by U.S.-USSR science exchanges demonstrate that, over the longer run, such exchanges and collaborations can build trust and provide basic scientific knowledge that can help to inform significant policy questions.
DPRK scientists give every indication of wanting to collaborate with their U.S. counterparts. Similarly, there are senior U.S. scientists eager to work with DPRK scientists. Science is global, and there are opportunities to share both data and approaches. The United States prides itself on having no permanent enemies, and the time will come when it will be able to fully engage the entire Korean Peninsula. It is important that U.S. civilians interact with North Koreans, in activities ranging from humanitarian assistance to science engagement, to build the reservoir of trust and experience necessary for a harmonious normalization of ties when the time comes.
- G. Kennan, “The Long Telegram,” Harry S. Truman Administration File, Elsey Papers, February 1946.
- K. R. Popper, Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, 2nd ed. (Boston: Routledge, 2002).
- Pew Global Attitudes Project, What the World Thinks in 2002, technical report (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2002).
- C. S. Wagner, The New Invisible College: Science for Development (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2008).
- Hyunjin Seo and Stuart J. Thorson, “Academic Science Engagement with North Korea,” On Korea: Academic Paper Series 4, no. 4 (2009): 1–10.
- Of great help has been the relationship developed between Frederick Carriere, then of The Korea Society and now a Pacific Century Institute senior fellow and research professor at Syracuse University, and diplomats at the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Mission.
- Stuart J. Thorson and Frederick F. Carriere, “Dark Horse,” NCNK Newsletter, March 2007.
- Initially U.S.-DPRK humanitarian assistance was, on the DPRK side, handled by the Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee (FDRC). FDRC was a standing committee of the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. FDRC later morphed into the Korea America Private Exchange Society, also affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Korea America Private Exchange Society describes itself as an NGO and is responsible for much of the nongovernmental activity occurring between the United States and North Korea.
The work reported here was supported in part by grants from the Henry Luce and Richard Lounsbery Foundations. A conference at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center provided an invaluable opportunity to discuss and think about some of these ideas. Finally, the author would like to thank anonymous reviewers who made a number of valuable suggestions. | <urn:uuid:18a4a6cd-05fb-4d7c-85e7-f25419090b5d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/article/2012/universities-and-networks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00064-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963801 | 5,417 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Battle of Chancellorsville
Virginia Civil War History
Battle of Chancellorsville
Other Names: Chancellorsville Campaign
Location: Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Campaign: Chancellorsville Campaign (April-May 1863)
Date(s): April 30-May 6,
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson [CS]
Forces Engaged: 154,734 total (US 97,382; CS 57,352)
Estimated Casualties: 24,000 total (US 14,000; CS 10,000)
Result(s): Confederate victory
|Battle of Chancellorsville
|Kurz and Allison
Battle of Chancellorsville and Death of "Stonewall"
Description: On April 27, Maj. Gen.
Joseph Hooker led the V, XI, and XII Corps on a campaign to turn the Confederate left flank by crossing the Rappahannock and
Rapidan Rivers above Fredericksburg. Passing the Rapidan via Germanna and Ely’s Fords, the Federals concentrated near
Chancellorsville on April 30 and May 1. The III Corps was ordered to join the army via United States Ford. Sedgwick’s
VI Corps and Gibbon's division remained to demonstrate against the Confederates at Fredericksburg. In the meantime, Lee left a covering force under
Maj. Gen. Jubal Early in Fredericksburg and marched with the rest of the army to confront the Federals. As Hooker’s
army moved toward Fredericksburg on the Orange Turnpike, they encountered increasing Confederate resistance. Hearing reports
of an overwhelming Confederate force, Hooker ordered his army to suspend the advance and to concentrate again at Chancellorsville.
Pressed closely by Lee’s advance, Hooker adopted a defensive posture, thus giving Lee the initiative.
|Chancellorsville Battlefield Map
|Battle of Chancellorsville
On the morning of May 2, Lt. Gen. T.J. Jackson directed his corps on a march against the Federal left flank,
which was reported to be “hanging in the air.” Fighting was sporadic on other portions of the field throughout
the day, as Jackson’s column reached its jump-off point. At 5:20 pm, Jackson’s line surged forward in an overwhelming
attack that crushed the Union XI Corps. Federal troops rallied, resisted the advance, and counterattacked. Disorganization
on both sides and darkness ended the fighting. While making a night reconnaissance, Jackson was mortally wounded by his own
men and carried from the field. J.E.B. Stuart took temporary command of Jackson’s Corps.
(Right) Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-6, 1863. Virginia hosted more battles of the American Civil War
than any other state. The Commonwealth was scene to the most major battles, too, including the battlefields of Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. This section of the state was known as the bloodiest landscape
On May 3, the Confederates attacked with both wings of the army and massed their artillery at Hazel Grove.
This finally broke the Federal line at Chancellorsville. Hooker withdrew a mile and entrenched in a defensive “U”
with his back to the river at United States Ford. Union generals Berry and Whipple and Confederate general Paxton were killed;
Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded. On the night of May 5-6, after Union reverses at Salem Church, Hooker recrossed
to the north bank of the Rappahannock. This battle was considered by many historians to be Lee’s greatest victory.
Chancellorsville Battlefield and the Bloodiest Landscape in North America
|Battle of Chancellorsville Map
|Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania
Satellite photograph of the "Bloodiest Landscape in North America." Unprecedented loss
of life was witnessed at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania, with more than 85,000 men wounded and 15,000 killed. No place in the United States more vividly depicts the Civil War’s tragic
cost. Satellite photo courtesy Microsoft Virtual Earth.
|Virginia Civil War Map of Battles 1863
|Battle of Chancellorsville: Virginia Civil War Battles and Battlefields Map
"Stonewall" Jackson Monument at Chancellorsville
|Monument at Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was considered Lee's greatest victory; also a Pyrrhic victory.
After the battle, Lee was depressed because of the high casualties and the death of "Stonewall" Jackson.
Mountain Road Wounding Site of "Stonewall" Jackson
|Mountain Road Location
|Battle of Chancellorsville
You are now standing in the trace of the Old Mountain Road, the road on which Jackson was riding
when he was injured. Accompanied by aides and couriers, Jackson scouted in front of his main line, hoping to determine the
new Union position. Private David Kyle served as Jackson's guide through the tangled woods. He described the path taken by
"We went down that old Mountain road some four hundred yards when we came in hearing of the Federals....We
stayed there I should judge from two to four minutes when the Gen Jackson Turned his horse around and started back up the
road we had come down....When we were about halfway back...he turned his horse head toward the south and facing the front
of our own line of Battle he started to leave the old Mountain road and just as his horses front feet had cleared the edge
of the road while his hind feet was still on the edge of the bank there was a single shot fired...in an instant it was taken
up and...a volley as if from a regiment was fired."
Spurred by the belief that the returning Confederates were Union cavalrymen charging their line, Lane's
men had fired into the darkness. One bullet lodged in Jackson's right palm and two struck his left arm. As a result of the
wounds Jackson would lose his left arm. Jackson died one week later on May 10, 1863.
|Location where Jackson Died
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson died in an outbuilding on
the Chandler plantation in the rural community of Guinea Station. Today, the Jackson Shrine is part of Fredericksburg &
Spotsylvania National Military Park.
(Sources and related reading below.)
Recommended Reading: Chancellorsville,
by Stephen W. Sears. Description: Chancellorsville
was one of the Civil War's pivotal campaigns, a great victory for the South that also led directly to the death of top Confederate
general Stonewall Jackson. It hasn't generated the amount of literature devoted to most major Civil War battles, largely because
John Bigelow's 1910 classic, The Campaign of Chancellorsville, seemed for years to offer the last word. But Sears, employing
a mix of published and unpublished primary accounts to buttress secondary studies, manages to offer more than one new word
in a thoroughly engaging text. Continued
is his use of Union military intelligence reports to show how General Joseph Hooker was fed a stream of accurate information
about Robert E. Lee's troops; conversely, Sears points out the battlefield communications failures that hampered the Union
army at critical times. He also examines the roles of Hooker and his corps commanders, finding that half of the latter poorly
served their commander during the campaign. Regarding the Confederate command, Sears analyzes Lee's faulty intelligence and
his relationships with his subordinates. Throughout, he highlights Lee's marvelous good luck, as well as his army's tenacious
fighting capability. One of the book's three appendices explores several of the battle's "romances", e.g., Jackson's
wounding, Alfred Pleasonton's false stories, while two other appendices present orders of battle and casualties. A model campaign
study, Sears's account of Chancellorsville is likely to remain the standard for years to
come… It also includes numerous previously non-published maps and photos.
Recommended Reading: Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls of the Brave. Description: Ferguson's book about Chancellorsville reads much like a vintage Stephen Sears book. Meticulous
detail is crafted with primary accounts and combined with author analysis, and the book has a detailed narrative with human
elements. Reading these types of accounts concerning Civil War battles is always enjoyable. Where Furgurson's book differs
from Sears's book is, of course, the analysis of Joe Hooker's management of the campaign. Continued below...
blames subordinates, most notably Howard, and points to Hooker's concussion, Furgurson mentions the exploding pillar incident,
adds soldier accounts of seeing Hooker looking drunk and unresponsive at headquarters and takes Hooker to task. Given Hooker's
pre-victory celebratory orders and his subsequent defeat, I think it's hard to let Hooker completely off the hook. Furgurson
also mentions near the end of the book that Jackson's death affected Gettysburg
and ultimately the war. Had Jackson lived and taken Culp's Hill on July 1 in place of the inactive
Ewell, the Union would have been forced to retreat, likely to the line of defense around
Pipe Creek that Meade was aiming for in the first place. Would the Confederates have won the battle of Gettysburg in that case?
Recommended Reading: Chancellorsville: The Battle and
Its Aftermath (Military Campaigns of the Civil War). Description: A variety of important but lesser-known dimensions of the Chancellorsville
campaign of spring 1863 are explored in this collection of eight original essays. Departing from the traditional focus on
generalship and tactics, the contributors address the campaign's broad context and implications and revisit specific battlefield
episodes that have in the past been poorly understood. Chancellorsville was a remarkable victory for Robert E. Lee's troops,
a fact that had enormous psychological importance for both sides, which had met recently at Fredericksburg and would meet
again at Gettysburg in just two months. But the achievement, while stunning, came at an enormous cost: more than 13,000 Confederates
became casualties, including Stonewall Jackson, who was wounded by friendly fire and died several days later. Continued below...
covered in this volume include the influence of politics on the Union army, the importance of courage among officers, the
impact of the war on children, and the state of battlefield medical care. Other essays illuminate the important but overlooked
role of Confederate commander Jubal Early, reassess the professionalism of the Union cavalry, investigate the incident of
friendly fire that took Stonewall Jackson's life, and analyze the military and political background of Confederate colonel
Emory Best's court-martial on charges of abandoning his men. Contributors: Keith S. Bohannon, Pennsylvania State University;
Gary W. Gallagher, Pennsylvania State University; A. Wilson Greene, Petersburg, Virginia; John J. Hennessy, Fredericksburg,
Virginia; Robert K. Krick, Fredericksburg, Virginia; James Marten, Marquette University; Carol Reardon, Pennsylvania State
University; James I. Robertson, Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Recommended Reading: Chancellorsville 1863 (Osprey Trade Editions). Description: General Joseph Hooker's attack was calculated to take his army to Richmond
and end the war. Faced with an army twice the size of his own, Robert E. Lee split his forces, leaving Early to fend off Hooker's
Fredericksburg attack, whilst ‘Stonewall’ Johnson
was sent to take the Federal right flank by surprise. Continued below...
History to Life collection is made up of Osprey's all-time favorite titles, re-released with striking new covers - selected
titles also include visitor information sections.
Recommended Reading: Guide to
the Battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg.
Description: The battles of Fredericksburg
and Chancellorsville, 1862-63, were remarkable in several respects. Both revealed the problems
of mounting a serious attack at night and provided the first examples of the now-familiar trench warfare. Fredericksburg featured street fighting and river crossings under fire. Chancellorsville
was marked by Stonewall Jackson's death and the rare instance of mounted cavalry attacking infantry. In addition, the latter
battle also demonstrated in striking fashion the profound influence of the commander on the battle. The Union
committed more soldiers, supplies, money, and better equipment than did the Confederacy, and yet Lee won. Continued below...
accounts by battle participants make these guides an invaluable resource for travelers and non-travelers who want a greater
understanding of five of the most devastating yet influential years in our nation's history. Explicit directions to points
of interest and maps--illustrating the action and showing the detail of troop position, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree
lines as they were 130 years ago--help bring the battles to life. In the field, these guides can be used to recreate each
battle's setting and proportions, giving the reader a sense of the tension and fear each soldier must have felt as he faced
his enemy. "Each map is detailed to perfection."
Recommended Reading: Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville: The Dare Mark Campaign
(Great Campaigns of the Civil War) (Hardcover). From Kirkus Reviews: A broadly researched, finely detailed, and well-written
analysis of the connections linking two pivotal battles in the early part of the Civil War, by Sutherland (Seasons of War;
1995, etc.). The author pairs the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, which took place on the southern side of
the Rappahannock River in Virginia, and refers to them jointly as the ``Dare Mark'' campaign. (A Confederate soldier referred
to the Rappahannock as the dare mark because Union armies dared not cross the river.) Sutherland combines minute strategic
scrutiny with a deep knowledge of the personalities involved, notably, Lee and Jackson for the South, and Halleck, Burnside,
and Hooker for the North. Continued below…
And he consults a broad range
of sources, ranging from soldiers letters and contemporary newspaper accounts to postwar memoirs. Thus armed, Sutherland is
able to place the battles in their broadest political and military contexts. Both battles led to Southern victories, and he
examines their consequences, including the accidental death of Thomas ``Stonewall'' Jackson in his own troops crossfire, Lees inability to smash Hookers army, and Lees drive
northward after his victory at Chancellorsville. Much attention is paid to the wars mismanagement
by Congress and by various Northern officers and to fascinating partisan efforts to control the Union military. Sutherland,
a professor of history at the University of Arkansas,
is a deft writer. He identifies the facets of battle (and surrounding events) in a coherent fashion that will allow readers
to peer over his shoulder at the larger picture. Though far too detailed in its dealings with military strategy and, this
is nonetheless worthy of War-Between-the-States diehards. (7 illustrations, 7 photos, not seen). About the Author:
Daniel E. Sutherland is a professor of history at the University
of Arkansas. His books include The Confederate Carpetbaggers and the
award-winning Seasons of War: The Ordeal of a Confederate Community, 1861–1865.
Recommended Reading: Chancellorsville: Lee's
Greatest Battle (416 pages) (Paperback). Description: Originally published in 1958, this Stackpole classic
retains its popular appeal and easy readability. Now updated with commentary and notes by D. Scott Hartwig, it will be of
special interest to Civil War buffs and historians. Exceptional maps and illustrations.
Recommended Reading: Chancellorsville
1863: Jackson's Lightning Strike (Campaign).
Description: Following the debacle of the battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, Burnside
was replaced as commander of the Army of the Potomac by General Joseph Hooker. Having reorganized
the army and improved morale, he planned an attack that would take his army to Richmond
and end the war. Although faced by an army twice his size, the Confederate commander Robert E. Lee split his forces: Jubal
Early was left to hold off Sedgwick's Fredericksburg attack, and 'Stonewall' Jackson was sent with 26,000 men in a wide envelopment around Hooker's right flank. Continued
This title details how at dusk
on May 2, Jackson's men crashed into the Federal right flank, and how stiffening Federal resistance
slowed the Confederate advance the next day. From the Publisher: Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing
the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide
to the battlefields today.
Sources: Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial; National Park Service; Library of
Congress; National Archives and Records Administration; Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; Microsoft Virtual | <urn:uuid:3bf3cb34-c06a-4d45-9619-1b6a95d33679> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thomaslegion.net/battleofchancellorsville.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00043-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936517 | 3,694 | 3.046875 | 3 |
The Great Recession, not long ago, was labeled the “man-cession,” because it hit sectors that employed male workers hardest. That doesn’t mean it spared female workers, though, and the ensuing economic recovery has been worse for women, as manufacturing and other male-heavy industries have rebounded but education and other female-dominant sectors continue to struggle.
One of the biggest causes of female workers’ woes is the rapid shrinking of America’s public sector, which has lost more than 700,000 jobs since 2009. Women have lost 450,000 of those public sector jobs — many of them in education — wiping out nearly 45 percent of the private sector job gains women have made since the recession ended, as the National Women’s Law Center noted in a release today:
“Today’s jobs data present a mixed picture for women,” said Joan Entmacher, NWLC Vice President for Family Economic Security. “Women’s unemployment rate is lower than it’s been at any time since April 2009. But overall job growth was modest last month and public sector job losses continue to hit women especially hard. Women’s public sector losses have wiped out 45 percent of their private sector gains over the course of the recovery. Continued cuts in local education, where 83,600 jobs have been lost since last August, also mean more crowded classrooms as students return to school.”
As NWLC highlighted in its release, the unemployment rate for women dropped to a three-year low in August. Given that nearly two-thirds of American households now feature a woman as a primary or co-breadwinner, though, the continued contraction of the public sector threatens both the economic security of our nation’s female workers and the economy as a whole. Women, and minority women in particular, are already disadvantaged because of the significant wage gap that exists between them and male workers, and the disproportionate effect of the public sector cuts only exacerbates their problems. | <urn:uuid:839a6dec-c166-41fd-a518-bca1b776f731> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/09/07/813101/women-public-sector-job-cuts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971659 | 411 | 2.625 | 3 |
Trucks are much cleaner than when I was a kid. As a parent now, I think that is very good news. Compared to a 1988 truck, new trucks have 95% fewer emissions of diesel particulate matter, which leads to asthma and respiratory illness, and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which form ozone.
This is a great accomplishment. Manufacturers invested time and resources to develop and improve new emission control systems. Transportation companies have embraced these new trucks with a recent study noting that more than 1/3rd of registered heavy trucks are equipped with the latest emissions control technology required in new trucks beginning in 2010. While new trucks cost more, trucking fleets are receiving dividends from them. In part because of this progress, the American Lung Association noted recently the “continued reduction of year-round particle pollution across the nation, thanks to cleaner diesel fleets and cleaner power plants.”
As a result of the hard work of the trucking industry and others, some of the most vulnerable Americans are literately breathing a bit easier. Thank you.
So, we’re done right? Unfortunately, no.
Nearly 50 million Americans live in an area with unhealthful year-round levels of particle pollution. We need to further clean up the air in these areas.
The trucking industry also provides a critical opportunity to significantly reduce climate warming emissions and fuel consumption. Today, heavy-duty trucks directly emit nearly 400 million tons of greenhouse gases each year. And freight movement is the largest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption in the United States – despite historic first-ever fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards finalized by the Obama Administration in 2011.
Should tackling these emissions be viewed as a burden or opportunity for trucking? I’ll argue it’s an opportunity.
Consumer-facing companies are increasingly setting emission reductions targets for their supply chain that explicitly include transportation services. General Mills, for example, has a goal to reduce fuel-use by 35% per product. Unilever aims to improve the carbon efficiency of its global logistics network by 40%. HP is driving towards a 20% decrease in product transportation-related GHG emissions intensity.
In the coming years, the transportation companies that deliver products more efficiently and with fewer emissions will be positioned to grow.
Federal fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for heavy trucks will go a long way to ensure transportation companies can buy new trucks that run even cleaner and deliver the emissions performance shippers are seeking. The first phase of the federal program for model years 2014-2018 is off to a great start. A post-2018 phase two program is expected to be announced next year and could drive more significant emissions reductions, fuel consumption reductions and costs savings.
Companies can further their competitiveness by offering services that increase the productivity of each load, leverage intermodal opportunities, and enable multi-shipper collaborations, such as co-loading.
By embracing ever more efficient trucks, maximizing the productivity of each move, and leveraging low-carbon fuels where available, transportation companies will meet the demands of their customers and seize the opportunity for growth presented by the increased focus on corporate social responsibility. | <urn:uuid:931dce7c-9adc-48b8-8705-50457da44ff6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://fleetowner.com/running-green/environmental-sustainability-burden-or-opportunity-trucking | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00085-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946871 | 640 | 2.796875 | 3 |
I like to think of one’s personal finance state as something like a toolbox. In order to accomplish a major task, one must use more than one tool from their toolbox to make it happen. Let me explain with a bit more detail.
There are many, many different personal finance tools in one’s toolbox. Here are a few examples that I find in my own toolbox.
Frugality If you look at a specific area of spending, how can you reduce it and still get a reasonable amount of personal value out of it? In areas you don’t value, cut that spending to the bone; if you do value it, find ways to get the best bang for the buck.
Increasing Income Work on your career. Get a second job. Start a side business. Whatever it takes to increase your cash flow.
Steady Behavior “Celebrating” by spending wads of cash can undo all of your good work in other areas. Being steady and consistent in your behavior reaps big rewards.
The “Ten Second Rule” If you’re about to buy something, pause and ask yourself if you really need it. If you can’t think of a really compelling reason, put it back.
An Emergency Fund If something goes wrong, an emergency fund is the perfect tool to pull out and fix the problem.
Targeted Savings If you’re tackling a big goal, some size of targeted savings is what you want to utilize.
Investment Accounts Investing introduces some risk into the equation, but can help you finish things more quickly. It’s something like using a power tool – potentially quite dangerous, but also potentially able to help you get the job done quite fast.
Success Measurers It’s like a tape measure, one you use to measure the growth of your pumpkin for the fair. In this case, though, it’s simply all about measuring your financial success and growth: tracking your net worth, for example.
The “Thirty Day Rule” If you’re considering a major purchase, put it aside for thirty days and let it breathe. After thirty days, if it’s still on your mind, it’s probably a good sign that you should pull the trigger.
Obviously, there are many, many more financial tools that people have in their toolboxes. What tools do you have in yours? Which are your most well-worn tools?
Examples of the Toolbox at Work
Obviously, forward progress in financial matters is usually a matter of using multiple tools. Here are a couple examples.
Your refrigerator suddenly dies. So, you tap into your emergency fund and buy a replacement and then you perhaps use a bit of frugality and automatic savings to replenish that emergency fund.
But what if you don’t have a refrigerator? You might find yourself forced into using credit – and then perhaps having to find a new source of income to pay off that credit. Again, you’re using multiple tools.
A New Home
You’re newly married and are thinking about having children in the future, but you know your apartment is too small for another child. You’ll have to move at some point in the future.
You might want to get a second job to increase your income, but that extra income goes to waste if you don’t also set up a savings plan for that money. You might also want to start rocking that frugality horse a bit harder than before, looking through your life to areas unimportant to you to cut spending.
The Big Key
What’s the big key here? Very rarely is one tool enough to do anything of significance. Frugality alone isn’t enough if you’re not saving the money. The thirty day rule isn’t enough if you don’t do a bit of research during that thirty days to find the best value for your purchase. An emergency fund isn’t enough if you don’t replenish it with a savings plan after you use it.
Mastering frugality alone isn’t enough. Nor is simply setting up automated savings, or focusing solely on your career. Financial success comes from learning how to use a wide variety of tools until they’re so comfortable in your hand that you almost forget they’re there – they become a part of you. | <urn:uuid:d49c9afd-a188-4f1c-ba06-bd1849d9a634> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-personal-finance-toolbox/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948614 | 921 | 2.609375 | 3 |
|Here's a 3-minute [YouTube video] that describes the project.|
For nearly two years, IBM scientists have been working on a highly advanced Question Answering (QA) system, codenamed "Watson" after IBM's first president, [Thomas J. Watson]. The scientists believe that the computing system will be able to understand complex questions and answer with enough precision and speed to compete on Jeopardy!Produced by Sony Pictures Television, the trivia questions on Jeopardy! cover a broad range of topics, such as history, literature, politics, film, pop culture, and science. It poses a grand challenge for a computing system due to the variety of subject matter, the speed at which contestants must provide accurate responses, and because the clues given to contestants involve analyzing subtle meaning, irony, riddles, and other complexities at which humans excel and computers traditionally do not. Watson will incorporate massively parallel analytical capabilities and, just like human competitors, Watson will not be connected to the Internet or have any other outside assistance.
If this all sounds familiar, you might remember some of the events that have led up to this:
- In 1984, the movie ["The Terminator"] introduced the concept of [Skynet], a fictional computer system developed by the militarythat becomes self-aware from its advanced artificial intelligence.
- In 1997, an IBM computer called Deep Blue defeated World Chess Champion [Garry Kasparov] in a famous battle of human versus machine. To compete at chess, IBM built an extremely fast computer that could calculate 200 million chess moves per second based on a fixed problem. IBM’s Watson system, on the other hand, is seeking to solve an open-ended problem that requires an entirely new approach – mainly through dynamic, intelligent software – to even come close to competing with the human mind. Despite their massive computational capabilities, today’s computers cannot consistently analyze and comprehend sentences, much less understand cryptic clues and find answers in the same way the human brain can.
- In 2005, Ray Kurzweil wrote [The Singularity is Near] referring to the wonders that artificial intelligence will bring to humanity.
The research underlying Watson is expected to elevate computer intelligence and human-to-computer communication to unprecedented levels. IBM intends to apply the unique technological capabilities being developed for Watson to help clients across a wide variety of industries answer business questions quickly and accurately.
For more details, read the IBM[Press Release].
technorati tags: IBM, Cloud Computing, Dynamic Infrastructure, Data Center Networking, Jeopardy, Watson, Sony, quiz show, Terminator, Skynet, Deep Blue, Garry Kasparov, Ray Kurzweil, Singularity, HCI, AI, artificial intelligence | <urn:uuid:0dc0d956-1809-4d8a-aba6-8fef5919dfa3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/InsideSystemStorage/entry/what_is_watson_ibm_takes?lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924215 | 563 | 3.375 | 3 |
Khevra Kaddishah (Burial Society) Records
Khevrah Kaddishah (F2) records and tombstone inscriptions are traditionally a valuable source of genealogical information. For the Jewish genealogist in particular these sources has both advantages and disadvantages. Jewish death records traditionally provide not only the name and date of death, but also the father's name as part of the deceased's Hebrew name. The journal in which Khevrah Kaddishah records are kept is called a Pinkas. In countries and at periods of time where the Jewish community was largely composed of immigrants, the Pinkas may record the town of origin of the deceased. On the other hand, genealogists seeking material from European communities are often frustrated either by the ravaging effects of war, particularly after the Holocaust, or by access restrictions to certain countries, in much of eastern Europe, prior to the dismantling of the Soviet Union.
For these reasons, of particular value are those records which have found their way into libraries and archives. Such material includes original manuscripts of Khevra Kaddishah Pinkassim (F3) (or printed versions of them) and published books which record a survey of tombstone inscriptions. Often this recording was carried out before either the cemetery or the records were destroyed.
In addition community histories written in the nineteenth century often include lists of tombstones and genealogies of prominent personalities.
However readers should not think that such manuscripts abound. The main repository in Israel for several Pinkassim is the Manuscripts Department of the National Library at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.(F4) A study of the catalogue reveals a number of Pinkassim, including an immense volume from Slutsk covering about 300 years.(F5) Additional Pinkassim are held in The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem and access can be obtained to overseas holdings through microfilms held at both of the above libraries.
Use of Khevra Kaddishah material requires experience in deciphering Hebrew handwriting and a familiarity with relevant terminology and abbreviations. Usually the material is arranged chronologically and has no alphabetical index. Research must be carried out by a painstaking survey of all the material (unless approximate dates are known). This can often be rewarding since additional information about the deceasedís occupation and family may be included, depending on the custom of each individual Khevra Kaddishah. Often people may be discovered whose identity as relatives was previously unknown. Through marital ties, indicated by the discovery of parentís-in-law, entirely new family lines may be uncovered. During the perusal of Khevra Kaddishah records one may discover unknown siblings who died young, as well as solving the eternal problem of tracing female lines. Researchers of Jewish genealogy are often plagued by the dearth of information about their female ancestry. Often the only sources of their names and those of their fathers are in Khevra Kaddishah and cemetery records. In these documents, the name of the husband may be recorded with that of the wife. Use of the Khevra Kaddishah records requires a recognition of the arrangement of the entries, as in certain cases, there are separate lists for males, females, children, and prominent members of the community.
Khelkat Mekhokek by Asher Leib Brisk is a published work which contains about 3000 inscriptions of tombstones of those who are classified Ashenazim-Perushim, and who were buried in the "Old Section" on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem until about 1914. One large Sefardi Block is recorded. For those families who have Israeli connections, current sources include the functioning Khevrah Kaddishah of each city. Whilst their material follows the unindexed chronological system, efforts are being made in several cities to computerize the information.
For other cemeteries in Israel a series of pamphlets was compiled in the mid-1930s by Pinkhas Grayevsky, giving tombstone lists for Jaffa, Rishon-Letzion, Nes Tziona, Petah Tikvah, Zikhron Yaakov, Ekron, and the Chabad section of the Mount of Olives. The old cemetery of Tel Aviv is listed in a published book Lekorot Beit Ha'almin Hayashan BeTel Aviv, covering the period until the mid-1930s.
Most of the classic sources for Eastern European rabbinical families, as distinct from the more modern Yizkor books, were community histories published towards the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. They include many cemetery records and genealogies. The books have been described above.
Most of these books were written at a time when genealogical information was considered worth recording, in contrast to the modern Yizkor books, where precise personal details are rarely available. The above classic books record the prominent and not so prominent members of the community, often deriving the material from gravestones, most recording selected inscriptions.
A number of books are devoted specifically to recording tombstone inscriptions:
A full description of over 1,000 Yizkor books is outside the scope of this article. Suffice it to state that most Yizkor books devote a chapter to the rabbis and scholars of the community. The amount of genealogical information varies from a simple list of rabbis to those books which include detailed biographies and dynastic relationships. The Yizkor books are a guide to rabbinical genealogy but are a secondary source to the more detailed sources described in this guide.(F6)
Reference Books (Encyclopedias)
Pinkas Hakehillot. Multi-volume project published
progressively by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, Israel. (F7)
1. Excerpted from: Freedman,
Chaim. Beit Rabbanan: Sources of Rabbinic Genealogy.
Petah Tikva, Israel: self-published, 2001. Used with | <urn:uuid:f11095d3-a6a2-492d-8ec4-b61cd1d19318> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.jewishgen.org/Rabbinic/infofiles/communal.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948427 | 1,247 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Last time Childhood Obesity News looked at some criticisms of the teen version of “The Biggest Loser.” As it turns out, medical professionals paid attention to the show also. In fact, doctors from various parts of the world got together on Monday evenings via the social network Twitter to talk about it through the hashtag #PedsDocsBL.
One of them is Dr. Stephen Pont, medical director for the Texas Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity. He wrote the article we are looking at today, for the website of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which is concerned with transforming the lives of disadvantaged children in urban areas. Dr. Pont is not a fan of the creative decision process that led to the inclusion of teenagers in “The Biggest Loser’s” cast.
Attitude is one problem, namely the show’s attitude which is manifest in its very title. “The Biggest Loser” is jolly fun and all, because the joke is, in this case being a loser is good. But overall, it just strikes a note of stigmatization and judgment right from the start. Stress is another problem, the amount of it that must be generated in these kids by facing a private problem so publicly.
At the Texas Center led by Dr. Pont, certain dangers are recognized. He writes:
Research shows that people challenged by their weight are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, which is why many of our patients […] receive support and treatment from our behavioral health team. I hope that the show’s teens and adults receive this too, both during the show and afterwards. Otherwise they’re at high risk for a lifetime of feelings of guilt and blame.
Dr. Pont, and he is not alone in this sentiment, feels that the subsidies and other sweet deals obtained by industrial agriculturists and the major food corporations are a big contributing factor to the overall obesity problem. The mechanisms for making profit are skewed in their favor, so junk food is disproportionately cheap, while healthful foods can strain a family’s budget.
The ripple effect
Other scientists have done studies to determine the “ripple effect” on public consciousness and opinion. On study found that just watching “The Biggest Loser” swayed viewers to have “significantly higher levels of dislike of overweight individuals.” That can’t lead to anything productive.
While Dr. Pont recognizes that teen contestants are not treated as harshly as adults, the overall picture holds little that is positive. He suggests that if families must watch such shows, that the parents take advantage of the opportunity to discuss the issues that arise from these spectacles.
And yes, there are more of these programs. For example, the MTV network’s “I Used to be Fat.” For Britain’s Daily Mail, journalist Daisy Dumas considered the story of 18-year-old Maddy (no last name given) who cleared her life of drugs and alcohol only to fall victim to compulsive eating instead. Plagued by a particular attraction toward cheese and mayonnaise, she ended up weighing a miserable 265 pounds. The piece includes this quotation from Maddy’s stepmother:
For her, food is like an addiction. She medicates herself with food, it’s a comfort.
And the televised words of Maddy herself are quoted:
Food is my drug and I abuse it horribly… When I look at myself in the mirror like this and I see my body, I hate what I am and it makes me want to just go and ruin it even more because it’s like it doesn’t matter any more.
With strenuous workouts and a nutritious diet, Maddy lost an amazing 85 pounds in only 110 days. Her Facebook fan page suggests that she has started college and is busy with other things. Aside from the diet and exercise, there is no mention of any deeper therapy to address the issues that made her a captive of substances, including food. Perhaps the new interests and preoccupations of university life provide enough impetus to keep this young woman on a good path.
If so, she will be one of the rare ones. Best of luck to Maddy in maintaining the weight loss and healthier lifestyle that she achieved.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Stephen Pont: Childhood obesity & The Biggest Loser — bold step or backward thinking?,” MSDF.org, 02/18/13
Source: “‘I feel beautiful’: How teenage girl beat addiction to food and lost 85lb in just 110 days,” DailyMail.co.uk, 11/17/11
Source: “Maddy ‘I Used To Be Fat’ Fan Page,” Facebook
Image by Eshed Gal-or. | <urn:uuid:fd2da0da-b5f2-4884-8c4b-39786e678bfd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://childhoodobesitynews.com/2013/06/27/fat-kids-on-tv/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951616 | 1,013 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Reprinted by Blavatsky Study Center
What is Theosophy?
Some Fundamental Concepts
by John AlgeoThis article has been excerpted from the book
Theosophy: An Introductory Study Course by John Algeo
(4th ed. Wheaton, Illinois, USA: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968.)
The "Big" Questions of Life
Have you ever wondered about the big questions of life?
Who am I really?
Why is the world the way it is?
Where did I come from?
What am I doing here?
What comes next?
When will I find out all these things?
If you have ever wondered about these or other such apparently unanswerable questions, congratulations. Your ability to wonder proves you are human. We human beings are curious about ourselves and the world around us. That curiosity appears especially in little children, who are continually asking what? and why? As we grow older, we may learn to live with our unknowing and stop asking such questionsat least overtly. But, being human, we have a passion for knowing the meaning of things, and that passion cannot be wholly suppressed.
The human passion for understanding ourselves and the world around us puts us on a quest for self-discovery. The human species has various names to identify itself. We are, in the technical language of biologists, Homo sapiens the intelligent human. ....We might most appropriately be called Homo quaeritans the questing human, the human who is on a search.
Over the ages, humans have developed several approaches to answering their own questionsfor pursuing their search. Three of the most important of such approaches are science, philosophy, and religion, each of which starts from its own assumptions and goes about forming its answers in its own way. Because of those differences, science, philosophy, and religion may occasionally seem to contradict one another. But because they are all trying to answer the big questions, their right answers cannot really be contradictory. Instead, we need to understand what causes the differences and how we can find the truth in common to these varied approaches.
And that brings us to Theosophy and the Theosophical Society....
What is the Theosophical Society?
The Theosophical Society was founded in New York City in 1875 by a number of persons who had gathered to discuss matters of mutual interest relating to the wisdom of the ancients, the unexplained mysteries of nature around us, and the implications of such things for contemporary people. Chief among these founders of the Society were Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Steel Olcott....
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was a Russian woman who became a naturalized American citizen. She came of Russian nobility on her mothers side and of Russian military officers on her fathers side....HPB, as she preferred to be called, had married as a young woman, but left the comfortable life of the Russian upper classes to seek an explanation for lifes mysteries by traveling around the world in search of wisdom. She eventually came into touch with some teachers, Masters of the Wisdom, of whom she had had dreams and visions since her childhood and who trained her in the tradition of which they were the heirs and custodians. They sent her to America for the purpose of founding an organization to serve as a nucleus to carry on the work of disseminating their wisdom to humanity....
Henry Steel Olcott was a lawyer who served his country during the American Civil War as an inspector, ferreting out fraud in the procurement of supplies (and is therefore often called Colonel Olcott). After the assassination of President Lincoln, he was on the commission that investigated it. Olcott had a varied career, for example publishing a seminal work on the cultivation of sugar-producing plants and editing a history of America. He was a feature writer for New York newspapers and, as such, followed current events. In the later nineteenth century, Spiritualism (supposed contact with the souls of the dead through mediums) was a matter of intense interest; and some remarkable spiritualistic phenomena were being reported at a farm in Vermont. Olcott therefore went to Vermont to write a story on those phenomena, and there he met HPB, who had also come to witness the happenings and to meet Olcott.
Blavatsky and Olcott immediately struck up a friendship, and on their return to New York, Olcott began to attend gatherings at HPBs apartment, where conversation often turned to esoteric and exotic subjects. When it was proposed to found a society for the further study of such matters, Olcott was elected President and HPB Corresponding Secretary. The new organization was called the Theosophical Society....
The Society received a good bit of publicity in the newspapers....But Olcott and HPB soon moved to the East. They had entered into correspondence with Buddhists in Sri Lanka and with Hindus in India and felt a call to extend Theosophical work into those countries. So in 1879 the two Founders sailed to south Asia, first establishing themselves in Bombay, but traveling widely to further the work of the new Society throughout the subcontinent. Three years later, they purchased an estate called Adyar near Madras (now called Chennai) in southern India for the international headquarters of the Society.
Olcott became very active in educational and social work on behalf of the exploited peoples of Sri Lanka and in promoting the worldwide revival of Buddhism. HPB continued an intense production of literary works, which would eventually fill more than twenty thick volumes.
...HPB was the idea woman who was largely responsible for formulating modern Theosophy, but she was also the object of curiosity by Europeans, who were intrigued by her ability to be the catalyst for phenomenal events of several kinds. Olcott was the organization man who mothered the Society through its first generation, but he was also the chief public spokesperson for Theosophy and the Society in Asia. HPB focused on the esoteric aspects of Theosophy; Olcott, on its public aspects and its role as a bridge between different cultures and religions. In America, William Quan Judge, another founding member, became the most prominent worker for the Society....
What is Theosophy?
Theosophy is a way of answering the big questions of life by trying to reconcile the varied approaches of science, philosophy, and religion, without limiting itself to any of their particular assumptions or ways. It relies on its own assumptions and ways, while embracing all that is true and valuable in other approaches.
Theosophy is both very new and very old. It is new because it can be applied to our curiosity about our own identity and the meaning of everything in the world around us today. It does that, not with a list of simple, pat answers, but by giving us a new way to look at ourselves and the universe, a way that provides a basis for developing our own answers.
Theosophy is old because it embodies principles that have been known and taught by the sages of the past all over the world. It has been called by many names....
The termTheosophy is derived from two Greek words, theos divine and sophia wisdom. However, Theosophy is not some system of thought prescribed by a deity ruling from on high, but the Divine Wisdom that dwells potentially and universally in the human spirit, unfolding gradually through the process of evolution. It is this Divine Wisdom within us that stirs our desire to discover who we are and to answer the other big questions....
In recent times, the term has come into more general use, beginning in the year 1875, with the founding of the Theosophical Society....
Although this Wisdom has been offered throughout the ages under various names and in many languages, its essence is fundamentally the same, however much its outer aspects and manner of presentation may vary. It especially points to the reality of brotherhood and the imperative necessity of practicing it; but it also gives insight into the unexplained around us and helps the development of our latent powers; and it is the inner harmony of religion, philosophy, and science....
The world abounds with differing religions, each addressed to a different people and time. The word religion comes from a Latin term whose root meaning is to link back. So different religions link their followers back in different ways to the ultimate source of life, whatever we call it: the Absolute, God, divine Reality, or the like.
Theosophy has been called the Wisdom Religion, because it also points the way to that linkage. But Theosophy is not a religion. It does not claim to be a complete and final statement of wisdom and truth, nor does it offer a single interpretation of what Divine Wisdom includes. Theosophy holds that all things, including the human mind, are evolving. We are in the midst of an unfinished world and are ourselves unfinished. Therefore the accumulated knowledge of any subject at any time is necessarily incomplete and can be added to. We are only in the middle of our development, so we still have a great deal to discover.
Theosophy does not bind an individual to any particular belief or creed, but it is dedicated to furthering humanitys eternal search for the meaning and wholeness of life in a nonsectarian and nondogmatic way. The religions of the world offer methods of this search and are therefore subjects for Theosophical study.
Theosophy respects the Divine Wisdom basic to the inner side of all religious teachings. It does not seek to convert any persons from the religion they hold, but rather to explain and interpret on a rational basis the inner meanings of various creeds and ceremonies....
Another aspect of Theosophy is scientific, particularly its attitude toward observation and experiment, hypothesis and investigation. Of course, there are also differences between science and Theosophy. Science limits itself to what can be quantified and tested by repeated, controlled, and objective experiments. Theosophy also deals with direct experience, but often of a more subjective and qualitative nature. Nevertheless, many of the concepts outlined in Theosophical literature parallel the emerging knowledge of modern science in striking ways.
The scientific method is basic to the discovery of how the physical world works, and its principal characteristic is an impersonal search for truth. But all thoughtful scientists today would probably agree with the statement of one of the great Eastern sages: Every great discovery of science was at first a grand intuition. Theosophy reaches into the area of these grand intuitions, many of which deal with factors beyond the scope of objective proof. But if they are truth, they can be confirmed by all of us who are willing to use our lives as a laboratory....
In still another aspect, Theosophy is philosophy because it postulates a logical explanation for the universe and its laws, as well as for humanitys origin, evolution, and destiny.
In a message she sent to the American convention of 1888, Blavatsky wrote, Theosophy [is] the philosophy of the rational explanation of things and not the tenets. That is, Theosophy is not a body of beliefs, but a way of explaining thingsa philosophy.
Theosophy offers reasons for life left untouched by either religion or science. It holds that the universe is unified, orderly, and purposeful, that matter is the instrument for the evolution of life, that thought is a creative power which we can learn to use effectively, and that experience of both joy and suffering is the means by which we grow in character and ability and thus attain wisdom, compassion, and power.
We say that Theosophy includes aspects of religion, science, and philosophy, but those three approaches to truth, when rightly followed, are not contradictory. In fact they blend into one another. They are three ways of viewing the truth of the universe, and what at one time is religion or philosophy will be science at another time.Some Fundamental Concepts of Theosophy
Theosophyin its religious, scientific, and philosophical aspectsoffers such [fundamental] concepts as the following for consideration:
Ultimate reality is a unified wholeabsolute, impersonal, unknowable, and indescribable.
The universe in which we live is manifold, diverse, constantly changing, relative (which means that each part has meaning and value only in relation to others), and illusory or mayavic (that is, its reality differs from its appearance).
The ultimate reality is the source of all consciousness, matter, and energy, which are its three mutually necessary aspects in the manifest universe and are present in every being and every particle. There is no dead or unconscious matter.
The universe and everything in it are emanations or expressions of the ultimate reality, not creations out of nothing by a personal creator.
The universe is eternal, but with innumerable worlds periodically manifesting within it.
The universe is pervaded by a collective intelligence, a cosmic mind, which is consciously expressed in varying degrees by all the beings in the universe.
The physical universe of which we are normally aware is only one aspect of the total universe, which consists of multiple planes, fields, or dimensions of beingcoexisting, interpenetrating, and interacting aspects of the whole. Of the seven planes of our solar system, human beings function primarily on the lower three: physical, emotional, and mental.
The universe and everything in it are orderly, following patterns of regular cycles, including alternating phases of activity and rest, governed by a universal principle of cause and effect or karma. In human life, this principle of cycles is expressed, among other ways, by repeated rebirths or reincarnation.
Evolution, which is the result of an inner and intelligent guidance expressed through personal effort, is good, has purpose, and follows a plan.
Our material forms are evolving, but so are our conscious knowledge of the universe and our spiritual awareness of our basic unity with all life.
We are composite beings; we have a number of independently evolved principles or faculties whose development is a purpose of evolution. In both the universe and us, there are seven such principles.
We are threefold beings: (1) a temporary, single-lifetime personality, (2) an abiding, evolving individuality that reincarnates, and (3) a spark or direct emanation of the ultimate reality. The integration of these three aspects is the driving force of our evolution.
The process of evolution, which begins by unconscious impulse, must eventually become a conscious process directed by the free will and ever increasing self-awareness of the evolving entities. The conscious participation by human beings in evolutionary change is symbolized as walking a path.
The evolving entities of the universe include intelligences both less and more advanced than human beings, of whom some of the more advanced (the Masters or Adepts) may serve as helpers and guides to the less advanced.
The key to the advancement of human evolution is a dedication by the individual to the service of others, that is, altruisman awareness of brotherly unity and a forgetfulness of personal separateness.
The pain, cruelty, and frustration we experience in life are the result of ignorance, unbalanced actions, relative dislocations, or change; they are not independently existing evils.
It is possible, as a result of individual effort in this life, for human beings to come by intuitive knowledge or mystical experience to a full awareness of their nonseparateness from the ultimate reality.
Correspondences, analogies, meaningful connections, and patterned repetitions exist among all things in the universe. By using those correspondences, we can use what we know to discover the unknown.
Behind the exoteric or public forms of all religions and religious philosophies there exists an esoteric or inner teaching that holds such concepts as those listed here.
H. P. Blavatsky...wrote: Theosophy is the shoreless ocean of universal truth, love, and wisdom reflecting its radiance upon earth. . . . The Theosophical Society was formed to show mankind that it exists. To be sure, this shoreless ocean is not the exclusive possession of the Theosophical Society; it exists everywhere and has always been available to the fearlessly questing mind. Some of the central concepts of this universal truth have, however, been formulated more specifically in the literature of Theosophy than elsewhere, and their totality is coherently set forth in Theosophy, which has a special relevance to our times....
Blavatsky has [also] been reported as saying that the study of the great universal principles of Theosophy requires a special kind of mental effort that involves the carving out of new brain paths. It is not always easy for us, with our conditioned minds, to submit to so rigorous an undertaking, but once we have overcome our reluctance and inertia, we may find it the most exciting adventure of our lives.
Abdill, Edward. The Secret Gateway: Modern Theosophy and the Ancient Wisdom Tradition. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, Quest Books, 2005.
Algeo, John. HPBs Diagram of Meditation. DVD. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1992. 45 min.. Theosophy: An Introductory Study Course. 4th ed. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968. Buy Printed Edition Online Edition
Barborka, Geoffrey. The Divine Plan. Adyar, Chennai: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972.
Bendit, Lawrence J. The Mirror of Life and Death. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1968.
Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna.An Abridgement of The Secret Doctrine. Ed. Elizabeth Preston and Christmas Humphreys. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1967, c. 1966.
. The Key to Theosophy: An Abridgement. Ed. Joy Mills. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972.
Caldwell, Daniel H., comp. The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, Quest Books, 2000. Buy Printed Edition Online Abridged Edition
Ellwood, Robert. Theosophy: A Modern Expression of the Wisdom of the Ages. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1986.
McDavid, William Doss. An Introduction to Esoteric Principles: A Study Guide. 2nd ed. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1990. Buy Printed Edition. Online Edition.
Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett from the Mahatmas M. and K.H.Transcribed by A. T. Barker. Ed. Vicente Hao Chin, Jr. Manila: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993.
Nicholson, Shirley J.Ancient WisdomModern Insight. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1985.
. A Program for Living the Spiritual Life: A Study Course. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1989.
Schweizer, Steve. The Theosophical Society in America. DVD. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 2000.
Taimni, I. K. Man, God and the Universe. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974, c. 1969.
. Self Culture. Adyar, Chennai: Theosophical Publishing House, 1970.
Reprinted by Blavatsky Study Center | <urn:uuid:5df82557-00d2-485c-9a59-d3b769d5fdd3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blavatskyarchives.com/algeo_some_fundamental_concepts_of_the_theosophy.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950138 | 3,997 | 3.09375 | 3 |
This is the third in a series of blog posts on the record types found in the forthcoming Library of Virginia research database: Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative. The initial database release will be on 1 February 2016.
During the Civil War, Virginia enacted legislation to force African Americans, both slave and free, into “public service” supporting the Confederacy. Their primary responsibility would be to erect “batteries, entrenchments or other necessities of the military service,” which could include working in mines and factories, preparing meals and washing clothes for Confederate soldiers, or driving supply wagons.
Legislation to impress free African Americans was passed shortly after Virginia’s secession from the Union. In July 1861, the state convention that had approved secession passed an ordinance “to provide for the enrollment and employment of free Negroes in the public service.” This ordinance was amended and re-enacted by the General Assembly in February 1862. The legislation authorized local courts to enroll for “public use” all able-bodied male free African Americans between the ages of eighteen and fifty. They would not serve more than 180 days and would be fairly compensated for their services.
When a commanding officer of the Confederate Army had need of the services of free African Americans, a local board would select from the list of free African Americans “such number of laborers as in … read more »
Editor’s note: This blog post marks the close of the grant-funded Montgomery County chancery processing project (in Civil War terms, the “Last Dispatch”). Thanks to generous support by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), over 200 boxes of Montgomery County chancery are now flat-filed, indexed, conserved, and awaiting digitization. Dedicated LVA staff Sarah Nerney, Regan Shelton, and Scott Gardner, along with assistance from Clerk of the Circuit Court Erica W. Williams and her staff, completed not only the processing of chancery records but the organization and identification of scores of other historical court records. To revisit some of the discoveries made over the course of this two-year project, re-read some of the earlier blog posts. The chancery causes are now slated for digital reformatting. Researchers should contact the Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk’s office with inquiries regarding access or copies.
When one thinks about the Civil War, usually the first thoughts are about military battles, but there were many battles fought in the courts over resources such as supplies and land. The chancery records in Virginia’s courthouses can provide tantalizing insights into conflicts on the home front. They also reveal how complicated life became in Civil War Virginia as individuals, businesses, and even localities fought each other and the Confederate government to defend their property or what they viewed as rightfully … read more »
2014 has been a special year filled with special events for Stafford County. Celebrating its 350th anniversary, the county held numerous community-based historical celebrations to mark the occasion. On January 4, some 4,300 people kicked off the commemoration with an inaugural event—complete with an interactive history tent and a “live history timeline” enacted by elementary students. Founders Day festivities, held May 3-4, gathered together 59 groups with 655 participants to showcase different aspects of the county’s history—with a parade, history square, and county-wide school fine arts program. Close to 13,000 people turned out for this unique sesquarcentennial jubilee. The Local Records Services branch of the Library of Virginia was selected to participate and staff a table displaying mounted reproductions of county documents found in its archival collections.
Individuals researching Stafford County history know that it is a locality that has experienced a massive loss of its loose records and volumes. Helping provide a context for earlier surviving documents (see the Lost Localities Digital Collection) as well as adding to the county’s ongoing story, the digital images for the Stafford County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1866-1912, are now available online through the Chancery Records Index on the Library of Virginia’s Virginia Memory site. Because these documents rely so heavily on the testimony of witnesses, chancery causes contain a wealth of historical and genealogical information … read more »
The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce that digital images for Elizabeth City County (Va.) Chancery Causes, 1747-1913, are now available online through the Chancery Records Index on LVA’s Virginia Memory website. Traditional wisdom has always held that not many pre-1865 chancery suits managed to survive the burnings of Elizabeth City County (now the City of Hampton) in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, and the great 1865 Richmond evacuation fire that consumed many locality records sent to the capital for safekeeping. While not all of the records that should have existed still survive, it is fortunate that 366 suits from Elizabeth City County dating 1865 and prior were discovered as part of this processing project allowing for a richer portrait of the locality to emerge.
The earliest surviving suit is that of John Hunt and wife vs. William Hunter, 1747-001, and concerns the estate of William Hunter. Hunt’s wife was one of Hunter’s children and as such the couple sued for their portion of her father’s estate, which consisted of four slaves: Moll, Diana, Jemmie, and an unnamed child. The suit, which commenced in 1744, was continued for several years until it was finally sent on to the General Court in Richmond in 1747. The General Court papers burned completely in Richmond in 1865 so the ultimate disposition of this … read more »
Posted in Chancery Court Blog Posts, Local Records Blog Posts
Also tagged in: Chancery Causes, Elizabeth City County, Fort Monroe, Free Negro Register, Free Negroes, Hampton (City), Hampton Institute, Hampton University, slavery, slaves
Prior to the abolishment of slavery, the idea of landownership was an impossible dream for most African Americans, but in the years following the Civil War, African American landowners began to appear in Virginia’s chancery records. Unfortunately, these new landowners most often came to court because they were in danger of losing ownership of their property, or they felt they had been cheated out of the true value of their lands. With little support to aid in their pursuit of landownership, many minorities lost their property in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Two such examples were found in the Patrick County chancery causes.
In 1872, Enoch Wilson, an African American, sold a parcel of land to Gabriel Hylton, a white man, at a price that was much lower than it was worth. Hylton, regarded as a shrewd man and apparently not averse to taking advantage of others, vowed to pay Wilson $1.25 per acre for 217 acres of land. The transaction even included an offer to allow Wilson to continue to reside on the property until his death. Unfortunately for Wilson, the agreement was simply verbal and no money or documentation was ever exchanged.
Wilson’s grandson lived with him and was unaware of the verbal agreement with Hylton. As the assumed heir to the property, he decided to grow and sell … read more » | <urn:uuid:2532b7fb-4fa3-463e-8f00-c6fc48e06287> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/out_of_the_box/tag/civil-war/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00141-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957305 | 1,520 | 3.140625 | 3 |
How Do Animals Learn if Rangeland Plants are Toxic or Nutritious?
Society for Range Management
Howery, L.D., Provenza, F.D., Ruyle, G.B. & Jordan, N.C. (2008). How Do Animals Learn if Rangeland Plants are Toxic or Nutritious? Rangelands, 20(6), 4-9.
Over the past 15 years, Dr. Frederick Provenza and his associates at Utah State University have studied how animals use certain physiological and behavioral processes to learn whether rangeland forages are toxic or nutritious. This article summarizes key concepts presented in recent articles (e.g., Provenza et al. 1992; Provenza 1995, 1996, 1997) about how learning plays a major role in the development of dietary choices made by rangeland animals. | <urn:uuid:5b65a0f2-1036-426a-a1f0-0110c4f4607d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/behave/135/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.773604 | 178 | 3.1875 | 3 |
While public transportation is a great green urban option, the “last mile” problem is a real shortcoming- referring to the conundrum of the extra distance from your bus or train stop to your doorstep (while this may seem trivial to some, Midwestern commuters can attest to the annoyance of this problem). The folks at MIT think that they may have a solution to that problem: The City Car, a stackable electric two-passenger city vehicle, would combine the best features of mass transit, car-sharing, and personal vehicles in a high-density, high-convenience system.
Meant to work more like a car sharing service than that of a personal vehicle, MIT hopes to change the way that we think about personal transportation. Stacks of vehicles could be placed throughout the city to create a small network that is linked to the existing mass transportation systems within the city. When a person comes gets off a bus or train, they can just hop into one of these vehicles and go about their business. They can either drop it off at the vehicle stack at their destination, if there happens to be one, or returned to their original stack, where the vehicle will be recharged and wait for the next person to take it.
The cars are electric two-passenger vehicles. Rather than using a single engine motor, the car comes equipped with four in-wheel electric motors, powered by lithium-ion batteries. The electric motor and suspension system of the vehicle eliminate the need for traditional drive train configurations, like gear boxes, thus removing the need for a large engine block, thus making the cars smaller and more maneuverable. Furthermore, the vehicle is designed with 360 degrees of steering capability, allowing it to maneuver in small spaces and even park sideways.
This is an idea that makes sense. Think of how much time you spend not using your vehicle. Most of the time, for most people obviously, public transport should be more than enough to meet their transportation requirements, but by solving the last mile problem, MIT could change the way that we do our traveling. A prototype is expected next year. | <urn:uuid:b235ae9e-26ed-4cce-b9b8-622b1b4b7b72> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://inhabitat.com/transportation-tuesday-mits-stackable-city-car/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00034-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958999 | 427 | 2.953125 | 3 |
November 9, 2012
Experimental Interplanetary Internet Test From International Space Station
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe OnlineSunita Williams used a NASA-developed laptop in October to remotely drive a small LEGO robot at the European Space Observatory Center in Darmstadt, Germany.
The experiment used NASA's Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN) to simulate a scenario in which an astronaut in a vehicle orbiting a planetary body controls a robotic rover on the planet's surface.
"The demonstration showed the feasibility of using a new communications infrastructure to send commands to a surface robot from an orbiting spacecraft and receive images and data back from the robot," said Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for space communications and navigation at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The experimental DTN we've tested from the space station may one day be used by humans on a spacecraft in orbit around Mars to operate robots on the surface, or from Earth using orbiting satellites as relay stations."
NASA's DTN architecture is a new communications technology that enables standardized communications similar to the Internet to function over long distances and through time delays associated with on-orbit or deep space spacecraft.
The DTN suite features a Bundle Protocol (BP), which is almost equivalent to the Internet Protocol (IP) that serves as the core of the Internet on Earth.
While IP assumes a continuous end-to-end data path exists between the user and a remote space system, DTN accounts for disconnections and errors.
In DTN, while waiting for the next link to become connected, bundles are temporarily stored and then forwarded to the next node when the link becomes available. This ability enables the network to be more tolerant of delays and disruptions likely to occur between planets, satellites, space stations and distant spacecraft.
"It's all about communicating over large distances, because the 'normal' internet doesn't expect that it may take minutes before something is sent for it to arrive," Kim Nergaard from ESA told BBC News.
NASA's work on its futuristic Internet is part of the agency's Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program. This program coordinates multiple space communications networks and network support functions to regulate, maintain and grow NASA's space communications and navigation capabilities.
The space station serves as a platform for research focused on human health and exploration, technology testing for enabling future exploration, research in basic life and physical sciences, and Earth and space science.
The technology was first tested back in November 2008, when NASA successfully transmitted images to and from a spacecraft 20 million miles away with a communications system based on the Internet.
The system uses a network of nodes to cope with delay. If there is a disruption, the data gets stored at one of the nodes until the communication is available again.
"With the internet on Earth, if something is disconnected, the source has to retransmit everything, or you lose your data," Nergaard told BBC. "But the DTN has this disruption tolerance, and that's the difference - it has to be much more robust over the kind of distances and the kind of networks we're talking about." | <urn:uuid:55e7d76a-1dbd-4266-b7e1-bd9d278e4571> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112728811/internet-nasa-international-space-station-interplanetary-110912/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918407 | 634 | 3.5625 | 4 |
What makes a book memorable? Why can a reader clearly remember the plots, characters, themes and settings of some titles and others are gone ten minutes after closing their cover? I recently watched a documentary on To Kill a Mockingbird’s author, Harper Lee, where author after author discussed how that book influenced them as young readers but the documentary tied the book and the movie together to explain its influence.
That book certainly resonated with me when I read it in high school, but there is another book that I have thought about many times throughout my life. I read it over forty years ago, and there are no images from a movie to drive the memories.
When I was a fifteen year old high school sophomore, my American History teacher assigned the book Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie by O. E. Rolvaag to my class. After I read it I told my teacher “This is the best book I have ever read.” I often thought about the book and remembered the main characters, Norwegian immigrants attempting to make a new life in the United States.
Originally written in 1927 it tells the story of Per and Beret Hansa and their family, as they take advantage of the United States Homestead Act, which gave immigrants 160 acres of land in the Great Plains. Per and Beret settle in the Dakota Territory, attempting to farm on land that can be as harsh as their native Norway but without the family support they might have found back home. But Per had a vision for his family and America was the land of opportunity. This book taught me about the hardships that immigrants endured in their hope for a better life. I vividly remember learning about sod houses and to this day I can’t imagine living in one. But most of all it taught me the human stories that encompass American history.
Twenty-five years later I convinced my book group to read the book. I rarely reread books, but I wanted to discover what it was about this book that had stuck with me. To my surprise I loved this book again and still consider it “the best book I have ever read.” What resonated with me on the second reading was the story of Beret, the young mother, attempting to nurture and sustain her children. By that time I was a mother of young children so I was not surprised by my identification. Her loneliness and depression were heartbreaking.
What still amazes me is how this story gripped me at fifteen and has never left my consciousness. How lucky I was to have a teacher that recognized the power of literature to teach history in a way that highlighted the reality of people’s lives. Later that year she had us read the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, and then she took us to see the movie. Thank you Sister Rene.
Editor’s note: Please use the “add a comment” button below to leave any response you may have about the book or the review. | <urn:uuid:9692b82f-94a8-4093-8b47-c9755541afe1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lfpl.org/readers/blog/comments.php?y=13&m=04&entry=entry130423-113818 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981558 | 609 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Could you please tell me the meaning of "the supercilious assumption was that" in the following excerpt of the second chapter of The Great Gatsby?
I think he’d tanked up a good deal at luncheon and his determination to have my company bordered on violence. The supercilious assumption was that on Sunday afternoon I had nothing better to do.
1 Answer | Add Yours
A supercilious person is one who believes he is better or more important than other people. Early on in Chapter 1, Nick describes Tom in this way:
Now he was a sturdy straw-haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward.
Tom definitely thinks he is better than others. This is clear in how he treats Daisy, and certainly how he treats Myrtle and George. But even in broader terms, Tom believes that his (white) race is superior to other races. He reveals his racist attitude when he mentions the book The Rise of the Colored Empires. He says to Nick, Daisy, and Jordan that, “This fellow has worked out the whole thing. It’s up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things.”
Tom is arrogant and proud. He is definitely supercilious. When Tom takes Nick to meet Myrtle, Tom thoughtlessly assumes that Nick has nothing to do that afternoon. In other words, Tom is so full of himself that he assumes that Nick would rather spend time with him than with whatever he had or had not planned for that afternoon.
We’ve answered 327,738 questions. We can answer yours, too.Ask a question | <urn:uuid:eaae98b4-fc62-483a-9792-da239d763695> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/could-you-please-tell-me-meaning-supercilious-428667 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984819 | 372 | 2.90625 | 3 |
This is a typical architecture of computation proposed as a model for ventral stream of visual processing in primates. It has a long history (e.g., Neocognitoron by Fukushima was 1980) and still widely accepted in machine learning (e.g., deep learning) and neuroscience.
It is motivated by the organization of V1 simple cells and complex cells. Simple cells in V1 can be approximately thought of as edge detectors at a specific retinal location. This is why on the figure you cite, they are represented as a circle with a bar (a cartoon receptive field). The simple cells can only detect things very locally, meaning if the edge appears at a different location in your field of view, it will not respond.
Mathematically, you can think of a spatial filter that detects an edge (e.g., oriented Gabor patch) multiplied to your retinal image, and summed. For example the filter below will detect match a 45 degree bar aligned on the hot-colored area, but will have less activity if the bar is shifted out of the specific position.
The complex cells in V1, on the other hand is still an edge detector, but has some location invariance. In other words, when the edge is slightly displaced, the response of complex cells does not seem to change. It is believed that this is because complex cells pull from multiple simple cells with the same orientation. This is what you see in your figure where a single complex cell pulls information from the same orientation simple cells but at different locations.
Mathematically, a soft-max operation or a max operation over the simple cell outputs can lead to a good complex cell model. But, it is not limited to such operations. In fact, quadratic or other nonlinear models are also widely used in computational neuroscience.
The full hierarchy for ventral stream is then simply obtained by extending repeatedly using the simple-cell-complex-cell analogy. For each stack simple cell layer extracts some local feature (by computing on the previous layer's complex cell's output), and complex cell layer makes it invariant over space. From edges in V1, one can get corners on the next layer, then complex contours, and all the way up to objects. At least that's how the story goes. | <urn:uuid:327fd17a-d833-40af-b158-1da8a532e7f6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/10955/ventral-stream-pathway-and-architecture-proposed-by-poggios-group | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935372 | 465 | 3.5 | 4 |
The story of the internment of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans during World War II hasn't always gotten widespread attention in the United States. But with construction beginning on the new Topaz Museum and Education Center in Utah, another step is being taken to keep the memory alive.
In a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday that featured Taiko drumming and a book signing by former Japanese internment camp resident turned Disney animator Willie Ito, the museum began work on a location some 16 miles away from the original Topaz camp.
Located in the Sevier Desert, the camp at one time housed more than 8,000 American citizens and legal residents (most from the San Francisco Bay area) after the U.S. government cited a "military necessity" to relocate Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Ten sites were used.
When construction is completed, the more than 8,000-square-foot facility will house the museum's collection of artifacts and photographs from the Topaz camp, a library and an art gallery, which will feature work from an ad hoc art school founded by UC Berkeley art professor Chiura Obata during his internment. | <urn:uuid:a541b95e-adee-4ba5-8134-03af5f84a965> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/07/entertainment/la-et-cm-japanese-internment-camp-museum-20120806 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00136-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951106 | 233 | 3.125 | 3 |
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Insight & Intelligence : Nov 20, 2013
Ancient DNA Studies Open the Door to the Ancestral Past
Next-generation and mitochondrial DNA sequencing provide the keys.!--h2>
As the use of mitochondrial DNA analysis has increased, so have revelations about population genetics and the evolution of human traits.
Last July, researchers reported that they had found a direct genetic link between the remains of Native Americans who lived thousands of years ago and their living descendants. Scientists used mitochondrial DNA to track three maternal lineages from ancient times to the present, comparing the complete mitochondrial genomes of four ancient and three living individuals from the north coast of British Columbia, Canada.
The findings not only will cause population experts to rethink ancient migrations into this area, but according to advocates for native populations, will solidify these groups’ claim to their ancestral homelands.
“Having a DNA link showing direct maternal ancestry dating back at least 5,000 years is huge as far as helping the Metlakatla prove that this territory was theirs over the millennia,” said Barbara Petzelt, an author and participant in the study and liaison to the Tsimshian-speaking Metlakatla community, one of the First Nations groups that participated in the study.
According to the authors, the case studies they presented demonstrate the different evolutionary paths of mitogenomes over time on the Northwest Coast, and may revise current ideas about ancient migrations.
Oral traditions and some written accounts say that the north coast of British Columbia has been home to the indigenous Tsimshian, Haida, and Nisga’a people for “uncounted” generations. While some archeological sites date back several millennia, until the PLOS ONE report published last July, no hard evidence tied current inhabitants to ancient human remains in the area, some of which are 5 to 6,000 years old.
The new results provide molecular anthropological evidence consistent with nearby archaeological evidence suggesting a fairly continuous occupation of the region for the last 5,000 years.
Commenting on the study results, anthropological geneticist Jennifer Raff, Ph.D., of Northwestern University commented, “What's particularly interesting about this paper is that the authors found two mitochondrial lineages in the Northwest Coast region in both the ancient individuals and modern people living in the area. This suggests that there's a long continuity of occupation of this region.”
Apart from putting current native claims to ancestral homelands, these and other findings, facilitated by HGS and mitochondrial DNA sequencing technology, will cause anthropologists to rethink long-standing theories about the origins of how native people arrived in North America.
To gain a better understanding of North American population history, the investigators generated complete mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) from four ancient and three living individuals of the northern northwest coast of North America, specifically the north coast of British Columbia. The mitogenomes of all individuals were previously unknown and assigned to new sub-haplogroup designations D4h3a7, A2ag, and A2ah.
The scientists said that mitogenomic DNA studies allowed more detailed analyses of presumed ancestor–descendant relationships than sequencing only the HVSI region of the mitochondrial genome, a more traditional approach in local population studies. The results of this study provide contrasting examples of the evolution of Native American mitogenomes. Those belonging to sub-haplogroups A2ag and A2ah exhibit temporal continuity in this region for 5,000 years up until the present day.
Focusing on the mitogenome is a good way to study the evolutionary history of these groups, commented Ripan Malhi, Ph.D., a molecular anthropologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who directed the study with colleagues at several other institutions. He commented that DNA is often degraded in ancient remains, and unlike nuclear DNA, which is present in only two copies per cell, mitochondria are abundant in cells, giving researchers many DNA duplicates to sequence and compare.
He further noted that another complication associated with analyzing nuclear DNA in Native Americans involves the European influence. “There’s a pattern of European males mixing with Native American females after European contact and so lots of the Y chromosomes in the community trace back to Europe,” he said. The mitogenome offers a clearer picture of Native American lineages before European contact, he said.
To date, the only complete mitochondrial genome from an ancient Native American individual came from an archaeological site in Greenland with a radiocarbon date of approximately 4,000 years BP.
M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Ph.D., of the Center for Ancient Genetics, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, and colleagues at several other institutions sequenced a mitochondrial genome from a Paleo-Eskimo obtained from ~4,000-year-old permafrost-preserved hair, the genome representing a male individual from the first known culture to settle in Greenland. The investigators recovered 79% of the diploid genome, an amount they said is close to the practical limit of current sequencing technologies.
The investigators identified 353,151 high-confidence single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), of which 6.8% had not been reported previously, and used functional SNP assessment to assign possible phenotypic characteristics of the individual that belonged to a culture whose location has yielded only trace human remains. By comparing the high-confidence SNPs to those of contemporary populations, the investigators could find the populations most closely related to the individual. This provides evidence for a migration from Siberia into the New World some 5,500 years ago, independent of that giving rise to the modern Native Americans and Inuit.
The sample, the authors said, proved distinct from modern Native Americans and Neo-Eskimos, falling within haplogroup D2a1, a group previously observed among modern Aleuts and Siberian Sireniki Yuit. This result suggests that the earliest migrants into the New World's northern extremes derived from populations in the Bering Sea area and were not directly related to Native Americans or the later Neo-Eskimos that replaced them.
Other scientists have used mitochondria DNA (mtDNA) variations to study physiological adaptations enabling populations to live under certain climactic and geographical conditions. Scientists working in China recently reported that mitogenomic analysis among the Sherpa population could help explain this ethnic group’s successful adaptation to the low-oxygen environment of the Tibetan highlands, and their mountaineering skills.
The investigators sequenced the complete mtDNA genomes of 76 unrelated Sherpa individuals, explaining that, generally, Sherpa mtDNA haplogroup constitution was close to Tibetan populations. However, they found three lineage expansions in Sherpa, two of which (C4a3b1 and A4e3a) were Sherpa-specific. Thus, the investigators proposed, mtDNA variations might be important in the highland adaption, given the mitogenome’s role in coding core subunits of oxidative phosphorylation.
As Dr. Mahli says, “This is the beginning of the golden era for ancient DNA research because we can do so much now that we couldn't do a few years ago because of advances in sequencing technologies. We’re just starting to get an idea of the mitogenomic diversity in the Americas, in the living individuals as well as the ancient individuals.” And clearly, these advances can also begin to characterize the adaptation of populations to diverse climates as well.
© 2016 Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, All Rights Reserved | <urn:uuid:7c931765-99c1-46ba-b4cb-4059e375d477> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.genengnews.com/keywordsandtools/print/3/33154/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927124 | 1,565 | 2.859375 | 3 |
On Feb. 14, radioactive material leaked from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear waste repository in New Mexico. Reports about the incident appear to be pointing a finger at a reactive mixture of nitrate salts and organic material in the waste drum involved–and more may have the same problem.
There are some details of the incident in a Department of Energy “Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Nitrate Salt Bearing Waste Container Isolation Plan” dated May 30:
• The event did not appear to involve an explosion.
• A chemical reaction in the involved container created sufficient heat to breach the lid to the container and caused a release.
• Damage to surrounding containers, backfill bags, shrink-wrap, and slip-sheets was due to the heat.
• The bulkhead adjacent to the waste stack in Panel 7, Room 7 does not appear to display signs of pressure.
• The risk to workers is from heat, smoke, airborne radionuclides, and pressure related to container(s) breaching.
The nuclear waste material itself was nitrate salts. The organic material was added in processing and packaging the waste and comes from two sources. One was the use of cat litter added as a sorbent. Formerly a clay material, at some point Los Alamos National Laboratory changed to a cellulose material.
The other was neutralizers added to adjust the pH of the material. According to a document by contractor EnergySolutions, this is what went into the drums:
- Prior to September, 2013: Chemtex Acid Neutralizer, dry formula; contains “polymer,” sodium carbonate, alizarin (pH indicator)
- After September, 2013: Spilfyter Kolorsafe Acid Neutralizer, liquid formula; contains triethanolamine, alizarin, water
- Before April, 2013: Spilfyter Kolorsafe Benchtop Kits; contains citric acid, thymol blue (pH indicator); MSDS notes that the material is incompatible with metallic nitrates and strong oxidizers
- After April, 2013: Pig Base Encapsulating Neutralizer, dry formula; contains citric acid, “super absorbent,” thymol; MSDS notes that the material is incompatible with metallic nitrates and strong oxidizers
The New Mexico Environment Department so far seems concerned about the cat litter, but the base neutralizer clearly presented a problem as well. The plan right now seems to be to seal the rooms containing concerning drums as quickly as possible. There are more sitting at LANL waiting to be moved to the pilot plant as well as a site in West Texas.
More documents are available at the New Mexico Environment Department website.
Albuquerque Journal: WIPP probe: Emails raise new questions, Photos show cracked LANL container at WIPP
Forbes: Response to nuclear kitty litter is moving fast
NPR: Organic cat litter chief suspect in nuclear waste accident
Nature: Nuclear-waste facility on high alert over risk of new explosions, Call for better oversight of nuclear-waste storage | <urn:uuid:18070826-a7c1-4ae9-b722-863c25d47c48> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cenblog.org/the-safety-zone/2014/06/reactive-material-release-in-nuclear-waste-facility-possibly-caused-by-reactions-in-drums/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914187 | 628 | 2.75 | 3 |
The Boston Aquarial Gardens and Zoological Gardens (1860 - 1863)
After eighteen months in existence, the Boston Aquarial Gardens were re-baptized the Boston Aquarial and Zoological Gardens, and moved to Central Court, off Washington Street.
The building was expressly designed for the new gardens. The great central tank, 25 feet in diameter, was the dominant attraction. There were 56 smaller tanks, probably arranged in a circle around the central tank. The lower hall was reserved for the zoological specimens. The inaugural announcement promised that the new rooms would be well lit, warmed, and ventilated, and that "marine plants and animals will be on display in new and more elegant tanks."
The gardens were officially opened to the public on October 5th, 1860. The zoological department had added a moose, a leopard, an African python, and several seals. The prices remained fixed at 25 cents for adults and ten cents for children.
In February of 1861, a newly discovered species of sea anemone, Trochartea pendula, was presented at the Boston Aquarial Gardens. It was the first specimen ever found and had been named by Louis Agassiz. By that time, the Aquarial department had grown to include a collection of eels, trout, haddock, shrimp and dogfish.
By May of 1961, the fish were accompanied by an encased swarm of bees and a collection of yellow-collared parakeets. Outside cages were added featuring bald eagles and a silvery gull. Downstairs in the zoological department, an alligator shared a cage with a snapping turtle, a box turtle, and an African ibis. There was also a pair of lions, a leopard, a grizzly bear, black bears, assorted monkeys and parrots, an albino flying squirrel, deer, owls, and foxes. The "den of serpents" included an anaconda, pythons, a pine snake and a black snake.
Alongside the zoological additions, the gardens presented a great variety of constantly changing spectacles. These included “South African Aborigines attired in their native costumes,” Mademoiselle Lanista demonstrating "her extraordinary power over the wildest animals and most repulsive reptiles" and a Mohawk chief, his wife and family. In January of 1861, attractions included lectures on practical science, the Queen of Magicians, a ventriloquist, a dramatic presentation of "The Robbers of Baghdad," and even a burlesque show. In the animal department, the Gardens were visited by a sacred cow from India, trained bears, an Arabian horse, and performing elephants. More and more the aquatic displays were becoming a backdrop to curiosities and non-aquatic animals.
By 1860, steam engines were able to convey salt water through pipes direct from the harbor to the Gardens. As a result, in May 1861, a beluga whale was put on display in the great central tank. It was 12 feet long and weighed 2500 pounds. When skeptics protested that the whale was in fact an albino porpoise, Louis Agassiz spoke publicly to dispel their doubts. One account described the whale as a specimen that Barnum had captured in the St. Lawrence River for the American Museum and had loaned to the Boston Aquarial Gardens. More likely the beluga was stranded on Boston’s North Shore and rescued by Henry Butler. The whale survived for more than a year, longer than whales Barnum had exhibited previously, which were notoriously short-lived. In August, Barnum loaned two more of his St. Lawrence belugas to Boston prior to their installation in New York. Having failed to maintain previous pairs of belugas, it seems likely that he tried to learn the technique of keeping whales alive in captivity in Boston before moving them to their final destination. However, when the two whales were moved to New York, they quickly expired.
So, for a short period of time, the central tank was crowded with three whales, a gray shark, a ray, a green turtle, a lobster, and a sturgeon, along with assorted eels, bass, cod, haddock, and pollock. On the strength of these new acquisitions, the Boston Aquarial Gardens proclaimed itself the only complete aquarium in the world.
James Cutting, who had been so successful with the "learned seals," Ned and Fanny, was entrusted with the training of the beluga whale. But Cutting seems to have reacted against the direction the Gardens were taking. In a public letter dated May 25th, 1861, Louis Agassiz congratulated Cutting for "a return to a higher style of exhibitions in his establishment, to say the least and for his understanding that the performances formerly carried on in it, from which nothing could be learned, was at last to be stopped." The performances did, in fact, cease for nearly a year and the aquatic and zoological displays became, once again, the sole attraction.
In 1862, it was announced that P. T. Barnum had bought the establishment and closed it for extensive renovations. When it reopened, he announced that the Gardens would be associated with the American Museum in New York and that he hoped "to form such a happy blending of amusement with instruction so as not to depend solely upon the scientific public for support, but to render this establishment attractive and popular with all respectable classes."
James Cutting was then engaged to remain at the Gardens and take charge of the living whale, the seals, and other rare animals. The Gardens were renamed the Barnum Boston Aquarial Gardens. During the summer of 1862 Barnum sailed to the Caribbean to collect tropical fish, some of which came to the Boston location. A sea lion was introduced in July 1862.
Barnum presided for eight months over the Boston Aquarial Gardens, which became an adjunct of his American Museum. A dog show was followed by a baby show; Tom Thumb, Colonel Nugget and the Albino Family were subsequent attractions. From December 1862 to February 1863, such "dramatic performances" got top billing and the marine life exhibits were mere background. February 14th, 1863, was the final day of Barnum's Boston Aquarial Gardens. The contents of the Gardens were moved to the American Museum in New York.
For many years Barnum had both competed and cooperated with the nearby Boston Museum on Tremont Street, adjacent to the King's Chapel Burying Grounds. The Boston Museum and the Gardens under Barnum had become very similar; perhaps Barnum decided that Boston wasn't big enough for both.
Henry Butler managed the New York American Museum until it was destroyed by fire in 1865. He then presided over a rebuilt American Museum until that too burned to the ground a few years later. Butler reappears in 1876, contracted by Adolphus Busch, of Budweiser fame, to manage an aquarium being founded in St. Louis. And James Cutting did not last long in his new role under P.T. Barnum. Before the end of 1862 he was committed to a lunatic asylum in Worcester in a "weakened mental state."
Most of the exhibits perished when the American Museum went up in flames. One of the few survivors of the fire was Ned the seal. It was reported at the time that Ned was saved by a Brooklyn fireman who pulled him out of the fire, put him in a champagne basket and conveyed him on a cart to Fulton Street, where a fish tank was found for him. | <urn:uuid:03cf9b9a-4841-455d-828b-fc13c0c39147> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.neaq.org/about_us/mission_and_vision/aquarium_history/boston_aquarial_and_zoological.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983468 | 1,546 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Photography is the art of capturing light, originally on light-sensitive paper, and today more commonly by means of digital sensors. By playing with shutter speeds and moving lights in front of the camera, photographers can produce some astonishing images. Long exposure times can create lighting that seems to take on an otherworldly almost physical form, or reveal mysterious effects of natural light that are invisible to the naked eye. From light graffiti and light painting, to natural wonders and long exposure light performance photography, this post brings together twenty examples of this amazing art form.
For this sparking image taken under a south coast pier, the photographer employed a Speedlight flash, a pair of Maglites, LED light sticks, coloured gels and absolutely no Photoshop trickery. The photograph is taken straight from the camera, using exposures of up to thirty seconds.
2. Ultimate (Anotherfaceintheclouds)
This stunning image is an example of light art performance photography (LAPP), which is a high-end evolution of light graffiti. The image is a single photograph capturing the movement of specially developed coloured lights and luminous tools.
3. Light Graffiti (Guille Pagano)
Guille Pagano’s shot captures a snaking trail of light meandering through some beer bottles.
4. Goku (Artwork Rebel)
Image: artwork rebel
Goku is a Japanese manga character whose special abilities include firing energy blasts formed by chi energy. In this image, the photographer uses light graffiti to give a plastic Goku figure this superhuman ability.
5. Light Graffiti (Eric Castro)
Image: Eric Castro
Eric Castro paints a pair of angel wings on his model in this photograph.
6. Flashlight Fight (Artwork Rebel)
Image: Artwork Rebel
This image comprises six images layered in Photoshop, capturing ‘fighting’ flashlight trails.
7. My Bike (Habi)
In this image, the photographer has painted the frame of his bicycle using the front light.
8. Light Painting with LEDs (Tom Arthur)
Tom Arthur used green and purple LEDs to paint the spiralling trails in this image.
9. Eleven-Hour Star Trails (Josch Hambsch)
Image: Josch Hambsch
Josch Hambsch achieved this awesome photograph by aiming the camera at the sky and leaving the shutter open for an almost all-night exposure of eleven hours. The stars’ trails reveal the spinning motion of the Earth, in this instance the South Celestial Pole as seen from Namibia.
10. Astronaut (Collin) (Epioles)
The light graffiti in this picture is painted with a sparkler.
11. Light Painting (Philip Bitnar)
There’s a certain spooky ambience in Philip Bitnar’s experiment in light painting.
12. Light Painting (Laughtonb)
The photographer employed a night-time ‘camera toss’ technique to produce this stunning Spirographic abstraction.
13. Light Painting with a 3pi Robot (Donjd2)
This photograph was made using a twenty-second exposure to capture the path of a Polou 3pi Robot following a course laid out with black electrical tape. The robot is fitted with red, blue and green LEDs to create the light trails seen in the image.
14. Painting Scissors with Light (Sociotard)
A pair of scissors jammed into a mirror and a sparkler were used to make this intriguing long exposure photograph.
15. Fire Sparks (Stillwellmike)
A slow shutter speed reveals the movements of glowing embers from a roaring campfire in this image.
16. Wine Fairy (Dimbledar)
This stylish sepia shot follows painted light around a glass of red wine.
17. Wire Wool Poi
This long exposure photograph captures a fire dancer spinning wire wool held in chicken wire cages, which are dipped in paraffin and set on fire.
18. Among Us (Ben Matthews)
This beautifully composed woodland shot is made using red and blue lights.
19. Interstate 35 Long Exposure (Nikolai O)
Image: Nikolai O
The stillness of the wire fencing contrasts nicely with the streaming lights of the traffic on the interstate freeway in this long exposure shot taken near Burnsville, Minnesota.
20. Cold Cathode Light Paint (Maticulous)
In this fish-eyed view, a two-minute exposure records the movements of a cold cathode light creating strangely supernatural effects. | <urn:uuid:162d77f7-34ad-4b11-a2f3-de142fbe49b5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.designer-daily.com/20-amazing-examples-of-light-photography-7628 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.849166 | 935 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) off the southeast coast of the African continent. Mauritius was first discovered by the Arabs in 975 AD, then by the Portuguese between 1507 and 1513. Since then there have been periods of succession and colonization between the French, Dutch and British. The island became a republic in 1968.
Located at the Southwestern tip of the island you will find a fascinating illusion. When viewed from above, a runoff of sand and silt deposits creates the impression of an ‘underwater waterfall’. Satellite views (as seen in the Google Maps below) are equally dramatic, as an underwater vortex seemingly appears off the coast of this tropical paradise
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The country's populace is composed of several ethnicities, mostly people of Indian, African, French, and Chinese descent. Most Mauritians are multilingual; English, French, Creole and Chinese languages are used.
The Mauritian Constitution is based on the Westminster model. The head of state is the President but constitutional power is vested in the Prime Minister who is the head of government. Mauritius is highly ranked for democracy, economic and political freedom.
The island of Mauritius was the only home of the Dodo bird. The bird became extinct fewer than eighty years after its discovery. | <urn:uuid:c9d18e23-32aa-4e6e-bb36-e0a90cb296df> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thevirtualtravelers.com/2013/09/The-Underwater-Waterfall-Illusion.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95319 | 278 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Officials Discuss HIV/AIDS in Caribbean During PANCAP Meeting
November 4, 2010
"Despite the gains associated with antiretroviral treatments (ART) over the last decade, HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of death among young and middle-aged adults in the Caribbean, warns a new U.N. report" that was released during the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) that concluded on Tuesday, Inter Press Service reports (Richards, 11/3).
"According to a new UNAIDS report, The Status of the HIV epidemic in the Caribbean, there were between 210,000 and 270,000 people living with HIV in the Caribbean in 2008," a UNAIDS article writes. "Haiti and the Dominican Republic account for about 70% of all people living with HIV in the region. In the English-speaking Caribbean, Jamaica is the country most affected by the epidemic, with an estimated 27,000 people living with HIV" (11/1).
"The report noted that while there has been a 40 percent decline in AIDS-related mortality in the Caribbean since 2001, half of those who need treatment cannot gain access," IPS continues. "Between 2001 and 2008, there was no significant decline in the number of new HIV infections. Only a 4.8 percent decline was observed during that period and, with the increase in life expectancy, there was a nine percent increase in people living with the virus in the same period." According to the news service, the report highlighted the impact of HIV on women in the region, noting that "women ... especially young women -- account for half of those with the virus" (11/3).
The report also highlights positive efforts against HIV/AIDS in the region, including the following facts: "More than 90% of pregnant women in 11 Caribbean countries are now tested for HIV every year. About 52% of pregnant women receive services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which led to an 18% reduction in new HIV infections among children in 2008," according to UNAIDS (11/1).
Delivering the opening address to the PANCAP meeting, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan reflected on current funding challenges for global HIV/AIDS programs, according to the PANCAP press release. Though Annan said, "I remain an optimist," he stressed, "I also recognize that maintaining and increasing funding for HIV/AIDS has not got any easier." Annan also "said that while he believes countries should continue to press strongly for more funding, they must also do more to get the most benefit from each dollar spent," according to the press release. "Since 2001, the Caribbean region has received approximately US$1.2 billion of grant and concessionary funding to fight HIV/AIDS," the press release states (11/1). IPS includes comments by Annan on the need to think about new arrangements to help drive down the cost and increase access to medications to treat HIV/AIDS for the public (11/3).
During the meeting, officials also discussed the need to repeal the region's laws that criminalize homosexuality, which officials believe keep men who have sex with men "from accessing counselling and testing services for HIV and AIDS," the CMC/Jamaica Observer reports (11/2).
"The outgoing Chairman of PANCAP, St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, said that the region could continue to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic by making a renewed commitment to revisit the discriminatory laws," CMC/Jamaica Observer reports (11/2).
"Among men who have sex with men, HIV prevalence varies from an estimated 6.1 percent in the Dominican Republic to 32 percent in Jamaica. HIV prevalence among female sex workers -- another key affected population in the region -- varies from 2.7 percent in the Dominican Republic to 27 percent in Guyana," IPS adds. "According to the UNAIDS report, HIV prevention programmes reach less than 40 percent of men who have sex with men and less than 50 percent of female sex workers in the region," the news service writes (11/3).
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe, noting the scope of laws that criminalize homosexuality, said, "It is a global issue and we need to address it in a very strategic manner. For me what is important in the case of the Caribbean is to review the laws because you have two-thirds of the countries in the Caribbean who have those punitive laws against most at risk populations," Sidibe said, according to CMC/Jamaica Observer.
CMC/Jamaica Observer also includes comments by Annan and Douglas regarding the move to revisit the region's laws (11/2).
This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.
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MRSA is a potentially lethal bacterium that causes infections in humans.
It is difficult to combat because it has developed a resistance to certain antibiotics.
MRSA is resistant to antibiotics
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus usually strikes in hospitals where sicker and weaker people tend to be in close proximity.
Infections occur where there is opportunity for MRSA to get into the body, such as at surgical wounds or where a catheter or needle is inserted.
WHAT IS A QUICK GUIDE?
Quick guides are concise explanations of topics or issues in the news.
MRSA can exist harmlessly on people's skins without their even knowing it, but if it infects someone who is already ill or weak, it can kill.
It is no more dangerous than other forms of Staphylococcus aureus.
But because it has developed resistance to methicillin and other antibiotics, it is much more difficult to treat.
The National Audit Office estimates hospital-acquired infections contribute to some 5,000 deaths annually.
Of those caused by the Staphylococcus aureus family, most are known to be due to the MRSA strain.
Between 2003 and 2004, mentions of MRSA on death certificates increased from 955 to 1,168.
The government has imposed new hygiene standards on hospitals to try to stem its growth.
Combating the infection
The NHS is targeting ward cleaning and personal hygiene.
Tactics include providing disinfectant hand-rubs and encouraging more vigilance among patients and visitors.
Doctors are now more careful about prescribing antibiotics only when essential, which should help slow the evolution of resistance among bacteria.
Growth of MRSA
Mandatory reporting by doctors of MRSA infections in the bloodstream - where the consequences are often more serious - was not introduced until 2001. Cases rose to a high of 7,684 in 2003/4.
The following year saw a fall to a record-low of 7,212 infections - but that is still well short of the target of fewer than 4,000 cases by 2007-8.
The latest figures show that there were 3,517 infections between October 2005 and March 2006.
More than 40% of Staphylococcus aureus infections in the UK are MRSA - one of the highest levels in Europe.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Have we missed anything out? Do you want to suggest a subject for a Quick Guide?
The National Audit Office estimates that hospital-acquired infections, including MRSA, are costing the NHS about £1bn a year. | <urn:uuid:0d3529af-f239-4acf-a1ca-c3877300602b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4943496.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94615 | 538 | 3.359375 | 3 |
Government documents come in a variety of formats from books to pamphlets, and cover a wide array of topics and may be used for research purposes in almost any discipline.
Pearsall Library's paper government document collection includes maps, educational resources, health and human services materials, environmental science information, legislative documents, statistics, and much more. These documents are available in the library catalog, under the Collection names "US Gov Documents" and "NC Documents." Ask a librarian for help finding these items on the shelves.
Most government publications are now available via the World Wide Web. Some key sites for finding government information are listed below.
Government Document Sites
North Carolina State Publications Clearinghouse: A searchable database of North Carolina information.
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Easy-to-read information about jobs and employment.
U.S. Census: Population statistics and a huge amount of economic information.
Energy Information Administration: Statistics and data on oil, gas, renewable, nuclear, and other kinds of energy.
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Economic statistics from a variety of sources.
Congress.gov: Legislation including bills, laws, acts, and the work of Congress.
Government Document Gateway Sites
GPO Access: The primary gateway for many government documents including federal budgets, hearings, presidential documents, congressional bills, and Supreme Court decisions, among others.
FedStats.gov: The official portal to statistics and data from all aspects of the U.S. government.
Core Documents of U.S. Democracy: Includes Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and other such documents.
Code of Federal Regulations: The rules that govern federal agencies.
Federal Register: The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposals, presidential documents, and executive orders.
Public Laws: This database is a collection of public laws enacted by Congress from 1995 to the present. | <urn:uuid:400ce978-70c1-42d6-96f4-f63b8a3d28ae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ncwc.edu/library/info/collections/government-documents.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.866822 | 391 | 2.78125 | 3 |
LANSING, Mich. – Recent studies have shown that infants’ brains are reacting to external stresses, even while babies sleep.
Things such as domestic conflicts, violence and other traumatic events can influence people’s behavior later in life – even if they don’t have any conscious memory of the original stress.
University of Michigan researcher and infant mental health specialist Julie Ribaudo says so-called “toxic stresses” can result in many different problems, including attention and learning problems, depression and anxiety, and even mood and anger regulation.
“It’s sort of like the best kept secret of why I think America is so violent,” she says. “It’s because we really don’t take good care of our children at a policy, national level.”
Ribaudo says the problem is especially serious with families in poverty that experience economic and other social stresses every day.
The Michigan chapter of the National Association of Social Workers is calling on state legislators to pass Medicaid expansion and increase access to childhood mental health programs.
Ribaudo says the first step in solving the problem is acknowledging that the problem exists.
“So, if we can first admit as a society that infants and toddlers are adversely effected by their experiences,” she says, “and sort of not protect ourselves from the pain of that, then we can begin to look at public policy, funding and training that can alter the course.” | <urn:uuid:259c9823-38e8-4771-8244-a23ccbeda81b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cedarspringspost.com/2013/05/23/infant-stress-linked-to-behavior-problems-later-in-life/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946435 | 309 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Predators of Honey Bees
Hives elevated off ground
Strong bee colonies sometimes put up a good fight against skunks and other hive visitors, but weaker colonies usually fall victim. Therefore, maintaining strong colonies is a partial deterrent to animal predation. Skunks and mice may be discouraged by screens or queen excluders attached to the hive entrance. These devices hamper the skunk's efforts to scratch at the front entrance and if it climbs up the screen over the entrance, its belly becomes vulnerable to stings. Elevating the hives on stands (blocks, bricks, etc.) may also serve the same purpose. Fencing the bee yard or placing the colonies on stands is also an effective technique but more costly. Moving your bees to a new location is another option. | <urn:uuid:f2a28e20-73ca-43b3-872a-0836a33f201c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://agdev.anr.udel.edu/maarec/honey-bee-biology/honey-bee-parasites-pests-predators-and-diseases/predators-of-honey-bees/nggallery/honey-bee-biology/honey-bee-parasites-pests-predators-and-diseases/image/hives-elevated-off-ground/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921941 | 156 | 3.015625 | 3 |
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This news story describes the search for Pluto which began in the early 1900s and the subsequent discovery of its moon system. The text describes how the Hubble Space Telescope was used to discover Pluto's other moons. Star Witness News is a series... (View More) of articles, written for students, that are inspired by Hubble Space Telescope press releases. Supplemental education materials include background information, vocabulary, and discussion questions and answers. Common Core Standards for English Language Arts are also identified. (View Less)
This is a reading and research activity associated with activities during Solar Week, a twice-yearly event in March and October during which classrooms are able to interact with scientists studying the Sun. Outside of Solar Week, information,... (View More) activities, and resources are archived and available online at any time. During this activity, learners research different science jobs and salary ranges in several online employment databases and answer related questions. This activity is scheduled to occur during Friday of Solar Week. (View Less)
This activity includes a presentation with links to videos about scientists and engineers working with NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (from the Faces of GPM series), as well as other STEM careers videos, followed by a number of... (View More) links to online career resources. It is designed to be used by students working at their own pace, choosing which videos and links they are interested in watching and exploring, but could also be used with a larger group. As part of the activity, students identify personal skills and abilities related to career interests and develop a career goal. Includes a student capture sheet with guiding questions. (View Less)
This ChemMatters article provides a brief background on smog, then examines the causes of it, efforts to reduce it, and methods used to measure it. ChemMatters is an educational magazine for high school students.
This is an activity about color. Participants will use scientific practices to investigate answers to questions involving the color of the sky, sunsets, the Sun, and oceans. This activity requires use of a clear acrylic or glass container to hold... (View More) water, a strong flashlight, batteries for the flashlight, and powdered creamer or milk. (View Less)
This resource is designed to enable presenters (scientists, engineers, etc.) to easily present to an elementary and/or middle school audience and feel confident that the information they are presenting is developmentally appropriate and supports the... (View More) Next Generation Science Standards. A PowerPoint Presentation includes talking points and suggestions, a “Best Practices” document to offer helpful suggestion before, during, and after the presentation, and a list of additional resources that may be accessed by the speaker and/or the educator. This presentation is designed to take 30 to 45 minutes. (View Less)
Learners create edible models of the interior composition of the Earth and Moon. Common food items are used to construct the cores, mantles, and crusts of both planetary objects. They then compare their structure as they are eating their models.... (View More) This activity is part of Explore! Marvel Moon, a series of activities developed specifically for use in libraries. (View Less)
Learners will create a physical timeline of comet appearances in art and literature throughout history. Participants use a set of photos depicting comets in art images and science missions and place the images in chronological order, while learning... (View More) about the perceptions of comets during that time period. Note: Timeline cards that are needed to complete this activity can be found under the Related and Supplemental Resources links on the right side of this page. (View Less)
In this lesson plan students use temperature data to look at the measures of central tendency. By using mean, median, and mode, students will gain a better understanding about weather patterns from several locales throughout Virginia.
In this introductory activity, learners investigate and discuss infrared images of various everyday objects, such as toasters, hairdryers, and running water, to learn about infrared imaging. Student questions about the false-color images help guide... (View More) a discussion about what they are, how they are different from visible light images, and the information that such images contain. Observation, comparing and contrasting, and reasoning skills are emphasized. The accompanying website features background information for the teacher, pre-requisite skills and knowledge for the student, multiple image sets, assessment information, student worksheets, extension and transfer activities, and additional resources. This is an introductory activity for both the Infrared Zoo and Infrared Yellowstone lessons available on the Cool Cosmos website. (View Less) | <urn:uuid:d1014740-2130-4647-8017-405ce451e77a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nasawavelength.org/resource-search?qq=&facetSort=1&topicsSubjects=The+nature+of+science&learningTime=30+to+45+minutes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946817 | 953 | 3.671875 | 4 |
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This series introduces young readers to the amazing work of transportation technology. Each book tackles a different form of transport technology and examines the design, engineering and science behind different parts of the system.
For Ages: 8 - 12 years old
For Grades: 3 - 6
Number Of Pages: 32
Published: 1st January 2010
Publisher: GARETH STEVENS INC
Country of Publication: US
Dimensions (cm): 25.019 x 19.05 x 0.254
Weight (kg): 0.113 | <urn:uuid:478ebe36-b452-413a-ae25-ea809a6bd1f2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.booktopia.com.au/how-does-a-powerboat-work--sarah-eason/prod9781433934759.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00013-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.857305 | 170 | 2.671875 | 3 |
THE STORY OF MAPS.
Lloyd A. Brown. New York, 1977. Paper.
One of the classics in the field. A readable history of cartography, focusing on the scientific procedures and business of cartography rather than on maps themselves. Another book every map lover should have in their library. $18.95
REPRESENTING THE REPUBLIC: MAPPING THE UNITED STATES, 1600-1900.
John Rennie Short. London, 2001. Cloth.
The most significant maps and mapmakers are discussed in a survey that begins with the first European mappings of New Netherlands and concludes with the Rand McNally atlases of the 1890s. $35.00
MAPS AND MAPMAKERS OF THE CIVIL WAR.
Earl B. McElfresh. New York, 1999. Cloth.
This volume contains 150 color reproductions of the most interesting and significant manuscript and printed maps made and used during the Civil War, and provides insightful analysis of their uses and effects. $55.00
TRADING TERRITORIES. MAPPING THE EARLY MODERN WORLD.
Jerry Brotton. Ithaca, 1997. Cloth.
Maps, charts, and globes viewed as "dynamic depictions of the changing geographical shape of the early modern world…inextricably bound up with its changing diplomatic and commercial contours." (Brotton, p. 21.) $35.00
Historical Atlas of the United States
National Geographic Society. Washington, 1993. Cloth.
Using antique maps, prints, photos and other artifacts as illustrations this atlas chronologically depicts the cartography of the territories that became the United States, from 1400 to the 1990s. Includes a folded wall map, overlay in four scales, and flat magnifier. $100.00
CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY. THE GEOGRAPHY
Claudius Ptolemy. New York, 1991. Paper.
Reprint of a 1932 translation of Ptolemy's Geography. A welcome English version of this first world atlas. $19.95
GREEK AND ROMAN MAPS.
O.A.W. Dilke. Ithaca, 1985. Cloth. (Dust jacket no longer available.)
A valuable work on Greek and Roman contributions to cartography as a science. The book includes a series of photographs of important classical artifacts that relate to mapmaking. $39.95
©The Philadelphia Print Shop, Ltd. Last updated June 2, 2015 | <urn:uuid:2656db7d-9f64-4fe8-abff-f698e7b90caa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.philaprintshop.com/cartrfhs.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00069-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.855413 | 535 | 3.078125 | 3 |
It was built around a surplus TKS manned spacecraft and was meant to test prototype ASAT and Star Wars defense systems. It failed to reach orbit, but it had succeeded, it would have been the core module of a new Mir-2 space station. Its mere presence could have decisively changed the shape of the Cold War in its final months.
In 1985, it became clear that the Energia launch vehicle would be ready for launch before the Buran space shuttle that was its intended payload. Therefore Ministry of General Machine Building (MOM) issued a resolution ordering the launch of Energia with a mock-up of a spacecraft in the 100 metric ton class. In July 1985 General Designer D A Polukhin called together his workers and noted that MOM Minister O D Baklanov had given them the assignment of producing a 100 metric ton 'functional mockup' satellite by September 1986. It would normally take five years to develop such a spacecraft, and they had only one year - therefore it would have to be greatly simplified. The systems in development for the next generation of spacecraft at that time consisted only of equipment items in test configuration. KB Salyut had a range of spacecraft in production, including the 20-metric ton TKS manned logistics vehicle. The Skif-D 100-metric ton space platform was only in the design and drawing stage. The bureau proposed to create a spacecraft from a test stand version of the TKS mated to a mock-up built to the Skif-D drawings. Several modules and subsystems were also borrowed from the Buran. Major subcontractors included NPO Elektropribor, NPO Radiopribor, NPO Digital Mechanics, NIIMASh, KBKhM, and the Progress Factory. On 19 August 1985, MOM issued the detailed schedule for the spacecraft's completion. The Skif-D and all subsystems were delivered to Baikonur in August 1986. From August 1986 to January 1987 the Skif-DM underwent integration and final tests at the space centre.
The Polyus testbed contained means of defense against both ASAT weapons and beam weapons, though according to Kornilov's article these were only meant to conduct approach and docking tests. A cannon was mounted on Polyus to defend against ASAT weapons. An optical sighting system for the defensive cannon was included in addition to a sighting radar. By this means hostile ASAT weapons could be tracked without generating traceable signals. Experiments to check the efficiency of barium clouds in diffusing particle beams were also to have been conducted with Polyus.
The spacecraft was about 37 meters in length, 4.1 meters in diameter and weighed about 80 metric tons.
An article entitled "Unknown Polyus" by Yuri Kornilov, Chief Designer of the Salyut Design Bureau, had appeared in the journal "Earth and the Universe", and it provided details about the construction and testing of the first payload for the Energia rocket, the "Polyus" spacecraft. While Kornilov invites the reader to "read between the lines" and points out previous Soviet mis-statements about the Polyus, he was under a security ban which would lead to a 10 years in prison if he reveals (Soviet) "state" secrets. His article continues to claim that weapons systems tests were peaceful experiments.
On March 23, 1983, United States President Ronald Reagan set forth his vision of "Star Wars", a shield intended to defend the United States against nuclear attack from any place on Earth. The leader of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov, immediately accused the United States of seeking to militarily dominate the Soviet Union, and it kept he also authorized the design of counter-measures, including Polyus. Andropov sought to bring about a treaty banning military weapons from space until he fell ill in June, 1983.
The Soviet space program ran on a five year cycle and Kornilov complained that the Polyus spacecraft had less than the customary five years for development. It was decided that the Polyus would be the payload for the first launch of the Energia heavy lifter, then scheduled for the fall of 1986. Kornilov gives no reason for the rushed development.
Kornilov then goes on to declare that because of this rush Polyus was created by combining components from several current projects. The interface between Polyus and the Energia booster was adapted from the Buran Space Shuttle. The central module was adapted from a module for the Mir 2 Space Station. The replaceable and returnable space station to house cosmonauts was adapted from the upgrade of the existing TKS Transport Supply Spacecraft (Kosmos 929, 1267, 1443, 1668). Since the interface of the replaceable space station with the Proton launch vehicle was adapted to interface it with the central module, the rocket engines for orbital insertion had to be placed in the nose of the vehicle. This placement had catastrophic consequences for the Polyus spacecraft.
After Andropov's death in February, 1984 his successor Konstantin Chernenko continued to press for a treaty banning the militarization of space. None the less, apparently following the successful test by the US Army of an anti-ballistic missile on June 12, 1984, and the rejection of a Soviet diplomatic initiative on July 1, construction of the Polyus began at the Khrunichev Factory.
Design and construction of the platform was given the highest priority, and was under the personal supervision of Armaments Minister O D Baklanov (who later organized the coup against Michael Gorbachev) and Vice Minister O N Shishkin. These two met weekly with project leaders and issued immediate orders for the production of any needed components.
Chernenko's successor Michael Gorbachev denounced the militarization of space on his first diplomatic trips abroad in December, 1984. Following Chernenko's death on March 12, 1985, and his becoming leader, Gorbachev proposed a freeze on the development of space weapons.
Statements made at that time by Gorbachev confirm the impression left by this article and another by General Designer V.V. Pallo of Design Bureau Salyut that the Polyus was indeed a test bed for the Soviet counter measure to the United States "Stars Wars" program, an Orbital Weapons Platform. Platforms of this type would have been capable of delivering nuclear warheads from orbit to any point in the US in six minutes. Gorbachev pointedly called all US SDI technology "space strike" weapons and repeatedly warned that the Soviet response to Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) would be "asymmetrical" and that SDI was "destabilizing". It kept that the nuclear warhead launch control system for the Orbital Weapons Platforms was being developed in a very rushed manner and the instability of the Orbital Weapons Platforms scared the Soviet leadership.
According to Kornilov's article, shortly before Polyus' launch President Gorbachev visited the Baikonur Cosmodrome and expressly forbid the on-orbit testing of its capabilities. Kornilov claims that Gorbachev was worried that it would be possible for the west to view this activity as an attempt to create a weapon in space and that such an attempt would compromise the country's leaderships' statements on the USSR's peaceful intent.
Kornilov points out a laser reflector but gives no information on any scientific experiments using it. He also states that personnel on ships, aircraft and the ground were to take part in experiments with Polyus. It kept they were to attempt to target the platform by radar, infra-red and visible light, and when the platform was detected they were to fire at it with lasers. If the laser hit the platform, the mirror would reflect it back to Earth, and thus the platform's stealthiness could be tested without making radio transmissions. Earlier launch pad photos showed that the Polyus was covered by an optically black shroud and it was suspected that this may have been radar absorptive as well.
The Polyus test bed had containers filled with a combination of Xenon and Krypton gases, which would produce light when released in Earth orbit. Container launches would be visible to ground observers, and a warhead launch system could thereby be tested without the use of radio transmissions.
Because of acceleration stresses the original flight plan called for the Polyus platform to ride back-end first under and in the wake of the core stage of the Energia rocket as it passed through the Phase of Maximum Dynamic Stress after launch. Since the engines for orbital insertion would then be in the nose it would be necessary for Polyus to yaw 180 degrees and then roll 90 degrees before they could be fired and Polyus placed in its working orbit. When the platform was finally launched on 15 May, 1987, the Polyus performed a 180 degree yaw turn and then continued the turn through to 360 degrees. Polyus then rolled and fired its orbital insertion engines, which caused it to de-orbit into the South Pacific.
Polyus's failure to achieve working orbit was caused by a faulty inertial guidance sensor. In the rush of construction an already built sensor had been stripped from an existing Cosmos spacecraft and then been inadequately tested, as the Polyus mock-up had been shipped to Baikonur by the time the test equipment arrived at the Khrunichev Factory. Those responsible for the failure were immediately fired or demoted.
No member of the Reagan or Bush administrations ever admitted or revealed publicly any knowledge of Polyus. The US Navy made no statements about any attempts to investigate the wreckage of Polyus, which lies on the floor of the South Pacific.
Article by Ed Grondine
AKA: 17F19DM; Skif-DM.
Gross mass: 80,000 kg (176,000 lb).
Height: 37.00 m (121.00 ft).
First Launch: 1987.05.15.
Number: 1 . | <urn:uuid:b5511cdf-67b5-4a20-bb04-4d938a35fe32> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.astronautix.com/craft/polyus.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00116-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969035 | 2,043 | 2.875 | 3 |
Groundwater systems and hydrogeophysics
The aim of this topical research field is to improve the knowledge on structure and dynamics of groundwater systems as well as the quality of groundwater. The investigations focus on selected exemplary cases.
The sufficient availability of clean drinking water is a basic requirement of human life. Natural groundwater systems represent the most important drinking water resource. Their survival is increasingly under threat worldwide through intensive use and anthropogenic influence. Consequences of climate change on groundwater resources also raise new and challenging questions. The protection of this natural basic requirement of life within the bounds of a sustainable development is in the interest of being. The comprehension of water resources is of great importance for the water supply concept as well as for the valuation of the natural protection capacity of covering layers concerning anthropogenic pollution. The quantity of freshwater is often limited in depth by the saltwater/freshwater boundary.
Clever management of this natural environment requires profound knowledge of the extent of the groundwater bodies and those processes that occur within them. The basis for this is observational research and measurements on different spatial and time scales. Inherent heterogeneity of the subsurface and limitations in access by boreholes require the need of modern surveying techniques and complex interpretation algorithms.
The work in this LIAG topical research field concentrates on
Dr. Helga Wiederhold
+49 (0)511 643-3520
Lithological relevance of near-surface seismic velocity model
Geophysical characterization of buried valley aquifer system
CLIWAT video on Youtube
Zwischenruf "Water: beware!" | <urn:uuid:ff07a27d-9aef-41cf-b7db-e3d6b9fd31e0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.liag-hannover.de/en/fsp/gws-hydro.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.88871 | 322 | 2.765625 | 3 |
For the time being, I do not have a clear answer for this, however it is obvious that the linux Kernel is using some energy saving mechanisms.
However, doing some quick research around, I quickly realised that the most recent Linux kernels make use of a feature called ACPI which is an acronym for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface.
What the ACPI is doing:
the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification
provides an open standard for device configuration and power
management by the operating system.
Basically the ACPI allows for control of different CPU states, to allow for better power management.
Different ACPI CPU-states:
CPU C-States (power management)
Basically, there is probably nothing that you have to worry about
concerning the CPU "C states". These are automatically controlled by
the kernel+ACPI system taking into consideration current system load.
(CAVEAT: check out the note about AMD Athlon and Duron processors
below). The ACPI code in the newer (2.6+) kernels automatically puts
your CPU to sleep when there is idle time (note: this does not change
the CPU frequency. That is controlled by "P states" - see below).
The only thing to realize is that your system is completely
"conscious" when the CPU is momentarily halted - you won't notice much
of a difference. However, the power savings can be considerable. Just
think of it as having your CPU taking thousands of "micro-naps"
whenever it is idle.
CPU-T States (throttling)
These are very much like "C states" (the same HLT instruction is
used), however the difference is that throttling is "forced by you"
(like every 4th cycle is forced to be a sleep cycle, as opposed to the
"C states" above which are automatically determined by the system
load). Note that the frequency has NOT been changed... see the "P
CPU-P States (performance)
Many processors these days (especially laptops) can have the clock
frequency actually slowed "on the fly". This adds up to huge power
savings. Intel calls this "SpeedStep" and AMD calls it "Cool'n'Quiet"
or "PowerNow". More generically these states are called "P states".
You will almost certainly have to go into the BIOS and enable this
feature for your CPU FIRST!
** Some consumption benchmarks:**
What are the power savings from the above CPU states? The following
data is extracted from the AMD website. Consider an AMD 64
3400+/2200MHz with 1 MB of L2 cache. By the way, while I'm here, let
me complain about the AMD naming convention. The number 3400+ doesn't
mean jack squat. This is just AMD's way of saying that this processor
"looks like" an Intel Pentium-4 running at 3400MHz. I guess this is
their way of not losing marketshare. Here are the P and T state power
consumption values (the C state is the same HLT instruction as the T
- Performance State 0 (Fully Active) (2200MHz): 89 Watts
- Performance State 1 (2000MHz): 70 Watts
- Performance State 2 (800MHz): 35 Watts
- Throttled (HLT instruction): 2.2 Watts
Some references for further reading
[EDIT #1]: Googling around, I found some other posts in some forums too (OpenSuse forum seems to be relevant to what you seek) and found out that this is not that much of an issue for Linux as it is for windows and especially in gaming. I also dug up some information in two mails (first one and second one [follow-up]) in the RedHat mailing lists that seems to be related. I am currently researching the information in it.
[EDIT #2]: I have researched the issue a bit, and I am getting more and more certain that there is not a core parking mechanism in Linux, unless there is one the ACPI that I am unaware of. Some interesting findings are some pieces of software that allow for direct manipulation of the cpu and the processes run on it, like cpuset, numactl and last but not least, CPUfreq. Will continue with my research. | <urn:uuid:bd3130a8-228b-402c-915f-a357a1a5fe53> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://askubuntu.com/questions/185826/does-ubuntu-support-core-parking/185841 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938093 | 900 | 2.796875 | 3 |
A New Breed of Canary!
The Stafford is a new breed of canary; which originated in Stafford, England.
Their first appearance on the British National Exhibition bench was in 1987. The Canary Council of Great Britain accepted the Stafford as a new breed of canary in 1990.
Here in America, the National Cage Bird show added a Stafford section in the Type division for the 1992 National show. Originally only the crested birds were exhibited, now both crested and non-crested are shown.
Staffords are a Type canary in red and rose ground colors, including melaninistic coloring in the selfs. They are a color bred canary, but not every colored bird with a crest is a Stafford. They are a cross between the Gloster and Red Factor types.
Red ground color should be a bright fiery red evenly distributed throughout the plumage.
Rose ground color should be a rich, bright pink which is evenly distributed throughout the plumage. Rose ground color should be a rich, bright pink which is evenly distributed.
Staffords are five inches long and bred to an accepted type standard.
They can be Clear, Variegated or Self.
There are three feather types: Non-frosted, Frosted, and Mosaic (dimorphic).
Crested birds are bred to non-crested.
Non-crested Variegated Mosaic, male
Crested Non-Frosted Clear
Crested Frosted Heavy Varigated
Crested Frosted Red won Best STafford 2010
Crested Varigated Mosaic, male
Crested clear Mosaic, hen
Non-Crested Frosted Varigated
Crested Heavy Varigated Frosted
Non-crested Varigated Mosaic, hen
by Jan Davie, St. Charles, Illinois | <urn:uuid:bc72ddb7-5b3d-44f2-b9d4-d8decff8e75f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://jansbirds.homestead.com/stafford_canaries.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00162-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929486 | 384 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Read an Excerpt
This book is a software developer's guide to using the Microsoft Tools for Domain-Specific Languages ("DSL Tools"), which are included in the SDK (Software Development Kit) for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.
The software industry is showing considerable interest in using "domain-specific languages," an approach to building software that promises to reduce software development costs, especially in large projects. A domain-specific language (DSL) is a language specially geared to working within a particular area of interest: a vertical domain such as telephone design, or a horizontal one like workflow. It may be a programming language or a specification or design language. It may be textual or graphical, or a mixture of both. The language is expressed in terms that are used in a particular domain, such as "connect," "ringtone," or "work item," uncluttered by the details of how those concepts are implemented. Software, configuration files, resources, and other documents can be generated from instances of the languageoften many of those artifacts can be generated from one DSLor the language may be interpreted directly. This makes it much easier to discuss the software at the requirements level, and to make changes in an agile way. In vertical domains, the accessibility of the language to business users helps when discussing requirements with them.
DSLs are not a new ideaHTML and SQL are well-known examples of DSLs. Less widespread, however, is the idea of creating your own DSL for your own project. The purpose of the Microsoft DSL Tools is to reduce the upfront cost of doing so. You can quickly create a range of diagrammatic languages, such as workflow, class,or entity diagrams, and you can create tools for generating artifacts from them. Goals and Scope
This book is for you if you are a software developer or architect using, or thinking about using, the Microsoft DSL Tools. It explains how to create and use languages, how to tune them to your needs, and how to employ them within the context of your project. The book should also be of significant value to readers who are interested in the broader general topic of domain-specific languages, or who wish to compare and contrast different approaches to model-driven development, or tools that support model-driven development. Chapters 1 and 11 discuss the more general topic of domain-specific languages, and how you go about designing one. The middle chapters focus exclusively on providing a detailed yet readable reference on building DSLs and code generators using the DSL Tools.
The book's authors are the main designers of the Microsoft DSL Tools. They have worked together on the product since its inception, and are responsible for most of the key design decisions. Why You Might Want to Use DSL Tools
If you (or your organization) are writing the same or similar code repeatedly, whether within a single large project or over the course of multiple projects, then such code can probably be generated. If this is the case, you should consider using the DSL Tools as a way to generate this code. This is especially the case if the code can be generated from structures that can easily be understood by domain specialists rather than software development specialists. After reading this book, you should be able to assess the capabilities of the DSL Tools to address problems of this kind, either directly or after some customization. Organization of This Book
Chapter 1, Domain-Specific Development, explains the DSL approach, compares it with similar techniques, and introduces typical scenarios in which a DSL is used.
Chapter 2, Creating and Using DSLs, looks at the various parts of the DSL Tools system, shows how they fit together, and introduces the main examples that will be used through the remainder of the book.
Chapter 3, Domain Model Definition, details how to define the concepts of the language.
Chapter 4, Presentation, deals with defining the visual appearance of your language.
Chapter 5, Creation, Deletion, and Update Behavior, covers these important aspects of the behavior of your language.
Chapter 6, Serialization, deals with how models and diagrams in your language are represented in files.
Chapter 7, Constraints and Validation, shows you how to ensure that the users of your language create valid statements.
Chapter 8, Generating Artifacts, shows you how to use your language to drive or configure your system by creating configuration files, program code, resources, and other artifacts.
Chapter 9, Deploying a DSL, explains how to create an installer that will install your finished language on multiple computers.
Chapter 10, Advanced DSL Customization, shows you how to make specialized features of your language (or specialized behavior in the editor) in addition to those provided by the standard definition facilities.
Chapter 11, Designing a DSL, provides a lightweight kit of principles and procedures for developing and evolving languages within the context of your project.
Updates and all of the main examples are available for download at the website www.domainspecificdevelopment.com. What You Need to Use This Book
To get the full value of this book, you need to be reasonably familiar with the facilities that Visual Studio offers to developers of program code, including the code editor and
DSL Tools can be downloaded as part of the Visual Studio SDK and used with Visual Studio Professional Edition and later. Tools created using the DSL Tools can be deployed on Visual Studio Standard Edition and later. The website http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/DSLTools/ is the entry point to information about the DSL Tools. There you can find links to where the SDK can be downloaded, a popular online forum with active discussions about the DSL Tools, weblogs containing discussions about the DSL Tools by the authors of this book and others, a tool for reporting bugs and making suggestions, white papers, chats, and other resources. | <urn:uuid:5bf06e07-25e5-4eef-bf03-0035085251e0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/domain-specific-development-with-visual-studio-dsl-tools-steve-cook/1100834885?ean=9780321398208&itm=1&usri=stuart+kent | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918078 | 1,178 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Normally you'd be gutted if you saw your school project going up in flames, but for kids at a school in Berkshire, that's what they'd planned all along.
See what the model city looked like before the fire took hold.
After spending all term making a model of London as it was in the 1600s, pupils stood back to watch their teachers set it on fire.
It might seem crazy, but it was all part of their history lessons about the Great Fire of London in 1666.
It's hoped the fire will help pupils to remember more about the topic.
The Great Fire of London broke out at a bakery in Pudding Lane in 1666, destroying huge parts of the city.
Teachers said they got pupils to recreate the scene of the blaze to see just how quickly fire can destroy things that take a long time to build.
Teacher Susan Row at the school in Wokingham said it was something the children would never forget: "It's the biggest lesson you can give children about the dangers of fire." | <urn:uuid:79d876fc-a4e4-4d5a-9281-c511d03d446c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7110000/newsid_7113700/7113759.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974719 | 215 | 3.21875 | 3 |
More than three decades of continued conflict in Afghanistan has taken a toll politically, socially and psychologically.
But the greatest damage may have been inflicted on the country’s economy.
By 2001, agricultural production had been disrupted, local manufacturing had come to a halt, and basic infrastructure was destroyed largely because of the Taliban government. Since 2001 and the U.S.-led invasion, the advances made in the local economy have been largely dependent on foreign aid.
During this year’s presidential campaign, voters consistently raised concerns about their economic future.
What will happen to Afghanistan once foreign aid and investment levels off when the U.S. pulls out after 2014?
Landlocked and without access to any ports, Afghanistan has traditionally been an agrarian economy.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the country not only produced enough food for its own citizens but had a surplus, which was exported to neighboring countries and beyond. The chief export commodities were wheat and fresh/dried fruits. There was also an industrial sector, based on agriculture and pastoral raw materials. Goods produced included olive oil, carpets, and Karakul, a fine sheep’s wool native to Central Asia.
Afghanistan is rich in mineral and precious stones deposits-resources such as copper, gold, and iron ore and gemstones including emeralds, rubies, and lapis lazuli.
Northern Afghanistan has untapped natural gas and oil resources. Because of its strategic location between Central Asia to the north and the ports of Pakistan to the south, various projects are currently underway to develop natural gas and oil pipelines through the country.
According to the World Bank, Afghanistan’s economy has grown exponentially since the fall of the Taliban regime, from $2.462 billion in 2001 when the Taliban was ousted to $20.5 billion in 2012. That growth was due largely to the flow of international development monies.
The U.S. alone has spent more than $100 billion in non-military funds for reconstruction efforts.
The return of millions of Afghan refugees - many without homes and jobs - from Pakistan and Iran have further strained the already precarious economy. The population of the major cities has ballooned with returning refugees and people from the provinces looking for work.
Kabul alone has grown from a city of an estimated 500,000 in 2001 to nearly 3.3 million in 2012 inhabitants to more than 4 million. Even in the capital city, the majority of Afghans still lack clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs.
The situation is considerably worse in the provinces. Afghanistan's living standards are among the lowest in the world, with an estimated per capita GDP of $1,100 in 2012.
Nine donors’ conferences between 2003 and 2010 raised more than $67 billion in military and civilian aid for Afghanistan reconstruction. An additional $16 billion in civilian aid was pledged by donors at the Tokyo conference in 2012.
However, Afghanistan’s ability to absorb and spend such large amounts of money along with lax oversight has “created ample opportunities for corruption,” according to a U.S. military study
In his latest report,
the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction says corruption -- and insufficient oversight by the United States of its massive spending -- has led to “schools built so badly they are in danger of collapsing, clinics with no doctors or medical supplies, police and army barracks that are not fit to use, and roads that are disintegrating for lack of maintenance.”
Afghanistan cannot survive, let alone prosper, on international aid monies. Not only is foreign aid likely to decrease as time goes on but also the industries that it has supported are not sustainable in the long term.
Whichever presidential candidate wins in the second round of national elections will have to face growing economic challenges.
As former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former World Bank official Ashraf Ghani head toward Saturday’s presidential runoff, the candidates are faced with growing questions of how they plan to improve Afghanistan’s economy amid the challenges of low revenue collection, anemic job creation, high levels of corruption, weak government capacity, and poor public infrastructure.
In February 2014, during one debate, Abdullah, the presidential front-runner, said he would support large developmental projects for the construction of infrastructure as a means to boost the economy and to create jobs.
Without citing specifics, he added that the Ministry of Labor would be tasked with reducing unemployment. He also said his administration would have no tolerance for corruption. Abdullah has released a formal economic plan that includes expansion of industrial townships in provinces, foreign investment attraction, and the process of changing the country from a consumption economy to a production economy.
While discussing the issue of national economic development, Abdullah said that his government will focus on issues such as the establishment of a railway to connect southern and northern regions of the country, rehabilitation of basic infrastructure, development of the livestock sector, and promotion of self-reliance in the agriculture sector.
“Our economic policy is to change the country from a consumption economy to a production economy," Abdullah said. "This includes agricultural growth, mines extractions, construction, and other sectors that have the potential to boost the nation's incomes."
Ghani, who served as finance minister under President Hamid Karzai and worked as an economist in the World Bank, does not think that large developmental projects would be a major source of job creation.
In a presidential debate, Ghani proposed convening multiple commissions to study the issue of unemployment. Although he did agree that the construction of infrastructure would bring some unemployment relief, he added that given the primarily agricultural base of the Afghan economy, other measures, like strengthening the private sector, were important.
Ghani said the country would have to make major strides toward industrialization in order to become economically self-sufficient. He encouraged foreign donors to assist the country for a few years in this effort, and he cited India and China as two regional powers who already have shown interest in investing in the nation's future.
Running a successful campaign is a different matter than leading a country, and it is unclear whether and how either candidate’s campaign promises will translate into national policy.
And yet, after so many decades of violent transfers of governmental power, even this is a welcome problem. | <urn:uuid:002dda5a-e8a6-49b8-8206-4d0dde21d781> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.voanews.com/content/next-afghan-president-to-tackle-ailing-economy/1932852.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00050-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966265 | 1,292 | 3.21875 | 3 |
In 2011, Turkey's KuzeyDoga Society
will celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity by organizing a student field trip on May 22nd to the Sarikamis Forest-Allahuekber Mountains National Park of Kars, eastern Turkey, led by KuzeyDoga president and conservation biologist Dr. Cagan Sekercioglu. After the field trip, there will be a press conference and the screening of a documentary on Sarikamis forest and its biodiversity. We will conclude with the distribution of KuzeyDoga's "Mammals of Eastern Turkey" calendar. Link to calendar PDF
Sarikamis Forest-Allahuekber Mountains National Park is a 230 Km2 protected area in the Kars province of eastern Turkey. This is one of the most important forests in Turkey for mammals, including carnivores such as brown bears (Ursus arctos
), wolves (Canis lupus
), lynx (Lynx lynx
) and wild cats (Felis sylvestris
). Sarikamis is one of Turkey's most important skiing areas and also one of the most important historic sites in Turkey because 90,000 Turkish soldiers were martyred here during the First World War. The team of KuzeyDoga Society
, the leading environmental organization in eastern Turkey, has been studying the biodiversity of Sarikamis Forest since 2003, identifying plants, conducting bird counts, using camera traps to monitor and document mammal populations. With the support of the UNDP Small Grants Programme, Born Free and Whitley foundations and in collaboration with Turkey's Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Cevre ve Orman Bakanligi), KuzeyDoga is undertaking a community-based conservation and village-based wildlife tourism project in Sarikamis forests, aiming to reduce the human-large carnivore conflict in the region. KuzeyDoga is also lobbying for the connection of Sarikamis forests to the extensive forests in northeastern Turkey and Caucasus with the creation of Turkey's first wildlife corridor. | <urn:uuid:945b8e7a-52f7-47a4-9cdf-611750441b5b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.cbd.int/idb/2011/celebrations/tr | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00201-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.912158 | 424 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Why I Disagree with Mill
John Mill suggests that limiting freedom of expression is tyranny. He argues that by putting limits on expression, the government would be robbing the people of the right to obtain knowledge from different opinions. While I agree that all people should have the right to speak their mind, I believe there should be limits on some kinds of expression.
Freedom of expression includes things like voicing your favorite presidential candidate, or taking a position on abortion. But, it also includes Hate Speech and Offensive Falsehoods. Mill would argue that these kinds of speech should be allowed.
I would disagree. The concept of “The Marketplace of Ideas” came up in class today. The idea is that all expression is a marketplace in which people sift through. The opinions and expressions that hold value will sell more, like a good batch of corn. The opinions that are not as important, like a rotten heap of potatoes, will be left unsold. With this logic, Mill can argue that things like hate speech should be permitted, like a new item of food. People can come into the market and decide whether or not to accept this type of expression, or leave it “unsold.” My argument is that, even if these ideas are left untouched by the majority, they are still lingering in the market, offending and hurting people as they walk by.
Some freedom of expression should be limited, like hate speech. Hate speech is uncalled for. There is a difference between voicing your opinion against someone, and purposely wanting to hurt them. Hate speech can have lasting emotional and psychological effects on someone. Hate speech is not free speech. I don’t think anyone should have the freedom to hurt another person in such a dramatic way. Just like punching someone can break a nose, hate speech can break someone’s emotional esteem and effect them for the rest of their life. Mill may think this is ok, but I refuse to.
In the mid-20th century, certain words were used against African Americans to degrade their race. Hate speech like this formed lasting dents in the African American psyche. People were spit on, yelled at, and protested against simply for the color of their skin. I can’t see any value in this kind of expression. Children that grew up in this era, had to endure sickening words, and violent actions against them. Imagine enduring such pain from such a small age. It would be amazing to come out of such a childhood unscarred by those remarks. Psychological trauma is lasting, and affects who we become as adults. Hate speech cannot be acceptable against any human. It is physically harmful, and completely valueless. There is not a single person who can benefit from it. If it has no purpose other than to bring harm upon another, why is it allowed? Mill would argue that it is allowed because it can be a means of obtaining knowledge, the theory of epistemology. What kind of knowledge can be gained by hearing someone call you a “negro” or a “fag?” Any knowledge gained through this type of speech is not anywhere near enough to justify it. And while others may be “learning” from hate speech, those receiving it are suffering. Knowledge is not a good enough answer.
Westboro Baptist Church exercises its right to hate speech at military funerals. Signs that read “God hates fags” and “Pray for More Dead Soldiers” are carried by small children under the age of ten. Some would argue that these people are exercising their right to opinion and speech. I think this is an abuse of such a right. Signs such as this are degrading and obscene. Not only is it grossly unethical to put this kind of obscenity in the hands of small children, the fact that these hateful words are being brought to private funerals is unacceptable. The families of soldiers who have passed away are in mourning. They have the right to hold a funeral without being bombarded with hatred. I cannot imagine the pain that these signs cause for the distraught families. The emotional and psychological stress that these people are going through already is magnified by the posters of the Westboro Church. There is no value in bringing this kind of hatred into the world.
Homosexual people are targeted by hate speech everyday, not only by the Westboro Baptist Church, but by common people as well. Hate speech can easily turn into violence. I believe that any kind of speech that triggers violence should be prohibited. Hate crimes against homosexuals are widespread, and many times start out with speech. Not only does it produce a violent atmosphere for those involved, it also causes an unsafe environment for all people. If minorities are constantly the target of hatred, what kind of effect does that have on their self esteem? I cannot imagine a person being able to function as a part of society when that same society is permitting hate speech to target him. Increased suicides and murders should signify that speech aimed at harming another does not belong in modern society. It causes suffering to the victim, and the people around him.
Another instance of increased suicide is that of young school-aged kids. Bullies can take a deep impact on kids from elementary through high school. Longterm exposure to bullying and hate speech can build up inside a person and cause them to take their own life. Hate is not free. You have to pay the price of pain and violence, and the lives of those affected by it. Would Mill be willing to pay those prices in order to allow hate speech to happen? | <urn:uuid:df085dca-2fb9-4d39-ac96-b0a836c2703c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://lifeexaminations.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/why-i-disagree-with-mill/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974662 | 1,132 | 2.75 | 3 |
New Strategies to Promote Stable Employment and Career Progression, An Introduction to the Employment Retention and Advancement Project
- Self-Sufficiency, Welfare & Employment
- Employment Retention and Advancement Project (ERA), 1998-2011 | Learn more about this project
Welfare reform has dramatically increased the need for effective strategies to help low-income parents work more steadily and advance in the labor market. Although much has been learned about how to help welfare recipients prepare for and find jobs, the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) evaluation is the most comprehensive effort thus far to learn what works in promoting stable employment and career progression for welfare recipients and other low-income workers.
Conceived and sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the evaluation is being conducted under contract by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC). As of fall 2001, a total of 15 ERA demonstration projects were operating or under development in nine states. Because the projects typically aim to help families for whom welfare reform efforts have been less successful, nearly all target current or former recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). | <urn:uuid:83ed2c3e-9bce-429f-a2cb-a5e25bf79fc7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/new-strategies-to-promote-stable-employment-and-career-progression-an | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937915 | 249 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The GDAL / OGR tools are an open source, cross platform, command-line toolkit that can be used for viewing GIS metadata, performing attribute queries, and converting file formats, among other things. It can also be used for transforming coordinate systems and projections for GIS files. I’ll demonstrate in this brief tutorial how to accomplish this using the OGR tools, which are for vector based GIS. The raster based GDAL tools work in a similar fashion.
Viewing basic coordinate system / projection info:
ogrinfo -al -so world_wgs.shp
Where ogrinfo is the name of the tool, -al is a switch to get detailed info about the layer, -so is a switch to display summary info, and world_wgs.ship is the name of our file. Run that command and we’ll get something that looks like this, with info about the features, coordinate system, and attribute fields of our shapefile:
INFO: Open of `world_wgs.shp’
using driver `ESRI Shapefile’ successful.
Layer name: world_wgs
Feature Count: 243
Extent: (-179.808664, -89.677397) – (179.808664, 83.435942)
Layer SRS WKT:
CNTRY_NAME: String (254.0)
FIPS_CNT_1: String (254.0)
ISO_2DIGIT: String (254.0)
ISO_3DIGIT: String (254.0)
STATUS: String (254.0)
COLORMAP: Real (18.6)
CONTINENT: String (254.0)
UN_CONTINE: String (254.0)
REGION: String (254.0)
UN_REGION: String (254.0)
Convert coordinate systems supported by EPSG
GDAL / OGR and most of the open source GIS software supports projections and coordinate systems that are part of the EPSG library. If you want to do a conversion between two coordinate systems and they are both supported by EPSG, you just have to reference the EPSG code that’s used to identity the system that you want to project to. You can look up codes using spatialreference.org.
Let’s say we want to convert our shapefile that’s in WGS 84 (common lat and long) to NAD 83 (used frequently in North America):
ogr2ogr -t_srs EPSG:4269 world_new.shp world_wgs.shp
Where ogr2ogr is the name of the tool, -t_srs is the command for transforming from one coordinate system to the other, EPSG:4269 is the code that identifies the coordinate system we want the new file to have – NAD83, world_new.shp is the name of the output file that will have the new projection that we want, and world_wgs.shp is our input file. If you run the command and get no error message, you’re in good shape. Just run the ogrinfo command on the new file to verify that it’s been re-projected.
Convert coordinate system not supported by EPSG
The EPSG library is extensive, but doesn’t contain everything, particularly some global and continental map projections. GDAL / OGR can still do the job, but you’ll have to provide the tool with the proper frame of reference since the EPSG library doesn’t have the info. Let’s say we want to project our WGS file to the Robinson Projection, which is not part of EPSG.
First, go back to spatialreference.org and search for Robinson. Its ID code is ESRI 54030 – not part of the EPSG library. Click on the link for the projection to open its window. You’ll be able to look at the projection data in a number of standard file formats. Select OGC_WKT from the list, and it will open the text in a new window, showing you the parameters of that projection. In your browser, go up to file, save as, and save the file as robinson_ogcwkt.txt in the same directory as the shapefile you want to reproject.
Now that you have the projection info stored in the text file, run the following command to make the conversion:
ogr2ogr -t_srs robisnon_ogcwkt.txt world_rob.shp world_wgs.shp
It’s the same command as our previous one, except that you’re referencing the text file with your data instead of an EPSG code.
Define an undefined coordinate system
If you run the ogrinfo command and your coordinate system is undefined, you should define it before doing anything else, and you must define an undefined projection before converting to another projection. Look at the metadata that came with you file or go back to the source to figure out what it is. For example the US Census Bureau Generalized Cartographic Boundary Files for 2000 are in NAD83 according to their metadata, but the files lack a projection definition.
To define one, use the following command:
ogr2ogr -a_srs EPSG:4269 states_nad83.shp states_unknown.shp
The only difference here is the -a_srs command is used to assign a coordinate system to a file – the rest of the parameters are the same. If you’re defining a non-EPSG projection, use the same method from the previous example – download a definition file from spatialreference.org and use the file name in place of the EPSG code.
More help and where to download:
If you want to thumb through the world’s map projections, the folks at radicalcartography have a nice projection reference page with visuals and brief descriptions.
Visit the GDAL / OGR page for downloading, or if you’re a Windows or Mac user, you can download QGIS and GDAL / OGR together from the QGIS download page. Linux users can get GDAL / OGR via your package handler – depending on your distro, you may have it already. | <urn:uuid:69d49e2e-4a27-4707-ace9-4695d22bf344> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://gothos.info/tag/transformations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.844109 | 1,351 | 3.328125 | 3 |
The basic medical transcriptionist job description involves transcribing medical documents based on physician recordings. These documents then go on to become official hospital medical records.
However, there are different types of medical transcriptionist, so the medical transcriptionist job description will vary from company to company. Here is a quick overview of a medical transcription’s typical job duties.
What Do Medical Transcriptionists Do?
Currently there are over 95,000 medical transcriptionists working in the US, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. While most of them perform similar tasks, a medical transcriptionist job description depends on several factors, including the work environment.
Some medical transcriptionists work in hospitals or physicians’ offices. Others work for independent medical transcription companies. These companies are hired by hospitals to produce transcriptions of their medical recordings. In addition, many medical transcriptionists are self employed. They usually perform medical transcription from a home office, using their personal computer and internet connection to complete their jobs.
With some variations depending on work environment, here are the basic job duties included in the medical transcriptionist job description:
- Receiving Prerecorded Audio Notes from Physician Procedures
- Reviewing Audio Recordings for Content
- Transcribing Recordings to Type-Written Format using Keyboard, Computer, and Audio Control Equipment
- Submitting Transcribed Documents for Inclusion in Official Hospital Records
- Reviewing Transcribed Documents for Accuracy
- Pursuing Continuing Education as Needed
The medical transcriptionist job description you will fill may depend on who you work for, as each employer has different needs.
Recent Changes to the Medical Transcriptionist Job Description
The job description of a medical transcriptionist has evolved due to advances in technology. Today, speech recognition software is available that picks up the spoken voice and automatically transcribes it into document form. Physicians can train the software to pick up their specific speech patterns, and over time it more accurately adapts itself to specific people. This evolution has changed the typical job duties for some medical transcriptions from manual transcription to post-transcription document review and correction. Thus, even with advances in technology and new ways to record speech, medical transcriptionists are still the most reliable way to transcribe patient documents.
Medical Transcriptionist Job Training Requirements
Employers who hire medical transcriptionists tend to look for individuals who have graduated from a formal medical transcription training program and who have achieved medical transcription certification from a noted certification agency. Most medical transcription schools offer preparation courses for certification, and all provide career-oriented training in line with the medical transcriptionist’s job description. | <urn:uuid:f013922a-ce2f-42d6-911e-2e45c2d9b91e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.medicaltranscriptionist.org/job-description/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00107-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938851 | 527 | 2.8125 | 3 |
: One year after the efforts began by volunteers to restore the Skylab trainer at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and six months after their work was halted due to liability concerns, the status of the space station mock-up remains at risk. Moved outside in 2000 to make way for traveling exhibits, weathering and rodent infestation quickly caused errosion and damage to the nearly 40 year old artifact. For six months, a group of volunteers worked on weekends to arrest the degradation until, according to museum officials, it was no longer safe for them to continue. The Space & Rocket Center said it would pick up where volunteers left off with a professional restoration but other projects, including the restoration of their Saturn V and the lack of a large enough space have kept the Skylab outside, subject to the same problems as before. According to The Huntsville Times, rocket center managers plan to move the Skylab back inside after other artifacts are moved to a building erected for the Saturn V. Skylab's restoration and transfer will cost about $1 million.
: As the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik and the start of the space race approaches, publishers and film producers are readying for their own race to shelves and screens with their own Sputnik histories and documentaries. Bridging the mediums, Paul Dickson, whose book, Sputnik: The Shock of the Century was first published in 2001, shares writing credits on The Fever of '57, a new docu-movie by David Hoffman, set for release on October 4. The film, which blends file footage, newly conducted interviews and actor reenactments, tells the story of how Americans reacted to the Soviet Union's launch of the first artificial satellite, and in particular, how "a secret agreement between two former generals (Dwight Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev) played a major role in preventing the possible outbreak of global thermonuclear war." A 'traditional' filmmaker, Hoffman was the executive producer for Turner Broadcasting's miniseries Moon Shot.
: Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to embark on the 3.4-mile trek to the launch pad tonight to be prepared for STS-118. The mission will deliver the third starboard truss segment to the international space station and will include the first educator astronaut, Barbara Morgan. Endeavour's 1 mph trip to Pad 39A isn't the only spacecraft making the move on Tuesday. Seven hundred miles to the northwest, the Saturn V booster that has sat outside on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will begin its roll, stage by stage, into the new Davidson Center designed to house it. The move, dubbed "Rocket Roll," is expected to take four days. First motion for the Saturn V is set for 9:30 a.m., at which time local officials and astronaut Owen Garriott will "launch" the 363-foot, 40-year old rocket accompanied by pyrotechnics. STS-118 is scheduled to start on August 7; the Davidson Saturn V Center will open January 31, 2008.
: Space shuttle Endeavour reached the launch pad earlier this morning, having made the 3.4 mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building. The orbiter, which entered service in 1991 was the fifth shuttle built and replaced Challenger, which was lost with teacher Christa McAuliffe and the STS-51L crew on January 28, 1986. In 2002, after 18 flights, Endeavour entered a "major modification period," receiving upgrades including a global positioning system and a glass cockpit. Named after 18th century British explorer James Cook's sailing ship as the result of a student contest, Endeavour arrived at Pad 39A today to launch STS-118 on August 7. The mission's seven-person crew includes first Educator Mission Specialist Barbara Morgan, who was McAuliffe's back-up 21 years ago. Despite all of its ties to education, Endeavour's rollout could've still used the assistance of a teacher; the banner hung by NASA at the pad's perimeter misspelled the name of the arriving orbiter: 'Go Endeavor!'
: To raise the funds needed to complete the construction of the U.S. Space Walk of Fame's Project Apollo Monument, filmmaker Jeff Roth will host a benefit reception, screening and auction at Space Center Houston on August 30. The evening event will include astronauts Eileen Collins, Fred Haise, Walter Cunningham, Joe Kerwin and John Young, among others soon to be announced. collectSPACE will host the online silent auction, which will have its finale at the benefit. All proceeds raised during the evening will go directly to fund the Apollo Monument to be installed in Titusville, Florida.
: NASA announced Friday that shuttle commander Michael Bloomfield and former astronaut Scott Horowitz are retiring from the agency. Bloomfield's first mission was aboard STS-86, flying as Atlantis' pilot when it docked with space station Mir in September 1997. Bloomfield flew twice to the international space station on assembly missions, including the delivery of its first truss segment. Since 2006, he served as the deputy director of flight crew operations. Horowitz retired from the astronaut corps in 2004 but returned to NASA in September 2005 to lead the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and the development of NASA's next generation spacecraft, Orion and Ares. Horowitz, who is a veteran of four space flights, said his departure was to spend more time with his family.
: The U.S. Mint on Friday revealed plans to exhibit 12 22-karat flown in space coins never before seen by the public. The dozen dollar value Sacagawea gold coins flew on-board space shuttle Columbia on STS-93 in 1999, commemorating the first female astronaut to command a U.S. space mission, Eileen Collins. Since 2001, the gold coins have been held within Fort Knox. Next month, the 12 flown dollars will be shown at the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money, the largest coin show in the United States.
: Thirty eight years to the day after six J-2 engines helped lift the first manned lunar landing mission into orbit and headed towards its destination, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne signed a contract with NASA for design, development, testing and evaluation of the next generation J-2 that will launch astronauts back to the Moon. The J-2X is an evolved version of two historic predecessors: the J-2 engine that propelled the Apollo-era Saturn IB and Saturn V, and the J-2S, a simplified engine that was developed in the 1970s. The upgraded J-2X will meet the higher requirements of the Ares I and V rockets. The $1.2 billion contract underwrites ground and test flight engines; J-2Xs for future missions will be sold separately.
: Since 2003, Astronaut Autograph Club members have each month received through the mail an autograph and letter from a Hall of Fame or Space Shuttle astronaut (the latter during 2007). For 2008, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation is seeking ideas for the theme by which astronauts for the club will be chosen for autographs. The Foundation is offering three astronaut signed photos for the idea(s) they use for next year's club.
: Despite it being the most powerful rocket the United States has ever built, the Saturn V was no match for Houston humidity. Within five years of arriving in 1977 at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the rocket started to deteriorate. After nearly 30 years of exposure to the outdoors, the 363-foot Saturn V was close to succumbing to the local flora and fauna that had infiltrated its once flight-worthy stages. Recognizing its importance to history, the Smithsonian began an effort in 1999 to repair and preserve the Saturn V, the result of which was celebrated today with the grand opening of the climate-controlled, tourist-friendly facility built to protect it.
: Four hours and 14 minutes into today's scheduled 6.5 hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station, astronaut Clay Anderson tossed a refridgerator-size coolant reservoir overboard, finishing the second of two planned jettisons. The 1,400 pound Early Ammonia Servicer was originally slated to return with a shuttle mission but the decision to retire the fleet in 2010 resulted in a lack of room on the remaining 14 flights. The container was no longer needed and taking up space on the ISS. Given its mass, NASA expects that some of the EAS will hit the ground when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere in about 300 days. The other item discarded today, a 212 pound brace that was used for a camera, should disintegrate during its re-entry.
: On Monday, NASA hosted a press conference with the crew of International Space Station Expedition 16, who will be the next to take up residence in orbit. While their increment logo has been finalized since February, other patches related to ISS 16 are still in different stages of development. In an interview with collectSPACE, the commander of the Soyuz that will launch the expedition's core crew (including the ISS's first female commander, Peggy Whitson), described his flight emblem as a work in progress. "I am working on it," said Yuri Malenchenko, who will command Soyuz TMA-11 and serve as ISS 16 flight engineer, "but I haven't completed the design yet. Now that I am going back to Russia, I will work on it more actively." Unlike Malenchenko, whose October launch is nearing, European Space Agency astronaut Leopold Eyharts still has some time until he joins the ISS Expedition 16 crew in December. As has become custom, ESA will give his mission its own name and logo, but as Eyharts explained, the moniker is still maturing. "This has not been decided yet, but there will be a name for the mission I'm sure," he told collectSPACE. Also at the press conference was Malenchenko's and Whitson's TMA-11 crewmate, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor. Though not a member of ISS 16 (he'll return to Earth with the prior crew), Shukor will be the first Angkasawan from Malaysia, chosen to represent his nation out of a pool of 11,000 candidates. The patch for his mission debuted on July 11, but the embroidered version remains a prototype.
: When Paolo Nespoli leaves Earth with the crew on-board Discovery in October, he will wear two mission patches: the STS-120 emblem donned by all seven astronauts flying that day, and the insignia for the European Space Agency's "Esperia" mission, for which he is the only crewman. ESA and the Italian Space Agency revealed the name and logo today. Esperia was named such after the Ancient Greek name for the Italian peninsula, reflecting the Italian-built "Harmony" module's role as the primary payload for the ISS-bound flight. The patch was created by designer Giorgetto Giugiaro and his ItalDesign SpA company, depicting Nespoli's mission as key to finishing the station and moving exploration ahead.
: If space sushi is not to your taste, perhaps you'll prefer taikonaut take-out. Less than one month after JAXA said it would allow Japanese companies to sell their space food creations, China has announced it will stock supermarkets with its Shenzhou specials. By the end of the year, shoppers will be able to choose from space flight-ready cantaloupe chips and taro stuffed mooncake as well as roast pork and stewed duck.
: The Russian Post isn't the only one planning a special stamp honoring the 50th anniversary of Sputnik. CNES, the French Space Agency, has announced that La Poste will offer a commemorative stamp entitled '1957-2007, la conquête de l'espace' featuring the first satellite, U.S. Apollo spacecraft, French SPOT 5 and Ariane 5 and Soyuz launchers. On October 4, the French Post will offer the stamp through four temporary offices in each of the towns CNES has a facility (followed by a wide release the next day). The stamp's value will be 0,85 euro.
: Spacecraft model enthusiast Scott Lowther relates concerns about the results of a recent inspection by NASA's Export Control Office at one of his Kennedy Space Center contact's offices in Florida. Lowther, posting to at least two message forums, shared that commercially-acquired (aka gift shop bought) posters depicting the Saturn V rocket's insides were now covered by U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The offending images were, according to Lowther, required to be removed and were ultimately shredded. He was made aware of the situation after being contacted by a "General Dynamics Export Control Compliance guy" in regards to a page on his website where he sells drawings of spacecraft, including the Saturn, to space history fans.
: Disney's big screen Mars exploration documentary Roving Mars lands on DVD and Blu-ray disc on July 31. The film, released to IMAX theaters in '06, follows the design, development, and liftoff of NASA's twin exploration rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Narrated by actor Paul Newman, Roving Mars' star, other than the two robotic explorers, is project scientist Steven Squyres. In addition to full- and wide-screen formats, the DVD includes two bonuses: a 25-minute "making of" film, Mars: Past, Present, and Future and a 50-minute episode of the Disneyland TV show, Mars and Beyond, from 1957. | <urn:uuid:4f636562-8ebd-4398-8ab1-f9e373bcbf7b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.collectspace.com/archive/archive-0707.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955755 | 2,803 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Very Common, Yet High Predisposition
The hiatal (hiatus) hernia is one of the most misunderstood and maligned conditions in medicine. Patients with a hiatal hernia need to understand what it is and what might occur with it. Most importantly, they need to know it is unusual for serious problems to develop from this type of hernia.
2. Fixed Hiatus Hernia — In this case, the upper part of the stomach is caught up in the chest. Even with this hernia, there may be few symptoms. However, the potential for problems in the esophagus is increased.
3. Complicated or Serious Hiatus Hernia — Fortunately, this type of hernia is uncommon. It includes a variety of patterns of herniation of the stomach, including cases in which the entire stomach moves up in the chest. There is a high likelihood that medical problems will occur with this hernia and that treatment, frequently involving surgery, will be required. Complicated hernias are uncommon.
Effects & Pain?
- Chronic heartburn and inflammation of the lower esophagus, called reflux esophagitis
- Anemia due to chronic bleeding from the lower esophagus
- Scarring and narrowing of the lower esophagus causing difficulty in swallowing
- While sleeping, stomach secretions can seep up the esophagus and into the lungs causing chronic cough, wheezing, and even pneumonia
In addition, the complicated hernia can cause serious problems such as difficulty in breathing or severe chest pain, especially in the elderly.
General guidelines for treating heartburn and esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus) are:
- Avoid (or use only in moderation) foods and substances that increase reflux of acid into the esophagus, such as Alcohol, Caffeine, Nicotine (cigarettes), Chocolate, Fatty foods, Peppermint, and Spearmint.
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals and do not eat within 2-3 hours of bedtime.
- Avoid bending, stooping, abdominal exercises, tight belts, and girdles all of which increase abdominal pressure and cause reflux.
- If overweight, lose weight. Obesity also increases abdominal pressure.
- Prescription medications. Certain drugs, such as intestinal antispasmodics, calcium channel blockers, and some antidepressants weaken the muscle strength of the lower esophagus.
- Elevate the head of the bed 8 to 10 inches by putting pillows or a wedge under the upper part of the mattress. Gravity then helps keep stomach acid out of the esophagus while sleeping.
Drugs & Surgery
- Drugs — Some medicines effectively reduce the secretion of stomach acid, while others increase the muscle strength of the lower esophagus, thereby reducing acid reflux.
- Surgery — The complicated hiatus hernia requires surgery occasionally on an emergency basis. Surgery otherwise is reserved for those patients with complications that cannot be handled with medications. The mere presence of a hiatus hernia is not a reason for surgery.
A hiatus hernia is an extremely common condition which usually does not cause symptoms or problems. However, when it does, the physician can frequently treat the problem effectively with a well-planned program. Surgery is infrequently required to treat a hiatus hernia.
Author: Frank W. Jackson, M.D. | <urn:uuid:38470c65-7613-4788-ac81-a29470ee8a7d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ecaware.org/what-is-esophageal-cancer/risk-factors/hiatus-hernia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909966 | 693 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Chewing gum is a flavored confection for chewing made from a sweetener like sugar, Xylitol, or an artificial sweetener like Aspartame, and different polymers. Chewing gum was originally made from chicle, the sap of a South American tree, but most mass-produced chewing gum these days is synthetic. Chewing gum is produced in many flavors such as bubble gum, mint, berry and citrus.
Chewing gum was banned in several countries and cities, most notably in the nanny state Singapore, where it was banned for twelve years under punishment of public humiliation, caning, or worse. That legislation was recently revised so that chewing gum may again be sold, but under high regulation. Violations carry stiff fines and possible imprisonment of 2 years. | <urn:uuid:dde8db39-9e7b-45f3-8d3d-1a2d3b466d07> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.conservapedia.com/Chewing_gum | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96909 | 158 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Definitions for physical change
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word physical change
phase change, phase transition, state change, physical change(noun)
a change from one state (solid or liquid or gas) to another without a change in chemical composition
Physical changes are changes affecting the form of a chemical substance, but do not change the chemical composition of that substance. Physical changes are used to separate mixtures into their component compounds, but can not usually be used to separate compounds into chemical elements or simpler compounds. Physical changes occur when objects or substances undergo a change that does not change their chemical composition. This contrasts with the concept of chemical change in which the composition of a substance changes or one or more substances combine or break up to form new substances. In general a physical change is reversible using physical means. For example salt dissolved in water can be recovered by allowing the water to evaporate. A physical change involves a change in physical properties. Examples of physical properties include melting, transition to a gas, change of strength, change of durability, changes to crystal form, textural change, shape, size, color, volume and density. An example of a physical change is the process of tempering steel to form a knife blade. A steel blank is repeatedly heated and hammered which changes the hardness of the steel, its flexibility and its ability to maintain a sharp edge.
The numerical value of physical change in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
The numerical value of physical change in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
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"physical change." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2016. Web. 28 Jun 2016. <http://www.definitions.net/definition/physical change>. | <urn:uuid:263a5156-ab30-4c70-9fb5-9e71b5daa300> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.definitions.net/definition/physical%20change | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.833921 | 448 | 3.28125 | 3 |
The small boost to the immune system offered by a pleasant event can persist as long as two days, while the negative effects of a stressful encounter mainly take their toll on one day, according to new findings.
And while stresses like a conflict at work can make people more vulnerable to infectious disease, so can missing customary pleasures like getting together with friends, the studies show. The findings add to the growing evidence for the health consequences of day-to-day events.
"Positive events of the day seem to have a stronger helpful impact on immune function than upsetting events do a negative one," said Dr. Arthur Stone, a psychologist at the medical school of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, who did much of the new research.
In a study of 100 men tracked daily for three months, Stone found that stresses like being criticized at work weakened immune function on the day they occurred.
But events like a pleasant family celebration or having friends over enhanced the immune system for the next two days. The findings will be published in Health Psychology later this year.
"Having a good time on Monday still had a positive effect on the immune system by Wednesday," Stone said. "But the negative immune effect from undesirable events on Monday lasts just for that day."
Each evening during the study, volunteers filled out an evaluation of the ups and downs of their day. Daily samplings of their saliva allowed researchers to monitor how effective their immune systems were in producing antibodies to a rabbit protein they took in capsule form each day.
Among the men in the study, the biggest setback to immune function was caused by work problems from criticism by one's boss and frustrating or irritating encounters with fellow employees, and the pressure of deadlines or a heavy workload.
Another source of irritation leading to lowered immune function was burdensome chores like irksome errands or annoying home maintenance tasks. | <urn:uuid:9a16ae04-6a0c-43e2-b2a9-7498c199832a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-05-11/news/9405110082_1_immune-system-immune-function-events | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971811 | 378 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Sight Words are words that children instantly recognize without having to decode them. They are typically high frequency words contained on common lists like the famous Dolch Series or Fry Lists. It is important to understand that “sight words” were originally defined as words with such irregular spellings they had to be memorized. Later, memorizing all high frequency words by sight became the major mode of learning to read in whole language approaches, a huge stray from the original definition. Today, the terms "Sight Words" and "High Frequency Words" are mistakenly used interchangeably.
When teaching reading one of our goals is to make high frequency words instantly recognizable, no question about it. But since most high frequency words are decodable a good way to make them recognizable is to at first teach children to decode them instead of using just strict memorization. As they practice their word analysis skills their abilities to instantly recognize these words will increase eventually turning high frequency words into sight words for them.
There are 38 high frequency words that are NOT decodable and will have to be learned by sight. Every other high frequency word is decodable. These words are contained on common lists like the famous Dolch Sight Word Series or the Fry List. These are the ones that cannot be decoded. Children can read the other words by being taught to decode them, they do not have to be strictly memorized.
A word wall is a list of words that are related to each other in some way. Word walls are used as a tool to teach a language concept. Often, they are displayed in large letters on a wall and used in collective classroom exercises, but smaller printed word wall word lists can be used for a variety of teaching exercises.
Help children learn how to read and write sight words by playing this fun game! Select at least 9 words that your students know and write them on the board. Have them fill in the tic-tac-toe board. The first student to have 3-in-a-row wins! (Can be played in the small group and whole group setting!)
Have students write a word (that they can read) from the Word Wall on each crust. Students color a pepperoni slice when a word is called out that they have written. Once all of the pepperonis are colored, the student calls out "Word Wall Pizza" and reads all of their words to the class.
During the first few weeks of school, CVC and CVCC words are added to the Word Wall. Throughout the year, add non-decodable words to the wall. Using a flashlight, turn off all of the lights, sing the song, and shine the flashlight on a word. Have a child say the sounds in that word and put them together to "read" the word. Repeat this song and shine on another word to be read!
This is a sample letter that is sent home when non-decodable words are introduced. Feel free to modify this document to fit the needs of your classroom.
For more information on how to teach children to read non-decodable words, check out the Reading Activities II Page.
The above parent letters can be sent home to families to give them ideas for working with their child at home. (I prefer to put one idea on my newsletter that is sent home each week). Children are encouraged to share new ideas they have for working with words at home!
Each day students practice 5-10 words that are kept on a metal ring. Words are chosen for each student by the teacher. When the student is able to successfully read the word without any help, a tally mark is given. Once ten tallies are on a word card, it is taken off. Students have a special binder labeled, “Words I Can Read”. Ring Words that are taken off are written down in this binder and then glued on the above template to take home to share with their families. Students get very excited when they are able to take their words home!
Check out this fun game for students to play to help them with sight words. Print, laminate, and cut out game pieces. Students take turns pulling out words until they can't read the word or until they pull out a "special" card. Complete directions are included in the game!
Kids learn the Top 300 Sight Words with this fun card game. Great for small group, center activities and easy for parents to use at home. Place cut-out cards in a basket and have students take turns practice reading their sight words. If students pull out an "apple" and read the word correctly, they get to keep the word. When students pull out the "basket" they get another turn and when a "worm" is pulled out, they must put all of their cards back. The student with the most cards at the end is the winner.
Now Available! Visit Our Download Central Page
Oh, No! Put all of your cards back! Use this card game for children to practice over 150 high frequency words from the Dolch Sight Word List. Cut out the cards and place them in a container. If they are read correctly, the child gets to keep them. When an 'Oh, No!" card is pulled, the child must put all of their cards back. Whoever has the most cards at the end of the game wins!
Using the above template, write Dolch words with 1-5 sounds in the left-hand column. Have students count how many sounds they hear in each word and write that number in the middle column. Give your child 5 bean bags and place a basket in front of them (distance depends on their ability to throw). Children throw a bean bag for each sound they hear in a given word. A point is received for each bean bag that makes it into the basket. (Make sure your child is saying the sounds they hear as they throw the bean bag). When they are finished throwing, have them count up their points to determine the grand total.
Write high frequency Dolch or Fry words (depending upon the ability of your students) in the left column. Have your child roll a dice and say the sounds that corresponds with that number. If they are able to read the word successfully have them color a square on the graph. Try to see which word can win the race. For a math challenge, use two dice and have your child add the numbers together to determine which word to read.
Have children practice writing words by tracing each with at least five different colors. The size of the font should be determined depending upon the age and fine motor skills of your children. Go to Free Fonts for Teachers to download this font to your computer.
Make a list of the words your child is working on using the "Scramble" Font found at fontgirl.com. Have your child add up the numbers to come up with a total value for each word. This can also be done with actual "Scrabble" game pieces!
Take a look at our Advanced Code Scrabble Words on the Reading Activities II
Page. Scrabble Words are sorted by vowel
Go to handwritingworksheets.com to make custom handwriting worksheets. These are great worksheets because they have yellow dots for each letter to show children where to properly begin when forming a letter. Click on "Basic Print," "D'Nealian Style," or "Cursive" and type your words in the space provided. Do not place commas between your words...Change the printer settings on your computer to print in "landscape".
Help children practice sight word fluency by writing the first letter below the word and continue adding a letter on each line until they have completely spelled the word. | <urn:uuid:46b80f52-d70b-47a5-941c-0f17e3185024> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.readingresource.net/sightwords.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396147.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00169-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960939 | 1,580 | 3.96875 | 4 |
Proxy authorization is a special form of access control. Proxy authorization or proxy authentication is when an application is forced to use a specific username/password combination to gain access to the server.
With proxy authorization, an administrator can request access to Directory Server by assuming the identity of a regular user. The administrator binds to the directory with his own credentials and is granted the rights of the regular user. This assumed identity is called the proxy user. The DN of that user is called the proxy DN. The proxy user is evaluated as a regular user. Access is denied if the proxy user entry is locked or inactivated or if the password has expired.
An advantage of the proxy mechanism is that you can enable an LDAP application to use a single bind to service multiple users who are accessing Directory Server. Instead of each user having to bind and authenticate, the client application binds to Directory Server and uses proxy rights. | <urn:uuid:937e6f32-411e-4c8a-850d-dbadcb66abbb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19656-01/821-1502/aalhm/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923731 | 182 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Definition of indigestion
n. - Lack of proper digestive action; a failure of the normal changes which food should undergo in the alimentary canal; dyspepsia; incomplete or difficult digestion.
The word "indigestion" uses 11 letters: D E G I I I N N O S T.
No direct anagrams for indigestion found in this word list.
Words formed by adding one letter before or after indigestion (in bold), or to degiiinnost in any order:
r - disorienting s - indigestions
Words within indigestion
not shown as it has more than seven letters.
List all words starting with indigestion, words containing indigestion or words ending with indigestion
All words formed from indigestion by changing one letter
Other words with the same letter pairs: in nd di ig ge es st ti io on
Browse words starting with indigestion by next letter
Previous word in list: indigestibles
Next word in list: indigestions
Some random words: wether | <urn:uuid:ffceb9d3-3519-44d4-8068-8cddee6bf7d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.morewords.com/word/indigestion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.828432 | 240 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Volume 15, Number 4 September/October/November 2003
A Promethean plan to explore the outer planets using nuclear-powered spacecraft is a step closer to reality following NASAs go-ahead to investigate miniature nuclear reactors. Project Prometheus, named after the Greek god who gave humanity fire, will concentrate on nuclear energy, which is the only form of power that can meet the missions requirements. The aim is to build an interplanetary space probe capable of flying vast distances and beaming scientific information back to Earth.
Project Prometheus will develop the means to efficiently increase power for spacecraft, thereby fundamentally increasing our capability for Solar System exploration, said a NASA spokesperson. Increased power for spacecraft means not only traveling farther or faster, but...[also] exploring more efficiently with enormously greater scientific return.
NASAs plans to use nuclear-powered probes to peruse the planets have prompted passionate opposition from anti-nuclear activists. However, development of space nuclear power plants will free missions that would otherwise be chained to rocky inner worlds due to lack of power. Feeble solar-powered probes are useless in the outer solar system, where the sunlight is weak, and current spacecraft powered by radiothermal generators (RTGs) operate on the power equivalent to a few dozen electric light bulbs. In contrast, NASA scientists calculate that a nuclear-fission reactor would give spacecraft a hundred times more power than solar panels.
A nuclear-powered spacecraft could not only operate powerful radars and other remote-sensing instruments but also use its engines to travel more freely instead of relying on a gravitational sling-shot that limits the trajectory of existing probes. NASA said an immediate goal of Prometheus was to provide the propulsion to send a spacecraft to planet-sized Jovian moonsCallisto, Ganymede and Europawhich may harbor life beneath their icy surfaces. The first candidate for nuclear propulsion, the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), is unlikely to be launched before 2011 because of the time needed to build the spacecraft.
Space Tourism via the Amazon
Space Adventures, the company that brokered jaunts into space for a pair of millionaires, has announced the first mission intended solely for tourists. The Virginia-based firm has paired with the Russian Aviation & Space Agency, and RSC Energia, Russias leading aerospace company, to fly two tourists simultaneously to the international space station on a Soyuz spacecraft. About a dozen people have applied for the two civilian seats on the proposed flight, but hitching a ride wont come cheap$20 million per seat. Unlike the previous flights of American businessman Dennis Tito and the improbably named South African, Mark Shuttleworth, Space Adventures says the proposed 2005 mission would be for tourists only, with a Russian cosmonaut onboard to operate the spacecraft for the eight to-10-day trip.
Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, has launched his own space programcalled Blue Originand wants to send tourists into orbit. The brainchild of the dot-com billionaire has a Seattle address and website, which boasts, We are building hardware, not PowerPoint presentations. But skeptics argue that it will take more than a billionaires intellectual distraction to get fare-paying passengers into spaceand safely back again. I have to say I just didnt see any evidence that Bezos and Blue Origin had an idea To be honest it sounded really wacky, said Richard Ellis, a Caltech scientist and a former astronomy professor who was briefed on Blue Origin.
It Keeps Going and Going
An ion engine just like the one that powered the Deep Space 1 spacecraft has set a trouble-free five-year endurance record with no breakdowns or tune-ups required. The engine is a twin of the Deep Space 1 ion engine used successfully during a technology demonstration mission that featured a bonus visit to comet Borrelly. The earth-bound spare had a design life of 8,000 hours, but researchers kept it running for almost five years, from 5 Oct. 1998, to 26 June 2003, in a rare opportunity to observe its performance and wear at different power levels in a vacuum.
While the engine was still running smoothly, the test was terminated early to allow rocket scientists to inspect engine components. In particular, inspection of the thrusters discharge chamber is critical for mission designers of the upcoming Dawn mission to Vesta and Ceres, two of the largest asteroids in the solar system. Despite five years of near continuous thrusting, the chamber was in good condition, said John Brophy, JPLs project manager for the Dawn ion propulsion system. Most of the components showed wear, but nothing that would have caused near-term failure. According to Marc Rayman, former Deep Space 1 project manager, This remarkable test shows that the thrusters have the staying power for long duration missions.
Ion engines use xenon as fuel, the same gas used in photo flash tubes, plasma televisions, and some automobile headlights. Deep Space 1 featured the first use of an ion engine as the primary method of propulsion on a NASA spacecraft. That engine was operated for 16,265 hours, the record for operating any propulsion system in space.
Marriage Made in Heaven
The grooms attire was a little unorthodox, and the bride never laid eyes on him, but thanks to a Texas law allowing absentee weddings, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and his earth-bound bride were hitched last August in a marriage made in heaven. Though separated vertically by 380 kilometers, the cosmic couple wed in a private ceremony at Johnson Space Center in August. The orbiting groom said his I dos via video from the International Space Station.
Malenchenko, who blasted off to the station in late April with American astronaut Edward Lu, quietly arranged to have his tailcoat and wedding ring flown to him aboard a cargo ship that arrived at the station in June. Lu served as his best man during the ceremony, and even performed the wedding march on a keyboard. It was very sweet, said Joanne Woodward, the wedding planner. A life-size cutout of the groom greeted guests at the wedding reception decorated with silver stars and mannequins dressed as astronauts. However, the honeymoon will have to wait until after Malenchenko, who wore a bow tie with his blue coveralls, returns to Earth in late October.
The bride, American Ekaterina Dmitriev, said the two had grown closer during their time apart, making them want to marry as soon as possible. As Yuri was further away, he was closer to me because of the communication we have, said Dmitriev. It was a celestial, soulful connection. Malenchenko and Dmitriev plan a Russian Orthodox wedding sometime in 2004.
Despite headaches for Russias space agency, the first marriage ceremony to stray beyond earths atmosphere has evoked some national pride in Malenchenkos native land. Yuri Gagarin was first in space. We had the first woman in space. We had the first tourist in space. And now this is another first, said Sergei Gorbunov, Russian space agency spokesman. Still to come, however, is the first cosmic couple to take a real honeyMoon.
Hubble Fate Still Up in the Air
Options for refurbishing or ditching the Hubble Space Telescope, NASAs groundbreaking orbiting observatory, are up in the air following a report by a team of astronomers on the fate of the twelve-year old telescope. The Hubble was launched in 1990, the first of a series of orbiting observatories, and is now nearing the end of its expected lifetime. The U.S. space agency plans to replace it with a more advanced instrument, called the James Webb Space Telescope, at the start of the next decade.
Originally, NASA planned to extend the life of the Hubble by servicing it with a space shuttle mission in 2005 or 2006. That mission would have allowed the telescope to keep working until about 2010. However, those plans were dashed by the grounding of the shuttle fleet after the Columbia accident in February, and by the need, once shuttles resume flying, to continue building and servicing the International Space Station.
In its report, the committee of astronomers outlined three alternatives for Hubbles fate: two Hubble servicing missions, one in 2005 and one in 2010 to maximize the scientific productivity of the telescope, or a single servicing mission in 2006 to replace gyros on the Hubble and install improved instruments. On the same mission, astronauts would install rockets that could send Hubble crashing into the ocean once the telescopes usefulness ends. If no shuttle-servicing missions are possible, the committee recommended that a robotic device be attached to the Hubble to bring it down in a controlled manner.
The options ignored suggestions that the space shuttle retrieve the Hubble and bring it back to Earth as a museum exhibit. Instead, the committee suggested the spent telescope be dumped in the ocean; a sad end for an observatory that has captured almost a half-million images of more than 25,000 astronomy targets.
|Hellas Sat 2||May 13||Cape Canaveral||Atlas 5||Communications|
|Beidou||May 24||Xichang||Long March 3-A||Navigation|
|Mars Express||June 2||Baikonur||Soyuz Probe|
|Thuraya 2||June 10||Odyssey, Pacific||Zenit-3SL||Communications|
|MER-A Spirit||June 10||Cape Canaveral||Delta II||Mars Probe|
|OPTUS and Defense C1,||June 11||Kourou||Ariane-5||Communications|
|Orbview-3||June 26||Vandenberg||Pegasus XL||Imaging|
back to top | <urn:uuid:8895f5a0-985d-46a2-bbc7-391d55f96fb3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nss.org/adastra/volume15/v15n4/contents/miscv15n4.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939741 | 1,980 | 3.96875 | 4 |
David Morrison (NASA Ames & SSERVI) has given an excellent history of asteroid impact research and planetary defense. The basic motivation for detection and deflection of potentially hazardous asteroids is public safety. This is a societal issue as well as a scientific one, and this video is one that everyone should watch.
Impacts are the only natural hazard that can, in principle, be eliminated. How can we protect our planet and ourselves? Key to any defense effort is early detection. Surveys are the front line. The first task is to find hazardous asteroids and calculate their orbits long before they hit. Then, we could develop the technology to change asteroid orbits. Earth moves its own diameter in 6 minutes — thus to avoid a collision we need only change the arrival time of the asteroid by 6 minutes. Technologies considered to change orbits include ballistic impact, gravity tractor, and nuclear explosives.
This raises several questions about Planetary Defense. Should we develop this technology now, or wait until a specific threat is identified? Should this be an international effort? If so, how should it be organized? How much should we spend to protect our planet? Who can be trusted with this responsibility, and how do we ensure that asteroid defense systems are not misused?
In studying the dinosaur’s, we can see that they were big and strong and beautiful creatures and they were even pretty intelligent. They occupied environments all over the planet – on land and sea and air, and they ruled the world for more than 100 million years… BUT they didn’t have telescopes and they didn’t have a space program.
“If some day in the future we discover well in advance that an asteroid that is big enough to cause a mass extinction is going to hit the Earth, and then we alter the course of that asteroid so that it does not hit us, it will be one of the most important accomplishments in all of history…” –U.S. Congressman George Brown (1993)
Perhaps asteroids are nature’s way of checking on the robustness of our space program!
About the Asteroid Grand Challenge
Curious about the NASA Asteroid Grand Challenge to “discover all asteroids that could threaten human populations and find out how to deal with them”? NASA is sponsoring a series of virtual seminars on the properties of Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and what is being done to learn more about the hazards and the opportunities they may pose for us here on Earth. The purpose is to inform interested astronomers (both amateur and professional), students, teachers, and others who are potentially interested in contributing to studies of NEAs.
Each seminar will focus on some aspect of the asteroid population, how we discover and track NEAs, and what we need to know about them if we are ever required to change the orbit of a NEA that is an impact threat.
The seminar format will be a 40-minute talk by an asteroid expert followed by 20 minutes for questions from the audience. They will be broadcast over the Internet. The audience will watch, listen and post questions by Adobe Connect using an Internet connection and a web browser.
The seminars will be held on the second and fourth Fridays of each month at 11:00 am Eastern time, which will allow live audience participation over most of the United States, Europe, and Africa.
The schedule for the first five seminars is as follows:
- Feb 14 David Morrison (NASA Ames & SSERVI):
History of impacts research and planetary defense
- Feb 28 Lindley Johnson (NASA Headquarters):
NASA’s NEA programs
- Mar 14 Paul Chodas (NEO Program Office at JPL):
NEA discovery, orbit calculation and impact probability assessment
- Mar 28 Alan Harris (JPL retired):
NEA populations and impact frequency
- Apr 11 Dan Britt (University of Central Florida):
Physical properties of NEAs
If there is sufficient interest, the virtual seminar series will continue with talks on asteroid deflection strategies, the new International Warning Network, characterizing hazardous asteroids, radar studies of NEA orbits and surfaces, and finding destinations for robotic and human missions to asteroids.
This virtual seminar series is sponsored by the NASA Asteroid Grand Challenge (AGC) Office, in collaboration with the NASA Near Earth Object Observations (NEOO) Program and the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI).
How to Join
This seminar series can be viewed online by clicking here, or by going to the following URL:
Please “Enter as a Guest” and use your full name. Audio will be heard through your computer speakers, while questions will be accepted in the room’s chat window. If you have any technical difficulties or questions, please contact one of our Technical Systems Specialists: [Ricky Guest] or [Ashcon Nejad]
System requirements for viewing this seminar series are:
1. An up-to-date web browser (e.g. Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer).
2. The latest version of Adobe Flash Player [Click here for the latest version]
Posted by: Soderman/SSERVI staff | <urn:uuid:ebbef430-2ccd-4a35-8008-b9501ee4dc09> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/the-asteroid-impact-hazard-historical-perspective/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916112 | 1,052 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Like most people, you probably think everything that could be invented has been invented, except cold fusion, seedless avocados and comfortable bike seats.
That's what Heather Phillips, a 37-year-old stay-at-home mother of four in Herriman, thought. Now, she is an official, patent-holding inventor. Her invention: a toothbrush.
A toothbrush? Who knew the toothbrush market hadn't already been fully developed.
Not that Heather ever set out to be an inventor. This was a happy accident, and another case of necessity being the mother of invention. About nine years ago, she worried about the dangers of toothbrushes in the hands and mouths of children. Apparently, a loaded toothbrush in the hands and mouths of children can be dangerous. That's because they have a habit of playing and running around the house while brushing their teeth.
"A toothbrush can go through the back of the throat and sever the carotid artery, or it can puncture the soft palate — that actually happened to my nephew," says Heather, who at the time was a recently graduated dental hygienist. "I thought, there's got to be a better toothbrush for kids."
She was wrong. She visited various stores to find a flexible toothbrush for kids. Nothing. She searched online. Nothing. She decided that if she couldn't buy one, she would make one. She wrote the design on paper — a toothbrush made of material so flexible that it could bend in half, nubs on one end for teething, soft bristles on the other end and a handle shaped like a banana with the peel pulled back to be used as a handle and to prevent it from going down the child's throat.
Between family and work responsibilities, she spent the next few years turning the brush into reality. She researched materials, ultimately settling on silicone for the handle and the bristles. She took out a patent. She found engineers to produce computer drawings. With the help of family, she found a manufacturer in Taiwan to make the brush.
Voila, the Baby Banana Brush for 12- to 24-month-olds and the Baby Banana Brush teether were born.
In 2007, the brush was introduced at various conventions on the East Coast and trade shows around the country, including the ABC Convention in Las Vegas. "It was such a big hit there that it gave us confidence," says Heather. Hundreds of people stopped at their booth each day. Among the visitors were buyers from Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Bye, Bye Baby.
Since the product was launched in 2008, the Baby Banana Brush has gone bananas. Heather and her husband, Ryan, have already paid off the $80,000 debt they incurred in developing the brush.
"Our first year after the trade show, sales grew 200 percent," says Heather. "We are going to hit a million brushes sold very soon. We are expected to double our sales every year after this."
There are so many orders that their manufacturer cannot meet the demand, forcing the Phillips to find a second manufacturing facility in Albany, N.Y. "We have several thousand brushes on back order," says Ryan.
Half of their sales are overseas — the brush is sold in 30 countries, largely in dental offices and boutiques, with the largest distributors in China, Japan and Korea. Their biggest domestic sales come from Toys R Us and Babies R Us; Bye, Bye Baby; Bed, Bath and Beyond; and Amazon.
"There is no sign of slowing down," says Ryan.
The market for the brush keeps expanding. It has been found to be effective in helping kids with Down syndrome and autism, as well as in children with an oral aversion (they don't want anything in their mouths), which leads to the loss of the sucking and eating instinct, which in turns means they don't develop facial muscles for speech and don't eat well.
"The brush has really helped those kids," says Heather, whose third child, ironically, has severe speech delay and uses the brush for therapy. "They suck on the brush. It's very soft and comforting to them."
This is all a strange turn of events for the Phillipses, who never saw any of this coming. "Heather never planned to be an inventor," says Ryan. "She just tried to buy a soft, flexible toothbrush."
"It's crazy," says Heather. "You dream about things like this. You just don't think it's going to happen."
The Baby Banana Brush company has become a family business. Sandra Phillips, Ryan's mother, is the official owner of the company that produces the brush, and Ryan works weekends for the company. In his day job, he is a manager in his father-in-law's precious-metals refining business, but he foresees a time when he'll have to work full time for Banana Brush. Heather The Inventor can afford to stay home with her children — but for how long?
"I've got other ideas I want to develop now that I know how to do this," she says. "It's put a fire under me and given me a big boost of confidence."
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Sept 8, 2011
Ten years after al Qaeda’s attack on the United States, the vast majority of the 9/11 Commission’s investigative records remain sealed at the National Archives in Washington, even though the commission had directed the archives to make most of the material public in 2009, Reuters has learned.
The National Archives’ failure to release the material presents a hurdle for historians and others seeking to plumb one of the most dramatic events in modern American history.
The 575 cubic feet of records were in large part the basis for the commission’s public report, issued July 22, 2004.
The commission, formally known as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, was established by Congress in late 2002 to investigate the events leading up to the 9/11 attacks, the pre-attack effectiveness of intelligence agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the government’s emergency response.
This article was posted: Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 9:20 am | <urn:uuid:8ec30909-2399-453d-b97e-ff21ed507aa2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.prisonplanet.com/national-archive-keeps-bulk-of-911-commission-report-sealed.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00025-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957705 | 206 | 2.78125 | 3 |
August 23, 2010
Have you ever thought about the names given to different coin series? Most are named for some prominent feature on the coin's obverse, and such series as Washington quarters, Jefferson nickels, and Lincoln cents come quickly to mind. Each of these is named for the famous president whose bust appears on the obverse. Of course, there are also Standing Liberty quarters, Walking Liberty (or Liberty Walking) half dollars, and Seated Liberty coins in a variety of different denominations.
At least one coin is named for what the obverse feature calls to mind in collectors the Mercury dime. In reality, the obverse design shows a head of Liberty wearing a winged cap to symbolize "liberty of thought." For some reason, this reminded early collectors of the fleet Mercury, who has wings on his feet rather than on his head. Despite the error, the name stuck.
A few coin series are named for a prominent feature on the coin's reverse. Two popularly collected series so named are Buffalo nickels and Peace dollars.
Another grouping of coin series consists of those named for the designer of the series. For example, there are Barber dimes, quarters, and halves, and Morgan dollars, and, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of its inception this year, Saint-Gaudens double eagles or $20 gold pieces.
The latter series, minted from 1907 through 1933, was designed by the most famous sculptor of his day, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. In 1907, the first year of issue of the double eagles associated with his name, Saint-Gaudens was in rapidly declining health, having been diagnosed with cancer several years earlier. In fact, Saint-Gaudens died on August third of 1907, "never seeing even one of his coins in circulation," according to Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins.
Saint-Gaudens was born on March 1, 1848, the son of an Irish mother and a French father. With his family, Saint-Gaudens immigrated to New York City before he was a year old. There, his father established a successful boot and shoe shop.
Beginning when he was 13, Saint-Gaudens was apprenticed to a French cameo cutter. This was followed by work with yet another French cameo cutter; at the same time, he took classes at Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design, both in New York City.
Saint-Gaudens next went to Paris, where he was soon admitted to the highly regarded Ecole des Beaux-Arts. During the Franco-Prussian War, Saint-Gaudens went briefly to Italy, where he was inspired by the work of such 15th-century Italian masters as Ghiberti (best known for his "Gates of Paradise" in Florence) and renowned Florentine sculptor Donatello.
In the mid1870s, Saint-Gaudens settled in New York, where his talent quickly brought him important commissions. Saint-Gaudens frequently worked with famous architects of the time, such as Stanford White. White had the misfortune of being murdered by the jealous husband of one of his many lovers, an event immortalized in the novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow and in the film with the same title.
One of Saint-Gaudens' most important commissions led to Standing Lincoln in Lincoln Park, Chicago. Placed in a setting by Stanford White, this statue of Lincoln is sometimes considered the finest portrait statue in the U.S. Some of Saint-Gaudens' other well-known sculptures include The Puritan in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, and General Sherman's statue at the entrance to Central Park in New York City.
Numismatists know Saint-Gaudens best for the gold pieces he designed: the Indian Head eagle or $10 gold piece and the standing figure of Liberty on the double eagle. His double eagle is often held to be the most beautiful American coin ever produced for circulation.
Of course, Saint-Gaudens' ultimate design for the double eagle was produced on only a handful of pieces. These are the Ultra High Relief pattern pieces, of which "Fewer than 15 different specimens are in private hands today," according to Q. David Bowers, writing in A Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins. Bowers described production of these coins as follows:
Each of the Ultra High Relief coins was struck at least seven times, carefully on a medal press, to bring up the design. Between each striking the coin was heated red-hot, then quenched in a solution of dilute nitric acid, dissolving the copper part of the alloy and eventually approaching pure gold on the surface, a few microns thick. . . . The typical specimen as viewed today is bright yellow, virtually as struck, with fine-grained satiny lustre. . . .
Like most important historical events, the story of Saint-Gaudens' foray into coin design really begins much earlier than 1907. In fact, it goes back to the early 1890s, when the sculptor received a commission to design the official medal for the 1892 Columbian Exposition, which was held in Chicago beginning in 1893. When the reverse of Saint-Gaudens' design featured a naked Grecian youth, Anthony Comstock, founder of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, immediately began to abuse both the design and the designer. As a result, Saint-Gaudens' design was replaced by one of presumably lesser artistic merit rendered by Charles E. Barber (of Barber coin fame, or infamy, depending on your point of view). Saint-Gaudens vowed that he would have nothing further to do with the Mint Bureau.
And that would have been that, except for the intervention of President Theodore Roosevelt, a close personal friend of Saint-Gaudens. Roosevelt first asked the sculptor to design his official inaugural medal. "Roosevelt used this as an opening wedge to induce St. Gaudens to design coins to replace Barber's," according to Walter Breen's account. The president confided to the sculptor his "longtime dream . . . of freeing our national coinage from its unbearable dullness of design, and trying to restore to it some of the beauty and dignity of ancient Greek coins."
The result, as detailed above, was realized fully only in the Ultra High Relief Pattern pieces. These coins, because of their extreme rarity and value, are essentially uncollectible. Much more collectible, although still quite expensive, are the "regular High Relief" versions. There are two different varieties, one with a wire rim and the other with a flat rim. Both are dated 1907, with the date in Roman numerals (MCMVII).
According to Bowers, about a third of the High Relief pieces existing today have a flat rim, the remainder a partial wire rim on one or both sides. The flat rim version is worth slightly more in all grades in the 2011 U.S. Coin Digest. Values start at $7,500 and $7,750, respectively, in VF-20 and finish at $52,000 and $53,500 in MS-65.
The 1907 High Relief Saint is not rare, by any means, as 12,367 were coined, and Bowers estimates that "well over 5,000 coins exist, many in Mint State preservation." This is a coin that shows the importance of demand for value. I just recently bought an 1886 gold dollar, with a total mintage of 5,000. Undoubtedly far fewer than 5,000 of these are still in existence, but the price I paid for one in MS-61 was just $345.
So why is the High Relief Saint worth more than 40 times as much in a comparable grade? The answer, in a word, is demand. As Bowers puts it,
The coin plays to several strong demands, including its necessity for inclusion in a type set illustrating different designs, its need for a date and mint set of double eagles, and, perhaps in an even wider circle, the desire for many collectors to own the variety for its beauty and history, even if it is the only double eagle in their collection.
Unfortunately, the high relief design, although easier to mint than Saint-Gaudens' original design, was impractical for production using high-speed striking. As a result, Mint Engraver Charles Barber was ready with his own low-relief version.
According to Breen, Barber's dies were completely unsatisfactory, a travesty of St. Gaudens's original concept. Henry Hering, St. Gaudens's pupil and collaborator . . . refused to approve them. This created difficulties because St. Gaudens's widow could not be paid without such approval.
Finally, in spring 1908, Hering visited the Philadelphia Mint with the widow's son and their attorney, and denounced the poor quality of Barber's version of the design. When Barber attempted to blame St. Gaudens's original design, Hering produced the far superior reductions he had privately obtained in France against this exact contingency as evidence that the fault lay instead with Barber's bungling obstructionism. Mrs. St. Gaudens was eventually paid after negotiations.
Collecting Saint-Gaudens double eagles is not for the faint of heart. Although many popularly collected series have a "stopper" or two or even three, the Saints series has close to a dozen "stoppers" and at least a couple of "killers," not counting the Ultra High Relief patterns.
Most of these, but not all, come at the tail end of the series, when millions of uncirculated Saints languished in bank vaults. In 1933, when Franklin Roosevelt called for all gold coins to be turned in to the Federal Reserve System banks, the result was that the millions of double eagles stored in bank vaults in the U.S. were ultimately melted. This included the vast majority of coins from 1929 through 1933, and several dates in the 1920s. Fortunately for collectors of Saints, some of the dates considered exceedingly rare turned up in hoards of Saints sent to European banks.
One thing that collectors trying to put together a date-mintmark set of Saints quickly discover is that, unlike many other series, there is little correlation between original mintage and scarcity. The reason for this, of course, is that some of the high mintage later dates were virtually all melted, whereas earlier dates with quite low mintage got into circulation and were spared the big melt.
For example, such dates as the 1909-D, 1913-S, and 1914, with mintages under 100,000, are priced at or only a little beyond common-date prices. By contrast, some of the later dates with mintages well above a million pieces are priced in "stopper" territory. For example, the 1927-S, with more than 3 million minted, begins at $6,850 in VF-20 and is worth $170,000 in MS-65. Similarly, the 1931, with nearly 3 million minted, ranges in value from $10,500 in VF-20 to $120,000 in MS-65.
Several years ago, I decided to try to see how many different Saints I could accumulate. At first, my thought was that I would buy coins that graded MS-63, as there didn't seem to be much differential, at least for common dates, between circulated grades and lower uncirculated grades up to MS-63.
For years, I have written articles in which I, like many other writers, advised collectors starting on a new series to buy the keys first. The reason for this advice is obvious: Common dates are always common, whereas the scarcer coins in a series are always scarce, experience higher demand than common dates, and tend to appreciate at a faster rate.
Did I take my own advice? Of course not.
Psychologically, it's almost impossible (for me, at any rate) to save money and wait to buy a better date, when I can buy several common dates at a time. Like most people, I like to get a lot of bang for my buck.
When I started my "collection" of Saints, I had exactly one coin: a 1924 that one of the grading services called AU-58. I had bought the coin as a gem uncirculated piece. Bowers notes that the 1924 is tied with the 1928 as the most common Saint. As you might suspect, I quickly sold this piece and bought a better replacement.
In addition to buying coins in at least MS-63, at least initially, I decided that I would only buy certified pieces. Unless you're an expert at authenticating gold pieces, I would urge you to do the same with this or any series of U.S. gold coins.
As you would expect, I quickly accumulated all the really common dates in MS-63, with a few in MS-64, and realized that I was going to have to lower my grade requirement in order to procure any of the slightly better dates. Thus, the MS-63 requirement was reduced to MS-62, and then MS-61, and suddenly I realized that some of the more expensive dates might have to be less than uncirculated.
Because I bought all the Saints I now have before the most recent runup in the price of gold bullion, I can feel good about what I paid for them. For common dates, the range of prices paid was from about $450 to $600.
At the present time, I have three circulated Saints: 1908-S, 1909/8, and 1909-D. Other than the High Relief Saints, the 1908-S has the lowest mintage of any of the dates in the series (22,000). Bowers notes that it is especially rare in mint state, but mine is far from that level of preservation. ANACS certified it as VF-35.
2011 U.S. Coin Digest assigns a value of $2,450 to one in VF-20 and $3,150 for a 1908-S in XF-40. Presumably my coin has a retail value between these two numbers but closer to the upper value.
My 1909/8 Saint is an example of the only overdate in the series. According to Bowers, the overdate accounts for about 40-50% of the total mintage for the 1909 date (161,289). In grades less than mint state, the 1909/8 variety is priced as a common date. My coin is graded AU-53, which means that its retail value is somewhere between $1,300 (AU-50) and $1,850 (MS-60) but closer to the lower figure. Looking at what I paid for the coin, I'm not sure why I didn't try to buy one in MS-61 or MS-62.
The 1909-D is another low-mintage Saint (52,500). It's priced as only a slightly better date until MS-60, when it takes a big jump. The 1913-S, with a mintage of just 34,000 pieces, is another of the Saints that starts off valued as only slightly superior to a common date but takes a big leap in mint state. The reason for the big leap? Bowers writes, "The 1913-S is very scarce in Mint State in relation to the intense demand for [it]."
The 2011 U.S. Coin Digest values the 1913-S at $2,000 in MS-60 and $4,3500 in MS-63. Somehow I managed to buy one in MS-61 for only $1,050. Of course, I bought it almost seven years ago, which may account for why I got a "bargain."
Perhaps my best Saint in terms of value is a 1922-S, which is in MS-61 condition. This is a date with a huge initial mintage (2,658,000). Bowers calls this date a "Former great rarity. Still quite scarce." He later writes, "It seems likely that most of the 1922-S coins were retained in the United States and melted in 1937. However, thousands were exported. This was an ideal situation for the numismatists, as foreign banks held in reserve many coins that would have been destroyed had they remained in America."
I bought the coin in the summer of 2002 for $660. Today it is valued at $2,450 in MS-60 and $4,850 in MS-63, so mine should be worth at the low end of the range.
I still have five dates on my list of Saints to watch for in circulated grades, of course. They're all mint marked dates in the 1920s: 1924-D and S, 1925-D and S, and 1926-S. These are all coins that were once considered great rarities, because the ones that stayed on this side of the Atlantic were all melted. Fortunately, enough went to Europe and then returned to make them semi-affordable today.
Of course, I'm considering prices for the coins in slightly circulated condition. The truth may be that they don't really exist in XF-45 and AU-50, that they're all in lower mint state grades. If so, then my accumulation of Saints may have come to an end with the purchase of the circulated 1908-S a couple of years ago.
Unless, of course, I'm ready to spend considerably more for single coins in the future than I've spent in the past. Let my experience with collecting Saints be a lesson to you: If you can afford them, stretch and buy the better dates first. You'll be glad you did.
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1. In what year does the novel begin?
2. What piece of attire does Merivel find sweaty and itchy?
3. To ahat does Merivel compare his stomach freckles?
4. What narrative perspective does the novel use?
5. What does Merivel perform an autopsy on as a boy?
6. Which Cambridge college did Merivel attend?
7. What does Merivel study in college?
8. What internal organ does Merivel touch in a patient's body?
9. What is Merivel's father's profession?
10. What collection does the King show Merivel and his father?
A clock collection.
This section contains 4,258 words
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Today is the 21st day of 2014 and the 32nd day of winter.
TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1793, King Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine in Paris.
In 1861, Jefferson Davis resigned from the U.S. Senate to lead the Confederacy during the Civil War.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter pardoned nearly all Vietnam War draft evaders.
In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that for the first time, the largest minority group in the United States was Hispanics (who may be of any race).
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Ethan Allen (1738-1789), writer/military leader; Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson (1824-1863), Confederate army general; Christian Dior (1905-1957), fashion designer; Telly Savalas (1922-1994), actor; Wolfman Jack (1938-1995), disc jockey; Jack Nicklaus (1940- ), golfer; Placido Domingo (1941- ), opera singer; Eric Holder (1951- ), attorney general; Paul Allen (1953- ), co-founder of Microsoft; Geena Davis (1956- ), actress; Jam Master Jay (1965-2002), rapper; Ken Leung (1970- ), actor; Cat Power (1972- ), singer-songwriter.
TODAY’S FACT: The guillotine was used for executions in France as recently as 1977. The death penalty was abolished there in 1981.
TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1979, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII to become the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls.
TODAY’S QUOTE: “It is bad policy to fear the resentment of an enemy.” — Ethan Allen
TODAY’S NUMBER: 37.6 million — Americans who primarily speak Spanish at home (more than 10 percent of the population), according to a 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center.
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Andrei Sakharov (May 21, 1921 – December 14, 1989) was an eminent Soviet-Russian nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and reforms in the Soviet Union and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.
- 1 Quotes
- 1.1 Progress, Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom (1968)
- 1.1.1 Dangers
- 1.1.2 The Basis For Hope
- 1.2 Nobel Peace Prize Speech (1975)
- 1.3 Nobel autobiography (1975)
- 1.1 Progress, Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom (1968)
- 2 External links
Progress, Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom (1968)
- We regard as "scientific" a method based on deep analysis of facts, theories, and views, presupposing unprejudiced, unfearing open discussion and conclusions. The complexity and diversity of all the phenomena of modern life, the great possibilities and dangers linked with the scientific-technical revolution and with a number of social tendencies demand precisely such an approach, as has been acknowledged in a number of official statements.
- The division of mankind threatens it with destruction. Civilization is imperiled by: a universal thermonuclear war, catastrophic hunger for most of mankind, stupefaction from the narcotic of "mass culture," and bureaucratized dogmatism, a spreading of mass myths that put entire peoples and continents under the power of cruel and treacherous demagogues, and destruction or degeneration from the unforeseeable consequences of swift changes in the conditions of life on our planet.
In the face of these perils, any action increasing the division of mankind, any preaching of the incompatibility of world ideologies and nations is madness and a crime. Only universal cooperation under conditions of intellectual freedom and the lofty moral ideals of socialism and labor, accompanied by the elimination of dogmatism and pressures of the concealed interests of ruling classes, will preserve civilization.
The reader will understand that ideological collaboration cannot apply to those fanatical, sectarian, and extremist ideologies that reject all possibility of rapprochement, discussion, and compromise, for example, the ideologies of fascist, racist, militaristic, and Maoist demagogy.
- Millions of people throughout the world are striving to put an end to poverty. They despise oppression, dogmatism, and demagogy (and their more extreme manifestations — racism, fascism, Stalinism, and Maoism). They believe in progress based on the use, under conditions of social justice and intellectual freedom, of all the positive experience accumulated by mankind.
- Intellectual freedom is essential to human society — freedom to obtain and distribute information, freedom for open-minded and unfearing debate, and freedom from pressure by officialdom and prejudices. Such a trinity of freedom of thought is the only guarantee against an infection of people by mass myths, which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be transformed into bloody dictatorship. Freedom of thought is the only guarantee of the feasibility of a scientific democratic approach to politics, economy, and culture.
But freedom of thought is under a triple threat in modern society—from the deliberate opium of mass culture, from cowardly, egotistic, and philistine ideologies, and from the ossified dogmatism of a bureaucratic oligarchy and its favorite weapon, ideological censorship. Therefore, freedom of thought requires the defense of all thinking and honest people.
- The worldwide dangers of war, famine, cults of personality, and bureaucracy — these are perils for all of mankind.
Recognition by the working class and the intelligentsia of their common interests has been a striking phenomenon of the present day. The most progressive, internationalist, and dedicated element of the intelligentsia is, in essence, part of the working class, and the most advanced, educated, internationalist, and broad-minded part of the working class is part of the intelligentsia.
The Threat of Nuclear War
- Three technical aspects of thermonuclear weapons have made thermonuclear war a peril to the very existence of humanity. These aspects are: the enormous destructive power of a thermonuclear explosion, the relative cheapness of rocket-thermonuclear weapons, and the practical impossibility of an effective defense against a massive rocket-nuclear attack.
- The technology and tactics of attack have now far surpassed the technology of defense despite the development of highly maneuverable and powerful anti-missiles with nuclear warheads and despite other technical ideas, such as the use of laser beams and so forth.
- The experience of past wars shows that the first use of a new technical or tactical method of attack is usually highly effective even if a simple antidote can soon be developed. But in a thermonuclear war the first blow may be the decisive one and render null and void years of work and billions spent on creation of an anti-missile system.
- Fortunately for the stability of the world, the difference between the technical-economic potentials of the Soviet Union and the United States is not so great that one of the sides could undertake a "preventive aggression" without an almost inevitable risk of a destructive retaliatory blow. This situation would not be changed by a broadening of the arms race through the development of anti-missile defenses.
- A thermonuclear war cannot be considered a continuation of politics by other means (according to the formula of Clausewitz). It would be a means of universal suicide.
- A complete destruction of cities, industry, transport, and systems of education, a poisoning of fields, water, and air by radioactivity, a physical destruction of the larger part of mankind, poverty, barbarism, a return to savagery, and a genetic degeneracy of the survivors under the impact of radiation, a destruction of the material and information basis of civilization — this is a measure of the peril that threatens the world as a result of the estrangement of the world's two super-powers.
Every rational creature, finding itself on the brink of a disaster, first tries to get away from the brink and only then does it think about the satisfaction of its other needs. If mankind is to get away from the brink, it must overcome its divisions.
Vietnam and the Middle East
- If direct responsibility for Vietnam rests with the United States, in the Middle East direct responsibility rests not with the United States but with the Soviet Union (and with Britain in 1948 and 1956).
- We cannot here analyze the entire contradictory and tragic history of the events of the last twenty years, in the course of which the Arabs and Israel, along with historically justified actions, carried out reprehensible deeds, often brought about by the actions of external forces.
Thus, in 1948, Israel waged a defensive war. But in 1956, the actions of Israel appeared reprehensible. The preventive six-day war in the face of threats of destruction by merciless, numerically vastly superior forces of the Arab coalition could have been justifiable. But the cruelty to refugees and prisoners of war and the striving to settle territorial questions by military means must be condemned.
- In our opinion, certain changes must be made in the conduct of international affairs, systematically subordinating all concrete aims and local tasks to the basic task of actively preventing an aggravation of the international situation, of actively pursuing and expanding peaceful coexistence to the level of cooperation, of making policy in such a way that its immediate and long-range effects will in no way sharpen international tensions and will not create difficulties for either side that would strengthen the forces of reaction, militarism, nationalism, fascism, and revanchlsm.
International affairs must be completely permeated with scientific methodology and a democratic spirit, with a fearless weighing of all facts, views, and theories, with maximum publicity of ultimate and intermediate goals, and with a consistency of principles.
International Tensions And New Principles
- All peoples have the right to decide their own fate with a free expression of will. This right is guaranteed by international control over observance by all governments of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man." International control presupposes the use of economic sanctions as well as the use of military forces of the United Nations in defense of "the rights of man."
- International policy does not aim at exploiting local, specific conditions to widen zones of influence and create difficulties for another country. The goal of international policy is to insure universal fulfillment of the "Declaration of the Rights of Man" and to prevent a sharpening of international tensions and a strengthening of militarist and nationalist tendencies.
Such a set of principles would in no way be a betrayal of the revolutionary and national liberation struggle, the struggle against reaction and counterrevolution. On the contrary, with the elimination of all doubtful cases, it would be easier to take decisive action in those extreme cases of reaction, racism, and militarism that allow no course other than armed struggle.
Hunger and Overpopulation (and the Psychology of Racism)
- It is apparently futile only to insist that the more backward countries restrict their birth rates. What is needed most of all is economic and technical assistance to these countries. This assistance must be of such scale and generosity that it is unlikely before the estrangement in the world and the egotistical, narrow-minded approach to relations between nations and races are eliminated.
- The threat of hunger cannot be eliminated without the assistance of the developed countries, and this requires significant changes in their foreign and domestic policies.
- Government policy, legislation on the family and marriage, and propaganda should not encourage an increase in the birth rates of advanced countries while demanding that it be curtailed in underdeveloped countries that are receiving assistance. Such a two-faced game would produce nothing but bitterness and nationalism.
- I want to emphasize that the question of regulating birth rates is highly complex and that any standardized, dogmatic solution "for all time and all peoples" would be wrong.
Pollution Of Environment
- We live in a swiftly changing world. Industrial and water-engineering projects, cutting of forests, plowing up of virgin lands, the use of poisonous chemicals — all such activity is changing the face of the earth, our "habitat."
Scientific study of all the interrelationships in nature and the consequences of our interference clearly lags behind the changes. Large amounts of harmful wastes of industry and transport are being dumped into the air and water, including cancer-inducing substances. Will the safe limit be passed everywhere, as has already happened in a number of places?
- The problem of geohygiene (earth hygiene) is highly complex and closely tied to economic and social problems. This problem can therefore not be solved on a national and especially not on a local basis. The salvation of our environment requires that we overcome our divisions and the pressure of temporary, local interests. Otherwise, the Soviet Union will poison the United States with its wastes and vice versa.
- An extreme reflection of the dangers confronting modern social development is the growth of racism, nationalism, and militarism and, in particular, the rise of demagogic, hypocritical, and monstrously cruel dictatorial police regimes. Foremost are the regimes of Stalin, Hitler, and Mao Tse-tung, and a number of extremely reactionary regimes in smaller countries, such as Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Greece, Albania, Haiti, and other Latin American countries.
These tragic developments have always derived from the struggle of egotistical and group interests, the struggle for unlimited power, suppression of intellectual freedom, a spread of intellectually simplified, narrow-minded mass myths
- Fascism lasted twelve years in Germany. Stalinism lasted twice as long in the Soviet Union. There are many common features but also certain differences. Stalinism exhibited a much more subtle kind of hypocrisy and demagogy, with reliance not on an openly cannibalistic program like Hitler's but on a progressive, scientific, and popular socialist ideology.
This served as a convenient screen for deceiving the working class, for weakening the vigilance of the intellectuals and other rivals in the struggle for power, with the treacherous and sudden use of the machinery of torture, execution, and informants, intimidating and making fools of millions of people, the majority of whom were neither cowards nor fools. As a consequence of this "specific feature" of Stalinism, it was the Soviet people, its most active, talented, and honest representatives, who suffered the most terrible blow.
- The anti-people's regime of Stalin remained equally cruel and at the same time dogmatically narrow and blind in its cruelty. The killing of military and engineering officials before the war, the blind faith in the "reasonableness" of the colleague in crime, Hitler, and the other reasons for the national tragedy of 1941 have been well described … Stalinist dogmatism and isolation from real life was demonstrated particularly in the countryside, in the policy of unlimited exploitation and the predatory forced deliveries at "symbolic" prices, in almost serflike enslavement of the peasantry, the depriving of peasants of the simplest means of mechanization, and the appointment of collective-farm chairmen on the basis of their cunning and obsequiousness. The results are evident — a profound and hard-to-correct destruction of the economy and way of life in the countryside, which, by the law of interconnected vessels, damaged industry as well.
- The inhuman character of Stalinism was demonstrated by the repressions of prisoners of war who survived fascist camps and then were thrown into Stalinist camps, the anti-worker "decrees," the criminal exile of entire peoples condemned to slow death, the unenlightened zoological kind of anti-Semitism that was characteristic of Stalin bureaucracy and the NKVD (and Stalin personally), the Ukrainophobia characteristic of Stalin, and the draconian laws for the protection of socialist property (five years' imprisonment for stealing some grain from the fields and so forth) that served mainly as a means of fulfilling the demands of the "slave market."
- The author is quite aware of the monstrous relations in human and international affairs brought forth by the egotistical principle of capital when it is not under pressure from socialist and progressive forces. He also thinks, however, that progressives in the West understand this better than he does and are waging a struggle against these manifestations. The author is concentrating his attention on what is before his eyes and on what is obstructing, from his point of view, a worldwide overcoming of estrangement, obstructing the struggle for democracy, social progress, and intellectual freedom.
Our country has started on the path of cleansing away the foulness of Stalinism. "We are squeezing the slave out of ourselves drop by drop" (an expression of Anton Chekhov). We are learning to express our opinions, without taking the lead from the bosses and without fearing for our lives.
- From 1936 to 1939 more than 1.2 million Party members, half of the total membership, were arrested. Only fifty thousand regained freedom; the others were tortured during interrogation or were shot (six hundred thousand) or died in camps. Only in isolated cases were the rehabilitated allowed to assume responsible posts; even fewer were permitted to take part in the investigation of crimes of which they had been witnesses or victims.
We are often told lately not to "rub salt into wounds." This is usually being said by people who suffered no wounds. Actually only the most meticulous analysis of the past and of its consequences will now enable us to wash off the blood and dirt that befouled our banner.
- It is imperative that we restrict in every possible way the influence of neo-Stalinists in our political life.
- In recent years, demagogy, violence, cruelty, and vileness have seized a great country embarked on the path of socialist development. I refer, of course, to China. It is impossible without horror and pain to read about the mass contagion of anti-humanism being spread by "the great helmsman" and his accomplices, about the Red Guards who, according to the Chinese radio, "jumped with joy" during public executions of "ideological enemies" of Chairman Mao.
The idiocy of the cult of personality has assumed in China monstrous, grotesquely tragicomic forms, carrying to the point of absurdity many of the traits of Stalinism and Hitlerism. But this absurdity has proved effective in making fools of tens of millions of people and in destroying and humiliating millions of intelligent citizens.
- Actually the crimes of the Maoists against human rights have gone much too far, and the Chinese people are now in much greater need of help from the world's democratic forces to defend their rights than in need of the unity of the world's Communist forces, in the Maoist sense, for the purpose of combating the so-called imperialist peril somewhere in Africa or in Latin America or in the Middle East.
The Threat to Intellectual Freedom
- Nothing threatens freedom of the personality and the meaning of life like war, poverty, terror. But there are also indirect and only slightly more remote dangers.
One of these is the stupefaction of man (the "gray mass," to use the cynical term of bourgeois prognosticators) by mass culture with its intentional or commercially motivated lowering of intellectual level and content, with its stress on entertainment or utilitarianism, and with its carefully protective censorship.
- This is a threat to the independence and worth of the human personality, a threat to the meaning of human life.
- A system of education under government control, separation of school and church, universal free education — all these are great achievements of social progress. But everything has a reverse side. In this case it is excessive standardization, extending to the teaching process itself, to the curriculum, especially in literature, history, civics, geography, and to the system of examinations.
One cannot but see a danger in excessive reference to authority and in the limitation of discussion and intellectual boldness at an age when personal convictions are beginning to be formed. In the old China, the systems of examinations for official positions led to mental stagnation and to the canonizing of the reactionary aspects of Confucianism. It is highly undesirable to have anything like that in a modern society.
- Man must not be turned into a chicken or a rat as in the well-known experiments in which elation is induced electrically through electrodes inserted into the brain. Related to this is the question of the ever-increasing use of tranquilizers and anti-depressants, legal and illegal narcotics, and so forth.
- Marx once wrote that the illusion that the "bosses know everything best" and "only the higher circles familiar with the official nature of things can pass judgment" was held by officials who equate the public weal with governmental authority.
Both Marx and Lenin always stressed the viciousness of a bureaucratic system as the opposite of a democratic system. Lenin used to say that every cook should learn how to govern.
- We are all familiar with the passionate and closely argued appeal against censorship by the outstanding Soviet writer A. Solzhenitsyn.He as well as G. Vladimov, G. Svirsky, and other writers who have spoken out on the subject have clearly shown how incompetent censorship destroys the living soul of Soviet literature, but the same applies of course to all other manifestations of social thought, causing stagnation and dullness and preventing fresh and deep ideas.
Such ideas, after all, can arise only in discussion, in the face of objections, only if there is a potential possibility of expressing not only true but also dubious ideas. This was clear to the philosophers of ancient Greece and hardly anyone nowadays would have any doubts on that score. But after fifty years of complete domination over the minds of an entire nation, our leaders seem to fear even allusions to such a discussion.
- Is it not highly disgraceful and dangerous to make increasingly frequent attempts, either directly or indirectly (through silence), to publicly rehabilitate Stalin, his associates, and his policy, his pseudosocialism of terroristic bureaucracy, a socialism of hypocrisy and ostentatious growth that was at best a quantitative and one-sided growth involving the loss of many qualitative features?
The Basis For Hope
- Without socialism, bourgeois practices and the egotistical principle of private ownership gave rise to the "people of the abyss" described by Jack London and earlier by Engels.
Only the competition with socialism and the pressure of the working class made possible the social progress of the twentieth century and, all the more, will insure the now inevitable process of rapprochement of the two systems. It took socialism to raise the meaning of labor to the heights of a moral feat. Before the advent of socialism, national egotism gave rise to colonial oppression, nationalism, and racism. By now it has become clear that victory is on the side of the humanistic, international approach.
The capitalist world could not help giving birth to the socialist, but now the socialist world should not seek to destroy by force the ground from which it grew. Under the present conditions this would be tantamount to the suicide of mankind. Socialism should ennoble that ground by its example and other indirect forms of pressure and then merge with it.
- Bertrand Russell once told a peace congress in Moscow that "the world will be saved from thermonuclear annihilation if the leaders of each of the two systems prefer complete victory of the other system to a thermonuclear war." (I am quoting from memory.) It seems to me that such a solution would be acceptable to the majority of people in any country, whether capitalist or socialist. I consider that the leaders of the capitalist and socialist systems by the very nature of things will gradually be forced to adopt the point of view of the majority of mankind.
Intellectual freedom of society will facilitate and smooth the way for this trend toward patience, flexibility, and a security from dogmatism, fear, and adventurism. All mankind, including its best-organized and most active forces, the working class and the intelligentsia, is interested in freedom and security.
A Summary Of Proposals
- The strategy of peaceful coexistence and collaboration must be deepened in every way. Scientific methods and principles of international policy will have to be worked out, based on scientific prediction of the immediate and more distant consequences.
The initiative must be seized in working out a broad program of struggle against hunger.
A law on press and information must be drafted, widely discussed, and adopted, with the aim not only of ending irresponsible and irrational censorship, but also of encouraging self-study in our society, fearless discussion, and the search for truth. The law must provide for the material resources of freedom of thought.
All anti-constitutional laws and decrees violating human rights must be abrogated.
Nobel Peace Prize Speech (1975)
- Nobel Peace Prize Speech (1975).
- Read by his wife Yelena Bonner.
- Freedom of conscience, the existence of an informed public opinion, a system of education of a pluralist nature, freedom of the press, and access to other sources of information, all these are in very short supply in the socialist countries.
- You all know, even better than I do, that children, e.g. from Denmark, can get on their bicycles and cycle off to the Adriatic. No one would ever think of suggesting that they were "teenage spies". But Soviet children are not allowed to do this!
- Freedom to travel, freedom to choose where one wishes to work and live, these are still violated in the case of millions of kolkhoz workers, and in the case of hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tartars, who thirty years ago were cruelly and brutally deported from the Crimea and who to this day have been denied the right to return to the land of their fathers.
- The Helsinki Treaty confirms yet again the principle of freedom of conscience. However, a stern and relentless struggle will have to be carried on if the contents of this treaty are to be given reality. In the Soviet Union today many thousands of people are persecuted because of their convictions, both by judicial and by non-judicial organs, for the sake of their religious beliefs and for their desire to bring their children up in the spirit of religion, for reading and disseminating - often only to a few acquaintances - literature which is unwelcome to the State, but which in accordance with ordinary democratic practice is absolutely legitimate, e.g. religious literature, and for attempts to leave the country. On the moral plane the persecution of persons who have defended other victims of unjust treatment, who have worked to publish and in particular to distribute information regarding the persecution and trials of persons with deviant opinions, and of conditions in places of internment, is particularly important.
- It is unbearable to consider that at this very moment that we are gathered together in this hall on this festive occasion, hundreds and thousands of prisoners of conscience are suffering from undernourishment, as the result of year-long hunger, and of an almost total lack of proteins and vitamins in their daily food, of a shortage of medicines (there is a ban on the sending of vitamins and medicines to internees), and of over-exertion. They shiver with cold, damp, and exhaustion in ill-lit dungeons, where they are forced to wage a ceaseless struggle for their human dignity and their conviction against the "indoctrination machine", in fact against the very destruction of their souls.
- But what about the sufferings of the innocent? Worst of all is the hell that exists in the special psychiatric clinics in Dnieperopetrovsk, Sytshevk, Blagoveshensk, Kazan, Chernakovsk, Oriol, Leningrad, Tashkent, … .
Nobel autobiography (1975)
- I grew up in a large communal apartment where most of the rooms were occupied by my family and relations and only a few by outsiders. The house was pervaded by a strong traditional family spirit — a vital enthusiasm for work and respect for professional competence. Within the family we provided one another with mutual support, just as we shared a love of literature and science.
- It is the social issues which unremittingly demand that I make a responsible personal effort and which also lay increasing claims on my physical and mental powers. For me, the moral difficulties lie in the continual pressure brought to bear on my friends and immediate family, pressure which is not directed against me personally but which at the same time is all around me. I have written about this on many occasions but, sad to report, all that I said before applies equally today. I am no professional politician — which is perhaps why I am continually obsessed by the question as to the purpose served by the work done by my friends and myself, as well as its final result. I tend to believe that only moral criteria, coupled with mental objectivity, can serve as a sort of compass in the cross-currents of these complex problems.
- Both now and for always, I intend to hold fast to my belief in the hidden strength of the human spirit.
- Autobiographical sketch at the official Nobel Prize site
- Andrei Sakharov’s Ideas Today (2009)
- Sakharov Archive (English)
- The Andrei Sakharov Archives at the Houghton Library
- Andrei Sakharov: Soviet Physics, Nuclear Weapons, and Human Rights
- Andrei Sakharov: Photo-chronology
- Andrey Dmitriyevich Sakharov
- David Holloway on: Andrei Sakharov.
- Andrei Sakharov Museum in Moscow Virtual Tour.
- Annotated bibliography of Andrei Sakharov from the Alsos Digital Library.
- Sakharov and SETI.
- The Andrei Sakharov Russian Free Academy, Germany (de/en/fr/ru)
- . Faces of Resistance in the USSR, The Andrei Sakharov Archives Homepage (Archived webpage). Brandeis University. Archived from the original on 2003-01-20. Retrieved on April 17, 2006.
- Moss, Walter G. (August 2009). The Wisdom of Andrei Sakharov.
- Gewertz, Ken. "Bonner points to still-powerful KGB Former Soviet dissidents say that present-day Russia shows little improvement over dark days of old regime". Harvard News Office. | <urn:uuid:40e96f0f-df67-46c3-8dab-bc0a3ab809e0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrei_Sakharov | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943145 | 5,845 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Early risers were able to see the year's second total lunar eclipse on Tuesday.
It began just before 6 a.m., Central time.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth passes between the sun and moon, casting a shadow across the moon's surface. The moon should appear to slowly turn shades of orange and red.
Lunar eclipses are rare because the moon is usually either above or below the plane of Earth's orbit, but one took place just this past March. | <urn:uuid:84041b4d-3875-404d-bf6d-ca0be55dff26> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wtok.com/weather/headlines/9420821.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954505 | 100 | 3.21875 | 3 |
While the Martinis Lab at UC Santa Barbara has been focusing on quantum computation, former postdoctoral fellow Pedram Roushan and several colleagues have been exploring qubits (quantum bits) for quantum simulation on a smaller scale. Their research appears in the current edition of the journal Nature.
“While we’re waiting on quantum computers, there are specific problems from various fields ranging from chemistry to condensed matter that we can address systematically with superconducting qubits,” said Roushan, who is now a quantum electronics engineer at Google. “These quantum simulation problems usually demand more control over the qubit system.” Earlier this year, John M. Martinis and several members of his UCSB lab joined Google, which established a satellite office at UCSB.
In conjunction with developing a general-purpose quantum computer, Martinis’ team worked on a new qubit architecture, which is an essential ingredient for quantum simulation, and allowed them to master the seven parameters necessary for complete control of a two-qubit system. Unlike a classical computer bit with only two possible states — 0 and 1 — a qubit can be in either state or a superposition of both at the same time, creating many possibilities of interaction.
One of the crucial specifications — Roushan refers to them as control knobs or switches — is the connectivity, which determines whether or not, and how, the two qubits interact. Think of the two qubits as people involved in a conversation. The researchers have been able to control every aspect — location, content, volume, tone, accent, etc. — of the communication. In quantum simulation, full control of the system is a holy grail and becomes more difficult to achieve as the size of the system grows.
“There are lots of technological challenges, and hence learnings involved in this project,” Roushan said. “The icing on the cake is a demonstration that we chose from topology.” Topology, the mathematical study of shapes and spaces, served as a good demonstration of the power of full control of a two-qubit system.
In this work, the team demonstrates a quantum version of Gauss’s law. First came the 19th-century Gauss-Bonnet theorem, which relates the total local curvature of the surface of a geometrical object, such as a sphere or a doughnut, to the number of holes in the object (zero for the sphere and one for the doughnut). “Gauss’s law in electromagnetism essentially provides the same relation: Measuring curvature on the surface — in this case, an electric field — tells you something about what is inside the surface: the charge,” Roushan explained.
The novelty of the experiment is how the curvature was measured. Project collaborators at Boston University suggested an ingenious method: sensing the curvature through movement. How local curvature affects the motion can be understood from another analogy with electromagnetism: the Lorentz force law, which says that a charged particle in a magnetic field, which curves the space, is deflected from the straight pass. In their quantum system, the researchers measured the amount of deflection along one meridian of a sphere’s curve and deduced the local curvature from that.
“When you think about it, it is pretty amazing,” Roushan said. “You do not need to go inside to see what is in there. Moving on the surface tells you all you need to know about what is inside a surface.”
This kind of simulation — arbitrary control over all parameters in a closed system — contributes to a body of knowledge that is growing, and the paper describing that demonstration is a key step in that direction. “The technology for quantum computing is in its infancy in a sense that it’s not fully clear what platform and what architecture we need to develop,” Roushan said. “It’s like a computer 50 years ago. We need to figure out what material to use for RAM and for the CPU. It’s not obvious so we try different architectures and layouts. One could argue that what we’ve shown is very crucial for coupling qubits when you’re asking for a full-fledged quantum computer.”
Lead co-authors are UCSB’s Charles Neill and Yu Chen, of Google Inc., Santa Barbara. Other UCSB co-authors include Rami Barends, Brooks Campbell, Zijun Chen, Ben Chiaro, Andrew N. Cleland, Andrew Dunsworth, Michael Fang, Julian Kelly, Nelson Leung, Anthony Megrant, Josh Mutus, Peter O’Malley, Chris Quintana, Amit Vainsencher, Jim Wenner and Ted White, as well as Evan Jeffrey, Martinis and Daniel Sank of Google Inc., Santa Barbara, and Michael Kolodrubetz and Anatoli Polkovnikov of Boston University.
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity. Devices were made at the UCSB Nanofabrication Facility, part of the NSF-funded National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network and the NanoStructures Cleanroom Facility. | <urn:uuid:62b75d30-0f90-4d34-bbae-c27797459a0d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2014/014489/piece-quantum-puzzle | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927376 | 1,098 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Vitamin D and Pain
Vitamin D, Pain, and Migraine
Do you think you have normal Vitamin D levels? The answer might surprise you. Up to 36% of otherwise healthy adults aged 18-29 have a vitamin D deficiency, and 41% of outpatients age 49 and over. In hospitalized patients, the numbers are even higher: 56% of inpatients in the US, and 70-100% of hospital patients in Europe. Women are more likely than men to be deficient in vitamin D. Low vitamin D levels were first associated with pain some years ago, when rheumatologists made an association with joint pain and low vitamin D in arthritis patients. Since then, further study of vitamin D levels has led to an association with a number of other conditions, one of which is migraine.
Sources of Vitamin D
The primary source of vitamin D is synthesis in the skin after sun exposure. Darkly pigmented skin acts as a natural sunblock to this process, and can place an individual at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. Risk groups for vitamin D deficiency include breastfed infants, older adults (50 and older), individuals with limited sun exposure, people with dark skin, people with fat malabsorption, such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease, and people who are obese. Obesity constitutes a risk factor because it is thought that vitamin D is pooled in body fat. (Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin.) When it is pooled in fat, it is less available to the bloodstream and the other places in your body that it needs to be active. Dietary sources of vitamin D are somewhat limited, and include fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines. Other food sources of vitamin D are egg yolks, fortified milk, beef liver, cod liver oil, fortified margarine, and swiss cheese. Some medications can interfere with vitamin D absorption, such as anticonvulsants, steroids, and non-statin cholesterol-reducing medications. Vitamin D is necessary for the proper absorption of calcium, and is important for proper bone metabolism and muscle function.
Vitamin D Deficiency and Pain
Vitamin D deficiency can cause nonspecific muscle weakness and widespread pain. This can result in chronic widespread pain and fatigue, and may result in a misdiagnosis of either fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. If you have been diagnosed with either of these, and have not had a vitamin D level checked, talk to your doctor. Although preliminary, there is also some evidence to suggest that adequate vitamin D levels may also be protective against certain cancers and possibly, multiple sclerosis. But don’t just start taking supplements without knowing what you’re doing—get your level checked. It is possible to get too much vitamin D. All fat-soluble vitamins can cause toxicity if taken in excess.
- Gloth FM, Lindsay JM, Zelesnick LB, Greenough WB. Can Vitamin D Deficiency Produce an Unusual Pain Syndrome? [Internet]. Arch Intern Med. 1991 Aug 1;151(8):1662-1664.[cited 2009 Apr 21] Available from: http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/151/8/1662
- Atherton K, Berry DJ, Parsons T, Macfarlane GJ, Power C, Hypponen E. Vitamin D and chronic widespread pain in a white middle-aged British population: evidence from a cross-sectional population survey [Internet]. Ann Rheum Dis. 2008 Aug 12;ard.2008.090456.[cited 2009 Apr 21]
- Holick, MH. High Prevalence of Vitamin D Inadequacy and Implications for Health. Mayo Clinic Proceedings [Internet]. 2006 Mar 1; 81(3):353-373.[cited 2009 Apr 21]
- Yetley EA. Assessing the vitamin D status of the US population [Internet]. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Aug 1;88(2):558S-564.[cited 2009 May 11] Available from: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/88/2/558S | <urn:uuid:46db6a66-bf62-41af-85a9-a4d5b447e34e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.migrainesurvival.com/vitamin-d-and-pain | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901435 | 870 | 3.078125 | 3 |
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