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A hematoma is a collection of blood outside of the blood vessels and can occur just about anywhere in the body. In the case of an aural hematoma, the blood pools in the ear flap because of broken blood vessels inside the tissue. Generally, the blood vessels are broken due to excessive head shaking. Aural hematomas occur in both dogs and cats, but are more common in dogs. They are unmistakable in appearance – the ear flap swells up just like a balloon!
Often, the root cause of an aural hematoma is an ear infection. Ear infections can be quite itchy, causing your dog or cat to shake his head in an attempt to alleviate the discomfort. There doesn’t always have to be an ear infection present, though. Anything that causes that itchy feeling, such as a bug bite or allergy, can lead to extreme head shaking and aural hematomas.
There are several different treatments for an aural hematoma, and if you ask 10 different veterinarians their preferred method, you’ll likely get 10 different answers! The main goal of most therapies, however, is to alleviate the swelling. In order to alleviate the swelling, the pocket of fluid will need to be drained. Because the broken blood vessels are probably still bleeding, your pet’s vet can’t simply drain the fluid and call it a day, as the pocket will just refill almost immediately.
Most veterinarians will either use some sort of drain to remove the fluid from the ear flap or place a series of stitches in the flap to prevent fluid from accumulating. Your pet may come home with his ear wrapped and wearing the much maligned e-collar, or “cone” collar. You may also need to give oral medications or apply topical medications for an ear infection.
If you discover that your pet has a hematoma, don’t worry – it’s not an emergency. But, you will want to make an appointment at your veterinarian as soon as you can. Failure to treat the hematoma will lead to scarring inside the ear flap and cause a shriveled appearance to the ear (known as a cauliflower ear). | <urn:uuid:ab382920-984b-4f71-a9c4-14797a982d4d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gopetplan.com/blogpost/ears-to-you-petplan-pet-insurance-examines-aural-hematomas-in-pets | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950033 | 453 | 2.953125 | 3 |
ANNA KATHARINA EMMERICK (1774-1824)
Anna Katharina Emmerick was born on September 8, 1774 in the farming community of Flamsche near Coesfeld. She grew up amidst a host of nine brothers and sisters. She had to help out in the house and with the farm work at an early age. Her school attendance was brief, which made it all the more remarkable that she was well instructed in religious matters. Her parents and all those who knew Anna Katherina noticed early on that she felt drawn to prayer and to the religious life in a special way.
Anna Katharina labored for three years on a large farm in the vicinity. Then she learned to sew and stayed in Coesfeld for her further training. She loved to visit the old churches in Coesfeld and to join in the celebration of Mass. She often walked the path of Coesfeld's long Way of the Cross alone, praying the stations by herself.
Anna Katharina wanted to enter the convent, but since her wish could not be fulfilled at that time, she returned to her parental home. She worked as a seamstress and, while doing so, visited many homes.
Anna Katherina asked for admission to different convents, but she was rejected because she could not bring a significant dowry with her. The Poor Clares in Münster finally agreed to accept her if she would learn to play the organ. She received her parents' permission to be trained in Coesfeld by the organist Söntgen. But she never got around to learning how to play the organ. The misery and poverty in the Söntgen household prompted her to work in the house and help out in the family. She even sacrificed her small savings for their sake.
Together with her friend Klara Söntgen Anna Katharina was finally able to enter the convent Agnetenberg in Dülmen in 1802. The following year she took her religious vows. She participated enthusiastically in the life of the convent. She was always willing to take on hard work and loathsome tasks. Because of her impoverished background she was at first given little respect in the convent. Some of the sisters took offence at her strict observance of the order's rule and considered her a hypocrite. Anna Katharina bore this pain in silence and quiet submission.
From 1802 to 1811 Anna Katharina was ill quite often and had to endure great pain.
As a result of secularization the convent of Agnetenberg was suppressed in 1811, and Anna Katharina had to leave the convent along with the others. She was taken in as a housekeeper at the home of Abbé Lambert, a priest who had fled France and lived in Dülmen. But she soon became ill. She was unable to leave the house and was confined to bed. In agreement with Curate Lambert she had her younger sister Gertrud come to take over the housekeeping under her direction.
During this period Anna Katharina received the stigmata. She had already endured the pain of the stigmata for a long time. The fact that she bore the wounds of Christ could not remain hidden. Dr. Franz Wesener, a young doctor, went to see her, and he was so impressed by her that he became a faithful, selfless and helping friend during the following eleven years. He kept a diary about his contacts with Anna Katharina Emmerick in which he recorded a wealth of details.
A striking characteristic of the life of Anna Katharina was her love for people. Wherever she saw need she tried to help. Even in her sickbed she sewed clothes for poor children and was pleased when she could help them in this way. Although she could have found her many visitors annoying, she received all of them kindly. She embraced their concerns in her prayers and gave them encouragement and words of comfort.
Many prominent people who were important in the renewal movement of the church at the beginning of the 19th century sought an opportunity to meet Anna Katharina, among them Clemens August Droste zu Vischering, Bernhard Overberg, Friedrich Leopold von Stolberg, Johann Michael Sailer, Christian and Clemens Brentano, Luise Hensel, Melchior and Apollonia Diepenbrock.
The encounter with Clemens Brentano was particularly significant. His first visit led him to stay in Dülmen for five years. He visited Anna Katharina daily to record her visions which he later published.
Anna Katharina grew ever weaker during the summer of 1823. As always she joined her suffering to the suffering of Jesus and offered it up for the salvation of all. She died on February 9, 1824.
Anna Katharina Emmerick was buried in the cemetery in Dülmen. A large number of people attended the funeral. Because of a rumor that her corpse had been stolen the grave was reopened twice in the weeks following the burial. The coffin and the corpse were found to be intact.
Clemens Brentano wrote the following about Anna Katharina Emmerick: “She stands like a cross by the wayside”. Anna Katharina Emmerick shows us the center of our Christian faith, the mystery of the cross.
The life of Anna Katharina Emmerick is marked by her profound closeness to Christ. She loved to pray before the famous Coesfeld Cross, and she walked the path of the long Way of the Cross frequently. So great was her personal participation in the sufferings of our Lord that it is not an exaggeration to say that she lived, suffered and died with Christ. An external sign of this, which is at the same time, however, more than just a sign, are the wounds of Christ which she bore.
Anna Katharina Emmerick was a great admirer of Mary. The feast of the Nativity of Mary was also Anna Katharina's birthday. A verse from a prayer to Mary highlights a further aspect of Anna Katharina's life for us. The prayer states, “O God, let us serve the work of salvation following the example of the faith and the love of Mary”. To serve the work of salvation - that is what Anna Katharina wanted to do.
In Colossians the apostle Paul speaks of two ways to serve the gospel, to serve salvation. One consists in the active proclamation in word and deed. But what if that is no longer possible? Paul, who obviously finds himself in such a situation, writes: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col 1:24).
Anna Katharina Emmerick served salvation in both ways. Her words, which have reached innumerable people in many languages from her modest room in Dülmen through the writings of Clemens Brentano, are an outstanding proclamation of the gospel in service to salvation right up to the present day. At the same time, however, Anna Katharina Emmerick understood her suffering as a service to salvation. Dr. Wesener, her doctor, recounts her petition in his diary: “I have always requested for myself as a special gift from God that I suffer for those who are on the wrong path due to error or weakness, and that, if possible, I make reparation for them.” It has been reported that Anna Katharina Emmerick gave many of her visitors religious assistance and consolation. Her words had this power because she brought her life and suffering into the service of salvation.
In serving the work of salvation through faith and love, Anna Katharina Emmerick can be a model for us.
Dr. Wesener passed on this remark of Anna Katharina Emmerick: “I have always considered service to my neighbor to be the greatest virtue. In my earliest childhood I already requested of God that he give me the strength to serve my fellow human beings and to be useful. And now I know that he has granted my request.” How could she who was confined to her sickroom and her bed for years serve her neighbor?
In a letter to Count Stolberg, Clemens August Droste zu Vischering, the vicar‑general at that time, called Anna Katharina Emmerick a special friend of God. In the words of Hans Urs von Balthasar we can say, “She brought her friendship with God to bear in solidarity with human beings.”
To bring friendship with God to bear in solidarity with human beings - does this not shed light on an important concern in the life of the church today? The Christian faith no longer includes everyone. In our world the Christian community represents people before God. We must bring our friendship with God to bear, let it be the decisive factor in solidarity with human beings.
Anna Katharina Emmerick is united to us in the community of believers. This community does not come to an end with death. We believe in the lasting communion with all whom God has led to perfection. We are united with them beyond death and they participate in our lives. We can invoke them and ask for their intercession. We ask Anna Katharina Emmerick, the newly named Blessed, to bring her friendship with God to bear in solidarity with us and with all human beings. | <urn:uuid:309fb914-49a4-4f3c-a253-ae806ff875e3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20041003_emmerick_en.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980436 | 1,972 | 2.609375 | 3 |
By Joanna Dean
Many of humanity’s most virulent diseases emerged from the fertile intersections of human and other animal bodies. Cures also crossed species barriers, and in the crossing carried a taint of their animal origins. The University of Toronto’s Connaught Laboratories and Farm produced bovine smallpox vaccine from calves infected with cowpox, as well as a variety of products from horses, such as tetanus and diphtheria antitoxins. Photographs disseminated by the laboratory suggest the power of the visual image in calming public fears and managing – even erasing – the animal origins of these biomedical products through an emphasis on hygiene and health.
As Katherine Arnup and Jennifer Keelan have shown for Canada – and Nadja Durbach for Britain – public anger and fear about compulsory smallpox vaccination emerged in a series of popular campaigns from the 1880s through to the 1920’s. While most of the anger was aimed at the compulsory administration of vaccine – intervention of the state into the body of the child and the sanctity of the home – the movements also rejected the animality of the vaccine. On March 1, 1906, when Toronto Board of Education trustee Levee campaigned (5000 signatures in hand) against the compulsory vaccination of school children, he used the strongest possible language: children’s bodies, he said, should not be polluted with “animal matter.”
When Levee’s motion passed, with only one trustee speaking against it, the Toronto Star called on the medical profession to combat the rhetoric of the anti-vaccination groups with facts and arguments. Professor A.B. Macallum made the mistake of amplifying Levee’s rhetoric, repeating “filthy animal matter,” in an outraged letter sent to both the Toronto Star and The Globe. The problem lay in the fact that Levee was not entirely incorrect. Bovine smallpox vaccine was lymph taken from the pustules of cows infected with cowpox. Vaccination had earlier involved the transfer of fluid from one human arm to another, which created its own set of problems, and the use of the calf in the late nineteenth century was seen as an improvement. (A calf could not transmit syphilis, or a range of other human diseases as human lymph might.) To produce bovine vaccine, the calf was shaved and scarified with vaccine; five days later large vesicles formed, and when the vesicles were considered ripe they were broken and the lymph harvested. It was this material that was used to vaccinate children against smallpox.
The word “matter” is not as widely used today, but it was redolent of pus, putrefaction and corruption. “Animal matter” was another order of impurity, especially to a public familiar with the muck and smell of stables and barns. Until the Connaught laboratories took over production, Ontario vaccines had been sourced from poorly regulated vaccine farms, and, although we might scoff today at the concerns of some anti vaccinators that a child infected with calf material might manifest cow-like tendencies, their concern about the filth of the barnyard was shared by even the medical authorities behind the Canadian Journal of Medicine and Surgery. They opined, quoting the New York Times: “the business of producing virus and serum … cannot be carried on without immeasurable risk to life and health with worn-out horses and sickly calves, nor in dirty stables or improvised annexes to vermin infested barns. Healthy animals, perfect plants constructed and managed under expert supervision, and the assurance of pure cultures with entire freedom from pus organisms are the essential conditions.”
Repugnance at the animal origins of the vaccine was combined with concern about the welfare of the calf. As the British Vaccination Inquirer put it in 1895: “The luckless calves must be no longer strapped and fixed and shaved and scarified and poisoned and fastened in their stalls with fourscore aging sores on their bellies….” Anti vaccination and antivivisection sentiments overlapped in interesting ways that warrant further exploration. In 1920, when the Toronto Anti-Vaccination League became the Medical Liberty League, antivivisectionists split off to create their own organization. Both anti-vaccinationists and antivivisectionists were resisting the authority and power of laboratory science.
In 1916 when University of Toronto opened the Connaught Laboratories and Farm and took over the production of bovine smallpox vaccine, they launched a campaign to convince Toronto parents of the purity of their vaccine, the hygiene of their laboratory, and the wellbeing of their calves. Robert Defries, the associated director of the laboratories, directly addressed the concerns of antivaccination groups in a 1918 article for the Varsity Magazine Supplement: “This product [vaccine] necessitates exacting care in the development of vaccine from healthy calves, and requires most modern equipment.” A collage of photographs that accompanied the article, “Production of Smallpox Vaccine,” took on the real work of reassuring the public.
The first image, “Bathing a calf before vaccination,” depicted a calf being washed in a large white enamel bath by two white-coated technicians, in a spotless laboratory. A second photo “Vaccine Unit” (enlarged in Figure Two) emphasizes the gleaming walls of glazed brick, coved floors, and – again – the white bath. The animal itself disappeared from view in this photograph, the most central and the largest in the collage. A third photograph, “Feeding the calf after vaccination,” shows another white-coated technician, with a healthy (and clean) calf eating from a large bucket.
The Connaught archives hold a fourth photograph (Figure Three) that does not appear in the collage, although it appears to have been taken at the same time as the three in the magazine. It shows a calf splayed on the operating table, legs encased in white cotton, with a technician scraping the vesicles, with a glass topped laboratory table next to him. The technician is white coated, but dark smears of what appears to be blood can be seen on his pants. This was not, perhaps, an image likely to reassure parents or anti vivisectionists.
The collage provided the visual counterpart to textual reassurances by the Dr. Hastings, the Medical Officer of Health, in the Toronto Star that the Connaught vaccines were “absolutely pure.” Problems arose, he said, when doctors in regular practice used vaccines from other sources. Hastings referred to the Connaught as a laboratory, not a farm. Not a vermin infested farm, the Connaught, but a modern, scientific laboratory. The animal was almost, but not quite, incidental.
Joanna Dean teaches animal history and environmental history at Carleton University. This paper emerged from a chapter on the use of horses for the production of tetanus antitoxin in the volume, Animal Metropolis: Histories of Urban Animals in Canada, co-edited with Christabelle Sethna and Darcy Ingram, and currently under review with the University of Calgary Press.
Thanks to Chris Rutty, archivist at the Connaught Campus, Sanofi Pasteur Canada, for sharing his knowledge. All errors are my own. Thanks to Ian Mosby and Jim Clifford for the opportunity to write about calves as well as horses.
By vaccination, they were referring to inoculation with cowpox virus, done in order to confer immunity to smallpox. Jennifer Keelan, “The Canadian AntiVaccination Leagues, 1872-1892,” PhD thesis, University of Toronto, 2004. Katherine Arnup, “Victims of Vaccination?: Opposition to Compulsory Immunization in Ontario, 1900-1990,” Bulletin canadien d’histoire de la médecine. 9,2 (1997), 159 -176. Nadja Durbach, Bodily Matters: The Anti-Vaccination Movement in England, 1853-1907 (Duke University Press, 2005). These authors are sympathetic to the concerns of parents, and point out that the science of vaccination was still under development.
“Vaccination Optional Now, “ Toronto Daily Star, 2 March 1906, 7. Cited in Arnup, “Victims of Vaccination,” 161.
“‘Anti-vaccination Craze.’ Prof. Macallum thus describes the present agitation.” The Globe, 7 March 1906, p.7. “Vaccine is the Remedy. Sharp Letter from Prof. Macallum in Reply to Criticisms,” The Toronto Daily Star, 12 March 1906, p.3.
See W.B. Spaulding, “The Ontario Vaccine Farm, 1885-1916,” Canadian Bulletin of Medical History 6 (1989), 45-56, and Pierrick Malissard”’Pharming’ à l’ancienne: les fermes vaccinales canadiennes,” Canadian Historical Review, 85, 1 (2004). W.R. Inge Dalton, M.D., “Responsibility for the Recent Deaths from the Use of Impure Antitoxins and Vaccine Virus,” The Canadian Journal of Medicine and Surgery 11,1 (1902), 36.
Vaccination Inquirer, 1 July 1895. Cited in Durbach, 144.
“M.O.H. States his Faith in Vaccine Treatment,” The Toronto Daily Star, 10 December 1919, p.23. | <urn:uuid:635a9935-04b9-4e88-b6a6-bf1de01b843e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://activehistory.ca/2015/04/animal-matter-the-making-of-pure-bovine-vaccine-at-the-connaught-laboratories-and-farm-at-the-turn-of-the-century/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941869 | 2,018 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Refrigeration is an example of how targeted energy-efficiency research can produce remarkable results: A reduction by three-fourths in the energy consumed by household refrigerators during the past 40 years.
In 1974, the average consumption per refrigerator was 1,800 kilowatt hours per year (kWh/yr) and average sizes were increasing as well. At that point, a joint government–industry research and development initiative began investigating more efficient compressors,* as well as improvements in design, motors, insulation, and other features.
The effort began to pay off almost immediately, largely as a result of low-cost measures that increased compressor efficiency by 44% in less than one decade. By the early 1980s, electricity consumption per refrigerator dropped by one-third and new developments kept coming. By 1990, average energy consumption dropped to 916 kWh/yr—about half of what it was only 15 years earlier. Today, the average is 450 kWh/yr.
Design enhancements and tighter government standards since 1990 have saved the nation billions of dollars in total electricity costs for home refrigerators.
Even the changeover from ozone-threatening chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant fluids (better known as CFCs) starting in 1989 did not impede progress. Further design enhancements and tighter government standards since 1990 have saved the nation billions of dollars in total electricity costs for home refrigerators during the entire life of the appliance.
Some of that benefit has been offset by an increase in the use of multiple refrigerators in homes and businesses, a common market response when new technologies reduce energy consumption and therefore costs. But that does not diminish the value of the remarkable improvements in efficiency for this appliance. And that trend may continue: Projections by the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicate that, given widespread adoption of the best available technologies, nationwide average efficiency gains in refrigeration could increase nearly 80% from current levels.
* In general, refrigerators work by running a fluid (the refrigerant) through channels in the storage area and absorbing heat from the refrigerator contents. The fluid is then compressed, which heats it further. The warm fluid releases that heat to the environment and then is allowed to expand, which reduces its temperature to restart the cycle.
- Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the United States (2010)
- Overview and Summary of America’s Energy Future: Technology and Transformation (2010)
- Effect of U.S. Tax Policy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2013)
- Energy-Efficiency Standards and Green Building Certification Systems Used by the Department of Defense for Military Construction and Major Renovations (2013) | <urn:uuid:93ec0301-2fa3-4021-9fa4-d77d53cbb81f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-efficiency/refrigeration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943893 | 536 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Update: April 24, 2008
Your Sightings! >>
The Migration: Maps, Questions and Highlights
Six New States — and a Sighting in South Dakota!
a week! According to observers, the monarchs moved into six new
states and a most remarkable sighting was reported from Sioux Falls,
South Dakota. The monarch was spotted by an experienced monarch
tagger who saw the butterfly outside his office window only 15 feet
away. At latitude 43N, this sighting is more than 300 miles north
of the monarchs that just appeared in Missouri and Kansas. If the
butterfly came from Mexico it would have flown over 1,600 miles!
Where do you think the monarch came from? Do you think this is a
the evidence and decide what you think. >>
important observation was made this week by monarch expert Dr. Chip
Taylor of Monarch Watch. He announced the first monarch in Lawrence,
Kansas, and added: "This spring is the first time that I can
recall the monarchs being ahead of the milkweed. (Phenologically the
plants are about 9 days slower to develop this year than normal).
Yet, there may be a few hot spots in the region such as the edges
of dirt roads where the milkweeds are up enough for the females to
lay a few eggs." According to Dr. Taylor, if monarchs fly as
far north from Mexico as Lawrence, Kansas, they usually arrive during
the 3rd week of April.
Kansas City, Missouri
April 20, 2008
more about the sighting in South Dakota >>
exciting addition to the map. A very early monarch was seen on
April 11th in New Jersey but was just reported this week.
the migration map only shows where people have REPORTED monarchs,
not necessarily where the monarchs are.
where the monarchs will go next! Add 6 new states to
and record your next predictions.
weather like this carry a monarch to South Dakota?
air mass as far north as Canada
maps show conditions on Sunday, April 20th. There were several
days with weather like this before the April 22nd sighting
in South Dakota. Notice how the strong south winds carried
warm air northward across the Great Plains and across the
Canadian border. Did a monarch ride north during such conditions?
Question #11: Where
Did the S.D. Monarch Come From? >>
do you think the monarch that was sighted in South Dakota came from?
Explain how you reached your conclusion and include evidence to support
in your journal and send
us your answer for possible inclusion in next week's update.
to last week's Challenge Question #9 >>
to last week's Challenge Question #10 >>
Amazing Adaptations: Larvae Legs >>
is the only food a monarch larva eats. Have you ever considered this?
How does a young monarch manage to eat the same leaf it's standing upon?
Take a close look at the amazing legs monarch larvae have. How do their
special legs help monarchs survive?
Adaptations: How Do Larvae's Legs Help Monarchs Survive? >>
Monarch Butterfly Resources to Explore
Next Monarch Migration Update Will Be Posted on May 1, 2008. | <urn:uuid:a2da396a-446c-48d1-a0dd-56d8f4f3db0c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/spring2008/Update042408.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931331 | 674 | 2.96875 | 3 |
(CNN) -- Thousands of poor farmers in India have committed suicide over the past decade as changes in India's agricultural policy set off a widening spiral of debt and despair, one environmental activist said Tuesday.
"The farmer suicides started in 1997. That's when the corporate seed control started," Vandana Shiva told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "And it's directly related to indebtedness, and indebtedness created by two factors linked to globalization."
For Shiva, who works with farming communities across India, those two factors were the ceding of control of the seed supply to the corporate chemical industry -- leading to increased production costs for already-struggling farmers -- as well as falling food prices in a global agricultural economy.
An estimated 200,000 farmers have taken their own lives in India over the past 13 years, according to Indian government statistics.
"The combination is unpayable debt, and it's the day the farmer is going to lose his land for chemicals and seeds, that is the day the farmer drinks pesticide," Shiva said. "And it's totally related to a negative economy, of an agriculture that costs more in production than the farmer can ever earn."
But Columbia University Economics Professor Jagdish Bhagwati, a former adviser to the Indian government, said that globalization was not responsible for the surge of suicides among cotton farmers in the Indian states of Maharastra and Andhra Pradesh.
"There are other states in India where cotton seeds have been absorbed and which are really prosperous. So you have to ask, why is it that these are breaking out?" he asked. "What's happening is very much like the subprime mortgages in the United States, where a whole bunch of salesmen went out and sold mortgages to people who couldn't afford them." | <urn:uuid:c2c730cc-41b9-4992-a2dd-00dda500a17f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/01/05/india.farmer.suicides/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972321 | 362 | 2.65625 | 3 |
African American Hair LossAuthor: Alanna Brown
In the United States, there are approximately 21 million women and 35 million men suffering some degree of baldness. Ninety-five percent of that is due to androgenic alopecia, which accounts for various ethnicities, including African American hair loss. But for this particular ethnic group, there are other alopecias that have historically caused significant hair thinning.
The Specific Causes of African American Hair Loss
In addition to androgenic alopecia, commonly called pattern baldness, there are two conditions present mostly among people of African descent.
- Traction alopecia
- Central cicatricial centrifugal alopecia
Central cicatricial centrifugal alopecia (CCCA) is another major cause of African American hair loss, however, it manifests at the top center of the scalp. This condition is the result of traction alopecia in combination with the continued use of abrasive chemicals and/or heated appliances. These chemicals, such as relaxers, bleaches, and dyes, weaken the keratin structure of the hair, thus undermining its tensile strength. For example, an amalgamation of chemical straightening and weaving in hair extensions will result in CCCA over time.
Curing African American Hair Loss
The same general solutions that exist for alopecia affecting Caucasians and other ethnic groups are also available to people of African ancestry. Rogaine (minoxidil) is an FDA-approved medication used to stop hair loss and possibly stimulate re-growth. It is available over the counter and administered topically. The only problems with Rogaine are:
- It is not affective at restoring hair to the hairline, thus would only be useful for treating CCCA.
- It currently exists only in a liquid formula, which is typically ineffective with, and not conducive to, the typical hair care practices of African American women.
- African American people typically have curly or kinked follicles, which are difficult to excise without a raised transection percentage. In addition, the follicle tends to have a stronger attachment to the surrounding tissue, making the hair more difficult to excise.
- African American people have heightened scarring tendencies, including a tendency to keloid during healing.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/hair-loss-articles/african-american-hair-loss-5777998.html
About the Author
Author: Alanna Brown, content writer for DermHair Clinic
At DermHair Clinic, our goal is to impart the latest innovations for hair restoration, and to provide information on recent discoveries in the field.
Sign up for a free online consultation or visit http://www.dermhairclinic.com/ | <urn:uuid:aad0b7dd-c7c0-43a3-b8bf-325bfc77bdae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://healthyhairmine.blogspot.com/2012/09/black-women-hair-loss-solutions.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00080-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934563 | 586 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Thermometers To Think About
- 1 Student worthiness
- 2 Primary biological content area covered
- 3 Materials
- 4 Handouts
- 5 Description of activity
- 6 Lesson plan
- 7 Activity In Action
- 8 Potential pitfalls
- 9 Math connections
- 10 Literature connections
- 11 Connections to educational standards
- 12 Next steps
- 13 Reflections
- 14 Citations and links
Biology In Elementary Schools is a Saint Michael's College student project from a course that ran between 2007 and 2010. The student-created resources have been preserved her for posterity. Link under 'toolbox' for printer-friendly versions of the exercises. Click on handouts to print full resolution versions. Please see Wikieducator's disclaimer, our safety statement, and the Creative Commons licensing in English and in legalese.
Tested and Worked.
Primary biological content area covered
- Heat Transfer
- Red food coloring
- Plastic test tubes
- Plastic pipettes
- Rubber stopper with hole
- Large bowl of hot water
- Large bowl of cold water with ice
- Real thermometer
Description of activity
To explore the topic of heat transfer, students will construct their own thermometers using test tubes, plastic pipettes, rubber stoppers, and red-colored water (See Figure 4 for finished product). The homemade thermometers will be placed in hot and cold water; the temperature change will be recorded in intervals of fifteen seconds and the data will be graphed by students. Students will learn how our "thermometers" work: the air enclosed in the test tube expands when heated and presses down on the water surface. The displaced water escapes into the straw and shows the degree of heating by its position.
Pre-Activity Teacher Preparation
- Push each plastic pipette through a rubber stopper with hole. Do this so approximately 1/2 inch of the pipette extends from the rubber stopper.
- Construct an example thermometer by filling the test tube with water (colored red with food coloring) and placing the rubber stopper in the test tube.
- Calibrate this "Example" thermometer using a bowls of hot water and cold water and a real thermometer for reference. Mark the scale so students can do the same.
- Leave a bowl of cold water and ice along with a bowl of hot water out for student use.
- Have each student assemble their own thermometer by filling the test tube with red water and topping it with a rubber stopper (the pipette should already be through the stopper).
- Have students record "room temperature" in "time 0" on the table (See Figure 2).
- Students place their thermometers in the hot water bath and record the changing temperature every 15 seconds. (See Figures 7 and 9.)
- After two minutes have passed, have students move their thermometers to the cold water bath, continuing to take data every 15 seconds. (See Figure 6.)
- After three minutes, students remove their thermometers and place their hands around them. (See Figure 8.) Continue to record.
- Students now transfer their data to the blank graph (See Figure 1).
- Clean up!
Post-Activity Discussion and Follow-Up Questions
- As a group, discuss the relationship seen on the graph.
- Introduce terms like "positive" and "negative" slope. Have students point to their respective ranges on the graph.
- Just looking at their graphs, can students tell when the thermometer was placed in the hot water? Cold water? Held in their hands?
- How do our homemade thermometers work?
- The air enclosed in the small tube expands when your hands wrap around it (heat) and presses down on the red water surface. The displaced water escapes into the straw and shows the degree of heating by its position.
- Brainstorm situations in which thermometers are used.
Activity In Action
Minor mishaps may include:
- safety issues with the plastic pipettes
- water "spots" or "stripes" cause by air bubbles forming in the thermometer (not one continuous liquid that can be measured)
- difficulties or inaccuracies with calibration and scales
- when marking their pipettes, students might not all mark theirs at the correct time
- some students taking their thermometers out of the hot or cold water when they are supposed to be left in
- students holding their thermometers at an angle
- students holding their thermometers too low on the pipette so their hand temperatures might affect the water inside
- Demonstrate conceptual understanding and relative magnitude of whole numbers in respect to degrees of temperature.
- Practice and demonstrate the ability to measure temperature with pipettes.
- Practice and demonstrate the ability to graph data over time.
Cole, Joanna, and Bruce Degen. Scholastic's the Magic School Bus in the Arctic: a Book about Heat. New York: Scholastic, 1998. Print.
Emmett, Jonathan, and Vanessa Cabban. Diamond in the Snow. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick, 2006. Print.
These books could be used to introduce the topic of heat and cold and physical change or to wrap up the activity and extend a conversation.
Connections to educational standards
This activity meets the following Vermont Standards:
1-2:9 Students demonstrate their understanding of the properties of physical matter by identifying, recording, and comparing characteristics of objects made of similar and different properties.
1-2:14 Students demonstrate their understanding of physical change by describing and reporting the change in properties when heat is applied to a solid or when heat leaves a liquid.
After the completion of this activity, one could extend discussion in the direction to types of heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation). Students could be asked, "Why does this activity demonstrate conduction?" A class could also leave their homemade thermometers, once constructed, outside for a week and record the temperature each day (preferably a spring day, when temperatures are not extreme or freezing). This could be intertwined with "weather" units, the seasons, or simply a long-term math activity.
It is worth noting that water contracts until it reaches it's maximum density at 4 degrees Celsius. At temperatures colder than 4 degrees Celsius, water begins to expand once more. This is why water thermometers are not useful below 4 degrees and also why ice floats and out lakes freeze from the top rather than from the bottom. There may be a way to address this with this thermometer setup by using a rock salt and ice solution to reach colder temperatures and see if you can measure some expansion in the tube.
Overall, I think this lesson was moderately successful. In terms of being "interesting" and "fun" to students, it was certainly a hit. Students enjoyed making their own thermometers and were genuinely excited to watch the level drop and rise when in the hot and cold baths. Before trying this again with second graders, though, it is evident that certain changes must be made. Most students knew the function of thermometers, but many were not familiar with Fahrenheit or Celsius scales. Our plan (as outlined above) had students organizing change in temperature first on a table and then on a graph. The second grade students, however, had never been exposed to graphs before, and many struggled with the concept of tables. Many "caught on" with the table idea with the close help of an adult. Perhaps this would be more beneficial for third or (definitely) fourth grade students. Also, if the table and graph elements were to be included, more time would be necessary-- perhaps thirty five to forty minutes rather than twenty five. Several elements of the activity should certainly remain. Before we finalized a plan for this activity, we debated over whether we (the teachers) should assemble the thermometers for students prior to the teaching time (we decided against it). It ultimately proved a good decision; when it came time for the real activity, students loved constructing their own thermometers and were excited to bring them home. All, in all, though, the activity is an engaging one for students and has a strong math connection-- a math connection that proved a little too advanced for second grade students but would work better with third or fourth grade. --Callie Lumbra
The "Thermometer to Think About" activity turned out to be successful after making minor adjustments during the lesson to fit the level of the students we were teaching. My group and I were thrilled that the students were so interested in making their very own thermometer. When we had the students place their homemade thermometers in the hot and cold baths, it was great to see the kid’s enthusiasm as the colored water rose up or dropped down the pipette. Having the students mark how much the temperature was rising or dropping proved to be entertaining and educational; they loved seeing the extreme difference between the hot and cold temperature marks on their pipettes. We ran into trouble when it came to real Celsius and Fahrenheit. Many of the students knew that these were used for measuring temperature but didn’t know how to make a degree symbol or what the difference between the two measurements is. The table and the graph we had originally planned on doing proved to be too complicated for these student’s levels. Perhaps if we were given more time to fully explain and teach a lesson on graphs and tables than the kids would have caught on, but in the 20 to 25 minutes we were allotted we could not provide this lesson. Instead of trying to teach the kids in the short time accepted the fact that the students had not learned some of this material and had them play more with their thermometer to see what it could do. If I could redo this lesson, I would modify the handout, making it simpler with no table or graph. I would recommend using this activity for a fourth grade class. -Laken Ferreira
This activity went well but we had to make some changes before it began to run smoothly. After the students made their thermometers (filled their plastic test tubes with water and food coloring, leaving an air pocket at the top, pushing a stopper into the top that had a plastic pipette snuggly inside it), they put the test tubes in warm water to heat up the air pocket which pushed the water up further into the pipette. Next we had them put the thermometers in cold water to cool the air pocket and pull the water back down. They marked the water level on the pipette every thirty seconds as it was going down. After their pipettes were marked we were at first having the students use math to figure out the temperature at each of their marks based on knowing that every two tick marks was three degrees Celsius. After only one or two groups we figured out that this was too advanced for the second graders. They could do it with significant help but it was taking way more time than we had and not allowing us enough time to discuss the main point of our activity, why and how the thermometers worked. We never even attempted the graph. As soon as we gave up on our handouts the activity was much more relaxed and enjoyable and he students got a lot more out of it. -Kerry Cyr
The idea for this activity was obtained from this source:
Science Experiments. New York: HJ Press, 1998. | <urn:uuid:96279718-ee0e-4604-972d-9134f850fcdc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wikieducator.org/Thermometers_To_Think_About | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00175-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955273 | 2,335 | 3.640625 | 4 |
An alternative theory to the Big Bang has been proposed - and it's as mind-blowing as it is totally hypothetical.
The theory involves the universe being born out of the wreckage of a four-dimensional star, which collapsed into a black hole.
Needless to say, it's very complicated stuff. But it seeks to explain some lingering inconsistencies and problems with the Big Bang.
In that model, which is commonly used to explain how the universe came into being, all matter expanded out from an infinitely dense 'singularity', in an incredibly violent, strange and sudden expansion, about 13.8 billion years ago.
But that theory still struggles to explain what the singularity was like - and what was there before. Likewise, some scientists still think the current model fails to explain why our universe is such a relatively uniform temperature just 13.8 billion years later.
Niayesh Afshordi, an astrophysicist with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada, who co-wrote the new study, says that the limitations are troubling for all cosmologists an theoretical physicists.
"For all physicists know, dragons could have come flying out of the singularity," he said in a statement, according to Phys.org.
His new model tries to get around some of those problems, by thinking about its earlier moments in a new way.
What he and his team propose is a three-dimensional universe, which is 'floating' as a membrane in an outer universe with four dimensions. In this universe, four-dimensional stars would be born and die, forming black holes in a similar way to the stars we know today.
Such a 4D black hole would have an event horizon - the point where even light is unable to escape from its gravitational pull. But while in our universe the event horizon on a 3D black hole appears two dimensional, in a 4D universe it would look 3D - a hypersphere.
The idea is essentially that these 3D leftovers would then expand - forming our universe.
Yes, it's tricky stuff to comprehend. And as expected, there are limitations - not least the latest evidence from the Planck survey of the early universe, which suggests there are temperature fluctuations in background radiation that you might expect to see after a big-bang style event.
But still, it's interesting and worthwhile to think about new ways in which we might have come to exist. It's all theoretical, but it's all worthwhile too.
Head over to Phys.org for more details about the theory. If you're prepared to tackle the paper itself - and have a PhD in theoretical physics - you can do that too. | <urn:uuid:5a8c00cb-6dc8-4e3e-a2bb-dfb624e76d33> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/09/20/goodbye-big-bang-theory-_n_3960371.html?ir=Technology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396949.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00038-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968627 | 547 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Is obesity a choice or a disease? Can it be both? Proponents of designating obesity as a disease say that it is a result of genetics and biological factors. On top of that, some diseases cause obesity.
But, opponents say that obesity is not a disease because it is the result of a person’s environment, lifestyle and eating habits.
Disease or not, one thing is sure: obesity is an epidemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there were 72 million obese people in the United States, and 34.3 percent of adults considered obese.
Did you know there are eight things you can do to prevent heart disease? Even better, they all support each other. You do one, and it helps you in doing another one. Check out the top eight behaviors that help prevent heart disease below.
1. Eat a healthy diet. Choosing healthful meal and snack options can help you avoid heart disease and its complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber can help prevent high blood cholesterol. Limiting salt or sodium in your diet can also lower your blood pressure.
2. Manage a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for heart disease. To determine whether your weight is in a healthy range, doctors often calculate your body mass index (BMI). Calculate yours here with our free BMI calculator. (more…)
February is American Heart Month. It’s a time to bring awareness to heart disease and stroke, the number one killer in the United States, so you and the people you love don’t become a statistic. This month is particularly personal for me, as my mom has heart disease. She had quadruple bypass surgery one year ago this month. If you know someone who would benefit from this information on preventing heart disease, please share it. I’m posting five articles on simple things everyone can do to keep their heart healthy and strong.
Lose Weight, Gain a Healthy Heart
You might wonder why weight loss is important in preventing heart disease. Controlling your weight helps you control heart disease risk factors: blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Even if you don’t have these heart disease risk factors now, you could develop them at any time. (more…)
February is American Heart Month. It’s a time to bring awareness to heart disease and stroke, the number one killer in the United States, so you and the people you love don’t become a statistic. This month is particularly personal for me, as my mom has heart disease. She had quadruple bypass surgery one year ago this month. If you know someone who would benefit from this information on preventing heart disease, please share it.
Five Foods That Will Save Your Heart
One way to prevent heart disease is to eat healthy. In this post, I’ll highlight five different foods that can save your heart – literally. These are not the only five foods that protect your heart, but they stand out as star performers in my book.
1. Garlic: Known as “the stinking rose,” this herb does not stink when it comes to heart health. Numerous studies have demonstrated potential benefits of regular garlic consumption on blood pressure, platelet aggregation, serum triglyceride level, and cholesterol levels – all of which keep your ticker ticking. The other thing I like about garlic is that it can be used to season food so you can cut back (way back) on the salt. (more…)
Well, another year has vanished into thin air, and it’s time for everyone to start talking about their New Year’s resolutions. While resolutions are often difficult to fulfill, it’s the early days of 2010 when you will have the most enthusiasm for your goals.
If you are considering getting fit as a resolution, try attacking it from a different angle, with a corporate wellness program. If your company does not participate in a wellness program, maybe part of your New Year’s resolution can be to lobby your human resources department to consider one. (more…) | <urn:uuid:fd151671-f102-4ee5-baca-c927c8632f87> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/tag/disease/page/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00088-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945137 | 856 | 3.25 | 3 |
The Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technology) magazine in its April 2003 issue and the Hurriyet Bilim (Hurriyet Science) magazine on the 5th of April 2003 reported a research project published in the Science magazine on the 21st of March 2003. Both, Hurriyet Bilim (Hurriyet Science) and Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technology), took it upon themselves to defend Darwinism again and did so by storytelling as usual, difference being that in these articles they enriched an old tale considerably. The Darwinists looked once more at the DNA of some creatures and interpreted them as they wanted to understand them, thereby creating new tales. This time they enriched them even further to create the tale of the evolution of the beetles.
But neither “science” magazines published research results were based on anything but the power of imagination, though they reported them as if they were “science-facts”.
The article titled “The Different Ancestors Of The Beetles” in the Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technology) magazine began with the following sentence: “It has been revealed that even though all species of beetles have fundamental similarities, they did not evolve from a common ancestor but are the descendents of different species.”
Someone reading this could be misled to believe that scientists made a new discovery whereby they proved the “evolution of beetles.” Even if the reader was not misled by this, it is clear that the self-confident style of Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technology) intended this by relating the story in an absolute and definite manner.
Hurriyet Bilim (Hurriyet Science) clearly took the same view as its title revealed: “Beetles Left The Seas For Land In Two Separate Eras.”
The research conducted by Francesco Nardi and his colleagues from the Siena University in Italy claimed, contrary to the existing view of all beetles having a common ancestry, that they evolved in separate eras in two distinct branches and became land dwellers at different times. They claim that one group of hexapods (six feeters) evolved much earlier than the rest from the crustaceans (hard-shelled sea dwellers). Nardi and his colleagues claim also that the three body sections, six feet, eye and leg design and other common features of beetles is not the consequence of a common ancestry but because of the need to adapt to the same living environment.
The few bold words here sum up in reality a tale of enormous proportions by the name of “Convergent Evolution”. Evolutionists, when they cannot classify creatures despite their common characteristics under one ancestor, resort to the claim that these evolved by what they term “convergent evolution”, according which, if we take an example from the above tale, beetles descending from separate ancestors, can have a similar body design after hundreds of millions of years of evolution. Similar environmental condition, they say, can cause for two distinct species of beetles to evolve to resemble each other. A certain species of beetle can, by the so-called “coincidental” mutations, “concurrently” develop, with another distinct species of beetle by the same coincidental mutations and in parallel processes, into beetles with striking similarities.
Even if we disregard the damaging effects of mutations, the possibility of this happening is next to nothing. In fact, the possibility of this happening is smaller than the possibility of two pairs of dice being rolled in two separate corners of the world, millions of times, yielding the same numbers each time in the same sequence. Nevertheless, evolutionists believe in this impossibility.
The dogma defended by the Science magazine and consequently Hurriyet Bilim (Hurriyet Science) and Bilim ve Teknik (Science and Technology) magazines, or better, the tale they believe, are evident. There is no other reason than their commitment to Darwinism for them to present these tall tales as if they were scientific facts. Their blind devotion to Darwinism led them to present this claim as if it was the final word on the subject even though the original source stated that it was subject to criticism. Another science magazine, Nature, despite its evolutionary credentials, acknowledged that Nardi’s claims are arguable and printed these words by Cyrille D’Haese:
“I really don’t buy it.”
As seen, both magazines defend a chain of impossibilities in the name of Darwinism and relate to their readership, views much disputed even among evolutionist, as if they were scientific facts. Our advise to both magazines, if they want to persist in defending evolution, is for them to cease to present efforts trying to establish imaginary links between species, as evidence for evolution and instead, to try to explain how a little beetle could evolve by coincidental mutations. If they can manage to bring forth a solid thesis in this regard, they will have assisted the claims made by the evolution theory, because, thus far, it has not even once been observed that coincidental mutations have added to the DNA’s data, thereby improving or benefiting it. If they wish to rescue the evolution theory from its appearance of a story resting on shaky grounds, even though this is impossible, they should at least try to do that once, although irrespective of how hard they try, they would not be succeeding.
God says in the Qur’an about the deniers:
""Say: “Can any of your partner-gods bring creation out of nothing and then regenerate it?” Say: “God brings creation out of nothing and then regenerates it. So how have you been perverted?"" (Qur’an, 10: 34) | <urn:uuid:a42e834a-8450-4acc-945c-190e0f68cf4a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.darwinism-watch.com/index.php?git=makale&makale_id=147910 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00029-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965309 | 1,187 | 3.078125 | 3 |
ESA promotes technology to make our skies safer
The European Space Agency and a consortium of European companies led by Alcatel of France are embarking on a satellite project worth 4.5 million Euro that will help bring advanced safety communications to our congested skies.
The Satellite Data Link System (SDLS) is a satellite-based radio communication system, which under feasibility studies operating since 1994, has proved itself as a reliable and viable complement to existing terrestrial systems. It is now under further development with practical demonstrations planned for the second half of 2002.
The rapid increase of air traffic over the last ten years has highlighted the need for improved communications and put 'safety critical' procedures at the top of the agenda. The new system, which can use both data and voice transmission, and links cockpit crews in the air and Air Traffic Management (ATM) on the ground, is dedicated to safer air/ground communications.
To meet the future capacity for both air/ground data and voice communication in high-density airspace, such as Western Europe, measures are already being implemented to increase the capacity of the terrestrial VHF systems. However, with high growth forecasts in already dense areas of traffic, these measures alone will not be sufficient.
"The development of a communications system using satellite technology is a very attractive proposition since it also provides a service in areas where terrestrial systems cannot be deployed," said ESA's SDLS Project Manager, Claude Loisy.
"Alongside emerging satellite navigation systems, SDLS will contribute to much better accuracy in aircraft position monitoring, allowing greater numbers of aircraft to safely occupy a given segment of airspace at any one time," he added.
The first demonstration phase will be performed with prototype aircraft equipment located on the ground. During a second phase - already in the planning stage - the demonstration will be extended to airborne traffic, including commercial airliners.
The existing Aeronautical Mobile Satellite System (AMSS) is rarely used for communications related to Air Traffic Management and only in oceanic airspace.
"With this new system we want to prove that a 'second generation' satellite system can meet the stringent requirements of the ATM's 'safety of life critical functions'," said Claude Loisy.
SDLS is designed to demonstrate technical performances to a standard necessary to meet communication requirements of future ATM systems and, more specifically, Air Traffic Services (ATS) applications, as currently specified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
To be successful, the proposed system will also have to meet the rigorous specifications of the ICAO on safety as well as being affordable to the air transport industry. | <urn:uuid:923516e0-c200-48a7-b181-64f152ef16bc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Welcome_to_ESA/ESA_promotes_technology_to_make_our_skies_safer/(print) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938857 | 524 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Anyone who isn’t being nagged enough about how to eat right can sign up for a daily email from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is offering daily tips on how to eat better.
USDA’s “MyPlate” website is where the government’s nutrition guide is housed. It was launched in 2011, with the help of First Lady Michelle Obama, and notably replaced USDA’s traditional food pyramid with something closer to a pie chart (although there is no room for pie on the chart).
MyPlate also lets people sign up for a daily email that offers such advice as:
“Flavored waters or vitamin waters may have added sweeteners. Be sure to read the nutrition facts label on these beverages.”
“Working on portion control? Try using smaller plates. That way you feel like you’re eating a whole plate without overindulging.”
“When cooking meat or chicken at home, keep it lean by draining off any fat that appears during cooking.”
Like any good parent, MyPlate doesn’t stop just because it’s the weekend. On Saturday, MyPlate emailed:
“Adjust your recipes to cut back on total calories and empty calories. Experiment by reducing the amount of butter, margarine, and sugars you add.”
And on Sunday, MyPlate offered this:
“Be mindful to eat slowly, enjoy the taste and textures, and pay attention to how you feel. Use hunger and fullness cues to recognize when to eat and when you’ve had enough.”
Most emails include a link to more detailed food advice from USDA. Sunday’s email linked to a page offering 10 tips on how to “enjoy your food, but eat less.”
Those tips included “get to know the foods you eat,” and “make treats ‘treats,’ not everyday foods.”
According to the MyPlate website, the service provides “practical information to individuals, health professionals, nutrition educators, and the food industry to help consumers build healthier diets with resources and tools for dietary assessment, nutrition education, and other user-friendly nutrition information. As Americans are experiencing epidemic rates of overweight and obesity, the online resources and tools can empower people to make healthier food choices for themselves, their families, and their children.”
A Spanish-language version of the site, MiPlato, was also launched in 2011. | <urn:uuid:a6703eaa-578d-4a56-81a8-dd5b537759bc> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2014/08/25/daily-government-emails-teach-people-how-to-eat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00133-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940581 | 530 | 2.625 | 3 |
Cancer researchers led by stem cell scientist Dr. John Dick have discovered a pre-leukemic stem cell that may be the first step in initiating disease and also the culprit that evades therapy and triggers relapse in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The research, published online in Nature is a significant leap in understanding the steps that a normal cell has to go through as it turns into AML, says Dr. Dick, and sets the stage to advance personalized cancer medicine by potentially identifying individuals who might benefit from targeting the pre-leukemic stem cell. AML is an aggressive blood cancer that the new research shows starts in stem cells in the bone marrow. Dr. Dick, a Senior Scientist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network (UHN), and Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, pioneered the cancer stem cell field by first identifying leukemia stem cells (1994) and colon cancer stem cells (2007).
"Our discovery lays the groundwork to detect and target the pre-leukemic stem cell and thereby potentially stop the disease at a very early stage when it may be more amenable to treatment," says Dr. Dick, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology and is also Director of the Cancer Stem Cell Program at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR).
"Now we have a potential tool for earlier diagnosis that may allow early intervention before the development of full AML. We can also monitor remission and initiate therapy to target the pre-leukemic stem cell to prevent relapse," he says.
The findings show that in about 25% of AML patients, a mutation in the gene DNMT3a causes pre-leukemic stem cells to develop that function like normal blood stem cells but grow abnormally. These cells survive chemotherapy and can be found in the bone marrow at remission, forming a reservoir of cells that may eventually acquire additional mutations, leading to relapse.
The discovery of pre-leukemic stem cells came out of a large Leukemia Disease Team that Dr. Dick assembled and included oncologists who collected samples for the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Biobank and genome scientists at the OICR who developed sophisticated targeted sequencing methodology. With this team, it was possible to carry out genomic analysis of more than 100 leukemia genes on many patient samples. The findings also capitalized on data from more than six years of experiments in Dr. Dick's lab involving growing human AML in special mice that do not reject human cells.
"By peering into the black box of how cancer develops during the months and years prior to when it is first diagnosed, we have demonstrated a unique finding. People tend to think relapse after remission means chemotherapy didn't kill all the cancer cells. Our study suggests that in some cases the chemotherapy does, in fact, eradicate AML; what it does not touch are the pre-leukemic stem cells that can trigger another round of AML development and ultimately disease relapse," says Dr. Dick, who anticipates the findings will spawn accelerated drug development to specifically target DNMT3a.
These findings should also provide impetus for researchers to look for pre-cancerous cells in AML patients with other mutations and even in non-blood cancers.
Dr. Dick is also renowned for isolating a human blood stem cell in its purest form (2011) - as a single stem cell capable of regenerating the entire blood system. He is a Senior Scientist at UHN's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and co-leader of a Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC)-funded research project HALT (Highly Active Anti-Leukemia Stem Cell Therapy), which is a partnership between CSCC and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Dick's research has focused on understanding the cellular processes that maintain tumour growth by investigating the complexities and interplay among genetic and non-genetic determinants of cancer. His research follows on the original 1961 discovery of the blood stem cell by Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (formerly Ontario Cancer Institute) scientists Dr. James Till and the late Dr. Ernest McCulloch, which formed the basis of all current stem cell research. | <urn:uuid:a3fa320f-8983-44b3-88bb-b4471a398695> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/272595.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939059 | 862 | 2.78125 | 3 |
INTRODUCTION TO EMBEDDED SYSTEMS: INTRODUCTION TO EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Dr. Y. NARASIMHA MURTHY Ph.D Reader & Head, Department of Physics & Electronics Sri Sai Baba National College (Autonomous) ANANTAPUR – 515 001 ( A.P.) email@example.com “Suklambaradaram Vishnum Sasivarnam Chatrubhujam Prasanna Vadanam, Dhyaee Sarva Vignopa Santaye" : “Suklambaradaram Vishnum Sasivarnam Chatrubhujam Prasanna Vadanam, Dhyaee Sarva Vignopa Santaye" Organisation of the Presentation: Organisation of the Presentation Introduction-What is an embedded system Significance Why a microcontroller? Micro processor Vs Micro controller What is inside an Embedded system? Archtecture of an Embedded system Slide 4: Features Classification of Embedded systems Languages Communication interfaces Types of microcontrollers Recent trends in the field Design –case study Slide 5: Embedded C softwares Vendors who supply Books Website references Conclusion What is an Embedded system?: What is an Embedded system? An embedded system is one that has computer hardware with software embedded in it as one of its components. Or We can define an embedded system as “A microprocessor based system that does not look like a computer”. Or we can say that it is “A combination of computer hardware and software, and perhaps additional mechanical or other parts, designed to perform a dedicated function. In some cases, embedded systems are part of a larger system or product, as is the case of an antilock braking system in a car ”. Slide 7: An embedded system is a special-purpose computer system designed to perform certain dedicated functions. It is usually embedded as part of a complete device including hardware and mechanical parts. (Wikipedia) Significance: Significance Due to their compact size, low cost and simple design aspects embedded systems are very popular and encroached into human lives and have become indispensable. They are found everywhere from kitchen ware to space craft. To emphasize this idea here are some illustrations. Embedded systems everywhere!: Embedded systems everywhere! Embedded systems span all aspects of modern life and there are many examples of their use. a) Biomedical Instrumentation – ECG Recorder, Blood cell recorder, patient monitor system b) Communication systems – pagers, cellular phones, cable TV terminals, fax and transreceivers, video games and so on. c) Peripheral controllers of a computer – Keyboard controller, DRAM controller, DMA controller, Printer controller, LAN controller, disk drive controller. Slide 10: d) Industrial Instrumentation – Process controller, DC motor controller, robotic systems, CNC machine controller, close loop engine controller, industrial moisture recorder cum controller . e) Scientific – digital storage system, CRT display controller, spectrum analyser. Were the embedded systems existing earlier ?: Were the embedded systems existing earlier ? Yes / No, We have been enjoying the grace of embedded system quite a long time. But they were not so popular because in those days most of the systems were designed around a microprocessor unlike today’s systems which were built around a microcontroller. As we know a microprocessor by itself do not possess any memory, ports etc… So, everything must be connected externally by using peripherals like 8255, 8257, 8259 etc. So the embedded system designed using microprocessor was not only complicated in design but also large in size. At the same time the speed of a microprocessor is also a Limitation for high end applications. Why a microcontroller ?: Why a microcontroller ? A microcontroller is a single silicon chip with memory and all Input/Output peripherals on it. Hence a microcontroller is also popularly known as a single chip computer. Normally, a single microcomputer has the following features : Arithmetic and logic unit Memory for storing program EEPROM for nonvolatile data storage RAM for storing variables and special function registers Input/output ports Slide 13: Timers and counters Analog to digital converter Circuits for reset, power up, serial programming, debugging Instruction decoder and a timing and control unit Serial communication port Slide 14: So, its no wonder to say that the microcontroller is the most sought after device for designing an efficient embedded system. Microprocessor Vs Microcontroller: Microprocessor Vs Microcontroller What is inside an embedded system ?: What is inside an embedded system ? Every embedded system consists of custom-built hardware built around a Central Processing Unit (CPU). This hardware also contains memory chips onto which the software is loaded. The software residing on the memory chip is also called the ‘firmware’. The operating system runs above the hardware, and the application software runs above the operating system. The same architecture is applicable to any computer including a desktop computer. However, there are significant differences. It is not compulsory to have an operating system in every embedded system. Slide 17: For small appliances such as remote control units, air-conditioners, toys etc., there is no need fir an operating system and we can write only the software specific to that application. For applications involving complex processing, it is advisable to have an operating system. In such a case, you need to integrate the application software with the operating system and then transfer the entire software on to the memory chip. Once the software is transferred to the memory chip, the software will continue to run for a long time and you don’t need to reload new software . The next slide shows the layered architecture of an embedded system. Slide 18: Layered architecture of an Embedded System Slide 19: Now let us see the details of the various building blocks of the hardware of an embedded system. Central Processing Unit (CPU) Memory (Read only memory and Random access memory) Input Devices Output Devices Communication interfaces Application specific circuitry This slide shows the Hardware architecture of an embedded system: This slide shows the Hardware architecture of an embedded system Features of an embedded system: Features of an embedded system Embedded systems do a very specific task, they cannot be programmed to do different things. Embedded systems have very limited resources, particularly the memory. Generally, they do not have secondary storage devices such as the CDROM or the floppy disk. Embedded systems have to work against some deadlines. A specific job has to be completed within a specific time. In some embedded systems, called real-time systems, the deadlines are stringent. Missing a dead line may cause a catastrophe – loss of life or damage to property. Slide 22: Embedded systems are constrained for power, As many embedded systems operate through a battery, the power consumption has to be very low. Embedded systems need to be highly reliable. Once in a while, pressing ALT-CTRL-DEL is OK on your desktop, but you cannot afford to reset your embedded system. Some embedded systems have to operate in extreme environmental conditions such as very high temperatures and humidity. Slide 23: Embedded systems that address the consumer market (for example electronic toys) are very cost-effective. Even a reduction of Rs.10 is lot of cost saving, because thousands or millions systems may be sold. Unlike desktop computers in which the hardware platform is dominated by Intel and the operating system is dominated by Microsoft, there is a wide variety of processors and operating systems for the embedded systems. So, choosing the right platform is the most complex task . Classification of Embedded Systems : Classification of Embedded Systems Based on functionality and performance requirements, embedded systems are classified as : Stand-alone Embedded Systems Real-time Embedded Systems Networked Information Appliances Mobile Devices Stand-alone Embedded Systems: Stand-alone Embedded Systems As the name implies, stand-alone systems work in stand- alone mode. They take inputs, process them and produce the desired output. The input can be electrical signals from transducers or commands from a human being such as the pressing of a button. The output can be electrical signals to drive another system, an LED display or LCD display for displaying of information to the users. Embedded systems used in process control, automobiles, consumer electronic items etc. fall into this category. Real-time Systems : Real-time Systems Embedded systems in which some specific work has to be done in a specific time period are called real-time systems. For example, consider a system that has to open a valve within 30 milliseconds when the humidity crosses a particular threshold. If the valve is not opened within 30 milliseconds, a catastrophe may occur. Such systems with strict deadlines are called hard real- time systems. Slide 27: In some embedded systems, deadlines are imposed, but not adhering to them once in a while may not lead to a catastrophe. For example, consider a DVD player. Suppose, you give a command to the DVD player from a remote control, and there is a delay of a few milliseconds in executing that command. But, this delay won’t lead to a serious implication. Such systems are called soft real-time systems . Slide 28: Hard Real-Time Embedded System Networked Information Appliances: Networked Information Appliances Embedded systems that are provided with network interfaces and accessed by networks such as Local Area Network or the Internet are called networked information appliances. Such embedded systems are connected to a network, typically a network running TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol suite, such as the Internet or a company’s Intranet. These systems have emerged in recent years. These systems run the protocol TCP/IP stack and get connected through PPP or Ethernet to an network and communicate with other nodes in the network. Slide 30: Here are some examples of such systems A networked process control system consists of a number of embedded systems connected as a local area network. Each embedded system can send real-time data to a central location from where the entire process control system can be monitored. The monitoring can be done using a web browser such as the Internet Explorer. A web camera can be connected to the Internet. The web camera can send pictures in real-time to any computer connected to the Internet. In such a case, the web camera has to run the HTTP server software in addition to the TCP/IP protocol stack. Slide 31: The door lock of your home can be a small embedded system with TCP/IP and HTTP server software running on it. When your children stand in front of the door lock after they return from school, the web camera in the door-lock will send an alert to your desktop over the Internet and then you can open the door-lock through a click of the mouse . Slide 32: This slide shows a weather monitoring system connected to the Internet. TCP/IP protocol suite and HTTP web server software will be running on this system. Any computer connected to the Internet can access this system to obtain real-time weather information. Slide 33: The networked information appliances need to run the complete TCP/IP protocol stack including the application layer protocols. If the appliance has to provide information over the Internet, HTTP web server software also needs to run on the system. Mobile Devices : Mobile Devices Mobile devices such as mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), smart phones etc. are a special category of embedded systems. Though the PDAs do many general purpose tasks, they need to be designed just like the ‘conventional’ embedded systems . Slide 35: The limitations of the mobile devices – memory constraints, small size, lack of good user interfaces such as full fledged keyboard and display etc. are same as those found in the embedded systems discussed above. Hence, mobile devices are considered as embedded systems. However, the PDAs are now capable of supporting general purpose application software such as word processors, games, etc. Languages for Programming Embedded Systems : Languages for Programming Embedded Systems Assembly language was the pioneer for programming embedded systems till recently. Nowadays there are many more languages to program these systems. Some of the languages are C, C++, Ada, Forth, and Java together with its new enhancement J2ME. The presence of tools to model the software in UML, SDL is sufficient to indicate the maturity of embedded software programming Slide 37: The majority of software for embedded systems is still done in C language. Recent survey indicates that approximately 45% of the embedded software is still being done in C language. C++ is also increasing its presence in embedded systems. As C++ is based on C language, thus providing programmer the object oriented methodologies to reap the benefits of such an approach. Slide 38: C is very close to assembly programming and it allows very easy access to underlying hardware. A huge number of high quality compilers and debugging tools are available for the C language. Though C++ is theoretically more efficient than C, but some of its compilers have bugs due to the huge size of the language. These compilers may cause a buggy execution. Slide 39: C language can definitely claim to have more mature compilers C++. Now in order to avail the extra benefits of C++ and plus to avoid buggy execution, experts are doing efforts to identify a subset of C++ that can be used in embedded systems and this subset is called Embedded C++ . Communication Interfaces : Communication Interfaces For embedded systems to interact with the external world, a number of communication interfaces are available. They are Serial Communication Interfaces (SCI): RS-232 , RS-422 , RS-485 etc Synchronous Serial Communication Interface: I2C , JTAG , SPI , SSC and ESSI Universal Serial Bus (USB) Slide 41: Networks: Ethernet , Controller Area Network , LonWorks , etc Timers: PLL (s), Capture/Compare and Time Processing Units Discrete IO: General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) Analog to Digital/Digital to Analog (ADC/DAC) Which is the best suited microcontroller for design of embedded system?: Which is the best suited microcontroller for design of embedded system? There is always a trade off between efficiency and power dissipation. To know this, let us review the various types of microcontrollers and their specifications and the vendors. Slide 44: From the previous slide we can find that the ARM processor is a strong option for better performance. But when we consider the power consumption, in the case of ARM it is around 400mW and the ATmega1031, AVR microcontroller consumes low power around 16.5mW, but provides low performance. Slide 45: But the Texas instruments MSP430 with wide range of operation modes consumes only 1.2mW with reasonably good performance. So it is always left to the designer to choose a suitable device according to the requirement. RECENT TRENDS :: RECENT TRENDS : Recently embedded systems are being designed on a single chip, called system on chip (SoC). SoC is a new design innovation for embedded systems. An embedded processor is a part of the SoC VLSI circuit Slide 47: A SoC is embedded with the following components : Multiple processors Memories Multiple standard source solutions (IP-Intellectual property) Cores and Other logic analog units A SoC may also have a network protocol embedded in to it. Slide 48: It may embed an encryption function unit. It can embed discrete cosine transforms for signal processing applications. It may also embed FPGA cores (Field programmable Gate Array) Recently exemplary GPPs called ARM 7, ARM 9 which embed onto a VLSI chip, have been developed by ARM & Texas Instruments. Design of an embedded system – a Case study: Design of an embedded system – a Case study To understand the design of a simple embedded system let us first consider the idea of a data acquisition system. The data acquisition system is shown in the next slide. Slide 50: Data acquisition system Slide 51: For example let me consider a simple case of temperature measurement embedded system. First we must select a temperature sensor like thermistor or AD590 or LM35 or LM335 or LM75 etc. After this the analog data is converted into digital data and at the same time proper signal conditioning is done. Slide 52: This digital input is fed to the microcontroller through its ports. By developing a suitable program (Embedded C or Assembly) the data is processed and controlled. For this purpose keil or Ride or IAR ARM Embedded workbench C compilers can be used. Slide 53: Once the program is debugged, and found error free it can be dumped into the microcontroller flash memory using ISP (Philips - Flash magic or any ISP). Now, your microcontroller chip acts as an embedded chip. Slide 54: For the sake of clarity I present the block diagram of a simple embedded system . Embedded C softwares: Embedded C softwares Keil μvision evaluation version can be downloaded from www.keil.com Embedded C compiler Ride can be downloaded Freely from www . raisonance .com Embedded IAR ARM Workbench can be downloaded from www. iar .com Slide 57: The various vendors who can supply the microcontroller kits : 1. Power systems, Chennai (www.powersoftsystems .com) 2. Vi-microsystems - Chennai ( www.vimicrosystems.com) 3. ESA systems- Bangalore ( www.esa india.com ) 4. SPJ Embedded Technologies Ltd. ( www.spjsystems.com ) 5. Advanced Electronic systems-Bangalore ( www. alsindia.net) 6. Front line electronics . ( www. frontline-electronics. Com) 7. Pantech solutions Pvt. Ltd, Chennai ( www.pantechsolutions.net ) 8. Everest infocom Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore (www.emblitz.com) Slide 58: Books that have helped me to understand the embedded systems : 1) Barr, Michael, Programming embedded sytems in C and C++ - OReilly Publishers 2) Raj Kamal, Embedded systems, TMG 3) Valvano, Introduction to Embedded microcomputer systems, Thomson Publishers 4) Mazidi and Mazidi, The 8051 microcontroller and embedded sytems - Pearson education 5) Peatman,J.B. Design with microcontrollers and microcomputers, McGraw Hill Slide 59: 6) Stewart. J.W. The 8051 Microcontroller Hardware, Software and Interfacing – Prentice Hall 7) Ayala Kenneth, The 8051 Microntroller – Architecture, Programming and Applications – Delmar Publ. 8) Ajay Deshmukh, Microcontrollers – TATA McGraw Hill 9) Rajkamal, Microcontrollers - Architecture, Programming – Pearson Publishers 10) Myke Predko, Programming the 8051 Microcontroller – McGraw Hill Slide 60: 11) Michael J. Pont, Embedded C - Addison Wesely Publ. 12) Steve Heath, Embedded system design – Heinemann Publ. 13) Frank Vahid, Embedded systems – a unified hardware/software Introduction – John Wiley and sons Publ. 14) Barnett Cox & O’cull, “Embedded C Programming & the Microchip PIC”, Thomson Delmar Learning. 15) Jean J. Labrosse, Embedded systems building blocks, CMP Books Slide 61: 16) K.V.K.K Prasad, Embedded/ Real –Time systems:Black book - Dreamtech Publishers 17) Dhananjay V.Gadre ,Programming and custamizing the AVR Micro controller – TMH 18) Mike James,Micro Controller cook book PIC &8051- Heinemann, Oxford Publishers 19) John B. Peatman, Design with PIC microcontrollers, Pearson education 20) Todd D. Morton, Embedded Microcontrollers, Pearson education Website References: Website References 1. http://www.eg3.com 2. http://www.ARM.MCU.com 3. http://www.mcjournal.com 4. http://www.iar.com 5. http://www.keil.com 6. http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/microcontrollers 7. http://www.embedded.com 8. http://www.powersoftsystems.com 9. www.macrovision.com/ newsletter s 10. www.planarembedded.com Slide 63: 11 . www.8051.org 12 . www.8051projects.net 13 . www.programmersheaven.com 14 . www.microcontrollershop.com 15 . www.sg.renesas.com 16 . www.ti.com 17 . www.microchip.com 18 . www.microchip.com/zigbee www.analog.com . www.national.com Concluding remarks: Concluding remarks There’s lots more to learn, but with these basics under your belt it’s just a small matter of gaining experience Good luck! | <urn:uuid:c4169b89-ac91-4c35-a8ee-87061b56936d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/yayavaram-960380-embedded-system/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00176-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.878443 | 4,347 | 3.234375 | 3 |
Betta Bees breeding programme manager Frans Laas prepares
to harvest the genetic material from a drone. Photo by Dan
Beekeepers are being warned to check the genetic
diversity of their stock following the first stage of a
nationwide survey that shows significant in-breeding.
The Sustainable Farming Fund project, administered by
University of Otago associate professor Peter Dearden, has
studied bees from all over New Zealand.
The early results show New Zealand's bee population was much
more diverse than previously thought but that many beekeepers
have serious issues with inbreeding.
''Beekeepers need to know about this problem and they need to
do something about it,'' Prof Dearden said.
The problem stems from the almost total loss of New Zealand's
feral bee population after 14 years of exposure to varroa
Prof Dearden said feral bees used to ensure a ''continuous''
pool of genetics right across the country, that naturally
found its way into managed hives.
Beekeepers could then improve their stock each year by
selecting their best queens or buying them from breeders.
Bee colonies were protected from inbreeding because queens
would bring feral genetics back into the mix every year.
Now, beekeepers who were not regularly introducing new
genetics into their hives could end up with too many worker
bees with the same sex genes (alleles).
Worker bees that have have two matching sex alleles are
killed by other workers when they hatch.
Prof Dearden said serious inbreeding could make a hive
unviable. He said the problem could be solved by simply
switching queen bee suppliers for a couple of years, buying
from a breeder who knew what sex alleles it had in its queens
or bringing in hives from another beekeeper.
One of the country's main breeders - Betta Bees in Dunedin -
supplies its 25 beekeeper shareholders and others with
specially bred queens each year.
General manager David McMillan said they were trying to breed
beneficial traits into their bees, including honey
production, temperament, and varroa and disease resistance.
The firm selected the best 25 queens each year and all were
DNA-tested to ensure they did not lose any sex alleles. Prof
Dearden said New Zealand's bee population had at least 112
sex alleles, which was more than enough to ensure a healthy
He encouraged more beekeepers to get in touch and send their
bees in to be tested.
''The more samples we look at, the better the [survey]
results are going to be.''
It was the first time such a survey had been done in New
Zealand; it was possible because of a breakthrough in 2006
when the honey bee genome was sequenced. Prof Dearden said it
was not just small operators who were experiencing problems.
''Some of these operations are relatively big ones so they
really are the major beekeepers in a geographic region.''
- by Dan Hutchinson | <urn:uuid:2a13531a-5707-4cce-8f2a-5958ebc3976c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.odt.co.nz/news/farming/294844/wild-bee-loss-bad-breed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00123-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961354 | 630 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Episode 2: Diet and Nutrition
NB: This programme was only available for 21 days and has now expired.
Asthma is a condition that affects the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. The tubes become oversensitive. Anyone can get it and no one knows what causes it.
It is very common, 470,000 people in Ireland have it. The usual symptoms are difficulty in breathing, a tight feeling in the chest, wheezing, coughing.
It can be brought on by colds, exercise, change of temperature, dust or irritants in the air or by an allergy.
For more details on managing this condition contact your General Practitioner or The Asthma Society of Ireland, www.asthmasociety.ie
Information supplied by:
Dr. Tadhg O'Sullivan
Sports Physician and General Practitioner. Team doctor to the Munster Rugby team with a practice based in Cork city. | <urn:uuid:ec0719be-1341-48f0-b7da-24e6c1611cf4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rte.ie/tv/babyonboard/s2_episode2_asthma.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00030-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935765 | 196 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Archaeology is unique among the sciences. It has a wide popular following
and addresses a body of knowledge - the material record of the past -
that attracts the interests of often fiercely antagonistic groups: collectors
and museums, on the one hand; archaeologists and anthropologists, on the
other, with art historians somewhere in the middle, and, of course, the
many other permutations that arise. However, all these groups share an
interest in the material record of human development that archaeology
provides and interprets.
Since the 1980s, Chinese archaeologists have made many discoveries that
call for a re-write of some chapters of Chinese prehistory, history and
art history. Obligated by law to excavate sites that are threatened
by construction projects or have been disturbed by tomb robbers, China's thousands of professional
and semi-professional archaeologists have a massive task meeting the demands
placed on the profession.
Archaeology has long been significant in China, the world's oldest continuous
nation, in which there has long been a traditional reverence for the past.
The 1990s saw a re-emergence of heritage concerns in China and the first
steps in the direction of an emerging public archaeological consciousness. | <urn:uuid:32f2c281-d93e-432b-bbba-8f0ecb5806c7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chinaarchaeology.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94666 | 255 | 2.578125 | 3 |
MILITARY ANTIQUITIES—LE VIEUX CHATEAU—ORIGINAL PALACE OF THE NORMAN DUKES—HALLES OF ROUEN—MIRACLE AND PRIVILEGE OF ST. ROMAIN—CHATEAU DU VIEUX PALAIS—PETIT CHATEAU—FORT ON MONT STE. CATHERINE—PRIORY THERE—CHAPEL OF ST. MICHAEL—DEVOTEE.
(Rouen, June, 1818)
My researches in this city after the remains of architectural antiquity of the earlier Norman aera, have hitherto, I own, been attended with little success. I may even go so far as to say, that I have seen nothing in the circular style, for which it would not be easy to find a parallel in most of the large towns in England. On the other hand, the perfection and beauty of the specimens of the pointed style, have equally surprised and delighted me. I will endeavor, however, to take each object in its order, premising that I have been materially assisted in my investigations by M. Le Prevost and M. Rondeau, but especially by the former, one of the most learned antiquaries of Normandy.
Of the fortifications and castellated buildings in Rouen very little indeed is left, and that little is altogether insignificant; being confined to some fragments of the walls scattered here and there, and to three circular towers of the plainest construction, the remains of the old castle, built by Philip Augustus in 1204, near to the Porte Bouvreuil, and hence commonly known by the name of the Chateau de Bouvreuil or le Vieux Chateau.—It is to the leading part which this city has acted in the history of France, that we must attribute the repeated erection and demolition of its fortifications.
An important event was commemorated by the erection of the old castle, it having been built upon the final annexation of Normandy to the crown of France, in consequence of the weakness of our ill-starred monarch,—John Lackland. The French King seems to have suspected that the citizens retained their fealty to their former sovereign. He intended that his fortress should command and bridle the city, instead of defending it. The town-walls were razed, and the Vieille Tour, the ancient palace of the Norman Dukes, levelled with the ground.—But, as the poet says of language, so it is with castles,—
Nec castellorum stet honos et gratia vivax;”
and, in 1590, the fortress raised by Philip Augustus experienced the fate of its predecessors; it was then ruined and dismantled, and the portion which was allowed to stand, was degraded into a jail. Now the three towers just mentioned are alone remaining, and these would attract little notice, were it not that one of them bears the name of the Tour de la Pucelle, as having been, in 1430, the place of confinement of the unfortunate Joan of Arc, when she was captured before Compiegne and brought prisoner to Rouen. | <urn:uuid:9f391883-e1e7-4ad6-a45a-e5c771353426> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/12537/59.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966706 | 652 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Classic Review: Ulysses by James Joyce
All Library locations will be closed on Monday, July 4, for Independence Day.
In honor of Bloomsday on June 16, the day Irish lit fans celebrate the novel Ulysses, our classics expert Bernie revisits James Joyce’s novel to determine what makes it so worthy of celebration.
When James Joyce published his novel Ulysses in 1922 (it had appeared in serialized form in the years 1918-1920), he sparked a great controversy.
The work was initially banned in England and in the United States for “obscenity,” though that designation was struck down in the courts of the United States (United States v. One Book Called Ulysses, decided for the defendant in 1933, and affirmed on appeal in 1934) and the work was allowed to be published and distributed.
In the time since its general release, the work has quickly risen in the estimation of scholars and adventurous general readers to its status as one of the greatest (some would say the greatest) novels of the 20th c.
The work, as its title indicates, is inspired by Homer’s Odyssey (Ulysses is the Latin name for the protagonist Odysseus). Joyce’s hero is not Homer’s intrepid explorer, however, but Leopold Bloom, a Jewish Dubliner, who makes his living by getting ad space in the various Dublin newspapers for his clients (“What’s a home without Plumtree’s Potted Meat? Incomplete.”)
Instead of traveling all over the Mediterranean and beyond, as Homer’s hero does over the course of 10 years in his attempt to get home, Bloom travels through the city of Dublin over the course of a single day: June 16, 1904.
Where Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, remained faithful to her husband for 20 years, Bloom’s wife, Molly, a soprano performing popular songs and operatic arias in music halls around Ireland, is having an ongoing affair with her manager, Blazes Boylan, including a rendez-vous that afternoon.
And where Odysseus has a son who joined him in a heroic battle to regain his kingdom, Bloom’s only son, Rudy, died soon after childbirth, a matter of great sorrow for him and something that has put a strain on his marriage.
Serving as a surrogate son is Stephen Daedalus, a young man trained by the Jesuits and a teacher of Classics in Dublin. Daedalus was the hero of Joyce’s semi-autobiographical novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. In Ulysses, Stephen’s dissatisfaction with his situation and with Ireland’s parochial outlook leads him to decide to leave, just as Joyce himself did in 1904.
Speaking of travel, the book is a very detailed travelogue of Dublin in 1904, and if you go to Dublin you can take a tour, visiting the various sites mentioned. If you visit Dublin on, or around Bloomsday – which Joyceans around the world celebrate every 16th of June – you won’t be able to escape from such tours amidst all the festivities.
But the book does provide all sorts of travel – Bloom, Molly and Stephen spend a lot of the book thinking about the past, about loved ones, about language and literature, and these reflections are presented in stream-of-consciousness, a jumble of associations, much as thoughts often are.
When Molly encounters the word “metempsychosis” in a graphic romantic novel, she asks Bloom what the word means (“transmigration of the soul” or “reincarnation”). Throughout the book, the word recurs and when Bloom thinks of it, his thoughts bounce from thoughts about his dead son, about Molly’s salacious taste in literature, about his own epistolary romance, even about advertising jingles. So where the external travel of the book is minimal (Molly never leaves their flat at 7 Eccles St.), the internal travel in the mind of characters encompasses life, death, philosophy and graphic romance novels.
So what makes this such a classic and such a fascinating work? Well, when I reviewied Homer’s Odyssey, I maintained that Homer, more than simply telling Odysseus’ story, was demonstrating the power of story itself, and the power of the spoken word. In the case of Ulysses, Joyce is doing more than telling the story of one day in the life of an ordinary (and somewhat underachieving) man. He is presenting us with all sorts of ways of thinking (in an episode called “Proteus,” we see Stephen thinking of all sorts of things – his life, his academic work, the world beyond Dublin, and even on death and beyond); ways of categorizing information and analyzing the world around us (in an episode called “Ithaca,” the discussion of Bloom and Stephen at Bloom’s home is recast as a “catechism” or FAQ, and deals with high philosophy but also with the urinating force and trajectory of the two men as they pee in the garden); and with the whole majesty of language and literary style (in an episode called “Oxen of the Sun” the account of Bloom, Stephen and Buck Mulligan having a royal drunk is told in a variety of English styles, from an Anglo-Saxon directness, to the flights of fancy of Medieval English to the measured and reasonable prose of 18th and 19th c. essayists to a crazy and invented slang).
So in this one day, in this one place, we have a prism through which we get a glimpse of much of human knowledge (at least as viewed in the West) and of much of the nature of language (what it can and cannot express), and, in the final section, an extended internal monolog by Molly Bloom, a glimpse into the nature of the human heart, with all its foibles and mysteries.
So, this Bloomsday, do yourself a favor. Find yourself a quiet spot, have yourself a pint (of Guinness, ideally; or some soft drink, if you are not yet 21), and read a section from this work. Or find a group of people and take turns reading the work aloud. In fact, the Irish Center of Kansas City at Union Station is doing this very thing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, along with other festivities.
Or listen to a recording of the work – Joyce is so much better aloud than silent! The one done by Donal Donnelly and Miriam Healy-Louie is excellent. Don’t worry about taking on the whole work – just a section – and one day, you’ll know that you’re ready, and in you’ll plunge. Happy Bloomsday, all! | <urn:uuid:d180d75e-aa92-4db2-8454-82dd8a4b81b4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/kc-unbound/classic-review-ulysses-james-joyce | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00198-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963792 | 1,456 | 2.921875 | 3 |
No one disputes that cell phones emit radiation that can be absorbed by human tissue. But that doesn't mean we know that cellphones cause cancer.
Cell phones emit "non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation" (the kind that comes from microwaves), not "ionizing radiation" (the kind that comes from X-rays). And it turns out that's an important difference.
"Exposure to ionizing radiation, such as from radiation therapy, is known to increase the risk of cancer," the National Cancer Institute explains, although even there, the dose matters a lot. "However, although many studies have examined the potential health effects of non-ionizing radiation from radar, microwave ovens, and other sources, there is currently no consistent evidence that non-ionizing radiation increases cancer risk."
Non-ionizing radiation also does not cause DNA damage, something that's usually considered a necessary trigger for cancer.
While people spend much more time with their cell phones than their microwaves, it's still hard to get a good idea of the dose of non-ionizing radiation we get from them. The amount of radiation absorbed by individuals will vary depending on the kind of phones they have and how they use them.
A lot of uncertainty also comes from improved cell phone technology and increased usage over the years — the research just can't keep up.
The Research So Far
"Studies thus far have not shown a consistent link between cell phone use and cancers of the brain, nerves, or other tissues of the head or neck," the National Cancer Institute notes on their website. But their fact sheet addressing the topic is not conclusive for the reasons above.
Since proximity is so important in radiation exposure, most research has looked for links between cell phones and brain cancer specifically, which only represents 2% of all cancers.
Between 2006 and 2010, there were 6.5 cases of brain cancer per 100,000 people, though rates are significantly higher in those over 65 (19.4 per 100,000). Since the risk is so small, even if researchers were to find conclusively that cell phones double that risk — something they certainly have not shown — the risk of brain cancer would still be much smaller than that for other more common cancers.
For anyone curious about the thick stack of research on whether cell phones cause cancer, the National Cancer Institute provides an excellent walk-through. (Results have been mixed, nothing has shown a causal link, and more research is needed, they conclude.) Other organizations have weighed in as well.
The World Health Organization, in 2011, concluded that the radiation emitted by cell phones was "possibly carcinogenic to humans" based on evidence they describe as "limited." This "2B" classification, "possibly carcinogenic to humans," is the same risk level WHO ascribes to coffee and pickled vegetables.
More recent research, however, suggests that if anyone is at risk, it would be the heaviest cell phone users, not those who use their phones with moderation.
While the research has been inconclusive so far, scientists are working to figure out if there is a link between cancer and cell phone use — or if such a link can be ruled out.
One study in the U.K., known as COSMOS, began in 2010 and will follow 290,000 cell phone users for 20-30 years. Researchers will have access to participants' phone records, which should give a much more reliable picture of usage than previous studies, which relied largely on people's recollections of their cell phone usage from many years ago.
Such ongoing research will be crucial.
"It often takes many years between the use of a new cancer-causing agent — such as tobacco — and the observation of an increase in cancer rates," Dr. John Moynihan, of the Mayo Clinic, points out. "At this point, it's possible that too little time has passed to detect an increase in cancer rates directly attributable to cellphone use."
In the meantime, people concerned about the potential but as yet wholly unknown risks from cell phones can minimize usage, text instead of call, use a headset, and keep a distance from the phone as much as possible . | <urn:uuid:adcf0965-423d-46f5-b6b3-107b6de7abf9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.businessinsider.com/do-cell-phones-cause-cancer-2014-7 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397842.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00087-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969923 | 850 | 3.671875 | 4 |
to say or write something using only a few words, especially because there is little time:
I'll be brief; a lot of changes are going to happen.
4clothes which are brief are short and cover only a small area of your body:
a very brief bikini
WORD FOCUS: short WORD FOCUS: short speech/piece of writing:brief, concise, condensed, abridged person:not very tall, little, tiny, petite time/event:brief, quick, momentary, fleeting, ephemeral, transient, passing, short-lived legs/fingers:stumpy, stubby clothes:skimpy ➔ See alsoshort
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Advanced Learner's Dictionary. | <urn:uuid:b5124034-30f1-4e24-95d5-bc7e38ffd587> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/brief_1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00041-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.888444 | 164 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Projects & Facilities
About The Database
Programs & Activities
of the Interior
The Seedskadee Project, a participating project of the Colorado River Storage Project, is in the Upper Green River Basin in southwestern Wyoming. It provides storage and regulation of the flows of the Green River for power generation, municipal and industrial use, fish and wildlife, and recreation. The basin contains vast mineral resources of coal, trona, oil and gas, and shale that provide the basis for extensive existing and potential industrial development. Towns in the area are Rock Springs, Green River, and Kemmerer.
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Principal features of the project are the Fontenelle Dam, Powerplant, and Reservoir. The reservoir is operated for municipal and industrial water use, power production, flood control, and downstream fishery and wildlife refuge.
The Fontenelle Dam is located on the Green River 24 miles southeast of La Barge, Wyoming. A zoned earthfill structure, the dam is 139 feet high with a crest length of 5,421 feet, and a volume of 5,265,000 cubic yards of material. The spillway consists of an uncontrolled crest, open chute, and stilling basin with a design capacity of 20,200 cubic feet per second. Fontenelle Powerplant is located adjacent to the toe of the dam, with the power penstock branching from the river outlet works. The powerplant consists of one 10,000-kilowatt generator and one 16,000-horsepower hydraulic turbine.
The reservoir has an active capacity of 150,500 acre-feet and a total capacity of 345,360 acre-feet, with a surface area of 8,058 acres. The lake is 20 miles in length when full, and has a shoreline of approximately 56 miles.
The Bureau of Reclamation operates the Fontenelle Reservoir and Powerplant, and is responsible for recreation facilities. The Fish and Wildlife Service manages the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission manages the reservoir fishery and the fishery in the Green River below the reservoir. The development farm has been transferred to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission for wildlife management purposes.
The Crow Indians called it the "Seeds-ke-dee-agie," meaning "Sage Hen River," but it was the "Rio Verde" to the Spaniards. To the mountain men it was simply the Green River. In 1812, South Pass was discovered by fur trappers. From 1825 until 1840, the Upper Green River Basin was the crossroads for the mountain men. After the trappers came, the covered wagons moved west along the Oregon Trail. Settlers began homesteading lands near the river in the 1880's.
The Seedskadee Project was originally investigated by the Bureau of Reclamation as a unit of a plan for development in the Upper Green River Basin. This plan was presented in a 1946 report on the Colorado River Basin. The Bureau of Reclamation carried out investigations of the Seedskadee development as an independent project, and in November 1950 prepared a feasibility report on the Seedskadee Project, issued as a supplement to the December 1950 report on the Colorado River Storage Project and participating projects. These two reports were amended in October 1953 by a further supplement that brought construction cost and project benefit estimates up to date. This latter supplement was submitted to the Congress and was the basis for project authorization.
The definite plan report was prepared in April 1959, and in February 1961 was modified to provide for future municipal and industrial water needs. Under the provisions of Title III of the Water Supply Act of 1958 (72 Stat. 319), the Wyoming legislature authorized the Wyoming Natural Resource Board to negotiate a contract for additional capacity in the Fontenelle Reservoir for municipal and industrial water, thus increasing the total capacity of the reservoir to 345,360 acre-feet, with 150,500 acre-feet of active capacity. Following reevaluation studies, the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs approved construction of the powerplant and associated works.
On May 21, 1962, the Commissioner of Reclamation issued a stop-order suspending construction of irrigation features of the project until a review of Wyoming projects could be accomplished. In a program to find solutions to serious financial and economic problems encountered on high-altitude irrigation projects, and to provide guidelines for land development and water management, experimental crops were grown on 512 acres of land, using border dike, contour flooding, and circular sprinkling methods. As a result of these experimental farm studies, Fontenell Dam, originally conceived as an irrigation storage dam, evolved toward storage of water for cities, industry, and fish and wildlife. Irrigation development has been indefinitely deferred.
Seedskadee Project is one of the initial group of participating projects authorized with the Colorado River Storage Project by the act of April 11, 1956 (70 Stat. 105).
Construction of Fontenelle Dam commenced in June 1961 and was completed in April 1964. In September 1965, after the reservoir had filled to capacity, water passing through relief cracks in the right abutment carried away part of the downstream embankment. The reservoir was evacuated and a repair program undertaken and completed in 1967. The reservoir was refilled in the winter and spring of 1968. Construction of Fontenelle Powerplant and appurtenant facilities was started in February 1963, and completed in January 1966. Power generation commenced in May 1968.
Initial deliveries of municipal and industrial water to the State of Wyoming under the contract of June 14, 1962, began in 1974. Further negotiations with the State were completed on December 27, 1974 for additional municipal and industrial deliveries.
The Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge was established by the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1965. The refuge lies along 35 miles of the Green River, approximately 6 miles below Fontenelle Dam and 20 miles northwest of the town of Green River. The refuge will provide habitat for waterfowl, and ultimately 18 wildlife management units will be developed. About 13,250 acres of Federal and private land have been acquired with plans to bring the refuge to a total of about 22,000 acres.
A substantial fishery has developed in the reservoir and in the stream between the reservoir and the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Both the stream and reservoir are stocked with rainbow and brown trout. In the stream below the reservoir, a whitefish population is sustained as a result of natural spawning.
Recreation facilities constructed on the west shore of the reservoir near Fontenelle Creek include sites for camping and picnicking, a boat ramp, parking, sanitary facilities, and drinking water.
Commercial power generation commenced in May 1968. The powerplant and switch yard at Fontenelle Dam with transmission lines interconnected with the Colorado River Storage Project transmission system at the Flaming Gorge Powerplant.
Although there is no specific reservoir capacity assigned for flood control, the Seedskadee has provided an accumulated $3,047,000 in flood control benefits from 1950 to 1999. | <urn:uuid:93393763-5f94-4409-b1bd-19679897ea85> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Seedskadee%20Project&pageType=ProjectPage | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00183-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947497 | 1,437 | 3.015625 | 3 |
CONTACT: David Salisbury, News Service (650) 725-1944;
Cells say the darndest things
In an important early step toward understanding the chemistry of human thought, Stanford chemists have managed for the first time to read the individual chemical messages that cells exchange.
These messages account for nearly all of the communication that takes place in the brain, but previous efforts to record them one at a time have been thwarted by their extremely small size. More than a billion vesicles -- the microscopic membrane-bound pouches that carry the chemical signals -- could fit into an average-sized drop of water.
"We really are seeing a new era dawning in which people are trying to understand the chemistry of the brain and of the central nervous system, with the possibilities of amazing consequences, from treating mental disease to improving mental powers," says Richard N. Zare, who headed the research effort.
Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Chemistry, and his colleagues published the technique that allowed them to read out the contents of individual vesicles in the journal Science earlier this year.
Cells use vesicles to signal each other in a variety of ways. Such messages include mail to the brain that says "ouch!" from a bumped funny bone. Other messages regulate the female reproductive cycle.
By analyzing large numbers of vesicles together, scientists had learned a great deal about the vocabulary of the cell's language. But this method can deduce only average messages. It is as if researchers knew that in 1,000 letters, the word "food" appeared 1,800 times, but they could not discern how many times (if at all) "food" showed up in any one letter.
Zare suspected the average message might not be a good representation of any single vesicle's contents. "Could it be that the real signals are being hidden and confused by looking at only averages?" he wondered. "I thought likely so, and indeed our work shows that to be the case."
The signal from a single vesicle is important because cells send and receive vesicles one at a time. "The contents of one vesicle are enough to stimulate a cell," says Richard Scheller, professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. He and Zare have been working toward analyzing single cellular packages for several years.
"Almost all [communication] within our brains is the result of vesicles being released one at a time," Scheller says. "Different responses are elicited from vesicles with different contents. So it's very important to know the contents of the individual vesicles."
But the vesicles that transmit messages between brain neurons are too tiny to manipulate and examine. Instead, Zare and Scheller chose to work with the vesicles that regulate egg-laying in sea slugs. These vesicles are about 1,000 times larger than those the brain uses large enough to analyze with Zare's new technique. "Snails don't have many cells, but the cells they have are large and juicy," Zare explains.
Daniel Chiu, a graduate student, and Sheri Lillard, a postdoc in Zare's lab, developed the technique, which captures one vesicle at a time, pops it open and analyzes its contents.
The first step in this process is to trap a single vesicle and introduce it into a tiny chamber, where Chiu and Lillard can manipulate it. This step is not as simple as it may sound. Because the vesicle is so small, the researchers have to use delicate procedures.
The chemists trap the tiny package using a laser. The vesicle moves to the most intense area of the laser beam and stops there. Once the vesicle is immobilized, the researchers move a minuscule tube next to the vesicle. A slight electric current slides the vesicle into the tube.
Next, the researchers add chemicals that tear open the package and label its contents with a dye. This dye, which attaches only to specific molecules, glows when light hits it. The dye transforms the vesicle's chemicals into beacons.
The dye fastens to several different molecules perhaps all the nouns in the cellular message but the researchers want to know how much of each compound was in the vesicle. So Chiu and Lillard separate the mixture into its components by forcing the chemicals to move along the tiny tube that contains them.
Because each different chemical moves at a characteristic speed, the various compounds arrive at a detecting station at different times. The detecting station watches for the lights to pass, a brighter glow indicating a larger amount of one chemical, a dimmer light meaning a smaller quantity. In this way, Lillard and Chiu measure the relative amounts of the various chemicals.
The chemists then identify each chemical compound in collaboration with researchers led by two former postdoctoral researchers from Zare's lab: Owe Orwar, a chemist at Chalmers University in Göteborg, Sweden, and Evan R. Williams, a chemistry professor at the University of California-Berkeley. The researchers can thereby read the cellular mail.
Using this technique, the researchers have found that individual vesicles have varying contents, even though the vesicles came from the same gland. "One vesicle would have one component but it would be completely absent from another vesicle," Lillard says. "We knew that in a population, both components were present, but when we got down to the level of a single vesicle, there were clear differences."
But what does this variability mean for the sea slug? "I can summarize that in three words," says Zare. "I don't know. Not yet. Is it the difference between mature and immature vesicles? Is it the difference of some control? I don't know."
It's one thing to read individual words in cellular mail; it's another problem altogether to translate the language. But simply reading the chemical codes that the vesicles contain is an important step toward understanding cellular communication, the researchers maintain.
Eventually, Zare and Scheller hope to extend the technique to look at the contents of smaller vesicles, such as those released by neurons in the brain.
Zare says, "I think we are showing the way, developing it step by step, so that we can apply this to smaller systems and, indeed, learn about the chemical basis of thought."
The research was funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Science Foundation.
By Lila Guterman | <urn:uuid:ef1b0b58-0ed5-4ec1-b76e-9d2e01697fed> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.stanford.edu/pr/98/980527vesicles.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00187-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950331 | 1,373 | 3 | 3 |
School vegetable gardens
May 28, 2013
Governance, synergies and local systems / Final consumers -Youngsters
Social inclusion, job creation, economics / Eating more sustainably within a limited budget – Involving various population groups in sustainable food transition
Resource efficiency – CO2 reduction / What key behavioural changes to promote to effectively lessen footprint?
School vegetable gardens offer the opportunity to youngsters to get acquainted with their food and learn about sustainable agriculture and consumption.
School vegetable gardens form an activity implemented by the municipality for the first time in 2012. As a pilot 30 primary and secondary schools have adopted the program, while in the past two months the project was announced to all schools willing to make a small garden. The project is run in cooperation with the Ministry of Education Environmental Education Secretariat and the responsible teachers at every school.
The initial motivations came from many directions. On the one hand there were no gardens or green areas in most schools in Athens. At the same time the food offered in school canteens is mostly ready made food lacking in fruits and vegetables, while students and teachers in the city center are alienated from nature. All the above and the fact that school gardens were succesfully implemented in other municipalities has made it clear that vegetble school gardens are a necessary measure for ameliorating food culture in Athens.
The main target is the creation of small vegetable gardens in order to:
- Enhance students relation to nature, since such a relation ameliorates their physical, psychologiacal and emoitional health.
- Promote the adoption of healthier nutrition.
- Offer a context wherein students learn to cooperate and to accept their individual responsibility in collective actions.
- Help students to acquire new abilities.
- Enrich school activities regarding a range of taught courses, as well as environmental education.
- Form close ties among all participants in the academic and school communities.
- Offer the potential for alternative teaching methods that are proven more effective in cases of cognitive difficulties.
Until now the project was welcome with great enthousiasm from the schools that created the vegetable gardens, while many other schools in the municipality have asked for the extension of the gardens to all public education institutions. At the same time it is expected that in the longterm, students, teachers and parents eventually shall become aware of sustainable food practices ranging from production to consumption.
Judging from the school community reactions the most immediate benefit is the creation of a common attitude among all interested parties with regards to the importance of food and the way it is produced.
- The popularity and spread of the vegetable garden project.
- The emergence of a collective consciousness, coming from students and teachers alike, with regards to the importance of such gardens.
- The possibility for students to get immediately acquainted with nature without having to travel outside Athens.
- The absence of soil and green spaces in schools can become a barrier to the action. However the use of raised beds has solved the problem.
- The cost involved in providing raised beds and soil.
For a city like Athens with limited green space, this project may function as a good pilot for any city wishing to establish a similar scheme. | <urn:uuid:a5f2650c-fdc8-4576-b755-2e7801759f4b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sustainable-everyday-project.net/urbact-sustainable-food/2013/05/31/school-vegetable-gardens/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00178-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950933 | 644 | 3.5 | 4 |
Editor Corey Bradshaw
Reproductive history and absence of predators are important determinants of reproductive fitness: the cheetah controversy revisited
Version of Record online: 20 SEP 2010
©2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Volume 4, Issue 1, pages 47–54, February 2011
How to Cite
Wachter, B., Thalwitzer, S., Hofer, H., Lonzer, J., Hildebrandt, T. B. and Hermes, R. (2011), Reproductive history and absence of predators are important determinants of reproductive fitness: the cheetah controversy revisited. Conservation Letters, 4: 47–54. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00142.x
- Issue online: 5 FEB 2011
- Version of Record online: 20 SEP 2010
- Accepted manuscript online: 25 AUG 2010 11:55PM EST
- Received , 30 June 2009, Accepted, 3 August 2010
- re-introduction program;
- reproductive performance;
Re-introduction programs rely on reproductively sound individuals and high offspring survival once captively bred species are released into their natural habitat. Some species involved in captive breeding programs reproduce poorly: one prominent example is the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Here we use the cheetah as a case study to test predictions from all current hypotheses explaining this phenomenon by monitoring postemergence cub survival and assessing the reproductive status of free-ranging and captive female cheetahs in Namibia with ultrasonography. We show that reproductive activity and health of cheetah females is determined by reproductive history and age rather than innate rhythms, captive stress, or lack of genetic diversity, and that postemergence cub survival under natural conditions in a predator-free habitat is high. Our results suggest that management practices of captive breeding and re-introduction programs should encourage early reproduction in females to induce long-lasting and healthy reproductive performance. With this practice, re-introduction projects might increase their chances of success. | <urn:uuid:5360409a-c5ae-4b57-bf60-3f2dfdf5675b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00142.x/abstract | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00065-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.850399 | 430 | 2.546875 | 3 |
North America is a summer home to 15 species of hummingbirds, but only one species -- the ruby throated hummingbird, Archilochus colubris -- comes to Washington, DC. These tiny three-inch birds migrate 2,000 miles from Central America every spring to breed here. Have you ever seen one here? They're more common than you may think.
Those tiny wings are beating about 53 times a second. They give hummingbirds helicopter-like abilities -- they're one of the only birds that can hover or fly backwards. Which is pretty fun to see. They can also fly really fast -- which makes them hard to see.
Your best bet is to find flowers that hummingbirds like to feed on. In our yard, the sure winners every year are bee balm, cardinal flower, and native honeysuckle. Other flowers we've seen them on in the wild include jewelweed, trumpet creeper, and even common milkweed. Notice anything these flowers have in common? They're all trumpet-shaped, perfect for the hummer's long beak. And they've all got red or orange flowers.
The biggest treat is when the light catches a bird just right -- its feathers, which may have looked more or less gray a moment ago, will flash bright green in the sun. And the males are even more spectacular, with a ruby throat designed for attracting the jewel-loving ladies. I've seen that flash of red maybe one in every 50 times that I've seen a hummingbird. But it's worth the wait.
In the wild: Sit quietly by a patch of likely-seeming flowers. Keep an ear out for the buzz of the wings. In our experience, hummingbirds are creatures of habit. Once you find an area that hummingbirds come to, they're likely to come back -- several times throughout the day, and from day to day, as long as the flowers are producing nectar.
I've heard mixed reviews about whether hummingbird feeders are a good idea. The problem is that if you have one, you need to wash it out every few days. Otherwise, it can ferment, which is bad for the hummers. We've opted to let the plants do the work for us instead.
Do you have favorite way of attracting hummingbirds, or a spot where you see them? Have you seen one yet this spring? We'd love to hear about it. | <urn:uuid:2c3b1696-1002-4bac-b725-65711485d75b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thenaturalcapital.com/2010/05/look-for-ruby-throated-hummingbirds.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965242 | 494 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Will Fitzgerald, R. James Firby
Item descriptions add value to plans. Item descriptions are descriptions about individual objects (or sets of objects) in the world that can be used within plans for reasoning about actions on the objects. Typical reasoning tasks include dereferencing the description to real objects, disambiguating multiple real objects based on the description, and tracking the status of desired goals. We describe the evolution of our thought on a-language for item descriptions, and describe some open questions that remain. | <urn:uuid:0ec5effe-eb02-4323-b6bc-e47890fcf945> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://aaai.org/Library/Symposia/Fall/1996/fs96-01-009.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.896647 | 103 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Child Studies with a focus in Early Childhood Studies
(Also see Child Studies and Child Studies with a Focus in Montessori Studies. For Connecticut students who work in state funded preschools and wish to pursue the Connecticut Early Childhood Teacher Credential (ECTC) see Child Studies with a focus in Early Childhood Studies - ECTC track )
The Concentrations in Child Studies are designed for early childhood education professionals who seek to make a positive difference in the lives of young children. These concentrations focus on preparing professionals to work with children in a variety of early childhood settings. They are designed to develop skills and knowledge to address the physical, cognitive, intellectual, language, social/emotional, and creative needs of young children.
Child Studies with a focus in Early Childhood Studies allows for specialization in Infant/Toddler, Preschool or Program Administration. This concentration requires a minimum of 39 credits.
|Introduction to Early Childhood Education||3|
|Sociology of the Family||3|
|Psychology of Exceptional Children||3|
|Completion of credits earned in the areas listed to the right.||9||Early Childhood Methods, Behavior Management in EC Professionals, Early Childhood Music, Children's Literature, Special needs, OR optional specialization in Infant-Toddler Care or Program Administration|
|Completion of credits from the Social Science areas listed to the right.||9||Typical/Atypical Development, Family Studies, Social Issues, or another area related to child studies proposed by the student and approved by the faculty.|
|Capstone||3||ECE 499 (Culminating course in concentration)|
|Pre-requisite: Introduction to Psychology||3|
|Pre-requisite: Introduction to Sociology||3|
|Co-requisite: Nutrition course taken in science department or a course taken at a community college such as Health, Safety and Nutrition||3|
Note: Only grades of C of higher may be included in the concentration.
Student Learning OutcomesStudents who graduate with a concentration in Child Studies will be able to:
- apply knowledge of typical and atypical development in children to create positive learning environments;
- describe the diverse and complex characteristics of families and communities to establish respectful, reciprocal relationships that help to empower families;
- explain the value of observing children as a means of assessing their development;
- select and design developmentally appropriate curriculum and activities to promote positive development and learning for children;
- apply current research and literature in the field to practice; and
- value ongoing continuous professional development. | <urn:uuid:f1a54410-d705-453e-9bce-4abfdd00c6e5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.charteroak.edu/prospective/programs/concentrations/early-childhood-studies.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901499 | 528 | 2.71875 | 3 |
If you’re like me, you were probably wondering if photographer Thierry Legault would have the opportunity to photograph space shuttle Atlantis in orbit during the final mission of the shuttle program. Regular UT readers will recall that Legault has taken several amazing images of the space shuttle and International Space Station from the ground with his specialized equipment, with many spectacular views of the spacecraft transiting across the face of the Sun or the Moon. It took a mad dash across Europe, but he was successful in chasing down the shuttle, capturing it crossing the face of the Sun several times, and once — just in the nick of time (above) — just minutes before the Atlantis’ final deorbit burn.
“I went to Czech Republik, then Germany and now I’m in Netherlands, on my way back to Paris,” Legault said in a note he sent to Universe Today. “The last transit has been taken Thursday morning, just 21 minutes before the deorbit burn, therefore there are chances that is the last image of a space shuttle in orbit.”
Earlier in the mission, he was able to catch the ISS and shuttle just 50 minutes after Atlantis undocked from the station, so his images capture historic moments of the final shuttle mission.
In addition, this stunning view shows Atlantis docked to the ISS:
Legault said this solar transit of Atlantis docked to the ISS was taken on July 15th from France (Caen, Normandy). Transit duration: 0.7s. ISS distance to observer: 520 km. Speed in orbit: 7.5km/s (27000 km/h or 17000 mph).
Four images of Atlantis crossing the face of the Sun taken on July 21st 2011 at 08:27:48 UT, and combined into one image. The images were taken just 21 minutes before Atlantis’ deorbit burn, from the area of Emden, NW Germany. Transit duration: 0.9s. Distance to observer: 566 km. Speed in orbit: 7.8 km/s.
Solar transit taken on July 19th at 7:17 UT from Czech Republik (North of Praha), showing Atlantis and the ISS side by side, 50 minutes after undocking. Transit duration: 1s. ISS distance to observer: 676 km.
Many thanks to Thierry Legault for sharing his images with Universe Today, and taking us along on the ride of his travels across Europe to capture the final space shuttle mission in a way that only he can! | <urn:uuid:f0f21463-3387-4b5a-8df8-f7851f631761> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.universetoday.com/87657/a-space-shuttle-on-the-sun-one-last-time/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00166-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954611 | 521 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Zoo Master Plan
Design and Planning
The design process for the current Master Plan began with the selection and hiring of an experienced and qualified architectural firm. Jones and Jones Architects & Landscape Architects, Ltd. were selected from a pool of five candidates on the basis of their zoo design achievements, geographic proximity to Eureka, and enthusiasm to help create a special zoo in our one-of-a-kind redwood setting. The planning process also involved zoo staff, Foundation Board members, and City of Eureka officials, and included two community input meetings. Most of the planning took place during the first six months of the master plan process; the master plan document was finalized and adopted in early 2008.
The primary tool used in the planning process was Sequoia Park Zoo’s Institutional Collection Plan, a document first written in 2004 and revised every three years, which identifies animal species that are most appropriate for this zoo. Much care and research went into this plan, which used the following criteria to identify species: 1) climate and space requirements, 2) compatibility with staffing size and other zoo resources, 3) importance to conservation and the educational stories they tell, and 4) visitor appeal.
Sequoia Park Zoo seeks to be a leading contributor to the conservation of wildlife worldwide through a robust conservation education program that connects people to wildlife by fostering an understanding of biodiversity and a sense of aesthetic wonder for the living world.
Exhibit Organization & Themes
With the goal of creating intimate connections between people and animals, the zoo will over time incorporate modern, natural exhibits that interpret six different animal-based themes from around the world.
Future Themed Zones:
- Native Predators (Bald Eagles, River otters, a new Black bear habitat in the redwoods, cougar and other local predators) —Visitors will meet some familiar and some less known predators native to our area and learn the important roles they play in a balanced ecosystem. This exhibit will explore the interconnectedness of wilderness and urban areas and how the two can live side by side; it will house most of the larger animals at the zoo, so it covers the largest area. The Watershed Heroes exhibit forms the cornerstone of this zone.
- Asian Forests (Red panda, Muntjac deer, and future gibbon exhibit)—Visitors will discover and appreciate a number of charismatic species that share a similar climatic zone to our own, the temperate forest, but across the Pacific in central Asia. There will be areas where children can learn more about these animals’ natural behaviors by mimicking their activities in a themed play area. The Red panda/Indian muntjac exhibit forms the cornerstone of the Asian Forest zone.
- Barnyard—The first zone to be completed, this permanent petting area enables kids of all ages to experience and learn about the community of animals – domestic and wild – that live in close companionship with humans. Many interactive experiences are incorporated into the Barnyard.
- Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot (Flamingos, Patagonian cavies, Crested screamers, Chacoan peccaries, rheas, and future Giant anteater, Capybara, Maned wolf exhibits)—An amazing diversity of life can be found in the Andes region of South America. Visitors can learn more about its animal population, the threats to both animals and environment, and how we can work together to preserve it.
- Prairie Keystone (Prairie dogs and other species)—An integral part of the American landscape, this zone will focus around a keystone prairie species such as the Prairie dog; these fascinating animals create underground “towns” that serve as key habitat for many other species, including the highly endangered Black-footed ferret, badger, Burrowing owl, and more. Visitors will experience a dynamic series of exhibits, and children will enjoy a themed play area.
- Island Adaptations (Ring-tailed lemurs and other species)—The Island Adaptation zone will introduce visitors to some of the unique species animals that have evolved in isolated island habitats around the world, highlighting the biological adaptations that result from these special environments. Probably the best-known and most-endangered of these species are the Lemurs of Madagascar, which will anchor this zone.
Accomplishing our goal
While the City of Eureka funds the daily operation of the Zoo (animal care staffing, veterinary care and facilities maintenance), most exhibit upgrades and improvements are made possible solely through the generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses.
Help ensure the success of these projects by making a contribution today!
The Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation is a non-profit organization whose primary objectives and purposes are to promote and stimulate interest in the Sequoia Park Zoo and support the zoo’s development, operation and activity programs through fundraising, marketing, and other initiatives designed to enhance the zoo’s position as an important Northern California destination.
Progress is ongoing! Check out our current & recently completed projects. | <urn:uuid:bdc24c33-f0fe-4ab8-b8c5-4fd4dfd402e1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sequoiaparkzoo.net/about/zoo-master-plan/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921618 | 1,030 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Two documnts were neded to leve Grmany, a Grmn exit visa and a foreign entry visa. The Great Depression during the 1930s caused many countries, including the United States, to limit immigration. NAZI policy at the beginning was not set out to murder millions of Jews. The NAZIs were intent on stripping Jews of all their assetts and driving them penniless out of the country. Few Jews wanted to leave Germany when the NAZIs seized power in 1933. Gradually more Jews began attempting to leave, especially after the Nuremberg Race Laws were decreeed (September 1935). The NAZIs in 1937 begin to reconsider their policy of forcing Jews out of Germany. New regulations are issued allowing Jews to leave only under special circumstances (November 16, 1937). I do not know at this time just what prevented his change of policy. Certainly it enabled the Gestapo to extract bribes from Jews to obtain the needed exit documents. After Kristallnacht, a panic set in among the Germany community (November 1938). Jews were essentially free to leave Germany as long as theu did not take any valuables and had a visa to enter another country. The problem for German and Austrian Jews was obtaining a visa. Anti-semitism and the job shortages created by the Depression in many countries, including the United States, created severe bars to immigration. Thus obtaining visas were very difficult. Jews were thus trapped in Germany when in the months leading up to the War. One of the most tragic incidents was the liner St Louis which left Hamburg with 927 Jewish refugees in May 1939 for New York. The United States refused to allow them to enter. Cuba allowed 22 to land, but refused entry to the rest. An appeal to President Roosevelt was unanswered. Other countries also refused to accept the refuggess. Finally the St. Louis returned to Europe and the refugees were landed in Antwerp on June 17. More than 600 were accepted by Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Within months these countries overrun by the NAZIs. No one know for sure, but about 240 of these refugees are believed to have survided. Britain accepted 288 which did survive. The St. Louis reffugees were some of the last Jews to escape Germany. The NAZIs stopped allowing Jews to emmigrate. Some of the last Jews to get out of Germany were the children broughtout through the Kindertransport.
The Great Depression during the 1930s caused many countries, including the United States, to limit immigration. The United States had already limited immigration after World War I in the 1920s, establishng national quotas. Religion was not a factor, although State Department personnel sometimes let their personal prejudices affect their decessions. The seriousness of the Depression in America made any effort to revise emmigration laws politically impossible. Labor was always concerned about immogration and added to the anti-immigrant attitudes of conservastive Americans, immigration was not an issue which could be addressed diring the New Deal. Tragically the Depression which helped bring Hitler and the NAZIs to power in Germany also acted to limit their ability to seek have in other countries.
Zionism is the Jewish national movement seeeking the return of the Jewish people to their Biblical homeland. This involved both political and spiritual aims. Jews of all persuasions, left and right, religious and secular, orthodox and reform, joined the Zionist movement and worked for the creation of Israel. The term "Zionism" was coined in 1893 by Nathan Birnbaum. Only a small minoriy of German Jews were commited to Zionism in 1932. German Jews were some of the most assimilated in Europe. Under Bismarck they had received full civil rights. Most Jews saw themselve as Germans and a part of the national fabric. The majorJewish organizations, while not oposed to a Jewish homeland, did not promote Zonism as many felt that it would weaken the Jewish oresence in Germany. [Heim] German Jewish attitudes began to change after the NAZI takeover. In particular some parents began to see Plestine as a possible option for their children.
NAZI policy at the beginning was not set out to murder millions of Jews. The NAZIs were intent on stripping Jews of all their assetts and driving them penniless out of the country. Here the Germany exit visa could be used as a ool in steling Jewish property. At first few German Jews wanted to leave their country, even after the NAZIs seized power in 1933. Gradually more Jews began attempting to leave. At first most thougt things could not ger worse. But every month brought some new NAZI action or degree. People lost their jobs. Children were asulted in school.
When the Nuremberg Race Laws were decreed (September 1935) the NAZIs were able to even more vigorously persue actions against Jews. Geman Führer Adolf Hitler at the Nuremberg Party Congress on September 15, 1935 announced three new laws that were to be cornerstones of German racist policies and the supression of Jews and other non-Aryans. These decrees
became known as the Nuremberg Laws. They were decrees which in NAZI gErmany had the force of law forbidding contacts between Aryan Germans and Jews, espcecially marriage and srtipping Jewsof German citizenship. The first 1935 decree established the swastika as the official emblem of the German state. The second established special conditions for German citizenship that excluded all Jews. The third titled "The Law for the Protection of German Blood
and German Honor" prohibited marrige between German citizens and Jews. Marriages violating this law were voided and extra-marital relations prohibited. Jews were prohibuted from hiring female Germans under 45 years of age. Jews were also prohibuted from flying the national flag. The first three Nuremberg Laws were subsequently supplemented with 13 further decrees, the last issued as late as 1943, as the NAZIs constantly refined the
supression of non-Aryans. These laws affected millions of Germans, the exact number depending n precisely how a Jew was defined. That definition was published November 14, 1935. The NAZIs defined a Jew as anyone who either 1) had three or four racially full Jewish grandparents, 2) belonged to a Jewish religious community or joined one after September 15 when the Nuremberg Laws came into force. Also regarded as Jews was anyone married to a Jew or the children of Jewish parents. This included illegtimate children of even the non-Jewish partner. There appears to have been no serious public objection to these laws. [Davidson,
The NAZIs in 1937 begin to reconsider their policy of forcing Jews out of Germany. New regulations are issued allowing Jews to leave only under special circumstances (November 16, 1937). I do not know at this time just what prevented his change of policy and who was behinf it . Certainly it enabled the Gestapo to extract bribes from Jews to obtain the needed exit documents.
Kristallnacht or the "Night of Broken Glass" was a vicious NAZI pogrom directed at NAZI Jews. A Polish-born Jewish Jew, Sendel Grynszpan, wrote to his soon describing how he had been expelled to Poland and mistreated. His son Herschel was a 17-year old boy stranded in Paris. Disdraught by his parents' treatment, he shot the Third Secretary of the German Embassy, Ernst vom Rath. As a reprisal, Hitler personally approved a massive assault on Germany's Jews in their homes and attacks on Jewish stnagoges. The attacks began eary on November 8. Members of the Gestapo and other NAZI organizations such as the SA and the Labor Front were told to repprt to the local NAZI Party office and were given their instructions. They then moved out ramsacking Jewish shops and synagoges and setting firm to them. Groups of NAZIs broke into Jewish homes, looting them and destroying property that they did not want. Pets were killed. About 30-100 Jews were killed. About 20,000 mostly men were dragged off to the Buchenwald, Dachu, and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. The orgy of violence exceed even what the NAZIs had palnned. This was of copncern because the NAZIs hoped to eventually seize the property. The Jews were thus required to repair the danage to their shops and homes. When the NAZIs realized that Jewish property was insured, Goering issued a decree requiring that insurance payments made to the German Government. An additional 1 billion mark fine was imposed on Germany Jewish community.
Kristallnacht convinced most Jews that they had to leave Germany. Many Jews had already left Germany. One estimate suggests that about 180,000 of the approximately 500,000 had left by 1938. Fiven the abuse and descrimination, this seems a realtively small number. After Kristallnacht, a panic set in among the Germany community and most Jews were now desperate to leave Germany. The problem was that the many actions taken by the NAZIs had increasingly impoversished Germany Jews, making immigration increasingly difficult even if a visa could be obtained.
Jews were essentially free to leave Germany until 1937, as long as they did not take any valuables and had a visa to enter another country. NAZI authoritie began to make exit visas more difficult, ut not impossible, to obtain (1937). We re not sure what prompted this chnge in policy, perhaps a tgool in extorting more money from Jews trying to escape the country. Even a few days before the War began in September some managed to get out. The major problem for German and Austrian Jews was obtaining a foreign entry visa. Anti-semitism and the job shortages created by the Depression in many countries, including the United States, created severe bars to immigration. Thus obtaining fireign entry visas was very difficult. Jews were thus essentially trapped in Germany during the months leading up to the War.
The first German Jewish refugee children arrived in America in 1934. The NAZI persecution of the German Jewish community and political opponents brought a wave of prominent individuals who made major contributions to America. Many described in gtaphic detail what was going on in Germany. There was long list of prominent individuals both from Germany and later the occupied countries that came to America, including Marlina Detrich, Peter Drucker, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, ??? Salard, Edmund Teller, and many more. These many destinguised individuals made great contributions to American arts, medicine, music, science, and many other fields. America is much the richer for their invaluable contributions. Others were just children when they emmigrated before and after the War, but would make valuable contributions of their own: Madeline Albright, Peter Drucker, Andy Grove, Henry Kisinger, Tivi Nussbaum, George Sorros, and others. The publicity certainly affected how Americans thought about Hitler. It did not, however, affect the strongly isolationist views of most Americans, it may in fact only strengthened them--at least at first. Also America and other countries had severe limitations on immigration, especially Jewish immigration. The Depression caused many countries to limit immigration, to save avaialble jobs for unemployed Americans. Anti-semitism was also a factor. After Kristalnacht, an effort was made to admit German Jewish refugee children, but it failed to pass. President Roosevelt was struggling at the time to gain support for his efforts to defeat the isolationists and assist the British and French which made an additional struggle on immigration virtually impossible.
The British Goverment in late 1938 also approved a special arrangement for children for which charitable organizations agreed to care and finance. This was the Kindertransport described above. After the declaration of War (September 1939), British officials interned German nationals in Britain and British colonies. Some of thoe German nationals in Britain were Jews. Even the Kindertransport youth who had reached 17 years (we need to confirm the age) of age. At first the Jews were interned with othervJews, some with NAZI orientation. The Germans were subjected to a vetting pricess, but many were held for some time. Some were deported to Canada where they were also held in internment camps. Pne German Jew describes his experiences. [Koch]
France had a massive refugee problem as a result of the Spanish Civil War. In addition Dr. Heim said many more Jewish families etered France legally and illegally than ws the case of Britain. [Heim]
For many German Jews, the Netherlands looked like a safe haven. Anti-semitism was not widespread there. It was easy to get to as it bordered Germany. There were Jews alreadty there. And the language was similar to German. The flood of refugess was so great into the Netherlands that the Dutch had to stop taking in refugeees in 1939. Unfortunately for the Jews who thought they had found a safe haven, the Netherlands proved to be one of the deadliest countries for Jews in the Holocaust.
The British like the Americans at least had an immigration quota for Palestine, but refused to raise it. Jewish organizations attempted to smuggle people into Palestine. The Royal Navy was ordered to intercept them, but rather than force them back to Europe, they were interned on of all places the small island of Maurutius in the Indian Ocean. Those Jews who made it to Palestine, if detected were added to the quota. Most of the unaccompanied children were taken in by the kibutzes.
There was some internationl pressure to do something about the refugee crisis. The Evian Conference was called by President Roosevelt in July 1938 to address the refugee crisis. Delegates from 32 countries in the summer of 1938, met at the French resort of Evian. President Roosevelt did not send a high-level official. He sent Myron C. Taylor, a businessman and close friend. Throughout the 9-day meeting, the different country delegates to express pladitudes and sympathy for the refugees. Virtually every country, including the
United States and Britain, offered excuses for not letting in more refugees. The United States maintained in quota of 27,370 refugees annually, but did not offer to increase it. Many participants did not even offer any refugees admitance. Australia's chief delegate, Colonel White stated, "Under the circumstances. Australia cannot do more. Undue privileges cannot be given to one particular class of non-British subjects without injustice to others. It will no doubt be appreciated also that, as we have no real racial problem, we are not desirous of importing one." [Proceedings, p 20.] Britain said that they would maintain their 20,000 refugee quota for Palestine. Only three countries offered an unlimited quota: Denmark, the Netherlands, and the Dominican Republic. [Gilbert, p. 220.] The flood of refugess was so great into the Netherlands that the Dutch had to stop taking in refugeees in 1939. I am not sure about Denmark and the Dominican Republic. I do know that at the time of the NAZI invasion in April 1940 that there were only a small number of Jews in Denmark, much smaller than in the Netherlands.
Some have called the Conference Hitler's green light for the holocaust. [Shaw] The NAZIs were in fact pleased with the outcome. The German government released a statement indicating that how "astounding" it was that foreign countries criticized Germany for their treatment of the Jews, but none of them wanted to open the doors to them when "the opportunity offer[ed]. "Nobody wants them" claimed the German newspaper Völkischer Beobachter. Hitler lost no time in pointing out, "It is a shameful spectacle to see how the whole democratic world is oozing sympathy for the poor tormented Jewish people, but remains hard hearted and obdurate when it comes to helping them ..." [Shalom, p. 21.]
One of the most tragic incidents was the liner St Louis which left Hamburg with 927 Jewish refugees for Havana and New York (May 1939). The United States refused to allow them to enter. Cuba allowed 22 to land, but refused entry to the rest. An appeal to President Roosevelt was unanswered. Other countries also refused to accept the refuggess. Finally the St. Louis returned to Europe and the refugees were landed in Antwerp on June 17. More than 600 were accepted by Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Within months these countries overrun by the NAZIs. No one know for sure, but about 240 of these refugees are believed to have survided. Britain accepted 288 which did survive. The St. Louis refugees were some of the last Jews to escape Germany. The Karliner family were some of the Jews returned to Europe. Only Herbert survived.
The NAZIs in mid-1939 stopped allowing Jews to emmigrate. A few Jews managed to make it out, but it became increasingly difficult. Afain we are not sure what prompted this change in policy. It may have been a security measure.
Some of the last Jews to get out of Germany were the children brought out through the Kindertransport. This was the transport of Jewish children out of Austria, Czecheslovakia, and Germany mostly during the summer of 1939. The British Government, horrified at the outburst of violence in Kristallnacht agreed to eased immigration restrictions for certain
of Jewish refugees. Two charitable groups help organize the program: the British Committee for the Jews of Germany and the Movement for the Care of Children from Germany. Together these groups persuaded the British government to permit children under the age of 17 to enter Britain from Germany and German-occupied territories (at the time what used to be Austria and the Czecheslovakia). About 10,000 children were saved--the largest group of children to be saved from the NAZIs. Most were aided by Jewish charitable organizations, but Quakers and other groups also helped. The experience was traumatic for the children, especially the younger ones, who did not understand why they were being separated from their parents. The children had to say a final goodbye to their parents and families for a long train journey to England and numerous checks by NAZI authorities. Most were never reunited with their families who were murdered in the NAZI death camps. The older children were put up on hostels, many of the younger children were adopted.
The unfortunate image of World war II Jews is thAt they were passive victims of the NAZIs who made no ffort to resist. This is untrue, but as a small minority in a world awash with with anti-Semtism, opportinities to resist a totalitarian police state were limited. There was, however, one major exception--Jewish niclear pysicists. Many were German or until Hitler part of the wider German academic community. As Max Plank wrned, Hitler, he was disarming Germany in physics. Actually he was doing more than that. He was turning these individuals from pacifists like Einstrin or largely wordly humanitarians into anti-NAZI warriors who decided to use their capabilities to build the atomoc bomb. This was a huge transition. Most conceived of nuclear physics as offering tremendous emense peaceful uses to aid human progress. Only Hitler's evil which each experienced and observed comvinced them to turn their 'beauticul' science to mlitary use. Lise Meitner was an exception. While narrowly missing the Holocaut, she refused to work on the bomb project. Even Einstein, a life-long pacifist, decided that America should build the bomb because not only of Hitler's evil, but because the Germans were ahead of the Allies and had the capabilities of building a bomb. Hungarian Jewish physicist Leo Szilard convinced Einstein to write to Presisent Roosevelt, in effect launching the Manhattan Project (1939). Szilard also worked with Italian phsicist Enrico Fermi (who had a Jewish wife) to build the first nuclear ractor (pile) and achieved the first chain reaction (1942). Paul Wigner was another Hungarian Jewish scienist close to Szilard. Other Jewish emigre scientusts included Felix Bloch (Swiss), Niels Bohr (Danish), Klaus Fuchs (who passed information to the KGB), James Franck, Otto Frisch, Rudolph Peierls, and Edward Teller (Hunarian). We should mention that many of these men were not religious Jews, some like Bohr were raised Christians. Bur the NAZI Nuremberg Race Laws defined Jews as having two Jewish grandparents, regardless of the individuals professed religion. Not all the Jewish pysicists working to build the bomb were emigre scienists. This included the scientific leader of the Manhattan Project--Robert Opejeimer. Other American Jews working on the project included David Bohm. As with non-Jewish scientists, Opeheimer and others would have resisted building an atomic bomb had it not been for Hitler's evil and liklihood that the Germans were building a bomb.
Jewish and oher refugees fleeing the NAZIs made a major contribution to the success of the Manhattan Program. The NAZI campaign against the Jews began almost as soon as Hitler seized power in Germany. Even respected sientists were quickly dismissed from positions at universites and research institutes. Many of these individuals were able to emmigrte and take of their carrers Americ, France, and Britain. This significantly increased the pool of talented sientists available to the American atomic bomb program. Some of the vest known were Hans Beder?, Albert Einstein (German Jew), Enrico Fermi (Italian with Jewish wife), Leo Szilard (Hungarian Jew working in Germany), Edward Teller (Hungarian Jew working in Germany), and Eugene Wigner (Hungarian Jew working in Germany). Some authors believe that the dismissal of competent scientists and appointment of Party hacks was a major reason in the failure of the German bomb program. [Walker] Many of these nuclear scientists emmigrated early in the NAZI era when the NAZIs were primarily concerned with dismissing Jews from universities and other official positions. Fremi came much later and managed to escape with his wife when he was allowed to go to Sweden to accept a Nobel Prize.
Davidson, Eugene. The Unmaking of Adolf Hitler (Univesity of Missouri: Columbia, 1996), 519p
Heim, Susanne. "Jewish emmigration and international refugee policy: The situation of children," Children and the Holocaust: Symposium, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, April 3, 2003.
Koch, Eric. Deemed Suspect: A Wartime Blunder (Goodread Biographies/Formac Publishing Company Ltd., 1980).
Proceedings of the Intergovernmental Committee, Evian, 6/15 July 1938, Verbatim Record of the Plenary Meeting of the Committee. Resolutions and Reports, London, July 1938.
Shaw, Annette. "The Evian Conference - Hitler's Green Light for Genocide," internet site 2002.
Shalom, Beth. Perspective, 1:1 (1998), p 21.
Walker, Mark. "The German Atomic Bomb" from "Heisenberg, Goudsmit and the German Atomic Bomb," Physics Today (January 1990).
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‘Commit sins as much as you can,but perfom hajj before you die. I’ll forgive all your sins. No worries, you’ll go to heaven’ – God
I think everybody knows the hajj story.
Every year, Muslims perform the Hajj – 2.5 to 3 million of them go to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and perform ancient rituals. In 2010, Hajj starts on Nov 15 and goes for several days. This is because Mohammed ordered all able-bodied Muslims to complete the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. Once in Mecca, they congregate around a large stone, thought by some to be a meteorite but revered by Muslims as holy. For more on the ritual, including a video, see this article. But why do they do this? The Hajj ritual is believed by Muslims to go back to the days of Abraham or Ibrahim as he is known to Muslims.
Muslims believe the story to be as follows:
Ibrahim travelled to a barren valley with his infant son Ishmael and his mother Hagar and left both of them near the sacred house with some food and water. But that soon ran out causing Hagar to run between the two hills of Safa and Marwa in search of sustenance. These desperate runs are now imitated by pilgrims to Mecca. But then Allah answered Ibrahim’s prayer to look after his family by sending the angel Gabriel, who scratched the dry soil under the infant, triggering a sudden and continuous gush of water. (Neat – prayers these days don’t seem to get such spectacular results – seems it was easier in ancient times to get a god to listen).
The resulting Zamzam Well is believed to have brought life into the area, bringing nomad Arabs to settle around it. Ibrahim’s son Ishmael learned Arabic and married into Arab tribes. For Muslims, Mohammed is an offspring of Ishmael and therefore Ibrahim.
Ibrahim is said to have reconstructed the house of worship with Ishmael on returning to the area years later. The Qur’an speaks of Ibrahim as building the structure as the first house for worship on earth – the Kaaba (the cube structure in the middle of the picture at right).
But the Kaaba was demolished and rebuilt several times, the last believed to be after floods in 1630.
As an indication of worshipping activities at the “sacred house,” the Qur’an cites Allah’s order to Ibrahim to rid the house of idols and purify it for pilgrims. He was also ordered to call people to hajj. Mohammed did the same in 630 AD when he conquered Mecca with his followers as he entered the Kaaba and destroyed all idols placed there by Arabs to represent their pagan gods. (Doing the Moses thing).
Islamic tradition says the meaning of Ibrahim’s hajj was distorted over time, with the belief in one God that he preached losing ground to polytheism, and Arabs worshipping idols as proxies to God and filling the Kaaba with them. It also says that, over the centuries before Islam, it turned into something resembling a fun-fair and lost its spirituality, with some pilgrims replacing prayers with clapping and whistling, and others even circling the Kaaba naked.
And just as Muslim pilgrims now stand on Mount Arafat at the peak of every hajj, pre-Islamic pilgrims used to spend a day in the barren plain outside Mecca and return to the city walking around the Kaaba in a huge circle – just like they do now.
The Qur’an has a similar story to the Bible: Ibrahim obeyed God and prepared to sacrifice Ishmael but God forestalled that by providing him at the last minute with a lamb to kill instead. That contradicts the Bible’s story of Abraham, which says he was about to slay his other son, Isaac.
This ritual is no more strange than Christian rituals – and it is good for the travel industry! But like all rituals, if you don’t believe you still wonder what the benefit is. Does God Allah notice and give you brownie points? What happens to the 90% of Muslims who never make the pilgrimage? Do they miss out on Paradise or just go to a lower level? Or does the less than 100% who make the trek say that many don’t really believe? Although there is little terrorism associated with the Hajj, in 2010 the Saudis are “on alert” in case Al-Qaida is planning something. Or is this just a ploy to make us think that terrorists are not real Muslims?
OMG (Oh My Goosebumps)! millions of Muslims perform 1400 years old ritual in the 21st century!
Many people are quite unhappy because Nigerian female pilgrims are kicked out of Saudi Arabia. They are not allowed to perform hajj because they are not accompanied by male guardians. I am not sorry for those Nigerian women, because, I believe, there is no god, so there is no need to worship any god, or if there is a god, and if he is called Allah and if his book is called the Quran, then he is definitely a nasty misogynist, in this case women should not worship an inhumane, anti-women, barbaric god. I am happy because once again Islam has proved that it is purely anti-human rights, anti-free speech and anti-democracy. And it is definitely not a religion of peace. | <urn:uuid:eec4770c-1fde-429d-8de0-25407a77a0d2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/taslima/2012/10/21/1400-years-old-pagans-superstitious-ritual-is-performed-by-millions-in-the-21st-century/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968504 | 1,128 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Richard C. Hall looks at the bloody conflicts in south-eastern Europe which became the blueprint for a century of conflict in the region.
October 2012 marks the centenary of the outbreak of the First Balkan War, when Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire. It was Prince Petar, the third son of Montenegro’s King Nikola, who fired the first artillery shot across the Montenegrin-Ottoman frontier. Nine days later the Ottoman Empire declared war on Montenegro’s Balkan allies: Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. In the ensuing conflict this loose coalition confronted the once mighty Turks. The following year, in the brief but bloody Second Balkan War, Bulgaria fought against its former allies and, at the same time, underwent invasion from Ottoman and Romanian forces. These two wars represented the rise of nationalism as the basis for political legitimacy in south-eastern Europe as well as the end of 500 years of Ottoman rule in the region. They also established a pattern of brutal and complex conflicts that recurred in the western part of the peninsula between 1941 and 1945 and again in the same general region during the Yugoslav Wars of 1991-2001. | <urn:uuid:a5da89cc-801c-44e0-bcc0-0a931d744967> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.historytoday.com/richard-c-hall/balkan-wars | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951405 | 235 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Self-driving cars like Google's distinctive little pods may not need us to drive them any more, but that just means we'll need a new way of communicating with them if we don't want to be run over in the street. That's the conclusion of new research led by Mercedes-Benz, which is working with robotics experts and linguists on ways that autonomous vehicles and pedestrians - or would-be passengers - might be able to talk with gestures and more.
Although self-driving vehicle research has so far focused on replacing the person behind the steering wheel, equally important is how it replaces the verbal and non-verbal methods of communication between driver and those around, Mercedes argues. For instance, drivers often "wave" pedestrians over the road, while people waiting to be picked up point to a space near the sidewalk where they want the car to pull over.
Vehicle-to-vehicle communication is already being developed, which will allow swarms of autonomous cars to report their locations to each other, share details on upcoming traffic jams and accidents, and even hunt down better deals at gas stations. Now, Mercedes-Benz and Ars Electronica Futurelab have been running quadcopter trials to see how motion-tracking or other systems could translate gestures from pedestrians to something smart cars might understand.
For instance, one trial used a quadcopter which could interpret and react to gestures for hailing, stopping, and steering. An alternative system used a "haptic control object" to do the same, which might one day be embedded in a key fob or similar.
Still undecided is whether it'll be easier for humans to learn a "robot language" or vice-versa, or if some hybrid of the two is more appropriate. Differences in localized gestures could also present a hurdle, not to mention accommodating disabilities.
Also yet to be figured out is the extent of how humans and cars might wish to talk, as well as figuring out which person an autonomous vehicle is communicating with, and whether ostensibly similar gestures mean "move on" or "stay back."
Similarly, how much of the car's safety awareness should be relayed to pedestrians around it also needs deciding. For instance, a vehicle might flag up another approaching if it spots someone trying to cross the road, but it's unclear what methods might be used to actually translate that.
Mercedes-Benz has already dispatched one autonomous car across Germany using technology co-developed with Nokia's HERE division. | <urn:uuid:e4992b5c-72b1-4525-ac35-fc0bac191e98> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slashgear.com/self-driving-cars-need-better-people-skills-says-mercedes-04336364/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00190-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957097 | 500 | 3.203125 | 3 |
ASPARAGUS Overview Information
Asparagus is a plant. The newly formed shoots (spears), root, and “underground stems” (rhizomes) are used to make medicine.
Asparagus is used along with lots of fluids as “irrigation therapy” to increase urine output. It is also used to treat urinary tract infections and other conditions of the urinary tract that cause pain and swelling.
Other uses include treatment of joint pain (rheumatism), hormone imbalances in women, dryness in the lungs and throat, constipation, nerve pain (neuritis), AIDS, cancer, and diseases caused by parasites.
Asparagus is also used for preventing stones in the kidney and bladder and anemia due to folic acid deficiency.
Some people apply asparagus directly to the skin for cleaning the face, drying sores, and treating acne.
In foods, asparagus spears are eaten as a vegetable. This can produce a pungent odor in the urine.
The seed and root extracts of asparagus are used in alcoholic beverages.
How does it work?
- Urinary tract infections.
- Swelling (inflammation) of the urinary tract.
- Increasing urine production (“irrigation therapy”) when taken with lots of water.
- Joint pain and swelling that resembles arthritis (rheumatism).
- Hormone imbalances in women.
- Dryness in the lungs and throat.
- Nerve pain and swelling (neuritis).
- Parasitic diseases.
- Preventing kidney stones.
- Preventing bladder stones.
- Preventing anemia due to levels of folic acid that are too low (folic acid deficiency).
- Acne, when applied to the skin.
- Face cleaning, when applied to the skin.
- Drying sores, when applied to the skin.
- Other conditions.
ASPARAGUS Side Effects & Safety
Asparagus is safe when eaten in food amounts. However, there isn't enough information to know if asparagus is safe when used in larger medicinal amounts.
Asparagus can cause allergic reactions when eaten as a vegetable or used on the skin.
Special Precautions & Warnings:Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Asparagus is UNSAFE to use in medicinal amounts during pregnancy. Asparagus extracts have been used for birth control, so they might harm hormone balances during pregnancy.
Not enough is known about the safety of using asparagus in medicinal amounts during breast-feeding. It’s best to stick to food amounts.
Allergy to onions, leeks, and related plants: Asparagus might cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to other members of the Liliaceae family including onions, leeks, garlic, and chives.
Moderate Interaction Be cautious with this combination
- Lithium interacts with ASPARAGUS
Asparagus might have an effect like a water pill or "diuretic." Taking asparaus might decrease how well the body gets rid of lithium. This could increase how much lithium is in the body and result in serious side effects. Talk with your healthcare provider before using this product if you are taking lithium. Your lithium dose might need to be changed.
The appropriate dose of asparagus depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for asparagus. Keep in mind that natural products are not always necessarily safe and dosages can be important. Be sure to follow relevant directions on product labels and consult your pharmacist or physician or other healthcare professional before using. | <urn:uuid:1dd02ed7-8601-4167-b392-67af66ce495b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-286-ASPARAGUS.aspx?activeIngredientId=286&activeIngredientName=ASPARAGUS | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00012-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902103 | 782 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Andrew Donkin presents stories of real crimes and explains how each was solved through “amazing scientific evidence, personality profiling and paranormal investigations.” Brief, yet exciting accounts of about 50 actual crimes are given and then followed by descriptions of the steps investigators take to unravel the evidence leading to convicting the criminal.
This straightforward book is easy for young readers to comprehend, yet it includes enough technical information to hold the interest of junior high students. The descriptions of the crimes are concise and not sensational. The crime-solving techniques range from evidence that is visually apparent at the scene to fingerprinting, DNA testing, psychic assistance, and the use of computers in constructing virtual crime scenes. The black and white illustrations lend a sense of suspense.
In closing the book, Donkin discusses the future of crime detection and then provides a multi-choice questionnaire for readers to assess their powers of memory, observation and eye for detail. A good choice for fourth to eighth-grade readers.
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author provided free copies of his/her book to have his/her book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love and make no guarantee that the author will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. | <urn:uuid:95d89ab9-906d-46ac-ab19-168fce88fd0c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/dead-giveaways/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00172-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916478 | 292 | 2.515625 | 3 |
The reactor situation in Japan suffered yet another setback today, with water levels in Unit 2 registering 10 million times normal levels. The radiation was so high that workers fled the reactor rather than take a second reading. Radiation levels were an astonishing 1,000 msv/hour (which will cause radiation sickness within an hour and even deaths starting at 6 hours). Given this near-lethal radiation field, workers evacuated Unit 2.
One question is: where did this radiation come from? Most of it was in the form of iodine-134 (with a half-life of 53 minutes) and iodine-131 (with a half life of 8 days). This indicates that the radiation came directly from the core at Unit 2, rather than the spent fuel pond (where most of the iodine has already decayed). So there seems to be a direct path way from the core to the outside, meaning a breach of containment, similar to the situation in Unit 3. In other words, there could be a crack in the pressure vessel surrounding the super hot uranium core, as well as a crack in the outer primary containment vessel surrounding the pressure vessel. These cracks may allow radiation to escape from the core directly into the environment.
At the very least, this means continued leaks of deadly radiation from the core to the outside world.
But in a worst case scenario, it could be a preview of the day when radiation levels are so high that a complete evacuation is necessary. This means that the cores, without cooling water, will heat up and eventually cause an explosion, (via a hydrogen gas or steam explosion). Remember the only thing preventing this worst case scenario are brave firemen shooting hose water into the cores and spent fuel ponds. Once they are evacuated, then simultaneous meltdowns at 3 nuclear sites is inevitable. Then a steam or hydrogen gas explosion may crack open the pressure vessel, leading to a catastrophic release of radiation, perhaps worse than Chernobyl.
So it is a race against time. On one hand, we have the brave workers trying desperately to keep thecore and spent fuel pond covered with water. On the other hand, the reactors are deteriorating every day, with the possibility of cracks, pipe breaks, secondary earthquakes, which could easily tip the accident into the worst case scenario. At that point, when all the workers have to evacuate, let's hope that the utility took my advice to prepare the Chernobyl option (i.e use the air force for bury the reactors in concrete and sand). However, I doubt that the utility has thought that far ahead. | <urn:uuid:61480c9d-a905-46ed-a8cf-27738ee68e6a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://bigthink.com/dr-kakus-universe/another-setback-at-reactor-creates-race-against-time | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959833 | 512 | 3.359375 | 3 |
When I was a kid, my mother would sometimes give my younger brothers and me a large tub of oobleck, telling us to go play outside and make a mess.
Oobleck is a milky-white, shiny substance known as a non-Newtonian fluid. It flows like thick paint when you pour it, but mash your hand onto its surface and it forms a hard skin. Squeeze some in your palm and it will form a tough glob. But the second you release it, oobleck trickles down over your fingers in a slurry. It’s gross, it’s fun, and any kid will be caught up in its magical ability to switch back and forth between a solid and a liquid.
On their own, boring old water and cornstarch don’t seem like they’d be able to create such an interesting product. But get them together and they form a non-Newtonian fluid. To really understand these materials, we need some knowledge of their opposite – that is, a Newtonian fluid.
British polymath and Enlightenment hero Isaac Newton studied lots of things: optics, gravity, waves, mathematics, astronomy, history, religion and alchemy and so on. Then in his spare time, he investigated how liquids flow and thus got a whole branch of fluid dynamics named for him. Newton observed how common liquids, such as water, flow the same regardless of how much stress you subject them to. Push a stirring stick into a cup of water and swish it around. The water’s viscosity – how smooth or sticky its consistency is – stays the same.
Pretty simple, yeah? Many liquids that we interact with on a regular basis work this way: things like water, milk, oil, or juice. But there are also a lot of common fluids that don’t. These are non-Newtonian fluids; substances whose viscosity changes based on how much pressure you apply to them.
For instance, tip a tub of thick yogurt upside-down and it will slowly ooze out. But shake the yogurt for a while first and its viscosity will decrease, allowing it to pour much more easily. Things like toothpaste, conditioner, and ketchup are another example. They usually sit like a custardy solid at the bottom of their container. They are sticky, their viscosity is high. But such substances actually just need a bit of a kick to get flowing. You must provide enough force to overcome the internal friction that keeps them stationary, such as by giving them a squeeze, which lowers their viscosity. They can then be easily extruded from a tube, bottle, or packet.
When you mix cornstarch into water, the starchy grains become suspended in the liquid, creating a substance with weird non-Newtonian abilities. When you apply pressure to oobleck, it works the opposite of the previous examples: The liquid becomes more viscous, not less. At the places you apply force, the cornstarch particles get mashed together, trapping water molecules between them, and oobleck temporarily turns into a semi-solid material. This force can be anything, including the sound vibrations from music speakers or a rapidly shaking container, as in the video at the top of this post.
That particular experiment really highlights oobleck’s strangeness. The vibrating dish creates bumpy Faraday waves in the liquid. A puff of air introduced into this system creates a hole in the oobleck that just hangs out, not disappearing like you would expect. Speed up the vibrations and the hole will turn into a writhing mass that slowly takes over the entire surface of the oobleck. I don’t know about you, but I can’t watch that video without some internal WTF alarms going off.
Of course, the most famous force applied to oobleck is the weight of a person slamming their foot down as they run over a vat filled with the stuff. You can find plenty of videos on Youtube of people repeating this amazing feat, including the one above. It’s not just little children, college students, and Ellen viewers who are impressed. Explaining all of oobleck’s properties is actually the subject of serious scientific investigations.
In 2012, researchers at the University of Chicago published a paper where they described the battery of experiments they performed on oobleck (you can watch a video of their tests below). It’s hard not to be impressed by all the science these guys are doing on some bizarre stuff I used to play with as a kid: Lasers! High-speed cameras! X-ray machines! Their lab has got it all.
After measuring all the forces and deformations involved inside of oobleck, the researchers think they know how it is able to generate the support for messiah-like party tricks. If you hit oobleck hard and fast, the cornstarch particles get shoved together, bunching up like snow in front of a snowplow. This creates a quasi-solid column just below your foot, which can support your weight. But if you stop moving, you stop applying force and the oobleck returns to a liquid state.
That’s fairly intuitive. But many mysteries actually remain with oobleck. The researchers still don’t know all the details, such as whether or not the cornstarch particles actually touch one another, what causes them to move apart after the pressure is taken off, and how different grain sizes would affect what the oobleck does. This last point is important because some engineers would like to create new substances with oobleck-like characteristics. These could be good at absorbing tremendous impacts, finding uses in bulletproof vests or cushions that inflate during a car crash.
I think that ultimately, the moral of the story is this: Parents, let your kids play with non-Newtonian fluids. They’ll grow up to create life-saving devices, or at least write about them on the internet.Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article. | <urn:uuid:3e342bb7-2db7-4048-894b-858a1daf0812> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-oobleck-non-newtonian/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00044-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942641 | 1,266 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Diagnosis & Tests
How do you know if it’s heartburn or something more serious? See what steps doctors take and what heartburn and GERD tests may be used to find out.
You think you have heartburn, but how do you know for sure? Here are the steps your doctor may take to find out.
Three out of every 10 people experience heartburn on occasion, so it can be somewhat arbitrary to decide when heartburn should be called acid reflux disease.
Learn about the tests used to diagnose GERD.
This procedure, usually done on an outpatient basis, allows your doctor to take a look inside your esophagus and stomach.
If your treatment for severe heartburn or GERD isn't working, you may need this test.
This tests checks to see whether your esophagus is working properly. | <urn:uuid:5160214b-85a2-4c43-8726-870483f5b398> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/heartburn_gerd_diagnosis_tests | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89552 | 175 | 3.046875 | 3 |
The United States military has spent the past seven plus years involved in military operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Thanks largely to the abolition of the draft in 1973, not a single day of Major League service time was lost by players serving in the military. As we have explored here today, there was a time when that was not the case.
World War I was the first major military event to involve Major League players. Hundreds of former, current, or future Major Leaguers served, including Hall of Famers Pete Alexander, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker, and Ty Cobb; eventual Yankees Waite Hoyt, Herb Pennock, and Casey Stengel; as well as future Yankee outfielder and eventual Chicago Bears owner George Halas.
Though retired, Christy Mathewson - a member of the Hall of Fame's innuagural class of 1936 - enlisted as part of the Chemical Service. He developed tuberculosis as a result of accidental exposure to mustard gas, leading to his early death in 1925. The continued enlistment of players in 1918 forced MLB to reduce their schedule to less than 130 games, down from the usual 154, finishing the regular season on Labor Day weekend and wrapping the World Series before mid-September.
Yet all of that pales in comparison to the impact World War II had on MLB. More than 500 Major Leaguers served. Despite that, President Roosevelt asked baseball to carry on, to provide some needed leisure to the war focused nation.
With rosters depleted, baseball was hardpressed to find players. Aging veterans held on longer than they would have otherwise; players like future Hall of Famer Ted Lyons and Hod Lisenbee finished their military tours of duty and temporarily ended years long retirements to help round out rosters. Joe Nuxhall debuted as a 15 year old pitcher for the Reds. The St. Louis Browns employed a one armed outfielder named Pete Gray. All time greats like Bob Feller, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams missed prime years of their careers.
Between his service time in WWII and the Korean War, the Splendid Splinter missed nearly five full years of his career, potentially costing him a shot at Babe Ruth's home run record. Though MLB had far fewer players involved in Korea, several of them still missed time due to military service, including Whitey Ford, Jerry Coleman, and Billy Martin. Major League players would continue to serve in the military until the end of the abolition of the draft in 1973, Tony Kubek, Thurman Munson, and Bobby Murcer amongst them.
Thankfully, our nation's volunteer forces have been sufficient for the past 35 years that conscription hasn't been needed. I'm certain that - God forbid - if the need were ever again to arise for a major military operation that baseball and the rest of us would step up as in the past. But for now, as far as MLB is concerned, life during wartime is far different than it was nearly seventy years ago.
Once again, thanks to all our nation's armed forces. Happy Veterans Day. We'll see you tomorrow.
Yankees Activate Mark Teixeira, Designate Ike Davis
21 minutes ago | <urn:uuid:3090f14b-10ff-4c95-afdc-c70c050d00d6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://fackyouk.blogspot.com/2009_11_11_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00065-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973148 | 649 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Capt Caesar Carpentier Antoine
|Death:||Sep. 12, 1921
Louisiana Reconstruction-era politician, soldier, businessman and early civil rights crusader, C.C. Antoine was born in New Orleans to free parents of color and was educated in private schools there.
His family reasonably wealthy and his father a respected veteran of the War of 1812, Antoine enjoyed a relatively pleasurable youth in the nation's most cosmopolitan and racially liberal antebellum city. When Louisiana seceded in 1861, Antoine and his brother, Felix, joined the 1st Louisiana Native Guards, a state militia unit formed of free men of color, but this was dissolved and never brought into the Confederate Army. After the Union captured New Orleans in early 1862, Antoine joined the Union army and attained the rank of captain, recruiting soldiers for Co. I, Seventh Louisiana negro regiment. However, he and other black officers were forced to relinquish their status as officers when Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks took command from Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler. While most of the officers resigned, Antoine continued to serve through the end of the war as a common soldier.
After the war, Antoine established a residence in Shreveport, where he got involved in business and politics. He also had a residence in New Orleans, where he was editor and publisher of the newspaper the "New Orleans Louisianian" from December 25, 1870, to April 27, 1872. He also was president of the Cosmopolitan Life Insurance Company and a partner with Reconstruction Era Lt. Gov. P.B.S. Pinchback as a cotton factor.
He also served as a vice president of New Orleans' Comite des Citoyens, formed in 1890 by black citizens to fight legal battles against discrimination. The committee challenged Louisiana's 1890 Jim Crow Law, engaging a part-black New Orleanian, Homer Plessy, to test the public accommodations provisions of the law. This became the celebrated "Plessy Vs. Ferguson" case of 1896 that led to the Supreme Court of the United States upholding for the first time the doctrine of "separate but equal." While far from perfect in terms of guaranteeing civil rights, the decision was nonetheless important in that it established in national law the recognition of equality in civil rights for people of all races, which was a necessary precondition for the successive civil rights laws that have followed.
According to the obituary printed in Shreveport on his death, "during the reconstruction period, Antoine was one of the leading political powers in the state. He first entered Louisiana politics as a candidate for state senator, to which position he was elected. At the expiration of his term, in 1872, he was elected lieutenant governor, and after serving four years, was re-elected. For a period of several weeks, in 1876, he was acting governor, and issued a number of official orders."
Antoine was part of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1870, in which he advanced Shreveport's incorporation as a city. He owned extensive acreage in Caddo Parish, on which was later built the parish penal farm and the recent General Motors Assembly Plant.
Antoine and his second wife, Maria, had a daughter and a son, but have no descendants bearing the Antoine name today. They are buried side-by-side in west Shreveport, but only his grave is marked with a federal stone sponsored by the local Sons of Confederate Veterans camp and former SCV National Commander in Chief Chuck McMichael.
Mariah Sylvania Ross Antoine (1841 - 1921) | <urn:uuid:40ec193b-6712-47e3-abfa-597575a9ec23> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://redriversankofahs.org/antoine.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00032-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978642 | 742 | 3.0625 | 3 |
Have you ever seen a crowd of people looking off into the distance, perhaps toward a passing biker or up to the top of a building? There's a good chance you looked there, too, instantly, even without paying attention to the individuals in the group. How can we tell where a crowd is looking with so little effort?
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Denver have discovered that we rely on a specialized visual process known as "ensemble coding" to perceive where a crowd is looking. Their new study shows that we are able to tell where a group of people is looking, even after just a fraction of a second, by perceiving the group as a single entity rather than a collection of individuals.
This is a photo of a crowd.The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
"We see the group as an entity, the same way we see an entire tree without paying attention to the individual leaves," says psychology researcher Timothy Sweeny of the University of Denver. "This highlights the importance of group behavior in human experience - perceiving groups is so important that we have, in fact, evolved dedicated brain processes to perceive them."
Understanding where a group is looking can reveal useful, even vital, information to the viewer; previous research demonstrated that we are actually more responsive to the gaze of a crowd than the gaze of a single person.
"Imagine sitting in the stands at a baseball game. Out of the blue, a dozen people shift their gaze upward, right above your head. Your reaction to this information--is a foul ball headed your way?--will be different than if just one person looked over your head," Sweeny explains.
Sweeny and colleague David Whitney of the University of California, Berkeley wanted to investigate the mechanisms that contribute to this particular form of visual perception. Study participants viewed crowds of computer-generated faces. Sometimes they viewed a full crowd of 4 faces and sometimes they only viewed a subset of 1-3 faces selected from a full crowd. Importantly, the gaze of each of the 16 computer-generated faces was unique.
After viewing a crowd for only one-fifth of a second, participants were asked to estimate where the group was looking, on average, by moving the pupils on a blank face using the right and left arrows on a keyboard. If ensemble coding was at work, Sweeny and Whitney hypothesized, participants' gaze estimates should be better when more information (i.e., more faces) is available.
The data showed that participants' gaze estimates for groups incorporated information from multiple gazes in the crowd, in support of the researchers' hypothesis.
"Even though there wasn't enough time to inspect the individuals, the participants were still able to see the gist of what the entire crowd was doing, as a group," says Sweeny.
According to the researchers, the results indicate that we have a built-in mechanism that allows us to perceive crowd gaze incredibly quickly, and with little effort.
"These findings suggest that many of our complex social behaviors are actually rooted in basic visual processing," says Sweeny.
Sweeny and Whitney believe the findings could elucidate various group-related behaviors, such as panic and rioting, and might, in the future, also shed light on mechanisms that contribute to social deficits in autism spectrum disorders (ASD):
"Exploring how social group perception may or may not be impaired could provide insights into how basic visual deficits might underlie issues of broader social functioning in ASD, which often include disruptions in the perception of global aspects of scenes and perception of eye gaze," Sweeny speculates.
This study was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant R01 EY018216 and National Science Foundation Grant NSF 1245461.
For more information about this study, please contact: Timothy Sweeny at email@example.com.
The article abstract is available online: http://pss.
The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "Perceiving Crowd Attention: Ensemble Perception of a Crowd's Gaze" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or firstname.lastname@example.org. | <urn:uuid:9344a8f1-f365-42ec-a1cd-196e961ff839> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/afps-vh081814.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947158 | 892 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Developing Efficient Skills Do you know how to make a bed? Think about the steps in order. How many times do you move from one side of the bed to the other? If you find that you move from one side of the bed to another, you are probably following prescribed steps you were taught. Is all that walking really necessary?
What conditions suggest on-line instruction? Testing yields “identical” responses (correct performance is always the same) Scheduling constraints (people may work at their own pace) Location constraints (many different locations) The subject matter is stable (frequent updates are not needed) The benefit is greater than the cost Group exercises are not essential (Hilgard and Bower, 1975) Solitary Learning Is Best Used to Teach When the Skill Is… Active Repetitive Learned through Reinforcement Develops Speed or Proficiency through Practice Has a Meaningful Organization Creates a Basis for Understanding Divergent or Independent Thinking Is Encouraged Should Be Customized to the Abilities of the Audience Note: Only a few of these conditions are required for Instructional Technology to be desirable
The Instructional Technologist ’s Perspective Advantages (Medsker, 1979) Centralized Control- everyone gets the same course Training is available anytime and anywhere it is needed Real-time interactive training and feedback Computer Based Training (CBT) can be used to track the achievement of course objectives. Disadvantages Requires three sets of skills Subject matter, technology and instructional techniques (the electronic page turner) Two to three hundred hours of development per hour of instruction. This does not include analysis and testing which are roughly equivalent in length. The more sophisticated the hardware and software the longer the training. Not suitable unless courses are going to be needed over a long period of time. Not suitable when a small population is to be trained.
All that you have read and heard to this point is based on the state-of-the art as of yesterday. Today there should be no limits to the ability to train using digital and electronic media. Even the limitations of cost are not what they were recently. Anything that can be done in a conventional setting can be done better, faster, more effectively given existing technology. Let ’s explore Accommodating Learning Styles Some students learn most effectively by reading the materials in textbooks and in lecture notes (like the ones provided for you here). These learners are best supported by the dominant on-line learning tools. Those who argue against on-line education frequently claim that the other dominant learning styles are ill-served by technology. Let ’s consider if that criticism is justified. Auditory learners retain material best when they hear the information as in a lecture. Today podcasts with or without accompanying visuals can serve this learner effectively. As with other types of programmed instruction, every student will be trained by the very best course developer and delivered by the very best lecturer. Group exercises and Social Interaction among students are also cited as deficiencies in on-line education. With the availability of conferencing software, cameras, mics and multi-screening student interaction can be as effective on-line as they are in-person. If business conferences and dating events can be effectively conducted on-line, the social needs related to education can be satisfied equally well. Instructors sometimes report they can “read” Physical Cues (like facial expressions) from students. These cues can signal when a learning point has been successfully grasped or when reinforcement is needed. Multi-screening could provide the lecturer a view on students better than the view of a front row learner. At the same time, that instructor can verify the signals from those anonymous seats in the back row. Finally, technology can offer visually or aurally impaired learners a truly equal opportunity to learn. The problem then is not a failure of technology. Rather there is a failure to get the technology into the right hands.
Hum 110 wake tech week6 c online education4
To Support Learning, Technology Requires Analysis | <urn:uuid:d42e1528-8139-439d-a88f-eee9286a5cad> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slideshare.net/dward7097/hum-110-wake-tech-week6-c-online-education4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00025-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938481 | 814 | 3.296875 | 3 |
While knowing your pronation pattern is the key to choosing your running shoes, you can’t evaluate it without specialized equipment or appropriate training. However, it is useful to determine what kind of arches you have as this has a direct relationship on how you run and can be a good starting point on figuring out what shoes you require.
There are three types of arch height. People with a flat foot, or very low arches, tend to overpronate. Conversely people with high arches are more likely to underpronate. If you have normal arches you will usually have a normal pronation pattern. The Wet Test is a simple way to figure out what type of arch you have.
Overpronation is when the foot rolls too far inward as it moves through the gait cycle.
Underpronation is when the foot does not roll inward enough as it moves through the gait cycle.
The Wet Test
1. Fill a basin of water and place a piece of paper beside it. A dark coloured paper works best.
2. Stand into the basin and then step out onto the dry paper.
3. Then step off the paper, and have a look at the prints left behind.
If a print showing almost your whole foot is left behind, with hardly any curving inwards where your arch is, then you have very low arches or flat feet.
On the other hand, if there is a very big curve between the ball of your foot and your heel, then you have high-arched feet.
If your foot is somewhere between the two descriptions above, then you have a normal arch: there is a slight curve inward but not too much.
The Wet Test is a fun test to do to gain a basic idea of what kind of shoes you might need. However, it is not a basis on which to purchase shoes. For instance, while having normal arches you might still overpronate. | <urn:uuid:fefe4868-2ebb-4b69-9a33-88e121a12f85> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.barringtonsports.com/news/fitness/article/get-to-know-your-arches-the-wet-test | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941013 | 398 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Before starting reading Thracian Language and Greek and Thracian Epigraphy,
we should keep in mind that we will be facing a situation that is extremely
complex. There exists a methodological problem, originating in the past,
which caused various misunderstandings. It is due to the volume of
different entries assembled in the goal to compose a thesaurus of the
Thracian language. Somehow, over the years during the last two centuries,
there was a whole set of methods applied that were not in accordance to the
progress made by linguistics. For example, the choice made in assembling
the two main corpora so far, that of Tomaschek and Detschew, present data
from literary and epigraphic sources. These data combined were not at all
times convincing. Sometimes controversial entries were included whose
interpretation provoked long discussions. More attention was paid to
details, which in most of the cases were not concerned with the discussion
of the whole body of evidence.
One other reason: whilst modern linguistics made a huge progress, Thracian
scholars stayed within the general Indo-European theory of the Neogrammarians.
The method I used rests on the description of Thracian onomastics obtained
after phonological analysis, because I am concerned with the fact that
every single phonologically attested form of phonemes and morphs is
relevant. For, it helps to list all possible forms of names thus showing
all of the graphemes independently. | <urn:uuid:8c957573-ee59-40dd-aed7-e6c8aca43ce8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=42859 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948041 | 314 | 3.125 | 3 |
Starship Combat Tactics
The goal of this document is to compare and contrast the naval tactics of Earth's seafaring navies, the Federation's Starfleet, and the Imperial star fleet. Before we begin, I would like to point out that this is not intended to be a comprehensive discussion of real-life naval tactics, so I do gloss over some details. I'm trying to show general trends as they might apply to fictional space battles rather than producing a full-blown essay on the history of naval warfare.
Tactics of Seafaring Navies
The history of warfare at sea has been characterized by the ever-increasing range and lethality of weapons technology. A brief summary of naval tactics throughout Earth's history follows:
The era of the ancient galley stretches back thousands of years to the earliest days of naval warfare, and it continued right up to the 16th century. Large battles typically involved hundreds of ships. The ships themselves were slow, flimsy and barely seaworthy, being propelled largely by oarsmen. This poor mobility meant that historical descriptions of galley battles were typically couched in the language of land warfare, with terms such as "flanking" and "encirclement" being common. The most destructive weapon was the ram. Incendiaries were sometimes used, but with spotty effectiveness and some risk of backfiring on their users. Battles were therefore fought at extreme close range, and ships approached each other head-on. There was no distinction between warships and troop transports, so each ship carried large groups of soldiers. Therefore, the use of boarders became common. The Romans developed specialized grappling hooks to secure enemy vessels, and boarding planks to facilitate rapid insertion of legionnaires who would fight their way on board. Near the end of the galley era, cannons and harquebuses came into common use, but the flimsy galleys couldn't mount cannons big enough to dominate battle. Even at the end of the galley era, battles were still dominated by boarding tactics.
Around the time of the 17th century, naval warfare entered the age of the so-called "ship of the line", or "fighting sail". Large battles of this era involved ships which were relatively few in number (dozens instead of hundreds), but large in size. These ships dispensed with oarsmen and shifted to a much larger, stronger hull with huge sails. This improved their ocean survivability, giving them far longer ranges than the flimsy galleys. The primary anti-ship weapon changed from ram and boarder to guns, with rows of heavy cannons firing out of gunports on the side of the ship. As a result, ships no longer approached one another head-on, but rather, they formed up into thin battle lines, which could be many miles in length. Ships began to differentiate into various specialized classes, dedicated to specific classes such as transports, fast couriers, and of course, the aptly-named Man 'O War. The importance of superior firepower was quickly discovered, as ship builders began to build two, three, and four-deck ships (meaning that they had many stacked gun decks). Naval officers eventually realized that importance of disrupting the enemy's battle line, and so they developed signalling protocols in order to create a command and control system that would allow greater flexibility than the "follow the leader" system currently in use. This C&C system allowed fleet admirals such as Horatio Nelson to break out of rigid "battle line" tactical dogma, permitting such famous victories as the Battles of Trafalgar and the Nile, both of which involved the co-ordinated action of two sub-groups instead of a single battle line.
In the 19th century, naval warfare entered the age of the iron-hulled steam-driven battleship. Large battles of this era involved even fewer ships than battles involving ships of the line: a handful of battleships with a destroyer screen was now regarded as a fleet. These ships had the range of sailing ships without their dependence on the wind, and they mounted both superior armour and firepower. Two important new technologies appeared: fire control and torpedoes. Fire control meant that they could aim without a line of sight by using ballistic trajectory calculations, and it greatly increased their effective weapon range. This range virtually eliminated the importance of fleet formations, since the distances between ship in an enemy fleet were now so small (relative to weapon range) that you could direct and concentrate your firepower toward any arbitrary point in the enemy fleet. It was for this reason that fleets in the battleship era cruised in formation but immediately broke up into columns when an enemy was sighted. Torpedoes struck the heavily armoured battleships below the waterline and could sink them, so protective destroyer screens appeared. Visibility and adequate scouting gained even more importance, and both were eventually aided by the invention of radar. The so-called "N-square law" meant that the fleet with an initial advantage would enjoy an increasing advantage as the battle wore on, due to the effect of attrition. Tactics of maneuver shrank in importance; despite the theoretical effectiveness of "crossing the T", it almost never happened and proved to be largely irrelevant. Tactics of this era were dominated by the big gun, and since the tactics of maneuver were no longer important, battles of this era were characterized by ruthlessly simple mathematics regardless of whether they took place at long range or short range: the fleet with superior numbers and firepower would generally be assured of victory, particularly if they could strike first.
On December 7, 1941, the battleship's reign as king of the sea came to an end, though some naval officers were slow to realize it. Hundreds of Japanese carrier planes attacked a fleet of American battleships at Pearl Harbour and decimated it, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of naval air power and ushering in the age of the aircraft carrier. I suppose I should concede that it's possible to assign other dates to the birth of the carrier age, such as the pivotal Battle of the Coral Sea, which was the first open sea battle in which the two fleets engaged exclusively through the use of carrier planes. But Pearl Harbour is such a legendary event in naval history (having become one of the few names that can also be used as a verb, eg. "he got him to lower his guard and then he Pearl Harboured him!") that I felt it was the best choice as the "official" start of the carrier age. By virtue of its infamy, it was the moment at which opposition to the carrier evangelism of men like Admiral Chester Nimitz finally vanished.
As before, this sea change (pardon the pun) was precipitated by increases in range (specifically, the range of naval aircraft compared to the range of battleship guns). Aircraft had existed for decades, but it wasn't until WW2 that they were capable of doing serious damage to a battleship. Battles of this era were characterized by extreme long range. Scouting was of absolutely paramount importance, and often made the difference between victory and defeat. Ranges had now increased to the point that fleets often did battle without ever seeing one another. Carrier planes were capable of attacking naval and land targets with equal aplomb, and apart from supporting amphibious troop landings, fleets no longer had any purpose other than the ferrying of aircraft to within striking range. Numbers of ships continued to shrink; a late 20th century aircraft carrier task force might consist of a single huge "supercarrier" surrounded by escort vessels and supply ships.
One development threatened the aircraft carrier's reign over the seas, and that development was the guided missile. The first guided missiles were the notorious Japanese kamikaze aircraft of World War 2. Their "guidance system" consisted of poorly trained "volunteer" pilots who manually flew their planes into their targets, and their effectiveness was largely predicated upon the difficulty of targeting incoming aircraft (not to mention the flimsy flight decks of American aircraft carriers). As guided missiles continued to evolve, they became automated weapons of extreme long range destruction, eventually transforming the tactical landscape. This required corresponding improvements in scouting techniques and C&C systems in order to improve targeting accuracy and ensure first strikes. The importance of scouting and C&C in an era of very long ranges cannot be overstated: during the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, Israeli ships decisively defeated Syrian ships armed with longer-ranged missiles, thanks to superior scouting and C&C. The guided missile stood poised to reverse the long-standing trend of ever larger naval vessels, because it could be mounted on small ships and its potential lethality called the wisdom of the supercarrier into question (there was a lively debate between proponents of distributed naval force and concentrated naval force, ie- lots of little ships vs a few big ships).
And finally, it should be noted that despite the enduring importance of the submarine during the battleship, aircraft carrier and guided missile eras, there has never been what anyone would describe as a submarine era. That is because submarines by their nature are incapable of taking control of the ocean; they can attack shipping lanes but they can't defend them. They can't protect supply convoys or project national power by delivering troops; they can only act as raiders or instruments of mass destruction (eg. nuclear missile submarines), thus making them weapons of either sea-lane denial or nuclear terrorism, rather than instruments of legitimate naval control.
Federation Naval Tactics
Federation naval tactics are largely a hybrid between the tactics of ancient Rome and those of Horatio Nelson. Consider the following:
Roman-style boarding tactics are still used. Tractor beams and transporters are clearly analogous to Roman grappling hooks and boarding planks, and it isn't uncommon to use boarders in an attempt to overwhelm a target in the heat of combat. For example, in "Way of the Warrior", we saw Klingon warriors board DS9 and attempt to seize control of the station while it was still exchanging fire with the Klingon fleet. The Klingon warriors even fought using bladed weapons, just as their Roman legionnaire precedessors did. Contrast this with the era of Horatio Nelson and subsequent periods, in which the range and lethality of weaponry became such that it was virtually impossible to approach and board a ship without having to completely disable it beforehand.
Ramming is still the most powerful weapon available, albeit a weapon of last resort. In "Tears of the Prophets" (described on the Battles page as the Battle of Chin'toka), hopelessly outmatched Jem'Hadar attack ships (ships roughly 70-80% larger than the Falcon) eschewed energy weapons and torpedoes in favour of ramming attacks, which proved to be devastatingly effective against Martok's ships. Contrast this with the era of Horatio Nelson and subsequent periods, in which the range, accuracy and lethality of weaponry became such that the approach necessary for a ramming attack would be suicidal.
Missiles have not dominated the tactical landscape, in spite of their theoretically extreme range. Although they seem to be capable of accurately hitting targets from many thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometres away, fleets do not engage one another with long-range missile exchanges. Instead, they generally approach to gunnery range and then open fire with both energy weapons and missiles at the same time.
Battle lines are still in use, albeit modified for a 3-dimensional battlefield. In the fleet engagements of "Sacrifice of Angels" and "What You Leave Behind" (described on the Battles page as the Third Battle of Bajor and the Battle of Cardassia Prime, respectively), fleets formed up into a "wall o' ships" and faced off against one another at close visual range. Land engagement terminology such as "flank", "line", and "breakthrough" could be heard repeatedly from the command staff. The disruption of the enemy formation is a tactical imperative, as described by Captain Sisko in "Sacrifice of Angels". Contrast this with the battleship and aircraft carrier eras, in which the range, accuracy and lethality of weaponry became such that fleet formations lost their importance. Also contrast this with air combat, in which formations actually squander the advantage of maneuverability and are thus only used for slow, ungainly aircraft such as bombers.
Fleet firepower concentration is beyond their capabilities, as seen in "Sacrifice of Angels" and "What You Leave Behind." In those battles, tactics of attrition and the ruthless mathematics of the N-square law didn't apply because battle lines couldn't concentrate their firepower on individual ships. Each ship simply fired at the nearest ship in the opposing wall. Departure from the relative safety of the battle line was suicidal for a capital ship (as seen in "Sacrifice of Angels") because a ship would now be close enough to the enemy formation that multiple ships could concentrate their firepower on it. Only small ships such as fighters and Defiant-class ships could survive departure from the battle line, since the enemy ships could not accurately target them. Another example of their inability to concentrate firepower at long range was seen in "Tears of the Prophets", in which only the handful of ships closest to the "power generator moon" were able to fire on it.
The only examples of fleet firepower concentration occurred where encirclement (a ground combat term) was possible. For example, Klingon and Dominion fleets in "Way of the Warrior" and "A Call to Arms" fired on DS9 only after approaching to ~10km and encircling it.
Some would counter these statements by referring to technobabble theory, but when theory and reality fail to intersect, theory is wrong. Non-canon speculation about very long effective ranges (either for phasers or torpedoes) sound nice, but it fails to explain why the tactics of Federation starship combat invariably follow the tactics of short-ranged weapons. If these unsubstantiated claims about very long effective ranges were true, then one would be left with no alternative but to conclude that the naval officers of all the major Star Trek navies are either suicidal or certifiably insane for refusing to take advantage of those ranges.
Imperial Naval Tactics
Imperial naval tactics are largely based on the battleship era, with some hint of tactics from the early aircraft carrier era. Consider the following:
Boarding is not a useful combat tactic, and only occurs after the target vessel has already been disabled (as seen in ANH), or has already surrendered.
Ramming is not a useful combat tactic, and is never used or even attempted in any of the canon films. Three ISD's accidentally rammed the Executor while decelerating from hyperspace (ref: SWE), but they merely exploded against its shields. Official literature describes "robot ramships", but these weapons (essentially huge guided missiles) are designed for deceit and piracy rather than wholesale warfare, and were used once in battle, against a light cruiser.
Battle lines are not used. Fleets travel in formation which break up when combat is joined, as seen in ROTJ. The Rebel and Imperial fleets began exchanging long-range fire without any regard for formation, although Emperor Palpatine's decisions ultimately led to an Imperial defeat despite what was probably superior firepower. Piett's ships engaged long-range fire with the Rebel fleet as described in the ROTJ novelization, but they apparently targeted smaller ships before larger ships for the purpose of prolonging Palpatine's dramatic demonstration. Even Jerjerrod chose his targets in the same manner, aiming the first superlaser blast at the Liberty rather than the far more massive and heavily armed Rebel flagship Home One. On the other hand, Ackbar wisely concentrated his fleet's firepower on the Imperial flagship Executor first..
Tactics of maneuver are non-existent. Capital ships simply exchange fire with enemy capital ships, without regard for formations or "flanking", "encirclement", or "breakthrough" maneuvers.
Torpedoes are not used in capital ship combat. Despite apocryphal descriptions to the contrary, there are no canon sightings or descriptions of any capship missiles. Capital ship combat seems to be conducted exclusively with turbolasers, which isn't surprising given the lack of damage caused by proton torpedoes in ANH (Red Leader's torpedoes barely scratched the DS exhaust port surface structure) and TPM (Naboo torpedoes were ineffective against the TradeFed battleship).
Fighters exist but they are incapable of carrying the fight to the enemy unaided, so a fighter attack can only complement the big guns, rather than replacing them. This was seen most strikingly in the beginning stages of the Battle of Endor, when hordes of Imperial fighters and bombers attacked without support and swarmed over the Rebel fleet, but were unable to destroy or seriously damage a single warship. It was seen again in TPM, when the Naboo fighter squadron fought a hopeless battle to destroy a TradeFed battleship (a battle that Qui-Gon obviously expected them to lose) despite having the element of surprise (the battleship didn't launch its own fighters until the attackers were already within naked-eye visual range).
Combat can occur at very long visual ranges (made longer by the sheer size of Imperial warships, which makes them easier to see at a distance), as seen in TESB when the Rebel ground defenses engaged Imperial ships in orbit. It was seen again in ROTJ when Rebel and Imperial warships exchanged fire at long visual range and then closed to less than 10 km ("point-blank range") as the battle intensified.
Again, some might counter these arguments with technobabble theory, but again, what you see is what you get. They have fighters, but they can't use them the way terrestrial navies used them. They have torpedoes, but as anyone can see from ROTJ and TPM, they're obviously not ship-killers the way they were for submarines. They have guided missiles, but those missiles didn't turn space combat into long-range affairs of duelling missile platforms, the way they did for terrestrial navies and aircraft. It's not enough to affix a label to a particular weapon and assume it's precisely analogous to terrestrial equivalents; you must look at the way it's used, before you can begin to guess what it can do.
The use of battle lines, ramming tactics, and balanced short-range gun/missile attacks in Star Trek leads us to the following conclusions:
Anti-ship weaponry in Star Trek is not combat-effective at ranges exceeding ~10km, because battle lines form up at those ranges and cannot employ fleet firepower concentration without encirclement (also at that range). Torpedoes and phasers can physically travel farther than that, but targeting difficulties can limit effective range even when theoretical range is very large.
Hulls, shields and structural forcefields are insufficient to nullify the effectiveness of ramming, because ramming attacks were so effective against undamaged, fully shielded Klingon warships in "Tears of the Prophets" (even when undertaken by miniscule 70m long ships). This suggests large disparities between Star Trek ships' ability to handle kinetic energy and electromagnetic energy.
Combat maneuverability of capital ships is high enough to permit Nelson-style tactics of maneuver (hence the flanking maneuvers attempted by Jem'Hadar ships), but not high enough to permit fighter plane tactics (hence their use of combat formations).
Based on the parallel use of phasers and photon torpedoes, the effective range of missiles seems to be far lower than their theoretical range. A likely explanation is that their limited AI and ECM (in addition to poor maneuverability) makes them easy to shoot down at long range, where the defenders have a lot of time to see them coming.
The use of concentrated gunnery tactics in conjunction with fighter harassment in Star Wars leads us to the following conclusions:
Anti-ship weaponry in Star Wars is combat-effective at ranges of at least several hundred kilometres based on the unimportance of battle formations, even at long visual ranges such as those seen in ROTJ. This was demonstrated when the Rebel ion cannon engaged ISD's in the Battle of Hoth, and again when the DS2 superlaser engaged Rebel cruisers in the Battle of Endor.
Weapons based on turbolaser technology dominate the battlefield in Star Wars, with scalability ranging as low as a hand blaster and as high as the awesome planet-destroying Death Star superlaser. Torpedoes are relatively unimportant, and seem to serve only as starfighter weapons.
Starfighters, by virtue of their weak armament, cannot successfully attack capital ships without capship support. There is some apocryphal literature to support the opposite notion, but it originates entirely from the notoriously propagandistic New Republic descriptions of the exaggerated exploits of Wedge Antilles and his X-wing squadron. Canon support for this notion is nonexistent, and in the Battle of ROTJ, the fighters were used merely to "finish off" ships which have already been disabled by turbolaser cannonade, such as the Imperial communications ship and the Executor (also see the novelization, in which we heard Ackbar informing his bridge crew that "if we can knock out their shields, our fighters might stand a chance against them"- a far cry from the apocryphal nonsense of fighter squadrons pummeling the shields of warships). | <urn:uuid:4e5b5ae3-aa95-4287-bf1f-cb718c089055> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/Tactics/Naval-Tactics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967436 | 4,380 | 3.171875 | 3 |
’Olena highly valued in Pacific
Description: An herbaceous plant with dark green leaves up to 4 feet long that rise out of dark yellow to orange rhizomes -- most people call these roots, but they are actually underground stems.
Emerging from the center of the leaves is an upright blossom that resembles a single large white -- or sometimes purplish-white -- ginger flower but is really made up of many smaller flowers.
This "big flower" is fragrant and easily distinguished among other members of the ginger family. Like many other ginger plants, 'olena is also deciduous, meaning that it loses its leaves, or "dies back," for a few months every year. So don't be disappointed when this happens; you didn't kill the plant, it's just resting and will pop up again later.
Distribution: 'Olena is a Polynesian-introduced plant usually found in mesic valleys in areas once inhabited by early Hawaiians. Although uncommon today, this plant can sometimes be purchased at plant sales and Hawaiian functions and is now available at Home Depot for less than $6.
Cultural uses: This plant is highly valued in Hawaii and many other parts of the Pacific for its many uses. The pounded rhizomes are strained and the liquid used to treat ailments such as ear or respiratory infections, as well as to spice up food. Its rich yellow color is also used to color food and dye kapa.
In other cultures this plant is used to color and spice curry dishes.
Landscape uses and care: 'Olena does best in partially shaded or full-sun areas in rich moist soil. Few pests are known to bother this plant.
Place it along other perennials because, as mentioned above, this plant is deciduous and loses its leaves for two to three months. Don't be discouraged by this; 'olena is a truly beautiful and prized Hawaiian plant. It deserves to be in more of Hawaii's gardens.
co-owns Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a native Hawaiian plant nursery, with Matt Schirman. Contact him at 295-7777 or e-mail Rick.email@example.com | <urn:uuid:bcf96f94-83b0-4424-a109-3071559d5a8c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/06/30/features/garden.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00137-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965511 | 455 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Text On Image,
This song about the "tr" consonant blend teaches viewers about pronunciation, decoding, phonics, reading, sight-reading, spelling, consonant sounds, and consonant blends.
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Assign directly to your students using the code or link above, without having them log in. Simply tell your students to go to
www.pbsstudents.org and enter the Assignment Code, or click on the Assignment URL to share the assignment as a link. | <urn:uuid:5cc08347-0d94-45dd-b577-3697c64c3e0b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/d3fc8efc-0d99-4c1c-89dc-da39679ec5e6/d3fc8efc-0d99-4c1c-89dc-da39679ec5e6/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00083-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.813867 | 124 | 2.96875 | 3 |
LatexPaper – Calculate LaTeX settings for any font and paper size
The package is a Python script, whose typical use is when preparing printed material for users with low vision. The most effective way of doing this is to print on (notional) small paper, and then to magnify the result; the script calculates the settings for various font and paper sizes.
More details are to be read in the script itself.
|License||GNU General Public License|
|Copyright||2005–2007 Silas S. Brown|
layout of objects on the page|
Download the contents of this package in one zip archive (4.2k).
Maybe you are interested in the following packages as well.
- fullminipage: Minipage spanning a complete page
- booklet: Aids for printing simple booklets
- emptypage: Make empty pages really empty
- hardwrap: Hard wrap text to a certain character length | <urn:uuid:b06cac66-6e42-40b9-9a94-04bbeaedfee3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ctan.org/pkg/latexpaper | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.76026 | 196 | 2.609375 | 3 |
My friend, Alex, struggles a little. I recently asked him to buy me some ribbon for my daughter's pretty pink bonnet.
He went to the haberdashery shop for the required length but accidentally interchanged the feet and inches.
When I measured the resulting ribbon I only had 5÷8 of the length I required.
How much ribbon did I originally ask for?
Remember that there are 12 inches in each foot.
I asked for 7 feet, 4 inches and my friend brought me 4 feet, 7 inches.
If we label what I asked for as A feet and B inches, which is (12 x A + B) inches, then I actually received B feet and A inches, which is (12 x B + A) inches. Which means that:
(5 ÷ 8) x (12 x A + B) = (12 x B + A)
A = (91 ÷ 52) x B
As B is the number of inches, it can only be between 1 and 12 and must give A as a whole number of feet. B = 4 is the only possible value, which means that A = 7. So I originally asked for 7 feet, 4 inches. QED. | <urn:uuid:2816e25a-c246-4923-bf35-b8fa66ed23f6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.brainbashers.com/showanswer.asp?ref=ZHFJ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00079-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973376 | 255 | 2.515625 | 3 |
A transcontinental railroad with a huge reach across Canada and the United States owns a competitive edge over other railroads and truckers. And because that railroad is also the most efficient in the industry, it can make tremendous profits in a growing economy. Meet Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI ) , the only railroad with connections to the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico.
History of the Trans-Con
The first transcontinental railroad was created in 1869 to connect San Francisco Bay with the existing Eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, IA. Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP ) owns the route between Council Bluffs and San Francisco. UP's track covers the western two-thirds of the United States, but goes no farther east than Chicago.
Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP ) completed Canada's first transcontinental railroad in 1885, connecting Vancouver with the Port of Montreal, but currently does not reach the Atlantic Ocean.
Canadian National Railway, founded in 1919, was privatized in 1995, and then expanded into the United States with the purchase of the Illinois Central Railroad and the Wisconsin Central.
Why the TransCon is critical
Railroads like CN, BNSF Railway, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are vital to North America's economy. They are capturing record levels of intermodal traffic, which includes containers from ships, hauled by rail to various terminals, where they are transferred by crane to truck for their final destinations.
Intermodal traffic is climbing due to a steady recovery in the North American economy. Lumber, autos, chemicals and grain shipments also are up. U.S. intermodal traffic in October totaled 1,317,601 containers and trailers, up 6.8 percent (84,120 units) compared with October 2012. The weekly average of 263,520 intermodal units in October 2013 was the highest weekly average for any month in history, according to the Association of American Railroads.
As AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray remarked in a press release:
There's been some concern lately that the recovery may be running out of steam. Rail traffic data for October doesn't seem to support that. A number of economically sensitive commodities, like lumber, autos, and chemicals, saw higher traffic volumes in October. The sharp increase in grain carloadings is a welcome change and points to the cooperative relationship railroads have established with their partners in the agricultural community.
CN's far reach
CN serves close to 75% of the U.S. population and 100% of Canadian markets.
CN owns important links through Chicago, the key hub in North American rails. It recently broke ground on a new logistics park in Joliet, IL. Shipments moving via rail to and from the facility will benefit from CN's Matteson Connection, offering quick and easy interchanges through Chicago's busy network. CN is hoping companies with major distribution needs will locate warehouses at the logistics park.
Canadian National can ship oil, metals, and coal west to Prince Rupert or Vancouver, B.C., or haul oil south to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans. The company can ship intermodal goods from Nova Scotia to Chicago.
CN owns the only rail to the massive Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, the largest known reservoir of crude bitumen in the world. It also has major lines heading from Edmonton down to the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, B.C. In all, CN owns 20,600 route miles of track, compared to Canadian Pacific's 14,700 miles.
Analysts like to watch a railroad's operating ratio to see how efficiently it is being run by management. Operating ratio is calculated by dividing operating expenses by revenues. Here are operating ratios in 2011, 2012 and through third quarter 2013.
|Name||2011 Operating Ratio||2012||2013 YTD|
|Kansas City Southern||70.9||68.0||69.1|
The chart shows railroads have improved their operating ratios, with Canadian National Railway leading the pack. E. Hunter Harrison improved operating ratios during his tenure as CN president and CEO from 2003 to 2009. He was recruited out of retirement to run Canadian Pacific in 2012 as president and CEO. Harrison has since improved performance at CP by reducing its workforce and selling assets.
Valuation & conclusion
Canadian National's 18 forward price/earnings ratio is slightly higher than Union Pacific's 16.62 forward P/E, but cheaper than Canadian Pacific's 22.72 forward P/E.
As the geographically dominant railroad in North America, with the lowest operating ratio in the industry, CN's valuation appears fair compared to its peers. The railroad is taking advantage of growing economies in both Canada and the United States. I plan to own my CN stock for many years to come. | <urn:uuid:1bfdff95-c755-46e5-a27e-e79fc1688413> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/11/16/meet-north-americas-most-efficient-railroad.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00179-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952653 | 985 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Ruth Winifred Howard (1900-1997)
by Ann L. Saltzman, Drew University*
Biography of Ruth Winifred Howard
The name of Ruth Winifred Howard is one we should all know. Earning her place in history as the first African American woman to complete a doctorate in psychology, Ruth Howard had a long career that encompassed social work, nursing education, and developmental and clinical psychology. Imbued from childhood with an appreciation of cultural diversity and respect for all people, Howard was well prepared to “serve the needs of thickly populated communities of differing cultural and economic strata,” as she described her work at the Abraham Lincoln Center in Chicago (Howard, 1983, p.63). It is sad, then to report that almost nothing has been written about this pioneering psychologist.
Ruth Winifred, born in 1900, was the eighth and youngest child of the Reverend and Mrs. William James Howard of Washington, D.C. During her father’s tenure as minister at the Zion Baptist Church (1886-1925), the congregation reached its pinnacle of influence and prestige, bringing many people through the church doors. As Ruth was to write years later, her father’s position in the community and his attitude toward others shaped her desire to work with people. Thus, she enrolled in the social work division at Simmons College, Boston where she was exposed to many ideas which stayed with her throughout her professional career, most notable were the need to support women and the need to assist unemployed, undereducated, and troubled youth through community planning.
Upon graduation in 1921, Ruth Howard began social work practice through the Cleveland Urban league and soon after accepted a position with the Cleveland Child Welfare Agency where she worked with children living in dysfunctional family situations or foster homes. Her work involved meeting representatives from schools and medical and child clinics, many of whom “didn’t understand or sympathized with cultural groups other than their own. This was markedly true about Negroes for whom they had firmly fixed preconceived ideas…” (Howard, 1983, p.58). Only the chief psychologist of the Cleveland Board of Education seemed to have some understanding of the needs of the black community. This unnamed woman spurred Howard to pursue a career in psychology.
Through a Laura Spelman Rockefeller Fellowship for Parent Education, Howard studied at Columbia University’s Teachers College and School of Social Work (1929-1930) and then transferred to the University of Minnesota where she completed her doctorate in psychology in 1934. The she registered at the Institute of Child Development where almost all the students were women as was Ruth Howard’s mentor: Dr. Florence Goodenough, developer of the Draw-a-Man test. Other female role models included Dr. Mary Shirley, Dr. Edna Heidbreder, and Dr. Edith Brody. For her doctoral research, Howard studied the developmental history of 229 sets of triplets, ranging in age from early infancy up to 79 years. This work, eventually published in both the Journal of Psychology (1946) and the Journal of Genetic Psychology (1947), was the most comprehensive study of triplets of its time. It is not clear, however, why it took twelve to fifteen years for her research to be published. One possible explanation is that after graduation from the University of Minnesota, Ruth Howard married psychologist Albert Sidney Beckham, and soon after moved to Chicago.
In Chicago, Howard completed an internship at the Illinois Institute of Juvenile Research which prepared her for subsequent clinical work with children and young people. She also worked at a community hospital and state school for delinquent girls. Following her internship, she became a supervisor at the National Youth Administration and, with her husband, began a private practice. As she wrote, theirs was a “happy marriage with our profession as one of the bonds. In professional activities, as in marriage relations, we were partners” (Howard, 1983, p.63).
As Howard’s clinical practice grew, she also pursued postdoctoral studies at the University of Chicago where she studied projective techniques with Dr. Robert Havinghurst; client-centered therapy with Dr. Carl Rogers; reading therapy with Dr. Helen Robinson; and play therapy with Virginia Axline, who was just beginning to write about this new developing sub-field. In 1944, Howard published her own study of play interviews with kindergartners and fourth-graders, focusing on how these play interviews could be used to detect war attitudes.
Ruth Howard was also active in numerous professional and community organizations. She helped organize the National Association of College Women, and joined the American Psychological Association, the International Psychological Association, the International Council of Women Psychologists, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Friends of the Mentally Ill. In addition, she was a long time volunteer for the Young Women’s Christian Association and Bartelme Homes, named for Judge Mary Bartelme, the first woman judge in Chicago’s Juvenile Court who was concerned about the many girls who passed through her court.
In 1964, Ruth Howard lost her life-long partner, Albert Beckham. Remaining in Chicago, she continued in private practice; consulted for children’s programs at the Abraham Lincoln Center; served as psychologist for the McKinley Center for Retarded Children (1964-66) and the Chicago Board of Health, Mental Health Division (1968-72); and worked with Worthington and Hurst Psychological Consultants (1966-68).
According to a great-niece of Dr. Howard’s, Ms. Bertha French, her great-aunt died on February 12, 1997, in Washington, DC.
At the end of her 1983 autobiographical essay Howard paid tribute to the women psychologists who have contributed to the growth and development of psychology. She closed by stating, “I salute women psychologists as they receive recognition within their field and when they help other women attain their potential” (p.67). It is fitting, then, to close this biographical piece by saluting Ruth Winfred Howard, who rightly deserves recognition for her pioneering status, her many accomplishments, and for paving the path that generations of women have since followed.
Guthrie, R. V. (1998). Even the rat was white: A historical view of psychology (pp. 178-180). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Howard, R. W. (1944). Fantasy and play interview. Character and personality, 13, 151-165.
Howard, R. W. (1946). Intellectual and personality traits of a group of triplets. Journal of Psychology, 21, 25-36.
Howard, R. W. (1947). The developmental history of a group of triplets. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 70, 191-204.
Howard, R. W. (1983). In A. N. O’Connell & N. F. Russo (Eds.), Models of achievement: Reflections of eminent women in psychology (pp. 55-67). New York: Columbia University Press.
*Originally published in The Feminist Psychologist, Newsletter of the Society for the Psychology of Women, Division 35 of the American Psychological Association, Volume 28, Number 2, Spring, 2001. Appearing with permission of the author. | <urn:uuid:7e9cc97e-382b-443c-ace6-2f4c2c26ee29> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.apadivisions.org/division-35/about/heritage/ruth-howard-biography.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00103-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962508 | 1,507 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The majority of people working for charities are paid to communicate. Even if someone has a technical job like a computer engineer, communicating with other people enables them to do this job effectively. When communication breaks down wasteful and unpleasant conflict occurs. People who are successful, happy and well liked in the workplace are very likely to be good communicators and studies show that emotional intelligence – a big part of communication – is three times more likely than IQ or technical skill to predict career success.* It is also important for organisations to behave in an emotionally intelligent and ethical way themselves internally as well as externally, reducing the conflict between espoused values and how staff are treated day-to-day.
Language Gets Things Done
We tend to think of conversation, whether it be by e-mail, phone or face-to-face as not really work, yet communication is how people get things done! Language is a phenomenal system human beings have evolved for coordinating action over time and space. I would argue it IS a form of action itself and the very core of work – particularly in the information age. Why then is not studied and common-sense understanding of how communication happens clarified?
If you’d like to coordinate for effectively with your colleagues some simple linguistic distinctions can be useful. Requests are a good place to start as asking for things is how things happen! This may sound obvious but most days I hear confusing semi-requests “It’s hot in here” rather than “please open a window”, requests without time-frames or even a specific action, set of standards or person to be asked! E.g. “do the report john” (sure, to what standard and by when?), “would someone sort out the computer system” (who?). What is worse, people do not clarify these requests and then agree to them. Saying yes to an unclear request is like giving a blank check when buying something. Another common mistake is “maybe”. Maybe can mean “yes”, it can mean “no”, it can mean “I’ll tell you later specifically…”, or “I won’t do that but I will do this…” These are the four basic responses to a request and worth clarifying.
Other powerful “speech acts” include declarations “Within 10 years we will end poverty”, and assessments “Bob is a bad fundraiser”, “this is the best project we’ve ever done”. Like requests these can be done more or less skilfully.
See the work of Fernando Flores, the Newfield coaching school or the book Language and the Pursuit of Happiness by the Chalmers Brothers for more information.
Communication with Heart
So far I have discussed the structural and logical side of communication, but this isn’t the whole picture. Human beings are also just that – human beings – with values, emotions and needs. Ironically I would note that charities only exist because of this side of our nature yet they don’t always operate internally in a way which takes this into account and allows people to flourish long-term at work. Appreciating needs, values and emotions takes time but are are a few tips for communicating with more emotional intelligence:
- Listen empathically to other people, with full attention and the intention to connect
- Be aware of your own feelings and develop a language for expressing them
- Appreciate the power of mirroring when influencing others or “catching” their mood
- Timing is crucial – tact
- Use humour…wisely
- Read the points on conflict below as these all apply…
See the work of Marshall Rosenberg or Daniel Goleman for more on this side of communication.
As well as linguistic communication I’d like to note that most emotionally significant communication occurs via the body (see Albert Mehrabian’s work). In fact it is more than body language as in a sense we are our bodies. People and organisations live “in” long-term moods which dispose them to certain actions. These moods are critical for charity managers to recognise so they can effectively lead teams. A person’s ability to lead is hampered or enabled by the non-verbal communication they are giving off continuously (mostly unconsciously) and the mood they inhabit.
When workplace communication breaks down – and I have seen this again and again both in British charity offices and in the field around the world – relationships, the task at hand and individual employees suffer. Workflow comes to a grinding halt and everyone is miserable. This is a great shame as transforming conflict into an opportunity for greater connection and learning is very possible.
Skill in working with conflict is in my opinion essential in the charity sector as unconventional and highly principles people abound (thank God) sometimes with sensitive natures (thank the full pantheon from diverse world traditions and random chance for the atheists so nobody is excluded…and thank maybe too for the agnostics). You make the call on leaving this in or not J
Again, developing great communication skills is a long-term project and here are a few tips for now:
- Listen (this means not interrupting, and may involve paraphrasing, but the critical part if just empathy – the intention to connect in the present moment)
- Avoid comparisons and judgements (especially moralistic “shoulding” and blame)
- Separate any facts from opinions and start with observation not evaluations.
- Acknowledge emotions and hold yourself responsible for your own feelings, while they may be a stimulus someone cannot “make you angry” for example
- Listen for and express the underlying needs and values “behind” feelings. E.g. “I’m anxious because I need support”
- Manage your state in a conflict situation using embodied techniques such as “centring”, “grounding” and deep breathing
- Appreciate cultural diversity
- Listen some more
See NonViolent Communication and “Getting to Yes” by Fisher and Ury for more on conflict resolution, mediation and negotiation.
An Ethical Sector?
Many people from outside imagine that the charities and non-profit sector must be a fluffy affair where people are always valued, respected and looked after. Ha! What a joke! Having worked in both business and NGOs and trained both groups in a diverse range of organisations I note that charities are often far more brutal and less ethical in their treatment of staff than most supposedly “cut-throat” corporations. I have seen human rights organisations that do not treat employees humanly, environmental organisations where it is the norm to work in and unsustainable way leading to burn-out and peace building charities constantly at war with themselves. Yes, they may buy Fairtrade coffee and bank with the Coop, but to me that’s not worth a lot if employees are encouraged to work so hard their marriages break-down and they die of heart attacks from the stress. I would like to offer a loving challenge to the charities sector to really walk its talk and live the values that are so often espoused.
Roots of Unethical Behaviour
Do people behave unethically because they are bad people? No I don’t think so, I continue to work with not-for-profits as I love the people involved as well as the work. So how to reconcile the fact that the charities world is full of wonderful caring individuals, yet many organisations and work practices within the sector are Victorian at best? There are a number of factors – the most obvious one being budget and time constraints. People say they “have to” work this way because of lack of resources in the charities world (language that denies choice is at the heart of unethical behaviour by the way –known by the Nazis as Amtssprache).However this really isn’t good enough as people are only under resourced because of commitments they and their organisations have made. Somehow unethical charities are always one month or “one big grant” away from treating staff in a way which looks after their needs. In a way the short term “burn em up and spit em out” approach to staffing is just short-sighted and behind much current business practice. Such policies can also be justified by working for a good cause in a way that people simply would not tolerate if they were working just for money. I would ask leaders in the field to not model marathon anti-social work hours or misuse the motivation that doing good in the world creates in people. It is also up to each individual in a charity to not buy-into what I call the willing martar or saviour syndrome and look after themselves – it is not just managers who are the cause of this but an endemic culture of service turned into masochism.
If you work in a charity and want to help others look after yourself and colleagues. Put your own oxygen mask on first as they say on the plane, not because it is selfish, but because it is essential for sustained enjoyable and effective working. Loving and caring about what you do is perhaps more dangerous than hating it when it comes to stress, burn-out and putting unreasonable work demands on oneself and colleagues.
Communication, emotions, conflict resolution and really embodying values all matter if charities want to get the job done and enjoy themselves doing it. I hope I have communicated this effectively.
*quoted in Emotional Intelligence at Work – Daniel Goleman
About the Author
Mark Walsh leads business training providers Integration Training, specialising in communication, stress and time management and leadership training. He has a background in psychology and non-profit sector work with sports, peace-building and youth work. He has pioneered “embodied” approaches to training in the UK and heads the Achilles Initiative – a training project that increases the resilience of people working in conflict zones. 07762 541 855 markatintegrationtraining.co.uk | <urn:uuid:f1754ae1-1c27-4ba7-8537-5f4d2727a4cf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://integrationtraining.co.uk/blog/2010/04/communication-conflict-and-ethical-charities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955754 | 2,067 | 2.75 | 3 |
Natural Gas Windfall is One of The Most Important Economic Developments in the Last 60 Years
On an energy-equivalent basis, natural gas remains 87% cheaper than oil, equivalent to a price of $14 per barrel. Martin Neil Baily, senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, and Philip Verleger, president of PKVerleger and visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, emphasize in their recent CNN article that America "hit the energy jackpot" with oil and shale gas, making it "one of the most important developments for the U.S. economy in the last 60 years." Here are some excerpts:"Shale extraction... is pushing down energy prices and creating many new opportunities for jobs, investments and manufacturing.And the new innovations are unique to the United Sates. Although other countries will exploit shale, none will come close to the low costs in the U.S. That's because the U.S. has a unique governmental structure in which many powers remain with the states, along with a very competitive market for the product, as opposed to the monopolies and oligopolies that control the market in almost every other country.While it may sound like the latest energy fad, the shale boom is for real and a serious game changer because of its size and potential longevity. Based on equivalent amounts of energy, natural gas has been about half as expensive as oil for many years (MP: See chart above, gas has actually been closer to 80% less expensive since the use of fracking increased significantly in 2008-2009).Cheap gas may not be enough to offset the drag of a slowing global economy this year, but it will boost long-term investment, help the beleaguered manufacturing sector and increase exports.Building petrochemical plants could suddenly become attractive in the United States. Manufacturers will "reshore" production to take advantage of low natural gas and electricity prices. Energy costs will be lower for a long time, giving a competitive advantage to companies that invest in America, and also helping American consumers who get hit hard when energy prices spike.After years of bad economic news, the natural gas windfall is very good news. Let's make the most of it." | <urn:uuid:dfbbdab5-d0b7-45ad-870f-ab0f1f2ba263> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bullfax.com/?q=node-natural-gas-windfall-one-most-important-economic-develo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00049-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945878 | 450 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Facts about Idaho
As the 13th largest state in the U.S., Idaho produces 72 types of precious and semi-precious stones. Some of these stones can be found nowhere else in the world, which is why our great state is known as The Gem State. The Snake River in Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in North America runs througout Idaho. The River of No Return the Salmon River also runs throughout Idaho.
State Flag and Seal
A silk flag with a blue field, 5 feet 6 inches high, 4 feet 4 inches on pike is bordered by gilt fringe 2 1/2 inches wide, with the State Seal of Idaho in the center. The words "State of Idaho" are embroidered in gold block letters two inches high on a red band below the Great Seal. It was adopted by the 1907 legislature. The state seal was designed by Emma Edwards Green.
Population: 1,567,582 (2010 Census)
Land Area: 83,557 square miles
Capital City: Boise
Date of Statehood: July 3rd, 1890
Highest Elevation: 12,662 ft. (Mt. Borah)
Lowest Elevation: 738 ft. (Lewiston, ID)
Water Area: 823 square miles
River Miles: 3,100 miles (more than any other state)
State Flower: The Syringa (Philadelphus lewisii)
The syringa was designated the state flower of Idaho by the legislature in 1931. It is a branching shrub up to 12 feet tall with clusters of white, fragrant flowers that bloom in late spring to early summer. The blossoms are similar to the mock orange, have four petals, and the flowers grow at the ends of short, leafy branches
State Tree: The Western White Pine (Pinus Monticola pinaceae)
Our state tree is probably most notable since the largest remaining stand of this timber in the United States grows in the northern part of Idaho. Tall and slender, the Western White Pine is native to forests of the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to Montana and as far south as central California. It has blue-green needles, slender cones and can grow to 100 ft. It has many other fine qualities such as straight grain and soft, even texture. The Western White Pine was named Idaho’s state tree in 1935.
State Bird: The Mountain Bluebird (Sialia arctcia)
The mountain bluebird was adopted as the state bird for Idaho by the state legislature in 1931. The Bluebird is about seven inches long, has an azure blue coat, and a blue vest with white under-feathers. The mother bird wears a quiet blue-gray dress and usually lays six or seven blue-white eggs. The Bluebird’s nest is usually built in a hollow tree or in a crevice. The Bluebird is very neat about its home and carries all refuse some distance from the nest
State Horse: Appaloosa
The Appaloosa was the first horse breed to be acquired by the Nez Perce tribe around the 1700’s leading to the tribe developing into excellent horsemen and breeders. Settlers began to refer to their horses as “a Palouse horse” in reference to the Palouse River in north Central Idaho. The term evolved from that to “Palousey”, “Appalousey” and finally “Appaloosa”. An Appaloosa Horse Club was chartered in 1938 and has become one of the leading equine breed registries in the world. The Appaloosa was named Idaho’s state horse in 1975 because of its importance to Idaho history
State Fruit: Wild Huckleberry
Fish: Cutthroat Trout
Gem: Star Garnet
Dance: Square Dance
Motto: “Esto Perpetua” meaning “It is perpetual.”
Manufacturing, Health Care, Tourism, Agriculture,
Food Processing, Timber, Mining
12 Largest Cities (2010 Census)
1. Boise: 205,671
2. Nampa: 81,557
3. Meridian: 75,092
4. Idaho Falls: 56,813
5. Pocatello: 54,255
6. Caldwell: 46,237
7. Coeur d'Alene: 44,137
8. Twin Falls: 44,125
9. Lewiston: 31,894
10. Post Falls: 27,574
11. Rexburg: 25,484
12. Moscow: 23,800
Ask someone from another part of the country what pops into their mind when they think of Idaho, and you might get a blank stare or a one-word answer: potatoes.
Which may explain why Idaho is not on many travel bucket lists. Honey, forget Bora Bora; let’s go to a potato farm!
It doesn’t help that unlike most of its neighbors in the American West, Idaho lacks a defining feature. Idaho is the only Western state without a major national park. It can lay claim to a sliver of Yellowstone, but 96% of that park is in neighboring Wyoming.
Thanks to many Americans’ tenuous grasp of geography, Idaho also often gets confused with Iowa, 1,300 miles away in the Midwest.
But don’t let Idaho’s image problem discourage you from planning a visit. The spectacular scenery of this overlooked state can hold its own with anybody’s, and -- unlike in Yosemite or Zion -- you won’t have to elbow your way through crowds to see it.
For starters, Idaho contains the deepest river gorge in North America, the second-largest wilderness area in the Lower 48, more miles of rivers than any other state and a waterfall that’s 52 feet higher than Niagara. That would be Shoshone Falls east of the city of Twin Falls on the Snake River, which carves a smile across the arid southern third of the state.
Idaho also has a colorful history of stubborn individualism, from Ernest Hemingway to “Napoleon Dynamite.”
Hemingway, the state’s most celebrated resident, wrote part of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” in Sun Valley. Daredevil Evel Knievel tried, and failed, in 1974 to leap across Snake River Canyon in a steam-powered rocket. And Napoleon rocked his geeky dance moves in the Mormon farming towns of the state’s southeast corner.
But the best reason to visit Idaho is the pristine beauty of its mountainous midsection and forested panhandle.
Start in the summertime in Boise – a handsome city with a compact, lively downtown – and drive northeast to Stanley, a frontier outpost in a gorgeous mountain valley flanked by the jagged Sawtooth Range and the middle fork of the Salmon River.
From there, you can hike to alpine lakes, cast for trout in meadow streams, raft down the Salmon or drive an hour south to the more refined resort-town charms of Ketchum and Sun Valley.
Or for a real adventure, pack a tent and head deeper into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area, a vast swath of rugged forest that’s home to bears, moose, mountain lions and wolverines.
This, the heart of Idaho, is not for everyone. But if you want to lose yourself – find yourself? – in a rare expanse of unspoiled wilderness, it’s just the right place.
- Horse Trail Riding
- Back Country Trips
- Whitewater Rafting
- Jet Boat Tours Snake River
- Jet Boat Tours Salmon
- Family Fishing
- Fishing the Salmon River Idaho
- Winter Activities
- Hot Springs
- Calendar of events
- Jet Boat Races
- Rafting Info- Water levels
- Activity Inquiry Form
- Animals on the Ranch
- Snake River in Hells Canyon
- Dare to Go from CNN
- BBQ Trail Ride
- Nez Perce Hiking Trail | <urn:uuid:ba84f756-e074-43c1-b4f5-b1f735f21061> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.whitebirdsummitlodge.com/activities/facts-about-idaho.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00118-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.921038 | 1,689 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Sources: FermiLab, CERN
quote: Our money flows out of our hands and into other Countries pockets. In order to reverse the flow, you need to produce something of worth. The only way to produce something of worth is through solid engineering, bright minds and... science!
quote: The Tupolev Tu-4 ... was a reverse-engineered copy of the U.S.-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress.The Soviet Union used the metric system, thus 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) thick sheet aluminum and proper rivet lengths were unavailable. The corresponding metric-gauge metal was thicker; as a result, the Tu-4 weighed about 3,100 lb (1,400 kg) more than the B-29, with a corresponding decrease in range and payload. | <urn:uuid:30e9a4a9-2b05-4775-b944-75c8bbbadb01> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=25099&commentid=783103&threshhold=1&red=1038 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.909253 | 169 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Hero was coined in English in the 1300's and is derived from the Greek ἥρως, hḗrōs which means protector or defender.
But what is a HERO (aside from a very big messy sandwich)?
While we all have variations in our definitions / opinions of "hero" Here are a few:
- "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
- "The ordinary man is involved in action, the hero acts. An immense difference" - Henry Miller
- "A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself" - Joseph Campbell
- "A real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else" - Umberto Eco (in Travels in Hyper reality)
- "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles" - Christopher Reeve
- Heroes serve as role models to learn from and emulate;
- Heroes introduce values that are both universal and culture specific;
- Heroes inspire us tobe 'better' and set loftier goals and expectations for ourselves and others;
- Heroes teach us courage, compassion, resourcefulness, and perseverance to rise against our own weaknesses or against stifling oppression;
- Heroes often teach creative problem solving while fighting for unselfish goals.
Below, are some of my favorite children's picture book, prose and graphic novel heroes. I have passed over the obvious choices, hoping to introduce less-known gems to boost your treasure trove of heroes.
PICTURE BOOK AND EASY READING ILLUSTRATED CHAPTER BOOK HEROES:
Ping from The Empty Pot by Demi - is a Chinese boy who faces a stiff challenge set by the Emperor with honor, grace and courage.
Princess Elizabeth from The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch - had planned to marry Prince Ronald, until a dragon arrives, kidnaps Ronald and burns everything in sight. Elizabeth challenges the dragon and saves the prince but on her journey she ends up doing a lot more than that...she saves herself.
Pippi from Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, illustrated by Michael Chesworth - (an early reader chapter book this can be read aloud to younger children and savored by older ones as well). Pippi is a feisty, red-headed unconventional nine-year-old with superhuman strength (she can lift her horse) who lives in a small Swedish village with her monkey and horse - no adults, no relatives. She befriends the kids next door and together they have many adventures. Pippi, shows kids how to be alone and independent, how to embrace being different, and how to come to terms with what life has to offer.
PROSE BOOKS FOR AGES 9-12:
Cimorene from Patricia Wrede's Dealing With Dragons is sick of learning etiquette and would like to learn fencing, math, Latin, and the ways of the world. One morning an enchanted frog tells her she should seek help from the Dragons, and her life as an independent young woman begins. She ends up not only saving herself, but her kingdom as well.(Grades 3+)
Jonah from Lois Lowry's The Giver - lives in a dystopian society that has eliminated pain and suffering. Their collective societal pains and memories are entrusted to a Giver and in his twelfth year Jonas learns he is to be the next Giver. Jonas must incorporate societal memories, pains and fears and decide not only how to cope with them, but how to act for betterment of his culture.
Arnold Spirit, Jr., from The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a bright, motivated, budding cartoonist living on his impoverished reservation. His high school teacher encourages him to go to an off-reservation all-white school in the nearby town. Arnold must deal with racism (both from his reservation friends and his peers in his new school), poverty and how to follow his own path while keeping and following his family's traditions. (Grades 5+)
Johnny from Esther Forbes' Johnny Tremain is a budding silversmith apprentice in Colonial Boston when he suffers a debilitating accident. He tries to find his way in a series of odd jobs and finds himself by a twist of fate, working for The Observer, a Whig publication. As Johnny grows in strength and character he must wrestle with his fate and with his personal and political beliefs. On the way he meets and interacts with historical leaders including Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Doctor Joseph Warren, Paul Revere, James Otis, Jr., Governor Thomas Hutchinson, Thomas Gage, John Pitcairn, Francis Smith and Josiah Quincy II (lawyer and member of the Sons of Liberty). It is a powerful journey in history and of self-discovery. (Grades 5+)
Billie Jo from Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse lives with her mother and father who are struggling to keep their Oklahoma farm during the Dust Bowl years. After two tragic accidents, Billie Jo's remote father becomes unreachable and she must struggle to keep up the farm while learning to rehabilitate herself after a debilitating accident. This story is told completely in free verse and is an absolute gem. Billie Jo is a real, incredibly strong young woman who faces life's hardships with as much grace and courage her pre-teen years can give her. (Grades 4+)
Resistance (and the sequel Defiance) by Carla Jablonski and Leland Purvis are growing in World War II France as the Germans have just occupied it. Not only do they have to struggle for food and survival in war-torn France, they are faced with the dilemma of how to help their best friend Henri (a Jew) and whether to help the Germans, try to survive by being indifferent, or whether to join the Resistance forces and help as much as two young teens can. (Grades 4+)
Zita from Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke. When her friend Joseph is reluctant to touch a "button" they found in a field, Zita just cant resist. The button, however, zaps Joseph into a black hole that whisks him off to another world. Zita, determined to find and return Joseph leaps to his rescue to find herself chasing his trail through a strange planet with humanoid chickens, neurotic robots and sweet-talking con-men. Before long the aliens and ancient prophecies don't seem to phase her. Zita scrambles to save her friend the the new world she finds herself in. Here is a link to Ben Hatke's web pages for more characters and glimpses at Zita. (Grades 2+)
Jack Long from The Silence of Our Friends by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos, and Nate Powell. Jack is a white male reporter living in Texas during the Civil Rights Movement who must make career and life choices while trying to do the 'right' thing. It is a powerful story about the pull of friendship and commitment to family values. It is based on a true story of Civil Rights Movement in 1967 Texas. (Grades 5+)
Amelia from Amelia Rules by Jimmy Gownley. Amelia McBride has to adjust to life in a new town after her parents' divorce. She and her new friends face adolescence, bullies, gym class, cheerleaders, clubs, cliques, and many other knocks life seems to hand them. Amelia has spunk and character which in times of stress are eased by her super-coo, famous aunt. Amelia and her friends are real life characters with real life problems and Jimmy Gownley tells their story with grace and humor. These are super-read books for kids of all ages.
Here is the trailer that introduces Amelia and her super-hero (almost, kinda') friends:
Barbara from I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly. Barbara is a fifth grader who tells anyone who will listen that she kills giants. Initially we're uncertain if she really kills giants, or lives in a world of her own out of touch with others, or if this is one giant metaphor for her having to face huge scary issues in her life. And, while I won't ruin this powerfully told story, Barbara is an awesome fifth grader who while uncertain about herself and her physical or mental strength, faces social and personal issues valiantly. (Recommended for Grade 5 +)
Be they cartoon, fictional, historical, or real people, heroes are truly inspirational and should have a regular place in your and your children's lives. Heroes and superheroes are important - for all of us not only to learn from, but to aspire to become. I hope you check out and enjoy my choices.
Here it is one more time (The Daly Show - Episode 7 -with Nathan Fillion - I just can't seem to get enough of this)... because... some superheroes just don't die (especially the geeky kinds)...nor should they:
Please share your heroes with us in the comment, and have a great week! | <urn:uuid:261e40aa-1fce-4c57-b6a5-8197a39d23e1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://departingthetext.blogspot.fr/2012/03/heroes-for-all.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96298 | 1,878 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Excerpt: ...on six acres, a large crop each of apples and pears were grown on the same ground. Like currants, the gooseberry must be sprayed to destroy the worms, and cut back and burnt to destroy the cane borer. There is little special knowledge required, however, in raising this fruit, and it is well adapted for growers with small acreage and ...
Excerpt: ...on six acres, a large crop each of apples and pears were grown on the same ground. Like currants, the gooseberry must be sprayed to destroy the worms, and cut back and burnt to destroy the cane borer. There is little special knowledge required, however, in raising this fruit, and it is well adapted for growers with small acreage and little money. In going into the cultivation of bush fruits, it is usually best to grow them in great variety near the market where they are to be sold. The bush fruits are then uniformly profitable. In Suburban Life Mr. E. C. Powell tells us that the spring is the best time for planting raspberries and blackberries, just as soon as the ground is dry enough to work. The first season the plots should be well tilled. It is possible to grow vegetables between the rows the first year before the berries begin to bear, but unless pressed for space, it probably doesn't pay. Perhaps the best of small fruits, however, and most largely used is the strawberry. The strawberry can be planted by the acre. The ground must be rich loam and plenty of humus, well drained, with a southern exposure. Well-grown plants set out in the open will bear a small crop the first season, but will not become of maximum bearing till the second year. After the crop is taken off in the fall a mulch of straw or leaves should be placed over the plants to protect them during the winter. The strawberries are picked by boys and girls. The strawberry is an exceedingly profitable crop if properly handled, and is one of the best small fruits for people with little capital. While the price in the general market varies from fifteen to thirty cents per quart, they sometimes run as high as fifty in the early spring; yet it is possible to grow strawberries worth six dollars a quart by intensive culture in greenhouses. Mr. S. W. Fletcher, in Country Life in America, says: "The forcing of strawberries is a specialized industry of the highest type. Everybody cannot make...
Good with no dust jacket. Wear and rubbing to green cloth covers. Names and date on front end page. Age toning and foxing on closed edges and end pages. A little light margin soil. Binding sound. Text clean of highlighting, underlining or other pen/pencil marks. Due to size and/or weight of the book I can only ship it domestic mail. A Little Store that's BIG on Service. Free Delivery Confirmation on every package.
Alibris, the Alibris logo, and Alibris.com are registered trademarks of Alibris, Inc.
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited, Baker & Taylor, Inc., or by their respective licensors, or by the publishers, or by their respective licensors. For personal use only. All rights reserved. All rights in images of books or other publications are reserved by the original copyright holders. | <urn:uuid:d6a5a39f-2353-43eb-a60e-9b23d187d286> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.alibris.com/Three-Acres-and-Liberty-Bolton-Hall/book/6681159 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00167-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954841 | 691 | 3.1875 | 3 |
This week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released a report examining global estimates of violence against women. The report examines two forms of violence – intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence.
The report reveals the terrifying extent of violence against women in our community. Globally, one in three women will experience an incident of intimate partner violence at some point in their lives. In the most extreme cases, this violence proves fatal. Up to 38% of female homicide victims worldwide having been killed by an intimate partner, current or former.
For non-partner sexual violence the statistics are just as confronting. 7% of women globally have been sexually assaulted by someone other than an intimate partner.
Representing the first systematic study of worldwide incidences of violence against women, the report shows that violence against women is a global problem. It is not specific to one region, one culture or one community. Prevalence was highest in the African region, where 45% of women are reported to be a victim of intimate partner or sexual violence.
But even in the lowest prevalence area - the European region – 27% of women are still estimated to be a victim of these two forms of violence. In the report, Australia formed part of the Western Pacific Region, which recorded an overall prevalence estimate of just over 27%.
Problematically, despite the high prevalence of violence against women, the report highlights that the true extent of the problem is still unknown. This is attributed to low reporting rates by victims, largely due to the ongoing fear of stigma and inaccurate systems of data collection in some regions. The report emphasises that this is particularly the case for estimates of sexual violence.
The impacts of violence against women
The report details the short and long-term health, mental, sexual and reproductive impacts that intimate partner and non-partner sexual violence has on women.
The physical impacts of violence are difficult to estimate. Research suggests that victims are unlikely to report incidents resulting from abuse by an intimate partner. The report cites broken bones and pregnancy related complications as two impacts of intimate violence against women often seen by health-care professionals. The social and developmental impacts cited include mental health problems and impaired social functioning.
Statistically, the picture painted of the female victim of violence is frightening to say the least. The report found that 42% of women who have been the victim of physical or sexual abuse by their partner experienced injuries as a direct result of violence.
Female victims of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence are more than twice as likely to have an induced abortion. They are also two times more likely to experience depression and problems related to harmful alcohol-use.
Responding to violence against women
The report comes less than a week after the horrific images of Nigella Lawson with her husband’s hands around her throat were published worldwide. As people took photos of incident not one passer-by intervened or called the police.
Known in research as the bystander effect, the WHO report illustrates why the community should not stay silent about violence against women. It must be acknowledged and where possible, intervention should occur. After all, one in three women worldwide are relying upon us to do so.
Written in conjunction with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the South African Medical Research Council, the report emphasises the importance of a multi-agency response to violence against women. Such a response should address social and cultural risk factors, while demanding the involvement of health-care, social service, education, government, criminal justice and media stakeholders.
Specifically, by establishing a set of best practice clinical and policy guidelines, the report aims to improve current health care responses to violence against women. This includes specialised training for health professionals, increasing the level of clinical care offered to survivors of sexual assault and ensuring mandatory reporting of intimate partner violence incidents.
In preventing violence against women, the report also emphasises the importance of early intervention programs that address risk factors, such as parenting programs and programs targeted at males that promote gender equitable attitudes and behaviours. Alongside this, the need to strengthen current legal and policy frameworks as well as mechanisms of accountability is also recommended.
The need to act
For many, the WHO report confirms what we already suspected – intimate partner and sexual violence is a systemic issue in our community that cannot be ignored. As noted in the report, violence against women:
…pervades all corners of the globe, puts women’s health at risk, limits their participation in society, and causes great human suffering.
The findings of the WHO report should now be used to energise policy, health, government and criminal justice stakeholders to respond to the dire need to improve current approaches to prevention and intervention of violence against women in Australia. | <urn:uuid:2ae11201-1596-43c8-8e58-966b317e0a24> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://theconversation.com/who-report-reveals-the-greatest-risk-to-women-is-often-in-the-home-15406 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00144-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957209 | 963 | 3.359375 | 3 |
In naming preschool a legislative priority, GOP leaders may make Indiana the first state to ground such a program in private initiative. There’s talk of preschool vouchers, for example, rather than the usual state preschools, which function like a space-time-money vacuum.
As a mother of two small children, a relatively new Hoosier, and someone who reads stacks of education studies for work, I’d like to sketch why state preschool has largely failed so far.
Anyone interested in surveying early childhood research would do well to start with E.D. Hirsch, a prominent former University of Virginia professor and bestselling author. His work demonstrates that people build new knowledge on old knowledge. Knowledge sticks to itself, like a spider’s web. This means what and how much children learn in their earliest days is crucial to constructing a sort of upside-down pyramid of knowledge that increases as they age.
“There is strong evidence that increasing the general knowledge and vocabulary of a child before age six is the single highest correlate with later success,” Hirsch writes.
This means a child’s most influential teachers are his parents, as our ancestors knew without studies. They also knew another truth we don’t like to acknowledge: Some parents are better than others. Some weave their children the first few rounds of mental spider web with habits such as speaking frequently with their children, reading books aloud, practicing numbers and names, and taking the kids to places that expand their knowledge, such as the zoo, grandpa’s farm, the library, and parks.
These are all normal behaviors for many families (they are also largely free, so not restricted to rich people). But these habits are foreign to some, and consequently their children are deprived.
Observers of this deficit suggest government can solve the problem. Kids can’t count to ten by age five? Put ‘em in school at age three.
This is similar to the classic answer to the question about what holds up the turtle that the ancient myth says the Earth rests on: It’s turtles all the way down. When children prove unready for preschool at age three because of home deprivation, then what? Decide when a woman gets pregnant whether she will be a fit mother and, if not, have government agents waiting in the delivery room?
The reality is that mass preschool programs don’t work. Most studies claiming fabulous effects from government early childhood programs are extrapolations from three test programs of decades ago. No statewide preschool to date approximates these intensive programs, which included expensive amenities such as health care, parent training, and home visits, costing upwards of $65,000 per child, and unlike typical half-day preschool they were full-day and even full-year interventions.
No state preschool does that much substitute parenting, or could, so it’s not surprising they haven’t yielded smarter kids. Oklahoma, for example, has the highest percentage of state preschool students in the nation, but students statewide have had declining average test scores since the program began.
States’ experience with preschool largely exemplifies what doesn’t work. Research and common sense show us why: Even 40 hours of remediation a week doesn’t change the child’s other 58 waking hours.
Instead of attempting the impossible — displacing parenting — a rational and fitting early childhood initiative would aim to cultivate it. This is the crux of the early childhood deficit Republican lawmakers must target. They could start by acknowledging it. | <urn:uuid:ee94327e-7ad6-4503-9ee2-6b6c60b5e25a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.heartland.org/2012/11/preschool-is-no-substitute-for-parents/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963846 | 728 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The October 8, 1871 Peshtigo Fire which is thought to have begun in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, killed more people than any other fire in America's history. With as many as 2,500 dead and 1.2 million acres of land burned, the Peshtigo fire should have seared a permanent memory into America's consciousness. But the less severe "Great Chicago Fire" occurred on the same day, and has since overshadowed the "forgotten fire" of Peshtigo. (National Fire Protection Week in October was created to memorialize the Chicago fire.) Although no direct cause was ever conclusively determined, prolonged drought and high temperatures in the Upper Midwest led to fire-prone conditions. Additionally, the introduction of extensive farming, logging and industrial practices in the area made for large clearings and increased the likelihood of sparks. Whatever the cause, much of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan were engulfed in firestorms a fire that is so strong it creates its own wind system and becomes a tornado-like column. At one point the roaring blaze reportedly jumped several miles over the waters of Green Bay.
Next The Big Burn, 1910 | <urn:uuid:3b52333d-6df8-4ed1-b3a2-0b1761d0a2ba> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2076476_2076484_2076503,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967997 | 228 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Margin of Safety (MOS)
In break-even analysis, margin of safety is the extent by which actual or projected sales exceed the break-even sales. It may be calculated simply as the difference between actual or projected sales and the break-even sales. However, it is best to calculate margin of safety in the form of a ratio. Thus we have the following two formulas to calculate margin of safety:
|MOS = Budgeted Sales − Break-even Sales|
|MOS =||Budgeted Sales − Break-even Sales|
Margin of Safety can be expressed both in terms of sales units and currency units.
The margin of safety is a measure of risk. It represents the amount of drop in sales which a company can tolerate. Higher the margin of safety, the more the company can withstand fluctuations in sales. A drop in sales greater than margin of safety will cause net loss for the period.
Use the following information to calculate margin of safety:
|Sales Price per Unit||$40|
|Variable Cost per Unit||$32|
|Total Fixed Cost||$7,000|
|Breakeven Sales Units||= $7,000 ÷ ($40 - $32)||= 875|
|Budgeted Sales Units||= $40,000 ÷ $40||= 1,000|
|Margin of Safety||= (1000 − 875) ÷ 1,000||= 12.5%|
Written by Irfanullah Jan | <urn:uuid:4a6e524d-0b7c-4d4e-b984-2a7f5c11f793> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://accountingexplained.com/managerial/cvp-analysis/margin-of-safety | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.83478 | 314 | 2.78125 | 3 |
There are certain individuals throughout history whose great contributions have influenced society and helped improve quality of life. Consider Plato, Einstein, and Darwin. Another such great man is Korea's King Sejong, who reigned during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Sejong did for literacy in Korea what Martin Lurther King did for the Civil Rights Movement in America, resulting in the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize being named in his honor. If you have ever been to Korea, there is a very high chance that you have seen his face, as he is featured on the 10,000 won bill. King Sejong was the youngest of three sons of King Taejong, and was therefore not originally intended to be king however fate had a different thing in mind for him. His oldest brother, the crown price, was quite a free spirit and was deemed by his father to be unsuitable for the position of king, while the middle brother wished to become a monk. It was Sejong, who impressed his father with his thirst for knowledge and academic skill. Thanks to his father's great foresight, he went on to become one of the greatest kings in Korean history.
King Sejong is famous for accomplishments in agriculture, literature, as well as science and technology; however he is best remembered as the creator of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. Sejong found great injustice in the fact that it was mostly Joseon elites who could read and write the hanja (Chinese characters) that were used at that time. This ability to communicate using the written word meant huge power for the upper classes, so when King Sejong decided to create a phonetic alphabet for the masses, he knew he would meet lots of resistence. It is said that, for this reason, Sejong created the alphabet in secret, with the help of just a few people. The result was hangeul, the alphabet used by all Koreans today. | <urn:uuid:4260c870-3401-4470-b6a4-c5bc64eff97e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/CU_EN_9_9_1_2.jsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987811 | 393 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Finnish Meteorological Institute's new model specifies the electron environment at any orbit where important satellites are moving. FMI' s new IMPTAM (Inner Magnetosphere Particle Transport and Acceleration Model) model is a unique tool and the only one in Europe. "Specifying the electron flux at any satellite orbit, we will be able to provide satellite operators the critical information for surface charging of satellite materials", says the main developer of the IMPTAM model, FMI's researcher Dr. Natalia Ganushkina.
At present, there are about 1000 operational satellites at different orbits in the near-Earth space and all of them pass through the regions where the radiation environment can vary significantly with location. All the variability is imposed by the activity of the Sun.
Electrons with these energies constitute one of the most important parts of the radiation environment in the near-Earth space. First, they are responsible for discharges on the surface of the outer spacecraft layers that can cause significant damage and spacecraft anomalies. Second, they are accelerated to much higher energies of megaelectronvolts and populate the Earth's radiation belts which are from the radiation hazard viewpoint the two most critical regions around the Earth.
Main drivers of transport and acceleration of electrons with energies of 50 to 150 kiloelectronvolts (keV) to geostationary orbit (36000 km above the Earth) in space. Electrons come to geostationary orbit from the areas in space located at about 10 Earth Radii (1 Earth Radius is equal to 6400 km) from the Earth in the direction away from the Sun. They move towards the Earth not in empty space but in magnetic and electric fields whose presence was established from observations. These magnetic and electric fields guide electrons, and if they change, electrons move differently. Since we do not have satellites in every point in space to tell us what are the magnitudes of the fields, we need to use models for these fields.
A very good agreement is achieved between the observed electrons in form of electron fluxes measured by several satellites at geostationary orbit and our model electron fluxes at the same locations as satellites. The main factor was found to be the inclusion of small-scale electric fields related to reconfiguration of electric and magnetic fields during substorms, phenomena which occurs in our space very often, almost every day and last 1-3 hours. Substorms are responsible for spectacular aurora displays which we can see at high latitudes. The good agreement indicates that our model contains the necessary physical processes correctly, and can be used for other orbits, not only for geostationary.
The IMPTAM model development and improvement is underway the SPACECAST project funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme. The present study which is mostly scientific is the base for the adaptation of scientific models to operational ones in near future.
Source: Finnish Meteorological Institute
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Check out these other trending stories on Nanowerk: | <urn:uuid:cb02d36c-179f-482c-b049-22b46e408edf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/space/newsid=33606.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00093-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923761 | 628 | 3.46875 | 3 |
WORCESTER, Mass., Sept. 23, 2013 // - Whether it is a tornado in Kansas, a hurricane in Louisiana, a wildfire in California, an earthquake, a nuclear plant failure, floods, blizzards, or a family emergency, you know you need to be prepared for yourself and your children. Dean of the Becker College School of Animal Studies, Dr. Richard French, encourages pet owners to consider that other family member: the dog, the cat, or even the fish.
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, more than 250,000 pets - from cats and dogs to parrots and fish - were left stranded by the storm's destruction. Many owners who expected to return within a few days left food and water for their pets. But days turned into weeks, and the pets had to struggle to survive.
For pet owners, saving their beloved animals from approaching disaster can be as important as caring for themselves. Not many years after Katrina, some 15 million dogs, 14 million cats, and 1.5 million horses were in the path of Hurricane Sandy, according to the American Humane Association.
Many people believe first responders will care for their pets, but their obligation is to people. Few have training in animal rescue and handling, and that is not the priority in an emergency. In fact, pets can be an obstacle for first responders, hindering their ability to perform their jobs. The best thing you can do is to have a plan and all the equipment and supplies you might need to protect your pets in an emergency before disaster strikes.
Since 2004, National Preparedness Month, sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has been observed every September.
Now is the time to create a plan and explore the services in your area. A good place to start is with your veterinarian, your state veterinary office, or the regional ASPCA. Here are some additional steps you can take:
-- Get a Rescue Alert sticker for your home, identifying your pets.
-- Make sure your pet's veterinary care and vaccination records are available.
-- Arrange a safe haven? in case you must leave your home.
-- Build an emergency supplies and traveling kit.
-- Choose designated caregivers.
-- Prepare your family and pets for possible evacuation.
-- Keep in mind some pets, such as birds, reptiles, and small animals, have special needs that may include medications and diet.
You can also create an Evacuation Kit and have it on hand. Some of the items to include are:
- A pet first-aid kit and guide book; ask your vet what to include in the kit
- Three to seven days' worth of canned (pop-top) or dry food
- Disposable litter trays (aluminum roasting pans are perfect)
- Litter or paper towels
- Liquid dish soap and disinfectant
- Disposable garbage bags for clean-up
- Non-breakable pet feeding dishes
- An extra collar or harness, as well as an extra leash
- Photocopies of medical records and a waterproof container with a two-week supply of any medicine your pet requires (Remember to refresh those supplies so they don't go bad before an emergency.)
- Bottled water; at least seven days' worth for each person and pet (store in a cool, dry place and replace every two months)
- A traveling bag, crate, or sturdy carrier; ideally, one for each pet
- Flashlight and backup batteries
- Blanket for scooping up a fearful pet
- Recent photos of your pets, in case you are separated and need to make "Lost" posters
- Especially for cats: a pillowcase or EvackSack, toys, scoopable litter
- Especially for dogs: an extra leash, toys and chew toys, a week's worth of cage liner
You can make this a family project so that everyone in the family knows what's in the kit and where it is in the event of an emergency.
Taking these measures now can give both you and your family peace of mind. And your pet, though always giving unconditional love, will love you for it. | <urn:uuid:c7b4bbe9-26cf-422f-977e-7f92661171d2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://berkspets.com/article.aspx?id=513843 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397567.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00027-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951862 | 852 | 2.75 | 3 |
The Needles off the Isle of Wight and Glitter
June 16, 2011
The photo above showing silhouetted rock outcrops off the Isle of Wight and a silver sea was taken on November 10, 2010. These chalk outcrops are referred to as “The Needles”. Though a misnomer today, the term “Needles” was evidently derived from a tapered rock pinnacle, nearby the present more stump-like structures, that collapsed into the sea several hundred years ago. Note the lighthouse clinging to the base of the westernmost outcrop (right).
Since the Sun was fairly high in the sky when this photo was snapped there’s no glitter path, as can occur when the Sun or Moon lies close to the horizon. Instead, all of Alum Bay is a bright patch of reflected sunlight – each wavelet reflecting a miniature image of the solar disk.
Photo details: Canon 5D MkII camera; 100-400mm zoom lens. Photo snapped from the beachfront at Milford on Sea, England at about 11:00 a.m. | <urn:uuid:ebe8c7a3-196f-482b-98bc-b301a36b423c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://epod.usra.edu/blog/2011/06/the-needles-off-the-isle-of-wight-and-glitter.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934371 | 228 | 2.75 | 3 |
Posted by Victoria S Dennis on October 31, 2005
In Reply to: Laughing stock posted by Maria on October 30, 2005
: I need to know what's the origin of the expression "laughing stock", Was it invented by Shakespeare or wasn't it? When is it used usually? Please I need your help urgently!
An odd one, this. A "stock" originally meant a tree trunk or stump; from this it evolved a collection of senses such as "vertical post" and "insensate block" (the word "blockhead contains a parallel idea). Incidentally, "stocky" comes from the same root, meaning "short and thick like a tree stump". so do "the stocks", the mediaeval device for clamping minor criminals into leg-restraints in the market-place for the crown to jeer and throw rubbish at them. This seems to be the idea behind "laughing-stock" - "something set up in public for people to jeer at". | <urn:uuid:253212a2-22c1-4082-9ab6-655b2aba30b6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/43/messages/961.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00058-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960535 | 206 | 2.546875 | 3 |
In Greek mythology, Argus Panoptes was a giant sentry with a hundred eyes. In the lab of Electrical Engineering Associate Professor Marc Christensen, Panoptes is a camera technology that combines images from dozens of tiny lenses to focus on a big picture.
Lens performance tends to improve with size, which is why a small cell phone camera can’t produce a very good image. Panoptes uses a computer to combine overlapping images from the small lenses to produce a clear photo without the size and weight of a large lens.
The technology is being developed with funding from the U.S. military for surveillance by small aircraft at low altitudes. The research should eventually provide helmet-mounted surveillance equipment for soldiers on the ground.
Christensen, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering in SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering, has built a nationally recognized research group in photonics and computational imaging. His work with imaging sensors and micro-mirror arrays has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), among others. In 2007 he received the DARPA Young Faculty Award.
Read more at the SMU Research blog.
In the news:
Danger Room (Wired): DARPA’s smart, flat camera is packed with beady eyes
Unfair Park (Dallas Observer): On the hilltop, SMU prof creating teensy-weensy military camera
Defense News: Sharper image for military surveillance | <urn:uuid:a0978ef3-985a-476e-8878-1932deb1a57b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2009/08/19/research-spotlight-tiny-cameras-with-big-impact/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924066 | 304 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Following the Law of Moses is the book of Joshua. The eponymous book was written in the 1300s B.C. and the theme is the conquering of Canaan. Joshua begins with the death of Moses and describes how God commissioned Joshua. The children of Israel crossed the Jordan River then invaded Canaan in approximately 1405 B.C. Joshua focuses on the children of Israel conquering their enemies and possessing the lands God promised them. Notable victories occurred at Jericho, AI, Southern and Northern Canaan. The book also demonstrates the importance of the Israelite’s obedience to God’s law. In Joshua 7: 1-26, we read about the children of Israel’s defeat at Ai because of Achan’s sin.
Achan had stolen Babylonian goods, silver, and gold which was a forbidden act. It is believed his family knew about the transgression and covered up the sin. Due to this sinful act, the children of Israel lost the corporate protection of God’s favor during the battle at Ai. Joshua stoned and burned Achan, his family, animals, and property. It is important to note that in Deuteronomy 24:16, it is forbidden to punish children for the sins of the parents. Many theologians believe that Achan’s family was killed because they knew and covered up Achan’s sin. After the sin was purged from the camp, the children of Israel went on to be victorious in their next pursuits. In Joshua chapter 8, we read about the Israelites’ victory at Ai. In chapters 13-22, we read about the divisions and allotments of land. Followed by Joshua’s farewell address in chapters 23 and 24. The end portion of Joshua 24 gives an account of Joshua’s death and burial.
Exodus revealed Joshua’s heart towards God as he worked as Moses’ assistant. Joshua accompanied Moses up Mount Sinai when Moses received the 10 Commandments. Exodus 33:11 reveals that Joshua loved to stay in the Lord’s presence.
Exodus 33:11 “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”
One of the most important facts about Joshua is that his name in Hebrew is “Yehoshua” or “Yeshua” which in Greek is translated “Jesus.” Just as Joshua and Jesus are the same name, Joshua was a type and shadow of the Messiah. As Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised Land, Jesus leads many sons unto glory. Many theologians believe that Joshua’s leading the armies to battle is also a type and shadow of Jesus’ judgment that will occur during Armageddon. | <urn:uuid:ca675532-41a4-487b-96cc-be21e2eb7fe5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art9110.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00199-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962796 | 598 | 3.625 | 4 |
Detailed statistics in the Human Development Report published last week also demonstrate that inequality has grown sharply during Conservative rule and that the poor in Britain now have to live on much the same incomes as their equivalents in Hungary and Korea.
While growing inequality might once have been a cause for congratulation - Margaret Thatcher called on us to "glory" in it - the consensus among experts in such bodies as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the rich nations' club, and even the World Bank is now moving against.
Lady Thatcher, like Ronald Reagan, believed that if the rich got richer, everybody would benefit. Now many economists believe that inequality hinders growth. In an unpublished paper Michael Bruno, chief economist of the World Bank, says: "Reducing inequality not only benefits the poor immediately but will benefit all through higher growth."
The United Nations Development Programme, which published the Human Development Report, said last week: "The United Kingdom, unfortunately, has an exceptionally high degree of inequality."
The report shows that the poorest 40 per cent of Britons share a lower proportion of the national wealth - 14.6 per cent - than in any other Western country. This is only marginally better than in Russia, the only industrialised nation, east or west, to have a worse record. Measurements of the gap between rich and poor tell a similar story. The richest fifth of Britons enjoy, on average, incomes 10 times as high as the poorest fifth. Britain ties for the worst performance by this yardstick among Western nations with Australia. That country was run for more than a decade by a Labor government which has heavily influenced the policies of Tony Blair.
The gap in Britain and Australia is exactly the same as in Nigeria, much worse than in Jamaica, Ghana or the Ivory Coast and twice as bad as in Sri Lanka or Ethiopia.
The British poor are much better off in absolute terms than the poor in most Third World countries, but they are worse off than those in other Western nations. The poorest fifth of Britons have an average per capita income 32 per cent lower than their equivalents in the US and 44 per cent lower than in the Netherlands.
Comparison with earlier Human Development Reports shows that inequality is growing fast in Britain. The 1991 report ranks Britain around the middle of industrialised countries both for the share of national income that went to the poorest two fifths of the population (17.3 per cent) and for the gap between the richest and the poorest fifth (6.8 times).
Mr Bruno's paper identifies Britain as one of only a handful of countries where inequality is increasingly rapidly. The Human Development Report also highlighted the world's billionaires - observing that the 358 people with assets of more than $1bn were worth more than the combined annual income of 45 per cent of the world's people.
But last week's issue of Forbes Magazine showed that the figures were out of date. There are now 447 billionaires. According to calculations by an American think-tank, their combined wealth is now worth more than the annual incomes of at least half the world's population. | <urn:uuid:26a15922-d23d-42e0-9abe-131fdcd782b6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk-most-unequal-country-in-the-west-1329614.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00014-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965036 | 622 | 2.859375 | 3 |
About The bee. (Washington, D.C.) 1882-1884
Washington, D.C. (1882-1884)
- The bee. : (Washington, D.C.) 1882-1884
- Place of publication:
- Washington, D.C.
- Geographic coverage:
- Turner & Hamlin
- Dates of publication:
- -v. 3, no. 8 (July 26, 1884).
- Began with June 3, 1882 issue.
- African American newspapers--Washington (D.C.)
- African American newspapers.--fast--(OCoLC)fst00799278
- African Americans--Washington (D.C.)--Newspapers.
- African Americans.--fast--(OCoLC)fst00799558
- Washington (D.C.)--fast--(OCoLC)fst01204505
- Washington (D.C.)--Newspapers.
- Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
- Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 2 (June 10, 1882).
- Microfilmed for the Committee on Negro Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies by the Library of Congress, Photoduplication.
- Publisher varies: C.C. Stewart, <Dec. 23, 1882>-; The Bee Publishing Co., July 28, 1883-July 26, 1884.
- sn 84025890
- Succeeding Titles:
- Related Links:
- View complete holdings information
- First Issue Last Issue
The Bee and Washington Bee (Washington, DC)
The first issue of the Bee was printed on June 3, 1882. William C. Chase, a lawyer, local politician, businessman, and native Washingtonian took over as the paper’s principal editor by the end of the first year of publication, and his superb editorial skills eventually turned the Bee into one of the most influential African American newspapers in the country. The Bee represented the Republican attitudes of its editor, although Chase did not hesitate to criticize Republican Party leaders when he thought they were on the wrong side of an issue. The initial motto of the paper was “Sting for Our Enemies—Honey for Our Friends.” Civil rights for America’s blacks was a primary concern. Although figures are not available for each year of publication, circulation of the Bee varied from a low of 1,250 in 1892 to a high of 9,700 in 1922.
The Washington Bee focused much of its attention on the activities of the city’s African Americans, and its society page paid special attention to events at local black churches. The paper also covered national issues; by the turn of the 20th century it was publishing articles about events across the country by its own correspondents as well as from wire services. Like most publications of the day, there was also an extensive array of advertising, much from white-owned businesses. The remaining space included the typical filler content purchased from various sources.
Through his editorials, Chase conveyed his passionate views on a variety of issues. The Bee’s editorials were noted for their criticism of Booker T. Washington and his apparently conservative positions on black racial progress. The attacks on Washington intensified in 1904 when the noted black educator provided financial assistance to the rival Colored American. The criticisms ended abruptly, however, when Chase’s paper began experiencing its own financial difficulties, and Washington, apparently, contributed financial support to the Bee. Chase remained as editor until his death in 1921. Unfortunately, the paper’s financial troubles continued unabated. The Washington Bee, whose presses had operated at 1109 I Street in the city’s northwest quadrant, folded the year after its long-time editor died.
Provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC | <urn:uuid:8e9709d3-9330-47ed-bdb3-05fdc602eeb1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84025890/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392069.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00165-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943743 | 814 | 2.6875 | 3 |
When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes
Myth. Elizabeth Wayland Barber and Paul T. Barber. xx + 290 pp.
Princeton University Press, 2004. $29.95.
As the publisher of Skeptic magazine and as the monthly
"Skeptic" columnist for Scientific American, I am
frequently thrust into the job of myth busting, an intellectualized
version of what the irrepressible pair Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman
do each week on the Discovery Channel's popular television series
MythBusters. I've found that it's wise to proceed with
caution, however, because one person's myth may be another's true
belief, and some myths may actually be true.
Just what do we mean by myth, anyway? Popular usage equates
the term with falsehood—common misconceptions are
labeled "myths" ("It's a myth that lightning never
strikes twice in the same place"), and ancient myths such as
the story of the Egyptian god Osiris are recognized not to be
literally true. But myths that are stories may be intended to impart
a message. The biblical story of Job, for example, is a moral homily
on persevering in the face of tragedies and travails. In such a
case, it could be argued that the story is simply a vehicle of
delivery whose truth or falsity is not at issue.
Archaeologist Elizabeth Wayland Barber and historian Paul T. Barber
would challenge this position, however. In their highly engaging,
thoroughly researched analysis of the meaning of myths, When
They Severed Earth from Sky, they build a strong case that
historical facts can be extracted from the mists of our mythic past.
The Barbers' argument runs like this: Preliterate people used myths
as a medium of knowledge transmission as long as 100,000 years ago,
by which time the human vocal tract had evolved the capacity for
speech. Because our memory for storing raw data is severely
restricted compared with written language (invented a mere 5,000
years ago), our ancestors used myths to store data and transmit the
past into the future.
Over the course of two decades of intense study of myths, the
Barbers have come up with a couple of dozen principles of myth
deconstruction and reconstruction, out of which they have developed
four overarching "mytho-linguistic" principles: Silence,
Analogy, Compression and Restructuring.
These principles show how particular types of myths
developed out of actual events: how people crunched down the
information into the limited channel available for transmission,
enhanced its memorability, then shot these little time capsules of
knowledge down the pipeline to the listeners of the future.
The process of mythmaking (as historical transmission through time)
begins with what the Barbers call "memory crunch," the
need in a nonliterate society to winnow out and compress key
information so that it will fit into human memory. Thus only the
most important facts, selected by the mythmakers for their survival
value, are preserved in the myth. Unfortunately, those of us who
come across the myth thousands of years later will not have the
context needed to understand it, because of the silence
principle, which states that "What everyone is expected to
know already is not explained in so many words." What was once
common knowledge has become silent assumption.
But the situation is not hopeless. We may be aided in our
reconstruction of mythic history by the analogy principle,
which states that "if any entities or phenomena bear
some resemblance, in any aspect, they must be
related." More help can be found in the restructuring
principle, which states that
Whenever there is a significant cultural change, at least
some patterns will get restructured or re-interpreted. Successive
changes on a given pattern will render the form of the pattern
un-understandable to its users—it goes from a matter of logic
to one of faith, and finally to a matter of disbelief.
For example, it is common for the past to come to be seen as
"different in an absolute sense from the present," a fact
the Barbers refer to as the "Golden Age phenomenon."
The thesis of this book is straightforward enough, but the problem
is that myths, and the people who tell them, are so varied and so
diverse that it probably really does require the dozens of
principles the Barbers have identified to try to make sense of them.
Scattered throughout the book are many different principles (which
are summarized in the introduction and catalogued in an
appendix)—so many that I found it more useful to apply the
process one myth at a time than to generalize to all myths.
Take fire-breathing dragons, for example. The Barbers say that
speakers of English all know that dragons "look like gigantic
scaly salamanders, . . . have bad breath, belch fire, guard treasure
inside dank caverns, and can fly." One source for these
attributes is the myth Beowulf, the Germanic tale of a man
who encounters a dragon who "guards gold inside a dark mound,
flies, and spews fire and bad breath."
To recover the history behind the myth, the Barbers begin with what
they call the "Stripping Procedure"—they single out
the most important points of the Beowulf narrative:
(1) Someone steals a cup from an old barrow. . . .
Fire erupts from the barrow and spreads.
(3) Near the stone
entrance, our hero stabs blindly at the source of flames while
shielding himself (ineffectively) from them.
(4) It smells
(5) People stab deeper, and eventually the flame goes
(6) Inside the barrow is treasure but no trace of a
Because tombs sometimes contain valuables, tomb robbers do
occasionally encounter malodorous dead bodies, and a rapidly
spreading fire would snuff itself out in a cave or tomb, it is
reasonable to conclude that this myth may be based on a true story.
And because no one ever actually saw the dragon (the myth just says
they saw flames and smelled something bad), the mythmakers invented
"a figment of Explanation," a willful and malevolent
beast. "The storykeepers are so sure that a tangible creature
must have existed," the Barbers deduce, that later in the poem
the poet hedges his bets by explaining the lack of dragon
bones a second and contradictory way. When the frightened retainers
returned, he says, they pillaged the mound, "shoved the dragon,
the Worm [Old English for snake], over the cliff, let the
wave take—the flood enfold—the guardian of the
treasure," then they carried the dead king to his pyre.
Then the Barbers analyze the parallel Icelandic myth Grettissaga:
Archaeology shows that Indo-European tribes, from the late
Stone Age into the Iron Age (and through the Viking period in
Scandinavia), buried their important dead in a chamber over which
they heaped a mound. . . . Many such mounds have been excavated, and
their chambers, if intact, can be so well sealed that perishables
like textiles and carved wood often survive. The flesh—that of
the owner, and of the horses often buried alongside—has
Decomposed flesh creates highly flammable methane gas which, when it
comes into contact with the flame of a grave-robber's torch,
explodes in fire. "We need only add Willfulness and then try to
deduce the form of the creature with that evil will," the
Barbers conclude. What sort of creature? Something that slithers in
and out of rocks and caves, such as snakes, salamanders and lizards
with their long, thin, scaly bodies—a.k.a. dragons.
When They Severed Earth from Sky
is loaded with such mythic de- and reconstructions. I was occasionally
overwhelmed by the plethora of principles, and I fear that confirmation
bias—the tendency to selectively notice and focus on evidence that
supports a theory rather than on facts that might disprove it—may
be at work here. The Barbers' case would be strengthened by the addition
of a system for falsifying a myth's factual basis—that is, for
testing whether the myth's message is metaphorical or historical.
Nevertheless, I think the Barbers are on to something here. Any student
of myths ignores this important work at his or her | <urn:uuid:d36e6098-ff28-4c66-9d1a-721bc97e4263> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/time-capsules | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00089-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930843 | 1,868 | 3.296875 | 3 |
A team of University of Texas at Arlington chemists and engineers have proven that concentrated light, heat and high pressures can drive the one-step conversion of carbon dioxide and water directly into useable liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
This simple and inexpensive new sustainable fuels technology could potentially help limit global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make fuel. The process also reverts oxygen back into the system as a byproduct of the reaction, with a clear positive environmental impact, researchers said.
"Our process also has an important advantage over battery or gaseous-hydrogen powered vehicle technologies as many of the hydrocarbon products from our reaction are exactly what we use in cars, trucks and planes, so there would be no need to change the current fuel distribution system," said Frederick MacDonnell, UTA interim chair of chemistry and biochemistry and co-principal investigator of the project.
In an article published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled "Solar photothermochemical alkane reverse combustion," the researchers demonstrate that the one-step conversion of carbon dioxide and water into liquid hydrocarbons and oxygen can be achieved in a photothermochemical flow reactor operating at 180 to 200 C and pressures up to 6 atmospheres.
"We are the first to use both light and heat to synthesize liquid hydrocarbons in a single stage reactor from carbon dioxide and water," said Brian Dennis, UTA professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and co-principal investigator of the project.
"Concentrated light drives the photochemical reaction, which generates high-energy intermediates and heat to drive thermochemical carbon-chain-forming reactions, thus producing hydrocarbons in a single-step process."
Duane Dimos, UTA vice president for research commended the researchers on their success.
"Discovering a one-step process to generate renewable hydrocarbon fuels from carbon dioxide and water is a huge achievement," Dimos said. "This work strengthens UTA's reputation as a leading research institution in the area of Global Environmental Impact, as laid out in our Strategic Plan 2020."
The hybrid photochemical and thermochemical catalyst used for the experiment was based on titanium dioxide, a white powder that cannot absorb the entire visible light spectrum.
"Our next step is to develop a photo-catalyst better matched to the solar spectrum," MacDonnell said. "Then we could more effectively use the entire spectrum of incident light to work towards the overall goal of a sustainable solar liquid fuel."
The authors envision using parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight on the catalyst bed, providing both heat and photo-excitation for the reaction. Excess heat could even be used to drive related operations for a solar fuels facility, including product separations and water purification.
The research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Robert A. Welch Foundation. Wilaiwan Chanmanee, postdoctoral research associate in mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Mohammad Fakrul Islam, graduate research assistant and Ph.D. candidate in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UTA, also participated in the project.
MacDonnell and Dennis have received more than $2.6 million in grants and corporate funding for sustainable energy projects over the last four years.
MacDonnell and Dennis' investigations also are focused on converting natural gas for use as high-grade diesel and jet fuel. The researchers developed the gas-to-liquid technology in collaboration with an industrial partner in UTA's Center for Renewable Energy and Science Technology, or CREST, lab, and are now working to commercialize the process.
MacDonnell also has worked on developing new photocatalysts for hydrogen generation, with the goal of creating an artificial photosynthetic system which uses solar energy to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen could then be used as a clean fuel.
MacDonnell joined the College of Science in 1995, following his postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard. He earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University.
Dennis joined the College of Engineering in 2004 as an assistant professor. He earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering at Pennsylvania State University and completed his postdoctoral work in Environmental Engineering at the University of Tokyo.
About The University of Texas at Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie "highest research activity" institution of more than 50,000 students in campus-based and online degree programs and is the second-largest institution in The University of Texas System. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked UTA as one of the 20 fastest-growing public research universities in the nation in 2014. U.S. News & World Report ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. The University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2016 Best for Vets list. Visit http://www. | <urn:uuid:8129909f-e38a-4414-8786-724aa713b756> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/uota-pop022216.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403502.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00155-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944631 | 1,000 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Interpreting written language and translating it into words and sentences that convey thoughts and ideas.
Reading is the recognition of printed letters and their interpretation as words and se...
Gates-Macginitie Reading Tests (Gmrt)
Measures reading achievement.
The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests measure reading achievement in grades K-12. The GMRT is a timed multiple-choice test administered...
Gray Oral Reading Test (Gort-R)
Diagnoses reading problems and measures progress in oral reading.
The Gray Oral Reading Test (GORT-R) is an individual, timed test that diagnoses reading problems and m...
Numerous amounts of students label themselves as readers. Some may be classified under the category reluctant and underachieving readers while others go the extra mile and categorize themselves as ...
What is the Future of Reading"
Times have changed. Our current society relies on high-speed Internet, satellites, and television. Technological advances have caused our lives to be very different th... | <urn:uuid:eb87fbae-3c58-4dd4-bc19-d18472b2f6f1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bookrags.com/Reading/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.888895 | 212 | 3.6875 | 4 |
Cardboard boxes, whether small, large or custom-made are a handy necessity. Here are some less known facts which quietly contribute to their popularity:
- cardboard is just a popular name. Proper term here is corrugated fiberboard. It is clear why the long corrugated fiberboard boxes “keyword” is replaced with cardboard boxes
- original cardboard design revolved around stacking pieces of paper together and gluing them until desired strength is reached. This engineering specification was flawed and required innovation – cardboard is now made by (typically) at least three pieces of paper – top, bottom and middle. The one in the middle looks like tiny triangles – they come from a press called the corrugator. The wavy triangles in the middle are called flutes
- cardboard boxes inherit the qualities of their building blocks – corrugated fiberboard. As such, boxes differ by strength, weight capacity, edge crush test and puncture resistance
- some cardboard boxes can add certain amount of extravagance – such as water or even fire resistance. This is accomplished by applying proper paints and solutions to the outside walls
- almost 100% of the manufacturing process for cardboard boxes involves recycled material. What is more, the cut-offs from the cutting and folding presses are fed right back into the production line
- cardboard boxes differ in color before painting based on the ratio of new to recycled fibers. Various paints and bleach can then be applied to them. Some of the “greener” paints are chemical free and use soy inks etc.
Here is one fact which I will leave for last and conclude – corrugated fiberboard is one hundred percent recyclable and bio degradable when dry. Water and oil do damage to its walls and affect its ability to regenerate itself (or biodegrade). What is more, both oil and water in the paper tend to spoil the quality of the recycled large and small cardboard boxes – so best keep them separate.
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Paper cup holders are made uniquely and entirely from corrugated fiberboard. While this is little surprise, it is the exceptional properties of cardboard which makes them so versatile and accounts for their good thermo insulation qualities. In other words, one could say that corrugated board, similar to polystyrene sheets, has low thermal conductivity. This does not make it a good insulation material rather popular among construction companies and electrical engineering businesses. While holding a cup full of hot liquid is not completely uneventful even with the paper cup holder protection, it is a lot better than without it. An interesting fact is that the more one squeezes the cup, the higher the chances of getting burned.
One way of looking and explaining the fact is that by pressuring the cup on the outside, fingers get closer to the heat source and naturally the feeling of touching hot surfaces enhances. There is another reason – by applying pressure to the lid, a person squashes the corrugated flutes inside the walls of the paper cup holder and ultimately gets closer to the scorching coffee in there. These flutes are the mini paperboard triangles which live inside cardboard walls. They provide cushion, suspension, barrier protection and insulation. Typically they are used to protect the contents of small and large shipping boxes while traveling and make sure they get to their destination safely. In this particular scenario, the corrugated wavy flutes actually protect the human hands and other surfaces from the calorific contents.
It is somewhat wasteful to use paper cup holders. It almost seems like they contribute to yet another piece of post consumer waste which has to be collected and makes the lives of waste management folks and curbside collection harder and more difficult. The upside to this is that all three samples used in this article writeup were made locally in Canada and not imported from overseas or countries with questionable environmental policies and routines. What is more, they did not all look boring and bland – some of them had quite some character and looks. Also, all three of them claimed to be made from one hundred percent recycled fibers. One claimed that the recycled fibers came from ninety percent post consumer waste and used nothing but water-based link. This last fact means that less chemical compounds would go in the recycling mix and produce cleaner recycled fibers with less need to bleach and improve printing qualities.
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The easiest way to achieve reduce reuse recycle equilibrium is if we do not use anything at all. This would make it really easy on the environment and bring carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions to almost negligible levels. Small cardboard boxes would no longer need to be recycled since they would not be needed to begin with. Such a lethargic state of affairs would probably have a detrimental effect on he economic environment and lead to unimaginable consequences – once business stops, people would have to make some fundamental changes which might simply not be possible anymore in modern times.
Instead, we could focus on making the reduce and reuse processes a bit more fun and – they would come naturally after getting the buy-in of as many stakeholders are possible. Children and adolescents would often sink in behavioral patterns and act accordingly with parents and people whom they admire being the strongest sources of influence. Even the rowdiest bullies in class will recycle their root beer can since this is what they see at home, in class and on TV. This is actually one of the good aspects and positive impacts of modern culture on human recycling minds and attitudes.
Cardboard boxes are no exception. Once used, they have to be flattened and stored for subsequent reuse or properly placed in a recycling bin or the latest rage – a solar compactor. Investing in such alternative power driven appliances is certainly costly however the long-term effects of it can be far reaching and a lot more advantageous than simply writing checks to novelty engineering companies. The picture below shows rather common recycling station. What is less usual there is the fact that the recycling bins are all new shiny and clearly marked for easy identification. In a sense, they scream “recycle me” and make people take the extra effort in proper garbage disposal routines.
In the end, this is good for local waste management companies also. They will have to maybe maintain the pretty sight of the shiny polished recycling mini stations. In return, they will get a lot less mess and a neatly packed mass of properly organized bottles and cans or recycled cardboard shipping boxes. This can optimize trips, waste less time for cleanup and save fuel on idle time while the folks are organizing and restoring tidiness. What is more, it can develop the feeling that reduce, reuse and recycle is something we like to do, rather than something we must do.
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In efforts to maintain sustainable development without disrupting the environment continually, retailers have turned to more reusable technology on how to get groceries home. Whether this is a marketing trick or healing guilt and remorse feelings from the thermoform and clamshell packaging – which can be super frustrating to open, yet really popular – we would probably never know. Some stores have implemented fees on plastic bags which can be annoying especially when customers have to only grab one or two smaller things which do need to go in a bag of sorts. The newer generation of cloth shopping bags seems to bridge this divide rather well. They are reusable, they do lead to reduction in packaging materials such as plastic and paper, and they match the recyclability criteria also. Some of them even carry a little tag saying that the material used came from recycled plastic bottles. This is a great implementation of the remanufacturing principle – some items cannot be recycled and transforming them into something usable may be the only option before the landfill.
Unlike the majority of small and large cardboard boxes or shipping containers, these cloth bags do not have to be dull and unattractive – they come in a riot of colors, matching seasons, moods even shopping outfits. Many customers feel mandated to own more than one to fit any occasion. What is more, the latest craze in the shopping bags development is adding antibacterial agents which help food stay fresher and fight food born diseases. Top of the line shopping tote baggies are also reliable enough to keep their antibacterial properties even exposed to high temperatures and after they get washed. The one pictured below even has internal compartments for placing bottles or sturdier items which typically rip right through the plastic bags and eliminate the need to double and triple bag heavier loads. One issue which is still to be addressed is carrying the gallon-size milk containers – they are plain awkward and simply uncomfortable. The price of these new carrying containers is under one dollar – well worth the investment when one comes to think about it.
While these bags will not completely replace all plastics and packaging paper bags used in stores, they help everyone – bottom lines of retailers will improve by a few pennies when they have to stock less bags. Consumers will not have to feel bad about the amounts of light bulky bags which seem to clog up the recycling stream and ultimately waste management folks would be happier during curbside collection times.
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In their efforts to limit environmental impact and to mitigate some cost, Walmart and Castrol recently went into a mutual packaging agreement. It was announced as a delivery contract where Castrol will no longer ship oil in plastic drums or individual quart-size bottles to Walmart lube shops. The public relations people around this press release claim that there is less residual oil as compared to plastic bottles, among other advantages.
The new oil packs are called enviro-pack or e-pack. Castrol has a PDF tutorial on how to open them safely and stack them on shelves or commercial floors – not more than eight high. They are lighter than traditional oil drums and take a lot less space. What is more, once emptied, the plastic insert of packages can be recycled while the corrugated fiberboard casing can be easily broken down and placed in a cardboard recycle bins. Some issues around usability will be additionally worked out. Certain options looked a bit chores-prone such as the fact that initially the cardboard container has to be placed up, then some oil poured out onto a pitcher to relieve pressure and eventually the spout gets placed in for controlled pours.
As it turns out these economy packs have been out for quite some time. Pennzoil has had them for a while. Some environment and usability advantages are evident – less amount of bottles in the garbage as these smaller packs can be maneuvered manually, less clutter around the shop, lighter packs as opposed to drums which need a hand cart and two people etc. In addition, the plastic bottles from oil are excluded from the recycling stream since they can contaminate it heavily. This fact is sad as both water and motor oil bottles come from resin code 1 which is PET or PETE – polyethylene terephthalate. The drawbacks here are that sometimes these oil boxes are tough to pour out of, they will require a bit more labor involvement and may cost some to shop owners in terms of ability to service cars fast and efficiently. Another good and bad consideration is that the large plastic drums are nearly indestructible. They protect their content well and then we have to figure out what to do with them after their end of life. Plastics small cardboard boxes full of engine lubricants might not be so lucky and cause a spill or two here and there due to naturally lower puncture resistance. Either way, the environmental improvement is well worth the effort.
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After antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer and antibacterial paper, antiviral tissues are a natural follower. In recent past, antibacterial material was seen in sponges, viscose wipes and some kitchen specialty products. Antiviral tissues make a lot of sense in times when flu comes around and can be of immeasurable value in office and shared space environments. Think of it this way – when someone blows their nose and throws the wipe in the trashcan, this does not mean that germs simply stop existing and comply with our desire to keep them as far as possible from us. What is, more when the janitors come to pick up the garbage at the end of the day, they are again exposed to the same contagious matter – the fact that tissues are in the trash does not make them less toxic. When this effect is multiplied times twenty in an open-space office area full of a number of smaller trashcans, a virus could really escalate and propagate fast. Additionally, a number of property management teams would not invest and spend the extra few dollars on antibacterial air conditioning filters. If some of this hazardous whiff is trapped in the ducts, it can really cause some health damage.
Antiviral tissues have three layers rather similar to the corrugated fiberboard sandwich used in large and small cardboard boxes. The middle tissue layer, just like the wavy flutes, is the magic one which traps germs after it becomes in contact with moisture. An original hypothesis was that this medium part contains silver nano particles which can destroy bacteria. This has proven true in wrap paper and other mainly food packaging and the only argument against it going mainstream is price – scientists simply cannot get it manufactured cheaply enough. On the other hand, some references claim that antiviral tissues contain almost nothing but lemon acid and sodium dodecyl sulfate (common ingredient in cleaning agents). In other words, capture viruses with lemon and soda – what a neat and simple idea! So why not, these tissues are not hugely expensive.
Bottom line – can these antiviral tissues stop viruses and prevent flu spread? They are an excellent addition to the existing toolset against germs and bacteria. A sad part of the truth is that the majority of people simply do not wash their hands either at all or not often or good enough. Think before you get on someone else’s keyboard and really do not allow anyone to touch yours. ATM machines and public phones are the other two pieces of needed public infrastructure to be most careful with.
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This blog has touched on many occasions on what cardboard boxes are and what corrugated fiberboard is – their basic building material. Almost always a cardboard box has two liners and corrugated wavy flutes in the middle for extra strength. Now is the time to shed some light on basics of the manufacturing process itself.
It all typically starts with a large roll of containerboard – a special, thick, heavy paper. Most of the time this is paper with high or one hundred percent recycled content. The paper is fed onto a belted corrugator machine. There heavy rollers with grooves together with hot steam press into the paper medium in a controlled manner to form the flute waves. Next immediate step is to apply glue onto the sides of the newly produced corrugated medium. An insulating air cushion is formed in the process between the flutes and the liner – the size of the flutes (and thus the insulating amount of air in-between) can be used as barrier protection and can be customized up to product requirements. The adhesive used here is in its simplest form – starch plus water combination. Often glue is made of urea, ammonium and hard water – such a mixture might have unforeseeable consequences on food shipped in cardboard boxes so the starch-water mixture is a lot safer. Another liner is applied to the other side of the flutes and the combination can be repeated if extra heavy items are to be shipped.
Further down the production line, corrugated fiberboard runs through the trimmer where sheets are nicely trimmed by a circular saw and stacked into uniform equal pieces. Special machine “fingers” separate the boards from each other into sheets which will later be folded into boxes. Next, perforators drive holes into the cardboard for folds or handles. Excess and trimmed leftovers are fed back into the recycling process for further reuse up to several times over.
Folding machine is the next station – this is where the corrugated fiberboard is gradually starting to resemble cardboard boxes as we know them from the packaging supplier shelves. Before a box is all set to be stacked into production pallets and shipped off to warehouses, the paperboard will go through the ink kitchen. This is where dyes and colors are electronically mixed into desired shades and tones. Almost always the paint used here is water-based to ensure fast drying and prevent chemical bonding with oil-based colors. The printing presses of these corrugated paper mills are of two varieties:
- Flexographic – used for drawings and text
- Lithographic – for photographs and more complex imaging
Bleach can be added in advance in the paper manufacturing process to improve printing qualities of boxes as needed.
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While the packaging industry is constantly undergoing development and improvements, it is typically a lot less vibrant than the information systems area. There, the latest hype for about two years plus now, has been cloud computing. It could appear that the two spheres share a lot more in common. This is suggested by a fairly recent real-time virtual marketplace for paper and cardboard manufacturers. It is deployed in the cloud and all interested stakeholders – paper mills, packaging suppliers, paper brokers etc. – have a nice and clean electronic media to communicate and monitor prices, supplies, demand, inventory levels and current order status. This style of online paper trading has dramatically cut costs, improved and simplified flexibility, inventory management and overall resource stewardship. All they need to get access is a browser and proper accounts/subscription into the system.
A natural next step in such an Internet-based exchange could be to include materials recycling facilities. This would be beneficial for local waste management and enterprises in the cardboard and shipping boxes businesses to stay current on price fluctuations of recycled versus raw materials. The ultimate goal of curbside corrugated fiberboard recycling is to build a reliable and sustainable closed cycle of plastics, glass, cardboard etc. manufacturing, use, disposal, collection and reuse/re-manufacturing. Challenges in this area typically come from an increased share of manual labor in the process which could drive the price of recycled raw materials above their virgin counterparts. This would be counter productive for recycling facilities and raise flags in their financial departments and local communities questioning their funding and use.
Certain manufacturers, such as Kleenex for example, have sometimes been criticized of having a greater share of virgin fibers in their materials mix. Part of this is due to business specifics and reputation issues – Kleenex maintain that to preserve the softness and gentle touch of their paper products, the well familiar tall or flat small cardboard boxes of tissues have to contain wipes etc. made from fresh paper. On the upside, they claim to have over 95 percent of recycled fibers in their actual outer corrugated boxes where the tissues live.
It would be impossible to influence all paper mills and cardboard boxes manufacturers to follow a certain type of strict business guidelines. Such attempts would decrease competitiveness and ultimately have an unexpected reflection upon markets. It is however undisputed that the mighty cloud could create and edge for some companies who choose to make a full use of its qualities and stay current on cardboard boxes materials with its help. Such solutions could be deployed on already existing cloud platforms or by in-house means for larger enterprises.
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The majority of parcels in business to business and business to consumer trade are large shipping boxes. It is not uncommon to get a small item such as a missing PlayStation or TV controller or a wireless bluetooth mouse, for example, in a huge box. Retailers sometimes run out or do not even stock smaller shipping boxes. Books and CDs are typically well adjusted and sized – Amazon have taken this commercial frugality to the next level and ship items in proper cardboard boxes.
Shipping to friends and family may be a different task altogether. Often people try to pack and shove larger and bulkier items in small cardboard boxes. This is at the expense of improper packaging and over-abuse with packing tape and bubble wrap. Using loose and void fill is a step in the right direction. Yet, boxes with protrusions, extra heavy and looking like they are about to bust open any second are unlikely to make it. Even a small box should withstand some abuse and be prepared to survive reasonable handling and at least a three-foot free fall. Small cardboard boxes are prone to a bit more throwing and kicking severely dependent on the mood of a mailman or a delivery courier. General rule of thumb is that packages and shipping containers should be ready even for their bad days. The alternative is to deal with insurance claims and shipping delays borderline with customer frustration and aggravation.
It is always a good idea to pack responsibly and allow for some handling margin. While not everything can be planned for, some best shipping and packaging practices come into play and become relevant. Small packages should be tightly and neatly packed with custom foam or polystyrene packaging peanuts. Items inside should not slide or move freely sustaining damages in the process and they should not be in direct contact with each other or the walls of the shipping plastic or cardboard enclosure. Heavy and extra fragile items should go in large shipping boxes as placing “this side up” on their smaller counterparts might not help too much due to their tiny nature. Proper packing tape should be preferred to duct, frog or electrical tape. Filament tape is also acceptable and recommended for heavy stuff.
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Tissue boxes are a good example of small cardboard boxes. Many manufacturers choose to make the actual tissues from virgin raw materials in order to preserve the quality of their trademarks and paper, tissues and boxes. Recycled fibers are used in the paperboard part of these small vanity boxes – their outer shell. This raises a number of questions from green packaging organizations and environmentalists. Reason is that not all sources of timber, the major source of paper raw materials together with some crops such as cotton, jute etc., come from forests whose management is compliant with sustainable forestry management regulations. Most of the timber coming from Western Europe and North America adheres to these procedures and, by and large, manufacturers can be sure that their paper products are aligned with newer green packaging initiatives.
This might not be the same for places such as the BRIC countries for example. Many of the forestry management companies there are run by people with short lived intentions whose only objective is to amass wealth at whatever cost to the environment and get out. It is quite natural that they will use any and all tactics to gain access to markets such as the western world. One such approach is to undermine the supply of virgin raw materials with price. When a large manufacturer of flat or small cardboard boxes is faced with this ethical dilemma – the economics of the situation might push the scales into favor of the lesser price.
This could have a number of interesting implications. Cheap raw material prices are detrimental to many municipalities engaged in proper recycling of paper and cardboard – often this is a laborious process with manual work at high cost to prevent paper from getting mixed with the comingled waste. What is more, once the raw materials from such an example as above become less expensive, local paper mills might stop purchasing the recycled supply and introduce a new set of problem making it really challenging for material recycling facilities to stay afloat and justify taxpayers’ expense.
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The confusingly named HMS Tamar base is now confined to part of Stonecutters Island, which has been transformed into a splendid new base for the incoming Chinese navy and, thanks to land reclamation, is no longer an island.
It was the Navy which seized Hong Kong for Britain and a naval captain, Sir Edward Belcher, who first raised the Union flag on Hong Kong's soil on 24 January 1841. "Our naval forbears were quite clever", says Lieutenant Commander Cliff Squibb, HMS Tamar's last commander. Fighting off pressure from the colonial government and the Army, the Navy tenaciously clung on to its dock and headquarters site right in the heart of town, occupying what must be the world's most expensive piece of real estate to be used as a naval base.
"The Navy has always been in Central [the name given to the financial district], we consider it our patch", says Commodore Peter Melson, whose book White Ensign - Red Dragon, a history of the Navy's presence in Hong Kong, was published yesterday.
The base started life as a dockyard. HMS Tamar, which gave the base its name, was built in 1863 and was tied up alongside the dockyard and deployed as the naval headquarters. Tamar was scuttled in 1941, in order to prevent it from being of use to the Japanese occupation forces.
By the time the Japanese invaded Britain had moved all but two of the Hong Kong-based naval vessels to theatres of war which were considered to be more important.
As Britain steadily withdrew its forces from East of Suez, the garrison, which numbered some 30,000 troops in the 1960s, was reduced in size.
The dockyard was closed in 1959, after which the base ceased to perform a regional role and concentrated on the defence of Hong Kong.
The rise of piracy in the South China Sea (which had been a pestilence when the base was established) and growing problems with the smuggling of goods and the organised smuggling of illegal immigrants from China, have made the Navy's last years anything but quiet ones.
The naval presence is now reduced to three patrol vessels, which will be sold to the Philippines, and, as from next week, only 85 naval personnel, which will be whittled down to 65 just before Hong Kong is handed back to China on 1 July.
It is a far cry from the days when Victoria Harbour bristled with British fighting ships, which virtually controlled China's southern coastline in the 19th century.
As well as British servicemen, the naval base gave rise to generations of Chinese staff being introduced to the mysteries of English naval cuisine and the unique culture of the British Navy, which is as far removed from everyday Chinese life as the planet Mars.
One of the oldest veterans of service to the Navy is 78-year-old Ng Muk- kam, known by the ratings as Side Party Jenny, because she and a redoubtable band of women colleagues were employed clambering around the sides of ships painting and polishing them.
Her succinct verdict on the state of the Navy is that the older ships were nicer but that the new ones are tidier and easier to clean.
"When I decommission Tamar", says Sir Jock, "in one sense it's very sad, but at the same time I regard it as the start of a new era". He points out that the modern Navy is far more self-sufficient, and no longer requires fixed land bases.
He hopes China will allow Britain to make naval visits to its old home in Hong Kong, though it is hard to believe the outgoing colonial power will be top of the visitors' list. | <urn:uuid:a45aa039-e627-4af9-8963-21838eb82c12> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/hong-kong-handover-navy-hauls-down-white-ensign-for-the-last-time-1266431.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978831 | 752 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Silk ties and other necktie fabrics
Silk had been produced in China since about 2640 BC. From there it first made its way to Persia around 400 BC before it reached Asia Minor and Egypt some 200 years later. The peregrine fabric did not enter Europe until the last pre-Christian century. To the Romans it quickly became a luxury good, and nothing will change about the exclusiveness of this material in the course of time – nor when the Moors had started their own silk production in the 8th century in Spain. In the 10th century this technology spread from Sicily all over Italy.
In the Middle Ages silk was produced, traded or manufactured almost everywhere, but the most dominant in this branch of the textile sector were the Florentines. Later on, the French took over the lead and advanced this delicate textile to first choice and a “must” atCourt. It was only near the end of the 18th century that the English trend for wool and cotton in male fashion was established. However, silk did not vanish but was reserved for vests, morning robes and stockings, as well as for edging and lining.
The elaborately tied necktie of the dandies in the 19th century had not been made of silk, but of snow-white linen or noble lace. Silk was not used for neck adornments until the late 1880es . This was closely connected to industrialisation, and the ability to produce the once so rare silk in large quantities. Right from the beginning, men were enthusiastic about the geometrical all over designs from Macclesfield and the oriental-appearing Paisleys, which came from the Scottish city of the same name. Since the 18th century, silk fibers from British colonies have been spun and woven into patterns from India that, even today, appear exotic.
The principle of silk extraction has hardly changed since its beginnings. Still it is a time and labor-intensive process. As soon as the silkworms have wrapped themselves in cocoons, these so-called pupas will be killed with steam or hot air. The cocoons are soaked in water to loosen the layers of gum, which agglutinated the cocoon threads. These threads, which will be unreeled with small brushes, are about 1.86 miles (3,000m) long, but only 330 to 880 yards (300 to 800m) are of such quality that it can be used for further processing into high quality floss. Before it can be spun and woven, it has to be decocted in soapy water to remove remains of the silk gum. The specialist calls this “degumming”.
China is still one of the largest suppliers of high quality floss. The center for manufacturing silk ties lies in Como, Northern Italy. From design to the final product, the companies offer the complete manufacturing process The silk will be either imprinted or woven into Jacquards using different silk yarns. Silk prints are especially suitable for pictorial or floral patterns because with this procedure almost any motif can be applied on to the fabric representing the real object. Thus, woven silk mainly provided geometrical or rhythmically arranged patterns, since these are best to be drawn with warp and weft.
Judging the quality of silk fabrics can be difficult, even for an expert. Just by looking at it, it is hard to tell synthetic from pure silk. Thus, one has to use the sense of touch. The most striking difference between pure silk and synthetic is that the latter is made of much smoother yarn and thus the fabrics will also be much smoother. For this reason you should run the tie through your fingers. Pure silk will inevitably get stuck on rough skin parts or the edge of afingernail, while the imitation will just slide over it.
Another often suggested quality check is to press and crumple the silk. Excellent goods will remain uncreased. But, of course, be careful with this if you haven’t bought the tie yet. There are also many other procedures, but these are not necessarily applicable for the consumer, such as scorching the fabrics. Thus, he has to rely on the quality promise made by the tie brand. A good reputation usually stands for good quality, and the price also makes a good guideline. Under a certain level you won’t get top quality.
Even though silk is the fabric of choice for most high end neckties, there are a few other fabrics that offer certain benefits for mens ties. For those who are looking for an inexpensive alternative to natural silk can choose from several synthetic imitations. One common synthetic fiber for ties is polyester. Polyester is very cheap but also doesn’t look nor feel like silk. It has a plastic-like feel and a more unnatural looking shine. However, advances in the textile industry made it possible to create synthetic fibers that are almost indistinguishable from genuine silk. One of such fibers is simply called Microfiber. It is a man-made fabric that blends the two synthetic materials: polyester and polyamide. Both are mixed into a goo-like paste which is then spun into a microscopic thin yarn – a yarn that is even thinner in diameter than silk. This yarn is then dyed and woven into fabric. The benefit microfiber offers over silk – besides a lower cost point – is the fabric’s high stain resistancy. In addition, microfiber holds dyes much better and is therefore available in much brighter and more vivid colors than silk.
Besides man-made fabrics there are a few other textiles worth mentioning. One popular fabric for classic striped ties and regimental ties is called Poplin or Mogador. It is a fabric that blends silk in the warp with cotton fiber in the weft. The fabric has a matte shine and a slight ribbed texture. It is the perfect choice for traditional striped ties. Irish tie maker Atkinsons has been known for using Poplin for their neckties since 1837. At Ties-Necktie we are proud to offer exclusive designer ties by Atkinsons. To see this selection please click on: Atkinsons Ties. | <urn:uuid:7ca305e4-d29a-407d-b300-a8e6a2bcd706> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ties-necktie.com/tie-fabrics.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967436 | 1,261 | 3.28125 | 3 |
The Jain Food Philosophy and its
influence on India
Indian vegetarian cook books
Jainisim is governed with the idea of non-violence or ahimsa. This high ideal has
had a tremendous influence on India's cuisine resulting in India's glorious vegetarian
Jainism is a very
evolved philosophy and a very gentle religion. Many Jains have very soft and
peaceful souls and very simple lives and they command respect wherever they go. This
philosophy was also seen as having many good ideals by ancient India and many of its
principles have been naturally incorporated into Hinduism and India's culinary culture.
Jainism takes non
violence to a very strict level and respect life at any level including plant life.
They make sure that there lifestyle does not cause injury to anyone. Gandhiji has
been influenced greatly by this philosophy and in turn influencing Martin Luther King to
resort to non violence.
As a result of this
the Jain diet consists of grains like wheat, rice, lentils or pulses and beans, oil-seeds
are recommended as they fall under the category of non-injurious food. They are yielded
only when their plants get dried of their own after their age ends. Fruits and
vegetables that become ripe on the plants or branches of trees or those that fall on their
own after becoming ripe, are used for food.
Jains are strict
vegetarians and many also avoid root vegetables as it is violent to plants. They also
avoid any liquor so they can live a mindful life. Other aspects of their food philosophy
is that they regularly offer food to poor people, fast on certain days, do not waste any
food, drink filtered water and eat after sunrise and before sunset.
In Jain conduct, uneatables are
stated to be of five kinds:
Articles involving injury or death of mobile-beings e.g. Meat.
Articles involving injury or death to many creatures
E.g. Root vegetables as they involve destruction of countless one-sensed beings.
Intoxicants e.g. Wine etc.
Articles not worthy of use e.g. Saliva, Stool, and Urine.
Deprecables Articles causing harm to the health are uneatables of the fifth category.
Jain ideas can be
traced back to the seventh century B>C> in India, though it was Mahavir Jain who
formalized the philosophy of what was to be known as Jainism in the sixth century.
Mahavira, most likely born around 540 BC, was a Kshatriya of high Licchavi tribal birth.
At the age of 30, he renounced family life and proceed to live, for the next 12 years, as
The Consecration of Mahavira. Gujarat, 1404. Miniature from Jaina manuscript, the
Kalpasutra. 7x10 cms. Collection: British Museum, London.
Mix vegetable dal Serves 4 to 5 persons
50 grms each moongdal, tuvar dal, urad dal, chana dal, chori, 4 pieces cloves, cimmamon,
bay leaf, one small piece nutmeg, 3 cardamom small and 3 cardamom large, salt, red chili
powder, turmeric powder, coriander seed powder to taste four tomatoes cut into pieces.
cook all mix dals in pressure cooker with 1 liter of water. Heat oil in a pan add 4 pieces
cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, one small piece nutmeg, 3 cardamom small and 3 cardamom large,
salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander seed powder to taste four tomatoes cut
into pieces. Stir for 5 minutes and add boiled dal heat it for 10 minutes and serve hot.
Fresh Coconut curry Serves 4 to 5 Persons
2 fresh coconuts, l spoon gram flour, 1 boiled banana skinned and cut into pieces, 100
grms boiled green peas, 100 grms boiled French beans cut into small pieces, one green, red
or yellow capsicum cut into pieces, oil, mustard seeds and cumin seeds, chili powder and
salt to taste.
Grind coconut with two cup of water to very thin paste. Heat oil add mustard and cumin
seeds. When done add coconut milk and gram flour to it. Stir for 5 to 10 minutes on low
flame, add 3 glasses of water and boil for 5 minutes then add banana boiled, capsicum,
French beans, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt to taste.
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Cook Books and their Reviews
tags : jain root vegetables, jain food recipes, jain diet,
mindful eating, spirutial diet, kindness, vegetarian, vegan, Indian, Find vegetarian
indian food, south indian food, best indian food, indians food, indian food cooking,
indian food recipe, go vegan, healthy, eat healthy, nonviolence, non-violence, animal
rights, animal welfare, nutrition, advocacy, animal cruelty, compassion, environment, save
the earth, ways to help the earth, help animals, anti-cruelty, humane education, animal
liberation, compassionate living, healthy eating
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Iris Recognition Systems For Access Control And Identity Management Gain Popularity
eyes have it. The use of iris recognition technology is expanding around the globe and it is being utilised in a vast array of commercial and government applications ranging from access control to time management. ASSA ABLOY Future Lab examines how this biometric technology is breaking new ground in identity management and other security applications.
Retinal vs. iris scans
Often confused with a retinal scan, iris recognition systems capture an image of the eye, and then analyse the coloured part around the pupil that you see on the front of the eye called the “iris”.
The retina, on the other hand, is made up of the photoreceptor cells located at the back of the eye and is not visible. While iris recognition essentially captures an image of the texture of the iris, a retinal scan captures an image of the pattern of the retina’s blood vessels inside the physical eye.
“The iris is in plain sight as opposed to the retina, so it’s easier to take a good image of the iris,” says David Usher, senior scientist with Retica Systems, a Massachusetts-based company that designs and develops iris-based identity management systems. “In iris recognition, an image of the iris is taken using Near Infrared (NIR) LED light and algorithms are then used to form an encoded representation of the texture of that iris. This encoding, or template, is then used to match against other templates and confirm or refute identity.” | <urn:uuid:7638eec5-cacb-4793-bb2d-cc19d60c5d27> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://revolutionradio.org/?p=8062 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00200-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900047 | 330 | 2.625 | 3 |
What self-injury is
Self-injury is a coping mechanism. An individual harms their physical self to deal with emotional pain, or to break feelings of numbness by arousing sensation.
If you wish to quote our definitions, you must give attribution to “LifeSIGNS at www.lifesigns.org.uk”
Self-injury is any deliberate, non suicidal behaviour that inflicts physical harm on your body and is aimed at relieving emotional distress. Physical pain is often easier to deal with than emotional pain, because it causes ‘real’ feelings. Injuries can prove to an individual that their emotional pain is real and valid. Self-injurious behaviour may calm or awaken a person. Yet self-injury only provides temporary relief, it does not deal with the underlying issues. Self-injury can become a natural response to the stresses of day to day life and can escalate in frequency and severity.
Self-Harm? Is that like Self-Injury?
People use different terms for self-injury; SI, SH, DSH (Deliberate Self Harm), SIB (Self Injurious Behaviour), Self Mutilation, Cutting; some people even include self-injury when they say ‘parasuicide’. Hospitals and Doctors might use different words, but whatever words we use, are we talking about the same thing?
LifeSIGNS feels that language is important when professionals are talking about self-injury, and talking to people who self-injure, but of course, we’re happy for people who self-injure to use whatever words and phrases they feel comfortable with. If you consider yourself a ‘self-harmer’ rather than a ‘person who self-injures’ then that’s fine!
At LifeSIGNS, we talk about self-injury rather than self-harm because we see self-harm as a larger concept, and LifeSIGNS focuses on the narrower idea of self-injury.
Self-Harm and Self-Injury
Self-harm is an umbrella term that includes a variety of behaviours that damage, or cause harm to a person. Self-injury falls under the umbrella of self-harm, and is a direct behaviour that causes injury and damage to one’s body. At LifeSIGNS, we believe the intention of self-injury is to release tension and seek relief from distress; we focus on the intention and the fact that people rely on self-injury as a coping mechanism.
Self-harm includes many harmful behaviours such as self-injury, but includes such diverse matters as eating disorders, risk taking behaviour, drug and alcohol misuse.
Although we’ve put ‘hair pulling’ under self-injury, we don’t particularly mean trichotillomania. Although some people pull hair out to seek relief for their distress (just like in our definition of self-injury), some people are compelled to pull their hair and it does not relieve their distress – in fact it may cause more anxiety.
We can also consider self-neglect (including a lack of hygiene, lack of health-care behaviours and extreme selflessness) to be indicators of low self worth.
We might describe a massive acute drug overdose as suicidal behaviour, but if someone is self-medicating in a chronic manner (over a period of time) then we’re more likely to describe it as self-injury, especially if the person explains their actions are to ‘help them cope’ or ‘help them forget’.
At LifeSIGNS, it’s all about self-definition, we listen to people, we don’t judge or throw labels around. We’re pleased to offer our explanation of how self-injury is related to self-harm, and here at LifeSIGNS, we know we can offer great information about self-injury, but that we’re not going to stretch our expertise to eating disorders and drug abuse, we know other organisations have expertise in those realms.
- Find out more by downloading our fantastic Factsheets | <urn:uuid:908b9b8f-bb14-435f-b314-e8b07a7aa5db> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lifesigns.org.uk/what/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396538.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00042-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961243 | 880 | 3.046875 | 3 |
1818—Military leader Andrew Jackson (later president) leads the defeat of a force of Indians and Blacks at the Battle of Suwanee, bringing an end to the First Seminole War. The Seminoles had been the target of a government military campaign because they possessed lands, which Whites in Florida greatly desired, and because they had provided safe haven for escaped slaves. Indeed, Blacks such as John Horse would become major Seminole leaders. It would take at least two more major military campaigns before the Seminoles and their Black allies lost possession of those lands.
1977—Alex Haley, author of “Roots,” is awarded the Pulitzer Prize.
1910—The National Urban League is formed in New York City. It was born out of a merger of the National League for the Protection of Colored Women, National League on Urban Conditions among Negroes and remnants of the Niagara Movement which had earlier help found the NAACP. Among the leading organizers were Ruth Standish Baldwin and George Edmund Haynes. The organization was founded in part to be more focused on economic issues affecting Blacks than the NAACP. Today, it is generally considered the nation’s second most powerful civil rights organization after the NAACP.
1971—Walter Fauntroy becomes the first elected Congressional representative from the predominantly Black District of Columbia since Reconstruction. However, Fauntroy did not have voting rights. Indeed, down to this day, the Congressional Representative from Washington, D.C., is still not allowed to vote on major legislation. This bar was once common among capitol cities. But today, America stands virtually alone among major nations in barring the residents of its capitol city from having a voting representative in its national legislature. Critics argue that the bar continues because the city is majority African-American.
1978—Max Robinson becomes the first African-American anchor of a major network television news program when he begins co-anchoring ABC nightly news from Chicago. The Richmond, Va., native died of AIDS in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 20, 1988. | <urn:uuid:94706c5c-3256-42d8-9e08-f187f8972e06> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2013/04/17/for-the-week-of-april-17-23/2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971923 | 415 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Why were the mid-term elections important?
At stake was control of Congress, the legislative branch of the US Government. Republicans had controlled both chambers - the House of Representatives and the Senate - since 1994, except for a brief time when Democrats held the Senate after one senator defected from the Republican party.
All 435 House of Representatives seats were at stake, while one-third of the 100 Senate seats were up for re-election.
The Democratic Party has taken control of both the House of Representatives, the larger of the two houses, and the Senate.
The party seized the Senate after narrow wins in two key races (Virginia and Montana).
That assumes that the two Senators elected as independents (Joe Lieberman in Connecticut and socialist Bernie Saunders in Vermont) vote with the Democrats.
However, the new 110th Congress will not take office until January 3, 2007.
The result represents a striking rejection of the policies of Republican president George W Bush, who still has two years remaining in office.
They were also a reflection of public disillusionment with a series of scandals that have rocked the Republicans in Congress.
What does this mean for politics?
Under the US system of government, with its separation of powers, the Congress proposes and passes legislation, which the President has to implement.
There have often been times in which control of the Presidency and control of Congress have been held by different parties, such as during much of the Clinton administration in the 1990s.
If the president and Congress are prepared to work together on a bi-partisan basis, then legislation can still be passed.
But if the two sides fundamentally disagree, the result is often deadlock.
The president can block legislation by using his power of veto, which can only be overturned in Congress by a two-thirds majority.
However, he usually will want to use this power sparingly.
Mr Bush has only used the veto once during his term in office.
What is the role of the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi?
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer in the House of Representatives, with the power to recognise speakers, call for votes on legislation, and appoint members of committees.
The Speaker is also the second in line of succession for the presidency, after the vice-president.
If elected in January, Nancy Pelosi will be the first female speaker of the House.
However, the Speaker's role is also a partisan one, and Ms Pelosi will also be the leader of the Democrats in the House, supported by the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, who is the "floor leader" whose job it is to line up votes for legislation backed by the leadership.
Ms Pelosi will also share the role as the effective leader of the Democrats with Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, and to a lesser extent with Howard Dean, the leader of the Democratic National Committee.
What about foreign policy?
Mr Bush will still have the power to set US foreign policy, and will still be the commander in chief of all US military forces.
But he will be subject to the "advice and consent" of the Senate, who must approve treaties and appointments, such as ambassadors.
Congress can also use its oversight powers by holding hearings on key issues in foreign policy, and calling administration officials to testify.
And it still holds the purse-strings, and can increase or decrease the military budget or spending on homeland security.
However, Mr Bush's appointee as defence secretary, Robert Gates, who is a member of a bi-partisan commission charged with coming up with a new strategy in Iraq, may signal a new approach to foreign policy.
In most of the post-war era, presidents were careful to build cross-party support for their foreign policy.
What about domestic policy?
There are still big disagreements between the administration and the Democrats on many key areas of domestic policy, such as tax cuts.
The Democrats also want a different approach to tackling health care, energy policy (including more emphasis alternative energy sources), and domestic security.
But there may be a bi-partisan attempt to tighten up the rules on ethics and the role of lobbyists in Congress, following the Abramoff scandal.
And there may be a more bi-partisan attempt to tackle the budget deficit and immigration.
However, there are big differences on many of these issues within the Democratic party itself.
And even when controlled by the same party, the House and Senate do not always agree on their approach - so there could still be considerable difficulties in passing major legislation.
What about the social agenda?
Another big disagreement between Mr Bush and many Democrats has been the so-called "values" agenda - issues such as abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research.
Mr Bush may face attempts in Congress to change course on some of these issues now that the Democrats are in control.
Some state-wide referendums held at the same time as the mid-terms delivered a rather mixed message about voter views on these issues.
Voters in seven states - Virginia, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Tennessee, South Dakota, Colorado and Idaho - rejected gay wedlock by limiting marriage to unions between men and women.
But in South Dakota, voters overturned a near-total ban on abortions passed by the state legislature earlier this year.
And in Missouri Democrats and liberals were claiming another victory after the passage of a state constitutional amendment enshrining the right to conduct embryonic stem cell research, something opposed by President Bush.
However, many of the newly elected Democratic Congressmen and Senators come from the more socially conservative states, and a number of them have expressed support for the "values agenda" themselves. | <urn:uuid:6fa577b1-72d1-4328-a332-a3a5194abee9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6131704.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968589 | 1,157 | 4.0625 | 4 |
BBC News: Climate change evident across Europe
The effects of climate change are already evident in Europe and the situation is set to get worse, the European Environment Agency has warned.
In a report, the agency says the past decade in Europe has been the warmest on record.
“Every indicator we have in terms of giving us an early warning of climate change and increasing vulnerability is giving us a very strong signal,” observed EEA executive director Jacqueline McGlade.
“It is across the board, it is not just global temperatures,” she told BBC News.
“It is in human health aspects, in forests, sea levels, agriculture, biodiversity - the signals are coming in from right across the environment.” | <urn:uuid:0f7993dd-67aa-4d66-936a-3ad75447df40> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://theconnexion.net/wp/?p=13092 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395546.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00022-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93795 | 154 | 2.71875 | 3 |
| Contemporary Educational Psychology
Immunizing Children Against the Negative Effects of Reward
Two studies were conducted to examine the effect of intrinsic motivation training on children's subsequent motivational orientation and creativity in an expected reward situation. Past research has demonstrated the overjustification effect: Children who work on an interesting task in order to obtain a reward demonstrate lower subsequent intrinsic motivation than do children not working for a reward. Other studies have shown similar negative effects on creativity. The primary hypothesis of the present research was that the usual overjustification effect would be counteracted by directed discussion sessions focused on intrinsic reasons for working in school and explicitly dealing with ways to cognitively distance oneself from the reward contingency. Both studies provide partial support for this hypothesis. In fact, children receiving the intrinsic motivation training seemed to later treat reward as an actual augmentation of intrinsic motivation. Possible mechanisms for this phenomenon are discussed, including the role of individual difference variables such as self-esteem.
Motivation and Incentives;
Early Childhood Education; | <urn:uuid:53b93c52-1c30-449e-9092-6ce7e0877df2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=7458 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948322 | 201 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Pulmonary clinical trials
Clinical trials are research studies in which people help doctors and researchers find ways to improve health care. Each study tries to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat disease. The purpose of a clinical trial is to find out whether a medicine or treatment regimen is safe and effective for the treatment of a specific condition or disease. Clinical trials compare the effectiveness of the study medicine or treatment against standard, accepted treatment, or against a placebo if no standard treatment exists.
Providence Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
offers clinical trials for appropriate patients who have conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary hypertension, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, interstitial lung disease and acute respiratory distress syndrome. | <urn:uuid:8b7eeee4-b940-4ba1-bbc8-69397aac415f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://oregon.providence.org/our-services/p/pulmonary-clinical-trials/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00150-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90369 | 151 | 2.84375 | 3 |
For Hudson Bay Polar Bears, The End is Already in Sight
No polar bears have been more closely studied than Canada's western Hudson Bay population. In recent decades, biologists such as Andrew E. Derocher of the University of Alberta have compiled an impressive store of data on everything from the weight of females at denning, to the body mass of bears of all sexes, to the length of time the bears spend annually on the shores of Hudson Bay, to the decline of sea ice in the bay itself.
Now, Derocher, working with Peter K. Molnar and other colleagues from the University of Alberta, has marshaled that data to forecast how long it will be before western Hudson Bay's polar bears disappear. The calculation is not overly complex, since the health of polar bears is directly tied to the amount of time they spend on sea ice hunting seals.
The basic facts are as follows: The region's polar bears have been forced to spend an extra week per decade onshore; the bears have been losing, on average, more than 20 pounds per decade; the body mass of the bears has been steadily declining; females have lost 10 percent of their body length; and the population has dropped from 1,200 to 900 in three decades, with much of the decline coming in the last 10 years.
Looking at projected sea ice declines, Derocher and his colleagues estimated in a recent paper in Biological Conservation that western Hudson Bay's polar bear population could well die out in 25 to 30 years. Indeed, in an interview with Yale Environment 360 senior editor Fen Montaigne, Derocher said that the population — one of 19 in the Arctic — could be gone within a decade. All it would take is several straight years of low sea ice conditions — such as the current year — which could force the bears onshore for more than five months a year, leading to a sharp decline in the bears' physical condition and the inability of females to gestate cubs. "One of the things we found was that the changes in this population could happen very dramatically," says Derocher. "And a lot of the change could come within a single year if you just ended up with an earlier melt of sea ice."
Yale Environment 360: You predict that the western Hudson Bay polar bear population, which is one of the most southerly, could reach a point within three decades where there are too few animals to sustain a breeding population. Could you summarize for our readers how you reached that conclusion?
Andrew Derocher: Sure. If you look at polar bears in the global context we've actually got 19 different subpopulations. Now, they're reasonably distinct, but the interesting thing about the western Hudson Bay population is that it's actually one of the most accessible and it's certainly by far the most studied population that we have. So that's one of the reasons that we're focusing our attention on the western Hudson Bay population. But more importantly, we have a lot of the background information on the workings of this population. So we understand very well things like how fat a bear has to be to produce a certain number of cubs, we know a lot about how much energy these bears are burning during the period of time over the summer that they're forced ashore when the sea ice melts. We also have a very good understanding of how the sea ice has changed in this part of the world. So really, what this is is kind of a model system that's giving us some early indications about what one of the more southern populations is doing relative to the issue of climate change.
Interview continues: http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2293 | <urn:uuid:ee82b8ed-a88a-4320-93f6-d5aafdb26702> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/41524/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963837 | 756 | 3.59375 | 4 |
What is juvenile polyposis syndrome?
Juvenile polyposis syndrome (JPS) is a hereditary condition that is characterized by the presence of hamartomatous polyps in the digestive tract. Hamartomas are noncancerous (benign) masses of normal tissue that build up in the intestines or other places. These masses are called polyps if they develop inside a body structure, such as the intestines. The term “juvenile polyposis” refers to the type of polyp (juvenile polyp) that is found after examination of the polyp under a microscope, not the age at which people are diagnosed with JPS.
Polyps may frequently develop in a person with JPS by age 20. The number of polyps a person has during his or her lifetime can range from around 5 to more than 100. Most juvenile polyps are noncancerous, but there is an increased risk of cancer of the digestive tract, such as stomach, small intestine, colon, and rectum cancers, in families with JPS.
JPS is suspected when a person’s symptoms and family history fit 1 of the following categories:
More than 5 juvenile polyps of the colon and/or rectum
Multiple juvenile polyps throughout the digestive tract
Any number of juvenile polyps and a family history of juvenile polyps
What causes JPS?
JPS is a genetic condition. This means that the risk for polyps and cancer can be passed from generation to generation in a family. 2 genes have been linked to JPS. They are called BMPR1A and SMAD4. A mutation (alteration) in either the BMPR1A gene or the SMAD4 gene makes a person more likely to develop juvenile polyps and cancer of the digestive tract over his or her lifetime. Not all families that have JPS will have mutations in BMPR1A or SMAD4. Other genes are being studied regarding their link to JPS.
How is JPS inherited?
Normally, every cell has 2 copies of each gene: 1 inherited from the mother and 1 inherited from the father. JPS follows an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern, in which a mutation needs to happen in only 1 copy of the gene for the person to have an increased risk of getting that disease. This means that a parent with a gene mutation may pass along a copy of their normal gene or a copy of the gene with the mutation. Therefore, a child who has a parent with a mutation has a 50% chance of inheriting that mutation. A brother, sister, or parent of a person who has a mutation also has a 50% chance of having the same mutation.
Options exist for couples interested in having a child when they know that one of them carries a gene mutation that increases the risk for this hereditary cancer syndrome. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a medical procedure done in conjunction with in-vitro fertilization (IVF). It allows people who carry a specific known genetic mutation to have children who do not carry the mutation. A woman’s eggs are removed and fertilized in a laboratory. When the embryos reach a certain size, one cell is removed and is tested for the hereditary condition in question. The parents can then choose to transfer embryos that do not have the mutation. PGD has been in use for over two decade, has been used for several hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes. However, this is a complex procedure with financial, physical, and emotional factors to consider before starting. For more information, talk with an assisted reproduction specialist at a fertility clinic.
How common is JPS?
It is estimated that between 1 in 16,000 and 1 in 100,000 people has JPS.
How is JPS diagnosed?
A diagnosis of JPS is assumed if a person’s symptoms and family history fits 1 of the 3 categories listed above. People who have JPS can have a blood test to look for a mutation in the BMPR1A gene or the SMAD4 gene. If a specific gene mutation is found, other family members may be diagnosed with JPS if they are tested and have the same gene mutation.
It is likely that there are other genes associated with JPS that have not yet been identified, so a blood test result that comes back as “negative”, meaning a gene mutation cannot be found, does not necessarily mean that a person does not have JPS. Therefore, meeting with a health professional who specializes in genetics, such as a genetic counselor or medical geneticist, a doctor with training in genetic diseases and conditions, is recommended for people who have a family history or symptoms that suggests JPS.
What are the estimated cancer risks associated with JPS?
People with JPS are considered to be at an increased risk for colorectal, stomach, small intestine, and pancreatic cancers. The overall estimated cancer risk associated with JPS is 9% to 50%, but the risks for each specific type of cancer have not been determined.
What are other risks associated with JPS?
Individuals who carry germline mutations in SMAD4 are at risk for Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT). Individuals with HHT often suffer from nosebleeds and are at risk for aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in the brain and lungs.
What are the screening options for JPS?
It is important to discuss with your doctor the following screening options, as each person is different:
Any signs of rectal bleeding, anemia, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, or other changes in the stool should be brought to the attention of a doctor and evaluated.
A complete blood count (CBC), meaning a blood test, colonoscopy, and upper endoscopy should be done at age 15 or earlier if there are symptoms. If the test results are normal, they should be repeated every 1 to 3 years, depending on the number of polyps.
Individuals who develop large numbers of polyps that cannot be removed during endoscopy may need to have surgery to remove part of the colon or stomach.
Individuals with JPS and SMAD4 mutation should talk to their doctors about screening for HHT.
Screening options may change over time as new technologies are developed and more is learned about JPS. It is important to talk with your doctor about appropriate screening tests.
Learn more about what to expect when having common tests and procedures and scans.
Questions to ask the doctor
If you are concerned about your risk of colorectal cancer or other types of cancer, talk with your doctor. Consider asking the following questions of your doctor:
What is my risk of developing cancer in the digestive tract?
How many colon polyps have I had in total?
What type of colon polyps have I had? The 2 most common types are hyperplastic polyps, which are noncancerous growths in the lining of the colon, and adenomatous polyps, which are growths in the lining of the colon that can become cancerous.
What can I do to reduce my risk of cancer?
What are my options for cancer screening?
If you are concerned about your family history and think your family may have JPS, consider asking the following questions:
Does my family history increase my risk for colorectal cancer or other types of cancer?
Does it suggest the need for a cancer risk assessment?
Will you refer me to a genetic counselor or other genetics specialist?
Should I consider genetic testing?
Colon Cancer Alliance
C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition
To find a genetic counselor in your area, ask your doctor or visit the following websites:
National Society of Genetic Counselors
National Cancer Institute: Cancer Genetics Services Directory | <urn:uuid:72be7309-ada9-43f1-b939-195fb1cfa1b6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/juvenile-polyposis-syndrome | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00008-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952926 | 1,623 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Urinary Tract Infections: Urinary Tract Infections Prepared by B aya n B ela l S uleima n Slide 2: Urinary tract infection ( UTI ) is an infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. Mostly Bacterial. UTIs can involve the urethra, prostate, bladder, or kidneys. Slide 3: Symptoms may be absent or include urinary frequency and urgency, dysuria, lower abdominal pain, and flank pain. Systemic symptoms and even sepsis may occur with kidney infection. Epidemiology of UTIs in the United States : Epidemiology of UTIs in the United States 8 million physician visits/year 10.8% annual prevalence 40%–50% lifetime prevalence in women 1 in 3 women will require antimicrobial therapy before 24 years of age 0.5–0.7 episodes/person-year in sexually active women $1 billion/year for evaluation and treatment. Slide 5: Among adults aged 20 to 50 yr , UTIs are about 50-fold more common in women. The incidence increases in patients > 50 yr , but the female:male ratio decreases because of the increasing frequency of prostate disease. UTI : Etiology: UTI : Etiology About 95% of UTIs occur when bacteria ascend the urethra to the bladder and, in the case of acute uncomplicated pyelonephritis, ascend the ureter to the kidney. The remainder of UTIs are hematogenous . Systemic infection can result from UTI, particularly in the elderly. About 6.5% of cases of hospital-acquired bacteremia are attributable to UTI. Slide 7: The most common causes of UTI infections (about 80%) are Escherichia coli . However , many other bacteria can occasionally cause an infection - for example, Klebsiella , Pseudomonas , Enterobacter , Proteus , Staphylococcus , Mycoplasma , Chlamydia , Serratia and Neisseria spp. far less frequent causes than E. coli . In addition, fungi ( Candida and Cryptococcus spp ), viruses and some parasites ( Trichomonas , Schistosoma ) also may cause UTIs. Etiology … cont: Etiology … cont E. coli causes > 75% of community-acquired UTIs in all age groups; Staphylococcus saprophyticus accounts for 5 - 15% of UTIs, mostly in younger women. In hospitalized patients, E. coli accounts for about 50% of cases. The gram-negative species Klebsiella , Proteus, Enterobacter , and Serratia account for about 40%, the gram-positive bacterial cocci Enterococcus faecalis and S. saprophyticus and Staphylococcus aureus account for the remainder. Pathogenesis :: Pathogenesis : C olonization, M igration, A ttachment. Slide 10: Complicated UTI is considered to be present when there are underlying factors that predispose to ascending bacterial infection. urinary instrumentation, anatomic abnormalities, and obstruction of urine flow. Uncomplicated UTI occurs without underlying abnormality or impairment of urine flow. most common in young women. Risk factors in women include sexual intercourse, diaphragm and spermicide use, antibiotic use, and a history of recurrent UTIs. Etiology of Uncomplicated UTIs in the US (Women 15–50 years old) : Etiology of Uncomplicated UTIs in the US (Women 15–50 years old) Gram-Negatives Escherichia coli (72%) Klebsiella species (6%) Proteus species (4%) Other (5%) Gram-Positives Enterococcus species (5%) Other Gram-positive organisms (7%) Complicated UTI: Complicated UTI Most common UTI in men aged 16–35 years Most common nosocomial infection. 31 % of hospital-acquired infections. Clinical classification: Clinical classification Classification: Classification Clinical Classification: Clinical Classification Urethritis Cystitis Acute urethral syndrome Prostatitis Asymptomatic bacteriuria Pyelonephritis Perinephric abcess Genitourinary TB Urethritis: Urethritis Inflammation of the urethra. H ighly associated with sexual activity Non- gonococcal urethritis Gonococcocal urethritis Chlamydia trachomatis Adenovirus Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) Herpes simplex Mycoplasma genitalium Reiter's syndrome Trichomonas spp. Ureaplasma urealyticum Neisseria gonorrhoeae Symptoms & Treatment: Symptoms & Treatment Dysuria , painful micturition In men, purulent discharge usually indicates a urethritis of gonococcal nature, while clear discharge indicates urethritis of non- gonococcal nature . In women up to 80% of infections are with few symptoms or are asymptomatic Treatment : Ceftriaxone - Gonorrhea Fluconazole - Monilial Metronidazole ( Flagyl ) - Trichomonial Co- trimoxazole Tetracyclines Cystitis: Cystitis Inflammation of the bladder. Most common UTI. Community acquired or nosocomial . Causes may be : Bacterial Viral Fungal Parasitic Bacterial cystitis : Bacterial cystitis Most common. The most common organism implicated in UTIs E. coli (80–85)% . Staphylococcus saprophyticus is the cause in (5–10)%. Others contribute the remainder. Enterobacter cloacae Klebsiella pneumoniae Serratia marcescens Proteus mirabilis Pseudomonas aeruginosa Viral cystitis : Viral cystitis Adenoviruses Severe bladder irritation , sometimes hemorrhagic . Treatment : Usually self limited (anti-inflammatory medications and hydration). Fungal cystitis: Fungal cystitis In immunocompromised and with prolonged hospitalization . Mostly due to: Candida and aspergillus Diagnosis : special culturures Treatment : Amphotericin , ketoconazole. Urinary Schistosomiasis: Urinary Schistosomiasis Egg deposition of schistosoma haematobium in the blader wall leads to haematuria and fibrosis of the bladder . The bladder becomes calcified , and there is increased pressure on ureters and kidneys otherwise known as hydronephrosis . Treatment : Praziquanetel . Acute urethral syndrome: Acute urethral syndrome ( AUS) , more commonly known as cystitis is an irritation of the bladder NOT caused by a urinary tract infection . Causes include : radiation therapy to the pelvis area, chemotherapy with certain types of medications, and other irritants. The exact cause of noninfectious cystitis is often unknown. Slide 26: Symptoms are similar to those caused by a urinary tract infection. The lining of the urethra and bladder becomes inflamed and irritated. Dysuria More frequent urination, or waking up at night to urinate. Urgency feeling that you have to urinate but only a few drops of urine come out. Cloudy, bad smelling . ACUTE Prostatitis : ACUTE Prostatitis Acute prostatitis is usually caused by a bacterial infection of the prostate gland. Any bacteria that can cause a urinary tract infection can cause acute bacterial prostatitis, including: Escherichia coli Enterococci Klebsiella pneumonia Proteus mirabilis Pseudomonas aeruginosa Staphylococcus aureus Slide 28: Some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can cause acute prostatitis , typically in men younger than age 35. These STDs include: Chlamydia Gonorrhea Trichomoniasis Ureaplasma urealyticum Slide 30: E . coli prostatitis may occur spontaneously or after Epididymitis Urethritis Urinary tract infections Men ages 20 - 35 who have multiple sexual partners are at an increased risk especially for sexually transmitted bacterial prostatitis. Slide 31: This infection is a medical emergency. Treatment : use bactericidal drug , since prostate is inflamed these will penetrate well and eradicate the infection. Chronic prostatitis: Chronic prostatitis mainly E.coli . Develops in nearly 5% of acute prostatitis cases. Causes recurrent UTIs. Polonged treatment (4-8 wks ). in 1999, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) devised a new classification system: in 1999, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases ( NIDDK ) devised a new classification system Asymptomatic bacteriuria: Asymptomatic bacteriuria Asymptomatic bacteriuria is a significant number of bacteria in the urine that occurs without usual symptoms. WBC count in urine may be modestly elevated. Persons who have urinary catheters often will have bacteriuria , but most will not have symptoms. Escherichia coli is the most common organism isolated from patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria . Slide 35: Infecting organisms are diverse and include: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus species, and group B streptococcus . Organisms isolated in patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria will be influenced by patient variables: healthy persons will likely have E . coli, whereas a nursing home resident with a catheter is more likely to have multi-drug–resistant polymicrobic flora (e.g. P . aeruginosa). Slide 36: Certain people are at a higher risk for kidney infections if they develop asymptomatic bacteriuria . The following increases your risk: Diabetes Infected kidney stones Kidney transplant Older age Pregnancy -- up to 40% of pregnant women with untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria will develop a kidney infection Vesicoureteral reflux in young children Most of these patients are best left untreated , because the usual result of treatment is the establishment of highly resistant organisms. pyelonephritis: pyelonephritis Pyelonephritis is bacterial infection of the kidney parenchyma . About 20% of community-acquired bacteremias in women are from pyelonephritis . uncommon in men with a normal urinary tract . About 250,000 patients per year in the US. PATHOGENESIS : PATHOGENESIS Two potential routes : (1) the hematogenous route , Because the kidneys receive 20% to 25% of the cardiac output, any microorganism that reaches the bloodstream can be delivered to the kidneys. The major causes of hematogenous infection are : S. aureus , Salmonella species, P. aeruginosa, and Candida species : (2) the ascending route , from the urethra to the bladder, then from the bladder to the kidneys via the ureters . Implicated pathogens mostly include: – E. coli – P. mirabilis – K. pneumoniae . Others : E. cloacae , Serratia , P.aeruginosa . Treatment: Treatment Pyelonephritis is a dangerous infection and must be treated promptly. Rest Drinking large amount of water Antibiotics: 10-14 days until symptom free Treat related diseases: diabetes, renal stones, vaginal infection, etc Slide 42: Antimicrobial therapy Three goals - control or prevention of the development of urosepsis - eradication of the invading organism - prevention if recurrences Medications - trimethoprim- sulfamethoxazole - fluoroquinolones - ampicillin, amoxicillin, first-generation cephalosporins Perinephric abcess: Perinephric abcess Perirenal abscess is a pocket of pus caused by an infection around one or both kidneys. Most perirenal abscesses are caused by urinary tract infections that start in the bladder, spread to the kidney, and then spread to the area around the kidney. Other causes of perirenal abscess include surgery in the urinary tract or reproductive system and bloodstream infection. The biggest risk factor for perirenal abscess is kidney . Stones are found in 20 - 60% of patients with perirenal abscess. Other risk factors for perirenal abscess include: Diabetes Having an abnormal urinary tract Trauma Perinephric abcess: Perinephric abcess Perirenal abscess is a pocket of pus caused by an infection around one or both kidneys . Most perirenal abscesses are caused by urinary tract infections that start in the bladder , spread to the kidney , and then spread to the area around the kidney . Other causes of perirenal abscess include surgery in the urinary tract or reproductive system and bloodstream infection . Slide 45: Stones are found in 20 - 60% of patients with perirenal abscess. Other risk factors for perirenal abscess include: Diabetes Having an abnormal urinary tract Trauma Slide 46: Tests include : CT scan Ultrasound of the abdomen Urinalysis Urine culture Treatment : To treat perirenal abscess, the pus can be drained through a catheter that is placed through the skin or with surgery . Antibiotics should also be given, at first through a vein (IV). Genitourinary Tuberculosis: Genitourinary Tuberculosis 1.2-2.6 % in first world. 15-20% of T.B cases in developing countries. Clinical findings : Sterile pyuria , 20% without pyuria . Renal TB: Renal TB Organisms settle in medulla. Formation of granulomas > caseation and tissue destruction. Calcification and scarring. May end with renal failure. (4.5%) Tuberculous ureteritis: Tuberculous ureteritis Results from renal tuberculosis. Scarring > obliteration of the ureter. Tuberculous cystitis: Tuberculous cystitis Fibrosis and fistulas Gulf-hole orifice. Other types : TB epididymitis ,TB urethritis. What should we do ?: What should we do ? Prevention . | <urn:uuid:79822ec1-9f27-4e64-85e7-204fd2b1bb74> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/hornet2009-997839-urinary-tract-infections-an-overview/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00009-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.842818 | 2,987 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Given our website’s current focus on war, peace and social justice in children’s books, the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai have made me keenly aware that our challenges are many on the path to a more peaceful world. Kids and young adults are cognizant of the two wars America has been fighting against terrorism since 9/11 and of the latest terrorist attacks in India. Understandably, they have a lot to try to make sense of and get to grips with. Clearly, they can’t do it on their own.
Kids ask lots of tough questions in general, but their questions about terrorism and war are especially hard to answer. As parents, teachers and responsible adults, should we protect our children from war- and terrorism-related news, and if not, how should we explore the topics with them?
What to say and how to say it to children clearly depend on their age and maturity level, but however we choose to handle their questions, we must be thoughtful, as times of war and conflict are fertile breeding grounds for prejudice through stereotyping. We adults must reconcile the dilemma of explaining terrorism, and why nations have enemies, armies and go to war, while also promoting non-violence.
An article on Dr. Spock’s website, on how to talk to older children and teens about acts of terrorism and war encourages parents and teachers to ask them questions: “Are those who commit acts of terrorism fundamentally different from the rest of us? Are there circumstances under which we could imagine ourselves acting as the terrorists have? Has our government ever taken actions that might appear, from the point of view of others around the world, to be terribly wrong? Can we understand terrorism without accepting it? Is it important for us to try?”
There are no simple right and wrong answers, of course. What is important is the attempt to understand—a very difficult challenge that books can help make less daunting.The Flame Tree by Richard Lewis, for instance, is a wonderful post-9/11 young adult novel, set in Java, that sensitively deals with issues of faith, hatred, violence and tolerance. It is a story that succeeds in providing a glimpse into the true nature of Islamism—a glimpse that should help readers take the more extreme version the media often presents with a grain of salt.
On the more general topic of war, we have the example of Jennifer Armstrong, “historyteller” and author, who edited Shattered: Stories of Children and War, a collection of twelve stories written by young adult authors examining war’s implications in young people’s lives. She has written a beautiful piece in praise of war books for children—and I conclude this post with her thought-provoking reasoning:
Being a writer, I must acknowledge the richness of war as a subject for fiction. Great stories arise from conflict, and there can be no greater conflict than war. To whom do you owe greater loyalty? To your family, your friend, your religion, your ideals, your country? For what would you die? For what would you kill? These are soul-baring questions, and I think they are as important for children to consider as they are for adults… If you really want to teach young readers about peace, give them books about war.
Children are naturally idealistic and righteous. They have a fine-tuned sense of justice. Literature about war gives young readers the chance to think of what is just and unjust, to develop the capacity for philosophic inquiring doubt. It gives them the chance to contemplate the alternative to peace. When they read Faithful Elephants: A True story of Animals, People and War [by Yukio Tsuchiya] and cry out in dismay, ‘But it’s not right!’, they are absolutely correct. It’s not. This, it seems to me, is the preferable attitude with which to greet war, not, ‘It’s inevitable!’. | <urn:uuid:20e98670-d73a-418f-802f-a41d94014711> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.papertigers.org/wordpress/children-and-books-in-times-of-war-and-conflict/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959075 | 820 | 3.125 | 3 |
f Hardy's handling of the plot mechanisms seems derived from the pot-boiler and Sensation Novel, his handling of narrative voice is highly sophisticated in diction, allusion, syntax, and tone, largely as a result of his modelling his narrative voice on that of the mid-Victorian Sage, George Eliot. A modern reader unused to the lengthy, carefully subordinated sentence that is the hallmark of Hardy's prose style may encounter some difficulty in comprehending the overall effect and meaning of the sentence. For example, the opening sentence of Far From the Madding Crowd requires that the reader distinguish the principal clauses from the subordinate elements in order to focus on the subject (Farmer Oak's face) and the narrative intention (the revelation of Farmer Oak's character):
When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to mere chinks, and divergent wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.
Wisely, editor Stephen has formatted this complex sentence as a paragraph by itself. After the initial subordinate clause (when...smiled), the sentence rushes by, the principal clause being a mere six words (the corners...spread),the remainder being the consequent effects of that smile. The closing of the sentence, actually a simple simile ("like the rays...sun"), identifies the force and vigour of Farmer Oak's genial nature with that of the morning sun, the source of the cornland's strength and fecundity. The tone behind the sentence suggests satire rather than straight exposition, an impression that the remainder of his physical description reinforces, for as a farmer he is unfortable and awakward in his Sunday best. The narrative voice is, in fact, working two ways at once, mildly satirizing Gabriel Oak inn his best clothes and yet praising him as "a young man of sound judgment" on "working" days.
To the urban Victorian reader, the sort of person who purchased The Cornhill Magazine month by month, such a protagonist would have been a conundrum, for he is not clearly middle-class, andcertainly not professional. Gabriel is a rustic, often a figure of fun on the London stage, but he is also the single character with whom Hardy wishes us to identify ourselves now and throughout the novel. Despite the complexities of the syntax, the narrator through direct analysis leaves us with an impression of congeniality, physical strength, massive size, diligence, and developing intellect. On the other hand, instead of presenting the heroine, Bathsheba Everdene, directly, Hardy has others (Gabriel and the toll-booth operator) comment upon her and has the reader judge her from her actions and from others' responses to her. Thus, the narrator does not commit himself to unqualified approval of the heroine. Even though the undoubtedly amused, tolerant masculine narrator enjoys her beauty and vigour, he does not entirely approve of her willful nature.
- Physical Setting
- Chronological Setting: Wessex "Time" and the Outsider
- Hardy's Intended Audience and Serial Structure
Entered the Victorian Web 23 January 2001; last modified 9 June 2014 | <urn:uuid:cf085d13-fec3-453e-a951-3a92128e0066> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/hardy/pva165.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397749.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00174-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960985 | 660 | 2.890625 | 3 |
- The act or process of individuating, especially the process by which social individuals become differentiated one from the other.
- The condition of being individuated; individuality.
- Philosophy a. The development of the individual from the general or universal.b. The distinction or determination of the individual within the general or universal.
- In Jungian psychology, the gradual integration and unification of the self through the resolution of successive layers of psychological conflict.
- Embryology Formation of distinct organs or structures through the interaction of adjacent tissues. | <urn:uuid:b1d8f5ef-fb12-494e-9e25-7e8c18d34e29> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.yourdictionary.com/individuation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.857861 | 110 | 2.71875 | 3 |
LONDON, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The last wind turbine has been installed in one of the world's largest offshore wind farms located in Britain's Thames Estuary, officials said.
The London Array, with 175 wind turbines, is on schedule to begin full operation in spring 2013 and is expected to produce enough power for almost half a million homes, the BBC reported Thursday.
Begun in March 2011, the project first began producing power in October. Fifty-five turbines are online and producing power for the national electric grid.
A second phase, with another 166 turbines, is yet to be approved. Once it is approved, the complete array could power as many as 750,000 homes, London Array officials said.
The array covers an offshore area of 38 square miles in the Thames Estuary on the east coast of the county of Kent. | <urn:uuid:df7c32d8-f379-4d94-a8bd-26b29e245cf3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Technology/2012/12/27/British-offshore-wind-farm-near-completion/UPI-38891356655718/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00072-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961839 | 174 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Why does every thing spin?
So why would the Earth, or any planet for that matter, rotate along an axis? I know of no force which could come into play here, so i assume it just started off with an initial rotation. But where did this rotational energy come from? And are there any known planets which do not rotate?
Assuming no force accounts for earth's rotation, would it be true that the angular velocity of the earth would decrease(by a very very small amount), when bombarded by meteors(Due to an increase in the moment of inertia by the increase in mass of the earth i.e. the additional mass of the meteors)? | <urn:uuid:7dd8e3b6-646a-4b0f-af3f-4cdaebd3ca5e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/17325/why-does-the-earth-rotate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955416 | 137 | 2.515625 | 3 |
While not as widely practiced and not as relevant to modern life as it was in the past, fortune telling is still a common practice in Korea – not only among the elderly, but also among young people.
At the beginning of the year especially, but all year long as well, one can find elderly Koreans sitting on the street with an open book (filled with Chinese characters) in front of them. Some of them also use special sticks to help them predict someone’s past, present or future misfortunes and successes. In the past, fortune telling was one of the few career options for the blind, and some still practice this profession today. Having one’s fortune told for the New Year is part of the traditions of that time of year.
Tools for fortune-telling vary greatly. One of the most common involves counting the brush strokes in a person's name (in the hanja, the Chinese characters). A fortune-teller might use long strips of paper and a leather blade dipped in multi-colored inks and then used as as brush to write the customer's name. The result was a strip with the name written in rainbow-like colors. While writing, s/he counted the strokes and predicted things like number of sons with which the customer would be blessed, etc.
Whatoo cards are another very common tool for fortune telling. One also used to see, albeit rarely, fortune-tellers who would use the old Chinese classics such as the I-Ching, the Book of Changes, for fortune-telling. Other tools include the birthdate and place information similar to the western horoscope readings.
Just as in other industrialized nations with a highly educated population, people maintain that they consult fortune tellers more as a form of entertainment than anything else. That said, during periods of unrest or instability, more and more people consult fortune tellers. In the late 1990’s, during the Asian economic crisis, people used to queue for a reading from a fortune teller with a reputation for accuracy. The cost of a reading was generally not high, usually less than W10,000.
Election season is often a busy time for Korea’s fortune tellers. Not only do candidates visit them in the hopes for a confirmation of their chances of winning, but reputable newspapers also report the predictions of renowned fortune tellers. One of the English dailies reported how a fortune teller by the name of Cho had predicted Lee Myung-bak’s win in Dec 2007 and some of the challenges he subsequently faced.
Mothers will often consult a fortune teller before an important event in their children’s lives – prior to the college entrance exam or a move to study or work abroad, for example. Marriage is also a reason for visiting a fortune teller. Parents, armed with their child and the prospective spouse’s birth information (date, time, place, etc) will ask if the couple are a compatible match and if the union will be a happy fruitful one. Marriage plans, even today, may be cancelled if the reading is unfavourable. An American Peace Corps volunteer from the 1970's tell how his my mother-in-law, a college professor, consulted a fortune teller with both that information and the name stroke count information before he and his wife married, both to judge if the marriage was propitious and to select a date. She also chose the Korean names for their children based on similar tools as well as family considerations (for instance, all cousins have one Chinese character in common).
Adapting to modern times, fortune tellers go by more ‘progressive’ designations, such as destiny philosophers working in philosophy institutes. It is possible to have your fortune told or to philosophise about your destiny in many locations in any Korean city, especially around markets, transportation centers, etc. In Seoul, there are many 'shops' in the Shinchon and Miari districts as well as near Seoul Station, Dongdaemun and Namdaemun markets, etc. Others have set up Internet sites used by hundreds of thousands of younger Koreans.
Expats wanting to share in the experience often need the help of a Korean friend who can translate for them. That said, there are a few destiny philosophers/fortune tellers, who can speak English. If you’re looking for one, ask the question on the Korea4Expats.com Forum and someone is sure to provide you with a name and directions/contact details.
K4E Editor: We try to make the information on Korea4Expats.com as complete and accurate as possible, so if you notice any errors or omissions in the content above, please let us know at email@example.com.
Last Updated on 2015-04-13
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Simple Definition of personal
: belonging or relating to a particular person
: made or designed to be used by one person
—used to describe someone whose job involves working for or helping a particular person
Full Definition of personal
2 a : done in person without the intervention of another; also : proceeding from a single person b : carried on between individuals directly <a personal interview>
3 : relating to the person or body
4 : relating to an individual or an individual's character, conduct, motives, or private affairs often in an offensive manner <a personal insult>
5 a : being rational and self-conscious <personal, responsive government is still possible — John Fischer> b : having the qualities of a person rather than a thing or abstraction <a personal devil>
6 : of, relating to, or constituting personal property <a personal estate>
7 : denoting grammatical person
8 : intended for private use or use by one person <a personal stereo>
Examples of personal in a sentence
This is just my personal opinion.
I can only tell you what I know from personal experience.
He added his own personal touches to the recipe.
We don't accept personal checks.
He is a personal friend of mine.
She is always concerned about her personal appearance.
We provide each of our customers with personal service.
Golf is a personal interest of mine.
May I ask you a personal question?
That information is very personal, and you have no business asking about it.
Origin and Etymology of personal
Middle English, from Anglo-French personel, from Late Latin personalis, from Latin persona
First Known Use: 14th century
First Known Use of personal
PERSONAL Defined for Kids
Definition of personal for Students
1 : of, relating to, or belonging to an individual human being : not public : not general <personal property>
2 : made or done by a particular individual and not by someone acting for him or her <The mayor made a personal appearance.>
3 : of the body <Take precautions for personal safety.>
4 : relating to someone's private matters <May I ask you a personal question?>
5 : intended for or given to one particular individual <I received personal service.>
6 : relating to a particular individual or his or her qualities often in a way that is hurtful <I took the remark as a personal insult.>
Legal Definition of personal
1 : of, relating to, or affecting a person: as a : of, relating to, or based on the existence or presence of a person — see also personal injury, personal jurisdiction at jurisdiction b : of, relating to, or restricted to a natural person and his or her rights, obligations, affairs, assets, or lifetime <refused to disclose personal information> <released on personal recognizance>
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up personal? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). | <urn:uuid:7d9de31c-b44e-4e4a-9b74-0babc641e805> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/personal | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00013-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913071 | 624 | 2.703125 | 3 |
NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS OUT-OF-DATE AND IS RETAINED FOR ARCHIVE PURPOSES ONLY
Thursday, September 10, 2009
With the threat of H1N1 flu, the government is recommending everyone begin their regular flu shots earlier this year, as in right now. The available brands are virtually identical to what they were last year (and the year before) as far as manufacturing and ingredients go (including mercury). Full details on how each flu vaccine is made, what the ingredients are, and the possible side effects are available in The Vaccine Book, although published in 2007, the flu vaccine info my book has changed very little.
The most important thing for infants, children, and pregnant women is to MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING A MERCURY-FREE FLU VACCINE. Here is a list of this year’s available flu vaccines with updated info on mercury content:
This is the only brand approved for all age ranges, from young infants to adults. It comes in four different formulations:
Pre-filled syringe for infants 6 through 35 months (contains ½ dose) – NO mercury.
Pre-filled syringe for children 3 years and older and adults – NO mercury.
Single-dose vial for children 3 years and older and adults – NO mercury.
Multi-dose vial for infants 6 months and older, children and adults – contains the full dose of mercury (25 mcg of thimerosal). Infants 6 thru 35 months would get a ½ dose of this form, all others would get a full dose.
FLUZONE is the only brand of flu shot approved for young infants and toddlers. BEWARE – the multi-dose vial has the full dose of mercury. You have to make sure you are getting a single-dose pre-filled syringe or vial, NOT the multi-dose vial to avoid mercury.
FLUMIST nasal spray
An alternative to the flu SHOT for young children is the FLUMIST nasal spray. There is no mercury in this formulation. It is approved for children 2 years and older and adults through age 49.
This shot is approved for children 4 years and older and adults. It comes in two formulations:
Pre-filled syringe – has a trace of mercury (see below)
Multi-dose vial – has the full dose of mercury
This is only for adults 18 years and older. It only comes as a pre-filled syringe with NO mercury (this is new this year: in past years, there was a trace of mercury).
This is only for adults 18 years and older. It only comes as a multi-dose vial with the full dose of mercury.
This is only for adults 18 years and older. It has two formulations:
Pre-filled syringe with no mercury
Multi-dose vial with the full dose of mercury
WHAT ABOUT THE H1N1 VACCINE THAT’S COMING OUT IN OCTOBER?Click here to view my previous blog on this. I will be writing an updated H1N1 vaccine blog when the safety research is finished and I see what the vaccine ingredients are.
TIMING THE FLU VACCINE WITH OTHER VACCINES
Because the flu vaccine is so reactive (likely to cause fever and flu-like side effects), I prefer to avoid giving it with other reactive shots (like MMR, Hep B, Chickenpox, or the H1N1 vaccine). I recommend at least one month between the flu shot and any of these. I would place the priority on the flu shot over the MMR, Hep B or Chickenpox; delay any of those until it’s been at least a month after the flu shot. I do think it’s ok to get the flu shot with any other vaccine on the same day. The teenage vaccines (Tdap, Meningococcal, and HPV) are also fairly reactive, so it would be better to get any flu shots at least one month apart from any of those as well.
As for the H1N1 vaccine, I won’t be recommending that anyone get it at the same time as the regular flu vaccine. So, if you anticipate that you or your child will likely be getting an H1N1 vaccine in October or November, I would get the flu vaccine now (if you are going to get it). Another option, wait until November or December, 1 month after you’ve gotten the H1N1. The flu is unlikely to hit until that time anyway.
Keep in mind that infants and children 8 years or younger need 2 doses of the flu shot the first year they ever get it. So, if this is your child’s first year of flu shots, you need to plan ahead and not get any other reactive shots during those two months.
NASAL SPRAY VERSUS THE SHOT?
The nasal spray is a great alternative for anyone who wanted the shot, but can’t find a mercury-free version. It seems that the nasal spray works a little better, but causes flu-like side effects more often. It also shouldn’t be used in anyone with asthma or a history of wheezing. The shot seems to not quite work as well, but may cause fewer side effects. I have a slight preference for the nasal spray, because it’s a more natural form of vaccination (it is given nasally, which is how the flu is naturally contracted).
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRACE AND FULL-DOSE MERCURY?
In trace mercury vaccines, mercury is added to the manufacturing process as a preservative, but is then filtered out at the end before being put into single-dose syringes or vials. A full preservative isn’t needed because this vial or syringe is only opened and used once, then discarded. The amount of mercury in vaccines that are labeled “trace” is less than 1 microgram. I believe that this amount is completely harmless (as opposed to the full dose).
In full-dose mercury vaccines, the mercury is not filtered out. The preservative is needed for these large 10-dose vials because many doses are drawn out, and the solution needs to stay sterile during that process. The amount of thimerosal in these large vials is 25 micrograms per dose (any infants through age 3 getting a Fluzone shot from the multi-dose vial with mercury would only be getting a half dose, so each shot would be 12.5 micrograms).
WHY NOT JUST MAKE ALL FLU SHOTS WITHOUT MERCURY?
The challenge is space and money. The five different companies that make the flu shot have to scramble every year to make enough. It costs more money and takes up more manufacturing time and space to put single doses of the flu shot into syringes or single-dose vials, compared to putting 10 doses into larger vials. In order to accommodate the demand, manufacturers have to make most of their product “in bulk”. In the future I hope that more companies will change to mercury-free formulations, or the almost-as-good trace mercury formulations.
INFANTS AND PREGNANT WOMEN – JUST SAY NO TO MERCURY
The debate over whether or not mercury in the flu shot is enough to cause harm continues to rage on, with no clear resolution yet. I believe it is prudent in the mean time to avoid giving any full-dose mercury shots to children under 3 and to pregnant women. What should you do if all you can find is a full-dose version? Just say no, and tell your doctor why. Maybe if enough patients do this, doctors will order and demand more of the mercury-free version for next year. For kids 2 years and older, get the nasal spray instead (this can’t be given to pregnant women).
NEW FLU SHOT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS YEAR?
The ACIP, AAP and CDC have decided that it would be beneficial for all children to get a flu shot every year until age 18. Previously the recommendation was for all children until age 5. They don’t know whether or not to push the new policy for THIS year, or wait until next year, because they don’t know if there will be enough flu vaccine to go around to immunize every child and teenager. They don’t want to make a new policy unless they have enough vaccine to cover it. But whether it goes into effect this year or next, it is now believed by medical experts that it’s best to get a flu vaccine for all children and teens every year. | <urn:uuid:8abc34fd-7e04-4e71-beba-95e5bad02951> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/vaccines/flu-vaccine-update-20092010-season | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00136-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936375 | 1,814 | 2.578125 | 3 |
|ROSAT Home Page||ROSAT
The ROSAT payload consists of the: i) X-ray telescope (XRT) with the mirror assembly, the position sensitive proportional counter (PSPC), and the high resolution imager (HRI) subsystems and ii) the Wide Field Camera (WFC).
The XRT mirror assembly is a four-fold nested Wolter I telescope with a maximum aperture of 83.5 cm and a focal length of 240 cm. The PSPC (developed by MPE) and the HRI (developed by SAO) detectors are mounted on a carousel in the focal plane behind the XRT mirror assembly.
The WFC telescope is a three-fold nested Wolter-Schwarzschild telescope with an aperture of 58 cm and a focal length of 52.5 cm. A curved microchannel plate detector is used in the focus. The WFC was developed by a consortium of British scientific institutes: University of Leicester, SERC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London, University of Birmingham, and Imperial College of Science and Technology London.
A schematic view of the ROSAT spacecraft and its major components is given in Figure 2.1 . | <urn:uuid:5902d199-805e-40f7-b031-9f83099bad60> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/rosat/appf/node8.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00192-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.861893 | 253 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Eco House by phototouring
The decision to "go green" is growing in popularity as we progress further into the 21st century. More and more of us want to reduce our individual and collective carbon footprints. Luckily, there are now many green innovations that any homeowner can undertake at little cost and with great ease.
Combining science and originality in the home can lead to a healthier planet.
The following list shows you changes great and small you can make around the home. Going green is a lot easier than you may have thought!
You may have heard of landscaped building surfaces, including roofs and walls â otherwise known as "green" or "living" surfaces. These are areas of the home that are partially or completely covered by vegetation. The eco benefits of these landscaped surfaces are plenty. They filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air while lowering temperatures and (especially in urban areas) alleviating the "heat island effect." A "heat island" is defined as a metropolitan area that's significantly higher in temperature than its surrounding areas due to human activity.
Green Roof by Arlington County
Chris Bribach, CEO of the San Franciscoâbased PlantsOnWalls, sums up the environmental benefits of living walls.
"Living walls decrease energy transfers through walls and can absorb solar gain on sun facing walls," he says. "The micro-biology in plants absorbs toxins and filters the air which reduces air handling costs. Growing food locally saves enormous resources while teaching children to interact with nature and learn about horticulture."
To create your own landscaped wall, you'll need some coco matting (also known as coco fibre or coir fibre â available at most big garden centres), plants, and soil. Make a pocket out of the matting, cut some slits in front to create space for plants to grow straight out, fill the pockets with soil and plants, and hang the whole thing up. You can also buy metal or wicker window boxes that are already lined with matting and mount these on an outdoor wall.
It may seem counterintuitive to grow plants on a wall, given that you should keep water should away from these surfaces to avoid the onset of mould. But there's an easy way to prevent this problem, according to Chris Bribach. He explains, "The best way to protect a structure is to provide an air gap between the living wall and the building." Make sure that when you're hanging your matting on a wall, you leave a moderately sized air gap to allow free oxygen flow.
Planter Box by Valerie Everett
While not all homeowners have the budget or means to create a landscaped surface, you can reap the environmental benefits of vegetation on a smaller scale. For example, you might consider installing planter boxes in your windows made from sustainable wood and paint. The Home Depot sells Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)âcertified plywood and white paint that doesn't emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's). Use these materials to build your own planter box and fill it with herbs or household plants that you can pick up for a low cost at your local garden centre or general store.
Fireplace by Taylor Burnes
Fireplace Glass Doors
Not only are glass doors safer than fireplace screens, but they also do an excellent job of saving energy. Acting as a barrier between your home and the chimney, glass doors limit the amount of air released from your home year 'round â allowing you to better control your home temperature. Cool air won't escape your home through your chimney during the summer months, reducing the amount of energy your air conditioner needs. Plus, your fireplace glass doors will keep precious warm air inside your home during the chilly winter season, reducing the burden on your furnace. In the end, you'll be saving the environment while saving money!
Bamboo flooring is generally considered the more environmentally friendly choice compared with other kinds of hardwood and laminated sheeting. Bamboo is not actually wood â it's a strong, fibrous, fast-growing grass. Amazingly, some varieties of bamboo can grow upwards of 100 centimetres per day, given the proper climate and soil properties! Bamboo usually matures in three to six years, while hardwood generally requires between 20 and 120 years to reach maturation, making bamboo a highly renewable resource.
Bamboo is also a more environmentally friendly option than tropical wood, despite the fact that the two materials share some qualities. As Ori Sivan of Greenmaker Industries explains,
"Tropical hardwoods and bamboo are both dimensionally stable, so they don't expand and contract. Tropical hardwood and bamboo are hard, so they don't bend. But tropical hardwoods take up to 300 years to mature â compared to bamboo's six years â so bamboo is much more sustainable."
Bamboo Flooring by Gavin Tapp
What's more, the process by which bamboo is harvested leaves its root system intact, eliminating the need to replant. Plus, because bamboo attracts few pests, the need for pesticides and irrigation is almost non-existent. Bamboo flooring is strong, durable, easy to maintain, and less likely than hardwood floors to show signs of wear and tear.
Keep in mind that not all bamboo flooring manufacturers use equally environmentally friendly practices. It's a good idea to do your homework before deciding what kind of bamboo flooring to use in your home. Begin by consulting the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC) database of environmentally responsible manufacturers. Also, make a point of researching which flooring distributors donate money to carbon-offsetting companies, and remember that a high-quality bamboo dealer will confirm whether the bamboo comes from a plantation that enforces strict harvesting guidelines.
The Home Depot carries a wide range of bamboo engineered hardwood flooring. Seek out the Goodfellow and Quality Craft brands â both use bamboo that comes from FSC certified forests.
Many household cleaners currently available on the market are potentially harmful to the environment as well as your family. Experts suggest carefully examining the labels of your favourite household cleaning products for high-performance, environmentally friendly ingredients. These ingredients include grain alcohol in place of toxic butyl cellosolve (often used as a solvent in carpet and window cleaners) and coconut or other plant oils instead of petroleum. When deciding on a soap or detergent, search for products that contain plant oil disinfectants such as eucalyptus, rosemary, and sage rather than triclosan, an antifungal agent the U.S. FDA is currently reviewing.
Here are some green cleaning products that are inexpensive and easy to find.
Simply Clean All Purpose Cleaner â Available at major grocery stores across Canada
Fruits & Passion Art Home Ecological Heavy Duty Cleaner â Stores across Canada
Seventh Generation Natural All Purpose Cleaner â visit www.seventhgeneration.ca for full list of retailers
An even better option than seeking these products at your local department or grocery store is creating your own cleaning products. You can make homemade products from inexpensive, easy-to-obtain ingredients like plain soap, water, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), washing soda (sodium carbonate), vinegar, lemon juice, and borax. These ingredients have powerful antibacterial qualities and are 100% environmentally friendly.
Eric Cano, owner of EMJ cleaning, a house cleaning company, has many simple recipes for effective house cleaning products.
He explains, "A paste made of baking soda and water is great at removing stains from dishes and countertops." Eric also advises, "A simple solution of white vinegar and water can be used as a mild cleaner for a variety of projects. This is great for wiping down counters and appliances, and you could even mix in some baking powder for tougher jobs, like bathroom tile."
There are other ways you can change your cleaning habits to benefit the environment. It's a good idea to avoid washing dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. Tests have shown this step unnecessary, and this change in your cleaning routine could save your household more than 24,000 litres of water per year.
Plus, it's worthwhile to regularly clean the coils behind or underneath your refrigerator with a tapered appliance brush to prevent excess energy to keep your refrigerator running. It's also a good idea to clean or replace furnace filters once a month during the winter. Clogged filters force your furnace to work harder and use more energy.
Backyard Garden by Lori L. Stalteri
Make Your Garden Even Greener
Environmentally friendly landscaping can drastically increase your home's efficiency by providing shade in the summer months and much-needed insulation during chilly winters. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends planting deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves seasonally) on the western and southern sides of your home. During the summer months, these trees will offer generous amounts of shade and block infrared radiation, keeping your house cool. When these trees shed their leaves in the winter, more warming sunlight can reach your home.
As climate change and the interest in going green stay in the forefront of many minds, these home innovations can help homeowners contribute to the environment in easy, affordable ways. A little change can go a long way â and as long as environmentally conscious minds continue to make the right decisions, it seems our planet is headed for a more healthy future. | <urn:uuid:59b31cf9-2c91-432b-8738-c280b8ebee2b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://juliekinnear.com/blogs/make-your-home-green | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940106 | 1,933 | 2.6875 | 3 |
One of my favourite passages of poetry comes from Coleridge’s The Frost at Midnight.
The poet recalls dreaming “with unclosed lids” during a school lesson, thinking fondly of home and playtime, until he wakes to the sound of the classroom door opening. He looks up, and for a brief second imagines that somebody from his family is at the door, and has come to fetch him early from school.
We can all relate to this brief, but unfulfilled, moment of excitement and expectation:
And so I brooded all the following morn,
Awed by the stern preceptor’s face, mine eye
Fixed with mock study on my swimming book:
Save if the door half opened, and I snatched
A hasty glance, and still my heart leaped up,
For still I hoped to see the stranger’s face,
Townsman, or aunt, or sister more beloved,
My play-mate when we both were clothed alike!
Ironically (or appropriately), when I first heard this poem, I too was gazing out of the window, in a trance and completely ignoring my teacher – a million miles from anywhere.
What you read at school can be very influential.
What you don’t read at school, however, can be essential.
In-between the structured learning, the soft grey areas of daydreaming and imagination can shape our futures.
A school curriculum is vital to set out the parameters of what should be learnt, when and how and with whom.
Literature, however, requires something else.
Extra-curricular reading and learning is arguably more important, and helps us develop a rounded view of understanding and creativity.
If we only stick to what we officially learn at school, then our education never evolves, and we fail to connect meanings and messages.
Two widely-read exam texts in English and Welsh are the novels To Kill a Mocking Bird (1960) and Un Nos Ola Leuad (1961).
I studied them more than 20 years ago, as they had been studied for almost 20 years previously – and their popularity has not waned.
There is nothing wrong with these books.
In fact they’re ground-breaking novels, dealing with vital issues, and at the time of their publication, they were considered subversive. It’s just that, sometimes, it feels like our reading habits and literary tastes have been frozen in time.
Introducing students to new voices in literature, particularly voices which will sound familiar to them, can help inspire a new appetite for reading.
As well as the classics from the cannon, young people should be encouraged to discover contemporary Welsh writers such as Cynan Jones, Rachel Trezise, Dewi Prysor, Rhian Edwards and Llwyd Owen – to name but a few.
How many of our brilliant English and Welsh teachers are authorised to recommend these books to their students?
We need our teachers to be given the confidence and encouragement to help their students break from the cycle of traditional reading.
It’s not just contemporary fiction from Wales that’s being passed over in favour of the classics.
It’s quite possible to go through English-medium education in Wales without ever being taught anything by a Welsh author.
I’ve met many former students, my age and younger, who’ve never studied R S Thomas, Alun Lewis, Brenda Chamberlain, or even Dylan Thomas.
If there’s a legacy therefore for this year’s Dylan Thomas centenary, it should be the realisation that we have our own literary heritage to celebrate, in both languages – and more importantly that our literature is alive and kicking.
Through the celebrity of Dylan, we can shine a light on the wealth of other literature we have. We can make positive changes in the way we teach literature to young people in Wales, and by doing so, instil a sense of pride and nationhood, and a love of reading, which should last a lifetime. | <urn:uuid:119c99b2-5e6d-4b82-ae5f-4ff0936e1d3a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/lleucu-siencyn-legacy-language-daydreaming-6805680 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397864.87/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959034 | 841 | 2.765625 | 3 |
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