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Studies have shown that parents and children all do better if we understand our roles and responsibilities when it comes to feeding and mealtime, and there are many benefits of defining roles and responsibilities in the “Feeding Relationship” between parents and their children. The purpose of defining roles is to promote a positive interaction between parents and children during mealtimes and when making food choices. The first communication with babies centers on feeding. When you hold an infant and feed from a bottle or breast, there is a natural interaction that occurs. You look in your baby’s eyes and pay attention to his gestures and movements to know when he is tired or full.
This interaction continues as your baby grows. When he sits in his infant seat or high chair, it is your responsibility to provide foods that are healthy, tasty and safe to eat. At this stage, a positive feeding relationship means that you are both being attentive to each other. For example, it takes time for toddlers with Down syndrome to move the food around, swallow, and then prepare for the next bite. Watch your child and wait for him to be ready. It is important to give babies the time they need. If your baby turns his face away, don’t chase him with the spoon. Allow him to say, “No, I don’t want that,” or “I am full!” Listening to your child in these early stages of feeding teaches him that you are listening to him and respect his decisions.
This positive feeding relationship helps as children get older, too. If your child knows he has the right to choose how much and whether or not he eats something, he begins to understand how to listen to his body cues. This doesn’t prevent challenges that may arise, such as emotional eating or a propensity for junk food, but it helps. Most importantly, respecting your child’s role in the feeding relationship teaches him that he can say “no thank you” when someone offers food. Too often, we praise the “good eater,” sending the message that eating everything whenever it is offered is what we expect.
Understanding your role in the feeding relationship also helps keep you from becoming a short-order cook. No one likes to prepare more than one menu for each meal, but for mealtime to be successful, it’s important to make something for everyone. If you know there is nothing on the table that your child will eat, you aren’t holding up your end of the bargain. But if you ensure that there is something available to your child, then he will choose to eat that and get at least some calories. Later, he can make snack choices to round out the meal.
I think we often lose sight of the joy of food and activity. We hear so much about weight loss and the need to be active that these things have become a chore. When it comes to helping our children develop healthy habits, it’s important to relax, listen, experiment, and have fun. That said, the following are some specific strategies you might want to try:
- Explore new foods together. Go to the store and find something totally new in the produce section, or try a new shape of pasta.
- Once a month, choose a new recipe with your child that you prepare together. Plan for a mess, and enjoy the time you spend together learning new things and developing new skills.
- Always build in choices. When your child is young, for example, the development of “healthy habits” centers on learning to communicate and choose. So be sure to provide visual representations of food, such as photos and wrappers, or teach sign language for various foods.
- Involve your child in menu planning at an early age. Even if you don’t plan more than 30 minutes in advance, be sure to give your child the opportunity to choose one item on the menu or between different snack options.
Anyone can participate in these activities, though it can take some creative thinking. | <urn:uuid:dee86185-de26-40df-a080-4fac36b6431c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www1.ndss.org/en/Resources/Wellness/Nutrition/Recreation-Friendship2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00139-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968979 | 827 | 3.375 | 3 |
To realize the possibilities of effective synergy between biology and mathematics will require both avoiding potential problems and seizing potential opportunities.
The productive interaction of biology and mathematics will face problems that concern education, intellectual property, and national security.
Educating the next generation of scientists will require early emphasis on quantitative skills in primary and secondary schools and more opportunities for training in both biology and mathematics at undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels (CUBE 2003).
Intellectual property rights may both stimulate and obstruct the potential synergy of biology and mathematics. Science is a potlatch culture. The bigger one's gift to the common pool of knowledge and techniques, the higher one's status, just as in the potlatch culture of the Native Americans of the northwest coast of North America. In the case of research in mathematics and biology, intellectual property rights to algorithms and databases need to balance the concerns of inventors, developers, and future researchers (Rai and Eisenberg 2003).
A third area of potential problems as well as opportunities is national security. Scientists and national defenders can collaborate by supporting and doing open research on the optimal design of monitoring networks and mitigation strategies for all kinds of biological attacks (Wein et al. 2003). But openness of scientific methods or biological reagents in microbiology may pose security risks in the hands of terrorists. Problems of conserving privacy may arise when disparate databases are connected, such as physician payment databases with disease diagnosis databases, or health databases with law enforcement databases.
Mathematical models can circumvent ethical dilemmas. For example, in a study of the household transmission of Chagas disease in northwest Argentina, Cohen and Gürtler (2001) wanted to know—since dogs are a reservoir of infection—what would happen if dogs were removed from bedroom areas, without spraying households with insecticides against the insect that transmits infection. Because neither the householders nor the state public health apparatus can afford to spray the households in some areas, the realistic experiment would be to ask householders to remove the dogs without spraying. But a researcher who goes to a household and observes an insect infestation is morally obliged to spray and eliminate the infestation. In a detailed mathematical model, it was easy to set a variable representing the number of dogs in the bedroom areas to zero. All components of the model were based on measurements made in real villages. The calculation showed that banishing dogs from bedroom areas would substantially reduce the intensity of infection in the absence of spraying, though spraying would contribute to additional reductions in the intensity of infection. The model was used to do an experiment conceptually that could not be done ethically in a real village. The conceptual experiment suggested the value of educating villagers about the important health benefits of removing dogs from the bedroom areas.
The future of a scientific field is probably less predictable than the future in general. Doubtless, though, there will be exciting opportunities for the collaboration of mathematics and biology. Mathematics can help biologists grasp problems that are otherwise too big (the biosphere) or too small (molecular structure); too slow (macroevolution) or too fast (photosynthesis); too remote in time (early extinctions) or too remote in space (life at extremes on the earth and in space); too complex (the human brain) or too dangerous or unethical (epidemiology of infectious agents). Box 1 summarizes five biological and five mathematical challenges where interactions between biology and mathematics may prove particularly fruitful. | <urn:uuid:44c33ec1-1685-4917-b5e6-a1ab6755fd7b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.biology-online.org/articles/mathematics_biologys_next_microscope/future.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00149-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928279 | 697 | 2.703125 | 3 |
With almost a quarter of the world’s population relying on forest resources for their livelihoods, understanding how forests can improve the lives of the poorest people is an important topic in economic development. In a recently published World Development article, Nicholas Hogarth and colleagues show that rural households in a poor and remote mountainous region in southern China get more than 30% of their livelihoods from managing plantation forests.
Since 1994, the Chinese government has been engaged in a national poverty reduction plan incorporating a number of important policies to promote forest-based cash crops while increasing both forest cover and the area of forestlands allocated and managed by rural households. In the 15 years since it established its Priority Forestry Programs, including the national Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program, China has become a huge—and unprecedented—source of knowledge and experience on afforestation and promotion of forest product markets for poverty reduction.
Overall, 75% of people surveyed in Tianlin County in Guangxi Province, where Hogarth conducted his fieldwork, perceived an improvement in their living conditions in the five years preceding the study. This was due in part to their improving markets for forest and agricultural products, as well as overall growth in national income levels. Tianlin is an area where 80% of the land is classified as forest, and where, at the time of the study, almost half of the population was living on less than US$1 per day.
Among the 225 households surveyed, the greatest source of cash income (over 20%) came from marketing of forest products, compared to around 10% from crops and business respectively. Although forest-related income was important to households at all income levels, the poorest households got a significantly higher share of their cash income from forests than did better-off households; the poorer the households were, the more important forest income became.
In examining this data, Hogarth et al. reveal that inequality in land ownership and access to off-farm jobs, and market barriers and price fixing, prevent the poor from profiting fully from markets, especially for timber.
Even though China’s national policy on land allocation was intended to give more land to larger families, in reality, better-off households have both more land and smaller families. In absolute terms, the richest 20% of families earn three times as much cash from forests than the poorest 20%. They also derive the biggest part of their income from business activities and have substantial wage incomes, reflecting a very different access to opportunity across the sample population.
The data show that economic inequality in Tianlin is clearly linked to the unequal allocation of forest and crop land; those with more land per family member were invested in lucrative activities such as livestock production and other income sources. But many households were left behind, and continue to live in poverty.
Although 15 years is enough time to measure change and to assess the initial results of China’s forestry and poverty alleviation measures, there remains more to be done. According to Hogarth, much more research and development work is needed to improve the welfare of the rural poor in places like Tianlin and other remote, mountainous parts of China where rural poverty remains stubbornly rooted.
Greater economic opportunities will come from timber markets once stocks reach harvest age. Better targeting of programs of payment for forest services and efforts to reduce the capture of benefits of such programs by local elites should improve the livelihoods of lower income households. So would better sharing of the total land area. Hogarth et al. suggest that could be achieved not necessarily through a new distribution of land, but potentially through local household-to-household compensation schemes based on the size of local family land holdings, such as have been tried elsewhere in China.
This study is just one of many conducted in 24 countries by CIFOR’s Poverty and Environment Network (PEN). It sheds new light on a key topic in world forestry research: how allocating forestland to the rural poor can contribute to reducing rural poverty and increasing overall forest productivity. The study confirms that forests can play an important role in bringing rural folk out of poverty. While land was unequally distributed and some families were left far behind, even very small forest plots managed by families in Tianlin were important drivers of rural economic development. | <urn:uuid:91f0428c-c923-4720-a852-eb37d956ea21> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.cifor.org/13956/understanding-role-of-forest-income-in-rural-livelihoods-insights-from-china/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396872.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00129-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971115 | 861 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Cat Intelligence has interested people for a considerable time as has the intelligence of a dog. Who is the smarter and are they smarter than a chicken?
Recently humankind has gradually become aware of the intelligence of other animals on the planet. Some cats are more intelligent than others it seems, but this is anecdotal evidence. Often cat breeders writing about the cat they breed will understandably promote their chosen cat breed by describing it as more intelligent than others.
An interesting article in a newspaper, the Penny Illustrated (UK) dated 1st June 1912 asks the question, "Does your cat or your dog think? If so, do they think in the same way as you do?"
The article refers to published research work at the time by Professor Thorndike of Columbia University, called "Animal Intelligence". The professor approached the question from the standpoint of experimental psychology (experimental testing of actual cats and dogs etc.).
Cats, dogs and chickens were placed in cages and they had to get out without assistance by means of certain devices that they had to manipulate having learned to do so by trial and error. The motivation was food outside the cage.
The professor found that the cats became agitated and calmed down after 10 mins. They worked out how to get out and when out they ran! "By dint of biting and scratching they end by discovering the method of opening the door and release themselves". They were more interested in getting out than eating the food (makes sense to as it's more important to get out and away than remain near people who want to cage you up).
Dogs apparently behaved better. They were calmer and more "attentive to their nourishment". Dogs showed less desire to escape. They succeeded in quickly learning the opening mechanism. They "showed no desire to run away as the cats do" once they had got out and got the food.
As for the chickens they "showed great agitation" when shut up in a cage. "They succeeded much less often than cats and dogs" to escape.
The professor concludes:
"According to these results the dogs appeared most intelligent, the cats near to them, and the chickens far behind"
Are cats really less intelligent than dogs? It would seem that if it is a straight contest as to which can solve problems or learn relatively complex tasks then the dog wins. Dogs are certainly more trainable and yet some cats are dog-like and trainable to (but to a lesser extent). These are usually the wildcat hybrids such as the Bengal and Chausie. But there are different types of intelligence. In any event cats are individuals (less socially aware) while dogs are pack animals and will look up to and learn from the alpha animal (the human normally). That is probably why they are trainable (or at least in part).
Amongst cats some are probably a bit smarter than others. My research indicates that the wildcat hybrids tend to be smarter probably because the brain has been trained to be sharper to survive in the wild.
A ranking has been carried out by Animal Planet which although rather unscientific it seems does give some indications, which I would think cat fanciers would agree with. At the less intelligent end are cats like the Himalayan, Exotic Shorthair (Persian/American Shorthair cross) and Persian. These three are all Persian based cats. These cats are docile and passive. Perhaps they are uninquisitive, which will limit learning by experience. Cat intelligence is hard to measure.
At the smarter end there is the Sphynx. I can agree this. They do behave in more inquisitive, active and interested manner indicating intelligence. Other smart cats are the other skinny cats such as the Oriental Shorthair, Balinese, Javanese, Turkish Angora. The Bengal also falls into this group too.
See something on the Internet that you'd like us to profile in this column? Anything about pet fashion, technology or interesting is good. Send us an email to firstname.lastname@example.org or leave a comment below. | <urn:uuid:a8ee0bc0-8c77-448b-b5a6-85eaddeedbf1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.yeepet.com/blogs/Cat-Intelligence-1533 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00023-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977482 | 829 | 2.546875 | 3 |
/** labr.global: 493.0 **/
The road from work to school
ICFTU Report, 15 June 1998
Following the ICFTU's 1996 publication "No Time To Play", international trade unions are finalising a new report into child labour in all continents and in several industrial sectors. Preliminary results of the union investigations are detailed below. The research shows that, despite efforts by unions, non-government organisations and many governments and employer organisations, a major new impetus is required if the 250 million children now working are to be given the chance to go to school and replaced in the workforce with adults.
According to World Bank figures, at least 15 million children are producing goods for international markets, in agriculture and in industrial production. A much larger number are providing goods and services for domestic consumption, working in the formal and informal sectors. The largest single sector is agriculture, accounting for as many as half of all child workers, many of whom are engaged in subsistence farming, not knowing from one month to the next if there will be enough to eat.
The unions fear that if urgent and concerted action is not taken, child labour will become a permanent part of the global economy, as multinational companies, usually using complex subcontracting arrangements, profit from child labour and other labour rights violations without fear of exposure or penalty.
The hundreds of millions of children working today have some of the highest rates of workplace injury and disease, with millions of children each year sustaining illness or accidents.
The results of the union research, supported by comprehensive survey work carried out by the International Labour Organisation, show that child labour is resurfacing in industrialised countries, as well as increasing in the transition economies, especially in the CIS and Central and Eastern Europe.
Unions make a clear distinction between child labour as defined by ILO Convention 138, and the common practice of children helping out around the home and earning pocket money.
Key causes of child labour include:
New ILO Convention:
The trade union movement is campaigning world-wide for a strong new ILO Convention which will require immediate action on the worst forms of child labour. The new Convention will provide an important support to the existing main ILO Convention 138 which sets the minimum age for employment.
The unions are calling for a Convention which targets the most hazardous and exploitative forms of child labour and sets clear requirements for action. The unions want the Convention to include forms of child labour which deny children the chance to go to school, as well as the exploitation of children for profit.
The development of a new Convention, along with the full application of Convention 138, will provide the basis for a genuine international effort to rid the world of the scourge of child labour.
From Global March to Global Movement:
The hugely successful Global March Against Child Labour will culminate in Geneva at the start of the ILO Conference. The March has awakened literally millions of people around the world to the need to get involved in ending child labour, and has led to close co-operation between trade unions and non-government organisations in many countries.
The international trade union movement wants to see the momentum of the Global March sustained and built upon. For this reason, the ICFTU, International Trade Secretariats and their national affiliates are drawing up proposals for this, and will be holding discussions with other organisations on the way forward.
New Study - First Results:
The information presented below is based on summaries of the several of the studies contained in the forthcoming ICFTU report.
This country has one of the highest incidences of child labour in Latin America, as at least 2 million (14.3%) of children aged 10 - 13 work. Many live on the streets at night, and work in the footwear, textile, garment and tin industries during the day. Child labour is also being used in the metallurgy, car and electronics factories.
Sub-contracting Industries such as shoe making also employ a large proportion of children. A recent union study found that 18% of people working in the informal side of shoe production in Sao Paulo were under 14.
Children also work in the tin and charcoal industries, where they have been found digging by hand to search for cassiterite, and as debt slaves raking up charcoal. Some of those who have tried to escape have been murdered.
Brazilian trade unions, working with ngo's, government and some employers, have been taking concerted action to remove child workers from the workplace and support their reintegration into education. Many older teenagers are also beginning to return to school, working part-time under conditions negotiated by the unions. The Brazilian government is removing children from mines and other work, and providing money for school attendance.
While exact figures are difficult to obtain, international estimates and anectdotal information point to the existence of several million child labourers in China. In recent years, the Chinese authorities have acknowledged the problem, but a great deal remains to be done. Many if not most under-age workers in China are girls, including those working in the Special Economic Zones in South China. A recent survey of factories in these zones found that 75% of the workers under 15 were girls who had not finished primary school.
They work in fireworks factories, in shoe factories set up by well-known international sports brands, in electronics factories, and in nail factories. In one factory, child workers (aged 8 - 15) who had not been paid for six months went on strike, blocking the factory owner's car. In another a child was punished for cutting herself by having her head banged against the wall. Little is known about the extent of children working in agriculture in China, and to what degree this work is in breach of international standards, however the difference between estimated the population of children under the age of 14 and the retention rate in basic education does indicate that there is a significant problem.
In 1994, the UN Commission on Human Rights reported that there were 2.7million working children aged 10 - 14 in Indonesia. Recently, children have been moving out of agriculture (including fishing and forestry) into factory work, providing cheap labour in the manufacturing and service sectors.
Children produce garments and rattan furniture for export as well as for the domestic market. In the rattan furniture industry children start work aged nine or ten, working an average of 42 hours a week from the age of 12 or 13.
Children work in the fishing industry in Northern Sumatra where ten-year-old boys work in virtual slavery on the fishing platforms. Children also work as street sellers. Indonesian employers contracting to multinationals in the garment and shoe industries, have pointed to the grossly unfair pricing arrangements and demands for immediate filling of orders as a major cause of child labour and poor wages and conditions for adults. While the absolute numbers of child workers appear to have declined somewhat in recent years, the economic crisis in Indonesia is expected to result in a large increase in numbers of children working, as education funding is restricted and parents thrown out of work are forced to rely on income from children's work. There are signs that this problem is beginning to appear in several other Asian economies affected by the crisis.
Italy has one of the highest rates of child labour in the European Community, with one and a half million child workers. Most children work in the big cities, in small businesses, and many children truant from school in order to do so. Many children also work in agriculture. Shoe production is one of the main industries which employs child labour, as children work in small, scattered workshops. For some parents child employment is seen as an alternative to their children becoming involved in criminal activities. The Italian unions, government and employers have launched a series of major initiatives to tackle the problem within Italy, and to increase Italy's support to other countries to help them deal with their child labour problems.
The Philippines is a rapidly urbanising society, and companies there, often linked to large multinationals, have been exploiting children to increase profits and gain a competitive edge. Child labour is on the increase, and there are now 8 million children working, 5 million of them (ie. 19% of the labour force) aged 5 - 14. Of these about 80% work in rural areas, where they work in agriculture and animal husbandry, and 20% in the cities, where they work in the garment, furniture, footwear and handicraft industries.
One area which employs a high proportion of children is `muro-ami' fishing, where they spend between 12 and 15 hours in the water as divers each day.
Children also work in food processing factories, where some work as `debt labourers' and sleep on the premises. Another burgeoning sector of work for children is the sex trade, which employs over 20,000 children, who service both the foreign and local clientele. Often children begin working in the tourist industry, and are forced into commercial sex exploitation or drawn into it by the prospect of more money. Tens of thousands of children are involved in subsistence activities, especially living on the streets in the big cities. The launch of the Global March in the Philippines has given a major impetus to the fight against child labour there.
Child labour has recently been acknowledged as a problem in Russia, because the onset of a consumer society shows children that work can bring them the benefits of new goods and services. Some children start work aged nine, but the average age is 12.5 years. The most common job is selling (often stolen) goods, either privately or on the street. Child workers were also found in the formal sector such delivering mail, factory and agricultural work, baby-sitting, cleaning, restaurant work, etc, and in illegal occupations such as selling drugs or petrol, money-changing or boxing for money.
One of the significant dangers which the children face is extortion and racketeering, and nearly one third of children have experienced this, or have friends who had, including being harassed by the police.
About one third to one half of children in their last two years of compulsory schooling are now involved in some form of work, a number of them performing tasks prohibited under existing legislation. Jobs include delivery, baby-sitting, hotel and catering work, and cases have been reported of manual labouring, including factory and building sites. 22% have had accidents of some kind at work. Unions found that 20% of 11 year olds and 25% of 12 year olds worked. Altogether, 40% of school children have some form of paid work and 1.5million are working illegally in one way or another, either because they are too young, because they are doing unsuitable work, or because they are working too many hours. The Trades Union Congress has conducted detailed research on child labour in Great Britain, and is pressing for action nationally and internationally.
US labour unions and the US Government have repeatedly cited cases of child labour in garment industry sweatshops, and the widespread use of child labour in agriculture has been well documented. Minimum age for employment varies from one state to another, and illegal employment of children is found in enterprises where there is neither union representation nor collective bargaining.
In a country where about half of the 11.9 million people are under 15, child labour is a serious problem. Agribusiness is a large employer of children, whether as part of the family workforce, or on commercial large-scale farms and there are estimated to be hundreds of thousands working children in this sector. Children also work in mining, as domestic workers, and as street sellers. The country's increasing economic problems mean that children are often used by families to maximise earnings. Zimbabwean trade union research has pointed in particular to the negative effects of structural adjustment policies in Zimbabwe.
Stitching Footballs - Sialkot, Pakistan - Children are involved in stitching footballs often in small home-based workshops, which means that women and girls - who are a significant part of the labour force- can work, as the Purdah system restricts their working. Child labour provides around 23% of the family income. As a result of pressure from trade unions (including the ICFTU/ITGLWF/FIET agreement with FIFA) and international scrutiny, the ILO and children's charities, manufacturers have agreed to phase out child labour by 1998, and to support education for ex-workers, under an ILO/UNICEF programme.
Diamonds and gemstones
India: The gem stone industry is the most important of the export-orientated industries and earned nearly $1.5b from exports in 1993. There may be as many as 100,000 children cutting and polishing diamonds, and 20,000 children polishing other precious stones. Children work 10 hours a day, in poor conditions carrying out hazardous work.
Synthetic gemstones India: Tamil Nadu -The government exports $3million of these gems annually, with a labour force which is mainly women, along with an estimated 8,000 - 10,000 children, some as young as seven and many in bondage.
Thailand: This industry which exported $170m. of gems to the USA in 1992, has been known to use children for 12 hours a day, six days a week, for $2 a week. There is some evidence that the problem has decreased recently, however in the absence of effective rules in international trade, Thai companies risk losing markets to countries which tolerate child labour.
The ICFTU has been working with the Universal Alliance of Diamond Workers to push the industry, including the De Beers and Rio Tinto who control the global diamond trade, into accepting reforms.
Pakistan: These are an important part of Pakistan's export trade, and children work long hours under dangerous conditions cutting and polishing surgical instruments which are then exported for use in hospitals and medical establishments around the world. Children make up roughly 15% of the workforce out of 50,000, some of them being as young as eight years old. Health unions affiliated to the Public Services International are raising the issue with health authorities around the world, and the Pakistani affiliates of the International Metalworkers' Federation are planning an organising campaign in the sector in Sialkot, where most of the production takes place. Local employers and unions will be involved in an ILO programme to tackle the problem, using funds raised by Italian unions and employers under an initiative with UNICEF Italy.
This is one of the main sectors for child labour around the world and has been the focus of concerted campaign action by the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation.
Indonesia: A large number of children under 15 are employed in textile mills making Barbie Doll dresses, working in 7-hour shifts, During their first nine months' "training" period, they are not paid, and can be dismissed for failing to reach their quotas. Eventually they are paid US$1.75 a day, but have to buy their own uniform and scissors, needles and thread.
China: Children of 12 - 15 work in the textile industry and there are frequent reports of occupational accidents and illness amongst children in this sector.
Brazil: The ILO has reported that 17% of all children working in Brazilian industry are involved in textile and garment production.
The Philippines: The garment industry in this country uses a large amount of child labour in its subcontracted operations, where children receive one third of the adult minimum wage.
India: India's silk industry is crucial for foreign earnings, and there international competitive pressures may help to explain why girls as young as five are to be found working from 7am to 9pm. They work in embroidery, in handloom weaving, in producing silk thread, and on `zardozi' work on exported items of silk. There are many thousands of children in this industry, some working as bonded labourers,
Bangladesh: The clothing export industry uses a great deal of child labour, and about 90% of the work is done by women and girls, some of whom work alongside their mothers. Working hours are long and conditions are poor. Under international pressure, action has been taken to reduce child labour in the export sector, however garment production for the domestic market involves many thousands of young girls. Claims that thousands of girls removed from export factories have gone into the commercial sex trade have never been backed up by real evidence. However many girls coming from rural areas to find work in factories have been pushed into the sex industry, or have ended up there after being forced to "entertain" clients or following sexual abuse by factory supervisors.
This is a major employer of child labour in both the developed and developing countries, and it is on the increase as many developing countries divert land-use towards export production, leaving less productive land for domestic production. The International Union of Food and Agricultural Workers points to the widespread practice of countries denying trade union rights to agricultural workers, leaving them and their children unprotected from exploitation. Recent ILO studies highlight the high level of illness and injury amongst child agricultural workers.
Italy: Children work in family enterprises, and in large commercial enterprises which run the agribusiness, where they do unskilled jobs such as weeding or harvesting.
Tanzania: Children are widely employed on plantations producing tea, coffee, sisal, sugar and pyrethrum. Some start work on the estates from the age of ten, transplanting and weeding, and carrying sisal fibres. They make up nearly one third of the labour force and are paid half the adult wage.
Brazil: Sugar cane, sisal and tea .Children make up to 40% of the workforce on some sugar cane plantations, where some have been working since they were 11 or 12. Brazil is the world's largest exporter of sisal. Over 30,000 children aged 3 - 14 work in sisal production, working up to 50 hours a week, paid virtually nothing. Children from aged seven work on Brazilian tea plantations, where their labour usually complements their family's earnings.
Dominican Republic: Sugar: Labour - sometimes forced labour, including children - is imported from Haiti to cut sugar cane, often finishing up on the streets of Port-au-Prince, suffering from malnutrition.
Zimbabwe: Tea: Many children work on tea plantations, where they begin their day at 5.30, often walking 5 - 8 kilometres to the tea fields, and work until 11.30am, before going to school, often too tired to benefit from classes.
Philippines: Fruit and Vegetables: Children work in the fields and plantations which supply the Dole Food Company, for six hours a day during school days, and 11 hours on Saturday. Some children aged nine years old work on the banana plantations.
USA: Fruit and Vegetables: Tens of thousands of children work in the fields harvesting vegetables and fruit. For example, in California's onion fields, children are exposed to pesticides. Unions trying to organise in the sector and combat the exploitation of children often meet with fierce resistance from employers.
IGC LaborNet, the unionized, nonprofit Internet service provider offers:
For more information contact us at: | <urn:uuid:0c2a811e-1753-4654-bbd8-cd2d433c70be> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/28/056.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00135-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963897 | 3,894 | 2.703125 | 3 |
The modules were clearly explained and the engaging story helped motivate the students to work on the project. The students appear to have greatly enjoyed the exercise, particularly the creative background story that provided the context for their work. By reviewing other people’s code, the students learned more efficient ways of performing the given task. They also became familiar with other modules in the system, allowing them to help each other to a greater extent during the implementation of their game project.
Suggestions for improvement:
Peer review of modules for identical tasks made it easy for students to copy and paste code they did not understand. Due to cases of plagiarism exposed during the project defense, stronger reminders about academic honesty are advised. Acceptable and unacceptable behavior should be defined. Alternatively, the assigned challenges could be similar enough for the common patterns to emerge but yet different enough to engage each student and make that student an “expert” on a topic his or her classmates did not fully tackle. Overall, working on multiple modules gave students a better appreciation of the different parts of a graphics engine and helped them learn how to write cleaner and more efficient programs. | <urn:uuid:5481fbea-2c8c-4ec2-8f08-2c30257e5854> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://sachachua.com/blog/2003/10/cs215-evaluation/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00127-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965902 | 229 | 3.125 | 3 |
From Our 2012 Archives
Researchers Map Vision in Brain
Latest Neurology News
THURSDAY, Oct. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have found a way to create a map of vision in the brain based on an individual's brain structure, even for people who can't see.
Among other benefits, this achievement could assist efforts to restore vision using a device that stimulates the surface of the brain, according to the University of Pennsylvania researchers.
For the study, the investigators used functional MRI scans to measure the brain activity of 25 people with normal vision and then identified a precise statistical relationship between the structure of the folds of the brain and the representation of the visual world.
"By measuring brain anatomy and applying an algorithm, we can now accurately predict how the visual world for an individual should be arranged on the surface of the brain," study senior author Dr. Geoffrey Aguirre, an assistant professor of neurology, said in a university news release. "We are already using this advance to study how vision loss changes the organization of the brain."
Co-lead author Noah Benson, a post-doctoral researcher in psychology and neurology, added: "At first, it seems like the visual area of the brain has a different shape and size in every person. Building upon prior studies of regularities in brain anatomy, we found that these individual differences go away when examined with our mathematical template."
The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology.
-- Robert Preidt
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
SOURCE: University of Pennsylvania, news release, Oct. 4, 2012 | <urn:uuid:6112f986-e650-4ed6-8210-62b5feb68fe3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=163683 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00006-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917723 | 331 | 3.25 | 3 |
WHITEWATER VALLEY RAILROAD
RAILROAD INTERPRETIVE CENTER PLAN
39.0 BLACKSMITH SHED Last Revised: September 20, 2004
Building that could be used to interpret the role of small support
buildings in the railroad industry. Key concept would be to highlight the
various manual tools and methods traditionally used to straighten, create,
and repair parts. The concept of how this work is done is the primary
story. It is intended that this forge could be demonstrated on special
events or for special groups. The second part of the story would cover why
this job and function became less necessary in later years. Building would
provide security and weather protection for the forge and various tools.
Too often in most historic villages, the blacksmith is often focused upon
as only shoeing horses. This is an opportunity to show them in the role of
a experimenter, fabricator, and general repair specialist.
Primarily through the display of tools and the forge as well as other
written wall mounted exhibits. A video display may be possible and
beneficial to show both manual methods and mechanization. One hands on
exhibit activity may even allow a visitor (under supervision) to work with
the forge. The smell of the forge will also contribute to the experience.
General Structure Design:
A single story metal shed that can be greatly opened up would be best.
Easiest solution would be to find an existing metal shed, though a replica
could also be created. The total footprint area of this building is
approximately 10’ x 10’. The floor of this building should remain
unfinished soil or possibly gravel. A wood coal bin on the outside of this
building would be a good detail. A hood arranged above the forge and a
pipe stack out the top of the building would be needed. Materials used in
the construction should be fire resistant. Electrical service to this shed
would be desirable.
Beyond general interpretive use, this structure could serve its original
function to store and operate the forge for various railroad part repairs.
Priority Level in Museum Site / General Structure Complexity:
Med / Low
Special Location Considerations:
It should be located near the roundhouse complex, though the exact
location is not critical to the site design. It is possible that this area
could be incorporated into the roundhouse structure though fire risk makes
this concept less desireable.
Supporting Artifacts Available:
The hood unit above the forge, the force and various tools are all in the
Supporting Artifacts that would need to be acquired:
If an existing older metal shed is available, this would be the most
appropriate item to acquire. | <urn:uuid:91f3118f-866d-4220-9270-4c3b4609de20> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wvrrmuseum.org/displaysite/html/39/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00189-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935134 | 569 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Rare blue whales have been spotted off the coast of the North
Island by NIWA scientists.
The whales, the world's largest animal remain one of the
planet's most elusive creatures. They were intensively hunted
in the Southern Hemisphere during the whaling era,
dramatically reducing their numbers.
The creatures were spotted by scientists on a research
expedition in the South Taranaki Bight led by NIWA marine
ecologist Dr Leigh Torres.
The group is aiming to collect data to increase understanding
of the blue whale population in the region. The team has
observed nearly 50 blue whales in the past week.
"It is very exciting to see these whales and start the
process of collecting important data on this undescribed
population and poorly understood foraging habitat," Dr Torres
"In addition to finding the whales, we were able to detect
their prey visually on the surface and at-depth using
Dr Torres last year published a scientific paper that
discussed the possibility of a blue whale foraging ground in
Her research showed the presence of blue whales in the area
was greater than expected. An increase in reported sightings
was also linked to a prominent upwelling system that
generates large clouds of plankton - perfect for blue whales
to feed on.
It was previously thought the whales were only travelling
through New Zealand waters while migrating.
"Blue whales need to eat vast amounts of plankton to support
their energy demands. But there are just four confirmed blue
whale foraging grounds in the Southern Hemisphere outside of
Antarctic waters," Dr Torres said. | <urn:uuid:0a16dbde-bfff-4978-927a-351e5ce4b5c2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/290264/rare-whale-sightings-north-island | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00050-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94929 | 337 | 3.328125 | 3 |
::The Pauline Epistles::
In this installment of Reading the Papyri, we examine
one of Michigan's most famous papyri: a 3rd century codex,
written in Greek and found in Egypt, containing the Letters
of St. Paul. Known to New Testament (NT) scholars as P46 (for
Papyrus 46), most of this codex survives today—part
of it here at the University of Michigan, the rest in the
Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland. Through the following
webpages, you will be given the opportunity to explore various
aspects of this nearly two-thousand-year-old papyrus, the
oldest known copy of the writings of St. Paul.
This section includes background information about the
papyrus, such as where and when it was discovered, how old
it might be, and what it contains.
Here, you can take a closer look at the papyrus itself,
and compare the layout of this manuscript to that of a modern
This section offers the opportunity to read some of the
Greek text itself. Assistance is provided in deciphering
the script and reading the Greek.
After you've learned all about the papyrus from the other
three sections, check out this section to put everything
in context and see examples of why the text of P46 is important.
Feel free to click on whatever interests you, but for the
best experience we recommend visiting sections 1-4 in order.
We sincerely appreciate all comments
• A note on browsers and displaying | <urn:uuid:52a26f99-e548-44ce-a4a1-f18ddbc915c7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lib.umich.edu/reading/Paul/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903503 | 329 | 3.34375 | 3 |
Envisioning an AIDS Vaccine
by Jeffrey Laurence, M.D., and Rowena Johnston, Ph.D.
July 18, 2007—Progress in AIDS vaccine development remains frustratingly slow, but amfAR-funded scientists such as research fellow Dr. Sang-Moo Kang, who described his research in the June issue of the journal Virology, are bringing us closer to realizing that elusive goal.
Many scientists believe that to be effective, vaccines will need to elicit strong and durable immune responses from both killer T cells and antibodies. The former are particularly effective at ridding the body of cells that have been infected by a virus, while the latter can also destroy virus particles that have not yet associated with cells.
Researchers interested in designing an AIDS vaccine, such as Dr. Kang, are striving to find ways to activate both of these components of the immune defense against viruses. Last year we highlighted the vaccine research of amfAR scientist Dr. Richard Kornbluth, who is developing novel immune boosters or “molecular adjuvants.” These products have the capacity to recruit and activate specialized types of immune cells known as dendritic cells (DCs). Located at strategic sites in the body where HIV and other infections enter, DCs capture and process proteins from these invaders, then carry them to appropriate sites where they activate immune defenses. Importantly, DCs have the potential to activate aspects of killer T cell and antibody function.
Working at the Emory Vaccine Center in Atlanta, Dr. Kang built on this type of approach. Viruses, including HIV, are potent stimulators of DCs. Given that safety considerations would not permit the use of a whole HIV virus as a vaccine, or even a weakened version of it, Dr. Kang reasoned that the best way to stimulate DCs might be to use as much of the natural virus as possible. He designed an AIDS virus from which he removed those genes that permit it to grow and do harm, but added in a gene that could promote the growth of DCs that this virus-like structure might encounter. His creation, known as VLP-FL, is a virus-like particle (VLP) containing core and envelope genes from HIV, along with a gene for the DC growth factor Flt3 ligand (FL).
Injected into mice, VLP-FL not only increased dendritic cells but stimulated a myriad of immune cells, all exhibiting characteristics that suggested they were primed to attack HIV. Indeed, when Dr. Kang compared normal virus-like particles to those that had Flt3 ligand added to them, he found that in the blood of mice immunized with VLP-FL, the level of antibody against the AIDS virus coat, Env, was twice that of mice receiving only the VLP. Because Env sits on the outside of the virus and is therefore the most accessible virus protein, a vaccine that could generate antibodies against Env would probably be the most effective way to use antibodies to disable the virus. Dr. Kang’s work, along with that of many amfAR-funded scientists, is paving the way toward a crucial HIV prevention tool, an AIDS vaccine.
Dr. Laurence is amfAR’s senior scientific consultant and Dr. Johnston is amfAR’s vice president for research. | <urn:uuid:c5951c07-d25d-4491-bd69-df5371636186> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://amfar.org/Articles/In-The-Lab/Older/Envisioning-an-AIDS-Vaccine-(July-2007)/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962015 | 683 | 2.625 | 3 |
You exercise your body to stay physically in shape, so why shouldn't you exercise your brain to stay mentally fit? With these daily exercises you will learn how to flex your mind, improve your creativity and boost your memory. As with any exercise, repetition is necessary for you to see improvement, so pick your favorite exercises from our daily suggestions and repeat them as desired. Try to do some mentalrobics every single day!
Engineering challenges are fun activities that are frequently assigned to students in physics or engineering classes, but they can easily be used outside of these venues. An engineering challenge usually has a simple goal and some rules about what sorts of materials you are allowed to use. These are great ways to get people thinking creatively and to foster teamwork and competition. Try an engineering challenge at a birthday party, office outing, scout meeting, or any other gathering where you want to have fun and exercise your creativity.
In the Paper Boat challenge, participants are asked to make a boat out of paper and a small amount of tape, glue or staples. Everyone should be using the same amount of materials. Each boat will be required to hold a small cargo (marbles, pencils, or little toy figurines work nicely). The boat that remains floating the longest is the winner. A variation of this challenge is to allow teams to use as much or as little paper as they want, but have a heavier cargo (a baseball or book). The lightest boat that can float the cargo for 1 minute is the winner.
Engineering Challenge : Kite
Engineering Challenge : Spaghetti Cantilever
Engineering Challenge : Egg Drop
Engineering Challenge : Paper Tower
Engineering Challenge : The Bridge
Mentalrobics Public Forums
Chat about these articles and other mind related topics.
Creative Caption Game
Can you make the funniest caption for these odd pictures? | <urn:uuid:29b8fd2c-c638-47f3-a80d-2e1281882e5f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.braingle.com/mind/429/engineering-challenge-paper-boat.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00031-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933098 | 378 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Bitter Seeds: The Human Toll of GMOs
Every 30 minutes, a farmer commits suicide in India, a phenomenon that has been steadily rising since the 1970s. Documentary filmmaker Micha X. Peled took his cameras to the vibrant farming community of Telung Takli in the state of Maharashtra—which sits at the heart of the crisis— to find out why.
Peled’s 2011 film Bitter Seeds starts out with brief scenes from
the funeral of a farmer who has just committed suicide. It swiftly cuts away to follow the story of Ram Krishna Kopulwar, who has been farming cotton on the same three acres since he was seven, as he plants genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton seeds for the first time. The question at the heart of the film is whether or not this gentle family man will join the list of farmers who have given Maharashtra and a handful of neighboring states the nickname of “India’s Suicide Belt.”
For millennia, the film notes, farmers in India had cultivated cotton with seeds they’d saved from their own plants. In the 1970s, hybrid seeds came to market, which had been bred to increase yields. Hybrid seeds, however, cannot be saved, so the farmers had to buy more seeds each year. In time, the hybrids required more costly pesticides, as well. Farmer suicides began in 1997, as many went into debt and couldn’t make ends meet.
In 2002, Bt cotton seeds arrived, and though they promised higher yields and higher earnings, the suicide rate has kept going up, notes the film. These seeds are injected with the Bt soil bacterium so they “naturally” produce an insecticide to fight off the bollworm, a primary pest. Seed salesmen come to Telung Takli with Bt cotton seeds, promising farmers that they “won’t get insects” and that their yields will increase earnings by 4,000 rupees ($80). Truth be told, no other types of seeds are available from local seed stores, so Kopulwar and the other farmers buy the Bt seeds, with hope in their hearts.
Indian farmer Ram Krishna Kopulwar tries to make ends meet
as GM cotton seeds cut his normal crop yields in half.
Like the vast majority of the farmers in his region, Kopulwar cannot get a bank loan, so he turns to an illegal moneylender to get the 900 rupees ($18) to pay for his seeds. The moneylender charges seven percent interest and demands Kopulwar’s farm as collateral.
As Kopulwar cultivates his fields, he prays that the cotton will grow, and that he will earn enough to send his two daughters to school alongside his son, and to ensure their good marriages.
To produce the higher yields it promises, Bt cotton needs more water and fertilizer than cotton from heirloom or hybrid seeds, applied according to precise timetables. But 90 percent of farmers in Kopulwar’s region have no irrigation and are rain-dependent. They have no money for extra fertilizer. And so, as the rains fail to come, their cotton plants start to wither.
One day, while tending the waist-high plants, Kopulwar’s wife Sunanda finds that while the plants are free from bollworms, they have now become infested with mealy bugs— which international activist and scientist Dr. Vandana Shiva blames on the Bt cotton seeds.
“Genetic engineering disturbs the physiology and metabolism of the crops,” Shiva tells the cameras. “So we’ve had crop failure in GM cotton in the year of a drought, and we’ve had crop failure in the case of too much rain. All new pests start to occur because the plant has been weakened.”
There is no cure for mealy bugs, Kopulwar says to the filmmakers, as he starts to rip the infested plants out of his fields.
When he finally goes to market, he carries half of the cotton that he has brought in previous years. He’s forced to turn down a marriage proposal for his daughter, by a comparatively wealthy teacher whom his daughter well likes, because he cannot pay the dowry. Worse yet, the moneylender comes calling and reminds Kopulwar that he has signed away his farm. Meanwhile, Sunanda Kopulwar begs her husband not to kill himself to try to prevent the moneylender from taking their land.
While the causes behind the Maharashtra farmers’ crushing debts are complex—ranging from unfair government floor prices for cotton to international trade agreements skewed in favor of other countries—Bitter Seeds poignantly shows how GM cotton seeds contribute to the problem, rather than helping to solve it as the Bt seed salesmen promise.
The vast majority of India’s cotton farmers pay a royalty to Monsanto, a US biotech firm that owns the Bt cotton seed patent, every year. And as the farmer suicide rate continues to climb and Monsanto’s stranglehold on the Indian market grows ever tighter, the film paints an all-too vivid picture of how the company continues to make farmers promises that it cannot keep.
—Tracy Fernandez Rysavy
Bitter Seeds is available for purchase on DVD from Teddy Bear Films.
Visit the site to find future screenings | <urn:uuid:7a0de4fe-a0f5-4e2a-8e26-81737b61c112> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.greenamerica.org/pubs/greenamerican/articles/AprilMay2012/Bitter-Seeds-the-human-toll-of-GMOs.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965396 | 1,108 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Ambient Water Quality Guidelines for Boron
pursuant to Section 2(e) of the
Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Boron - Environmental Aspects - British Columbia.
This document is one in a series that establishes ambient water quality guidelines (Table 1). This document is mainly based on a report prepared by the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection for the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). It sets guidelines for boron (B) to protect drinking water, freshwater and marine aquatic life, and agricultural water uses.
Guidelines were not set for recreational and industrial water uses, since relevant B toxicity data for these uses were not available in the literature.
The MINISTRY OF WATER, LAND AND AIR PROTECTION develops ambient water quality guidelines for British Columbia. This work has two goals:
The guidelines represent safe conditions or safe levels of a substance in water. Guideline is defined as "a maximum and/or a minimum value for a physical, chemical or biological characteristic of water, sediment or biota, which should not be exceeded to prevent detrimental effects from occurring to a water use under given environmental conditions."
The guidelines are applied province-wide, but they are use-specific, and are being developed for these water uses:
The guidelines are established after considering the scientific literature, existing guidelines from other jurisdictions, and environmental conditions in British Columbia. The scientific literature provides information about the persistence of toxicants in the environment and their effect on various life forms. This information is not always conclusive because it is usually based on laboratory work that, at best, only approximates field conditions. To compensate for this uncertainty, and applying the "precautionary principle", the guidelines have built-in safety factors that are conservative, but reflect the natural background levels.
The guidelines are used to set ambient site-specific water quality objectives for waterbodies. In setting the objectives, considerations are given to present and future water uses, waste discharges, hydrology, limnology, oceanography, and existing background water quality.
In most cases, the objectives are the same as the guidelines. However, when natural background levels exceed the guidelines, the objectives could be less stringent than the guidelines. In rare instances — for example, if the resource is unusually valuable or of special provincial significance — the safety factor could be increased, enabling objectives to be more stringent than the guidelines. Another approach would be to develop site-specific objectives by conducting toxicity experiments in the field. However, because this approach is costly and time consuming, it is seldom used.
Neither the guidelines nor the objectives derived from them have any legal standing. However, objectives can be used to calculate waste discharge limits for contaminants. These limits are outlined in waste management permits, orders and approvals, all of which have legal standing. Objectives are not usually incorporated as conditions of a permit.
Water quality guidelines are subject to review and revision, as new information becomes available or as other circumstances dictate.
Boron is a naturally occurring dark brown/black substance found throughout the environment. It only occurs in combined form, usually as borax, colemanite (Ca2B6O11-5H2O), boronatrocalcite (CaB4O7NaBO2-8H2O) and boracite (Mg7Cl2B16O30). It belongs to Group 13 on the periodic table and has properties which are borderline between metals and non-metals. It is a semiconductor rather than a metallic conductor and it is more related chemically to silicon than to aluminum, gallium, indium, or thallium.
Deposits of boron mineral are found in three major belts — the Mojave Desert in California, the plateau of the Alpine-Himalayan system and the high plateau of the Andes — and are associated with volcanic activity or where marshes or lakes have evaporated under arid conditions. Major exporters of boron are the United States, Turkey, Argentina, China, Chile and Russia. Importers of boron include Western Europe, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Canada and Eastern Europe.
Boron is used in a variety of products including glass and glass products, cleaning products, agrochemicals, insecticides, flame-proofing compounds, corrosion inhibitors and antiseptics. Boron compounds are also used in treating skin cancer resulting in complete disappearance of melanoma without substantial side effects.
The highest concentrations of boron are found in sediments and sedimentary rock, particularly clay rich marine sediments. The high boron concentration in seawater, which averages around 4.5 mg B/L, ensures that marine clays are rich in boron relative to other rock types. Boron is released into the environment very slowly and at low concentrations by natural weathering processes. This amounts to approximately 360 000 tonnes of boron per year world-wide. Boron can also be found naturally in soils at concentrations of 5 to 150 parts per million (ppm). Anthropogenic sources of boron in the environment include sewage sludge and effluents, coal combustion, glass, cleaning compounds and agrochemicals.
Worldwide production of boron is at the same order of magnitude as natural weathering; however, it is thought that the large input of available boron to the environment comes from natural weathering rather than anthropogenic sources. Boron is less persistent in light textured acidic soils and in areas with high rainfall because of its tendency to leach. As a result boron toxicity tends to be more of a problem in arid climates.
Generally, environmental concentrations found in surface water are below levels identified as toxic to aquatic organisms. In British Columbia, median values for boron in surface water is about 0.1 mg/L and in Canadian coastal marine water it ranges from 3.7 to 4.3 mg/L. In British Columbia's ground water, the median total boron was found to be 0.069 mg/L. Boron retention in soil depends on the concentration in the soil solution, soil pH, texture, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, type of clay and mineral coating on the clay. Research suggests that less than 5% of soil boron is available for plants.
Boron is an essential trace element for the growth of terrestrial crop plants and some algae, fungi and bacteria, but can be toxic in excess. Toxicity to aquatic organisms, including vertebrates, invertebrates and plants can vary depending on the organism’s life stage and environment. Early stages are more sensitive to boron than later ones, and the use of reconstituted water shows higher toxicity in lower boron concentrations than natural waters. In mammals, excessive consumption (i.e. >1000 mg B/kg diet; >15 mg B/kg body weight daily) can adversely affect growth, reproduction or survival.
There is no evidence of carcinogenicity or mutagenicity; however, egg injection studies have indicated potential embryo teratogenicity.
1. Drinking Water
It is recommended that the total concentration of boron in drinking water should not exceed 5.0 mg/L.
The maximum acceptable concentration was set because the available treatment technologies are inadequate to reduce boron concentrations in Canadian drinking water supplies to less than 5.0 mg/L. Because boron concentration levels in British Columbia's surface and ground water are less than this value, boron toxicity is not expected to pose a significant risk to drinking water. This guideline is consistent with the Health Canada drinking water guideline.
It is recommended that the maximum concentration of total boron for the protection of freshwater aquatic life should not exceed 1.2 mg B/L.
The recommended interum guideline is based on the lowest observed effect level (LOEL) of 12.3 mg/L in the growth of Selenastrum capricornutum exposed to boron and a safety factor of 0.1. The safety factor is consistent with the CCME and British Columbia protocols for guideline development.
It is recommended that the maximum concentration of total boron for the protection of marine aquatic life should not exceed 1.2 mg B/L.
The recommended guideline is based on a 283h-LC50 of 12.2 mg B/L for coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). A safety factor of 0.1 was used to derive the guideline in the marine environment.
To protect wildlife from adverse effects, the maximum concentration of total boron should not exceed 5.0 mg B/L.
There are limited data on the effects of boron on wildlife. Therefore, the use of the guideline set for livestock watering is recommended on an interim basis.
It is recommended that the maximum concentration of total boron for the protection of irrigated crops should not exceed those shown in Table 2. These guidelines depend on the sensitivity of the crops and are consistent with the CCME guidelines.
The province's agriculture industry is widely diversified in the variety of crop species grown, from the boron-sensitive crops of blackberry, peach and strawberry to the more tolerant crops such as asparagus, carrot and tomato. However, due to the very low residual levels of boron in the surface water (0.01 mg/L) and ground water (0.069 mg/L), boron toxicity is not expected to be an issue.
It is recommended that the maximum concentration of total boron in livestock watering should not exceed 5.0 mg B/L.
There were insufficient data to calculate an interim guideline for livestock species using the CCME's protocol. This level is also used in the USA and in Australia and New Zealand for the protection of livestock watering.One study found a safe tolerance of boron in livestock drinking water was between 40 and 150 mg/L. Based on this data point, the recommended guideline will provide a safety factor of at least 8:1. It should be kept in mind that, in general, normal drinking water has less than 1.0 mg B/L and it is unlikely that livestock will be exposed to high levels of boron in their drinking water.
Application of Guidelines for Aquatic Life
The water quality guidelines recommended in this document are primarily based on controlled, laboratory bioassays in which organisms are exposed to boron only. In the environment, however, boron toxicity may be modified by local conditions. To adjust the guideline recommended here to take local conditions into consideration, the B.C. Ministry Of Environment, Lands & Parks publication, “Methods for Deriving Site-Specific Water Quality Objectives in British Columbia and Yukon” should be followed.
In most cases, water quality objectives will be same as guidelines. When concentration of boron in undeveloped waterbodies are less than the recommended guidelines, then more stringent values, if justified, could apply. In some cases, socioeconomic or other factors (e.g., higher background levels) may justify site-specific objectives that are less stringent than the guidelines. Site-specific impact studies would be required in such cases. Where ambient boron concentrations exceed the guideline, it is recommended that degradation of existing water quality should be avoided to protect aquatic life.
Moss, B.Sc., P.Ag. | <urn:uuid:7ff5108c-df22-468f-ba63-3fe6cddd8427> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wat/wq/BCguidelines/boron/boron.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00096-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918607 | 2,362 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Essay Topic 1
According to Socrates, what are some of the main attributes needed for a good quality speech, and how did these shape his career as a philosopher?
Essay Topic 2
What are the different ideas given about love and relationships, and how do they differ from each other?
Essay Topic 3
What did Socrates think the role of the gods were in daily life, and how did this shape his life?
Essay Topic 4
What kind of relationship does Phaedras have with Lysias, and what effect does this have on his encounter with Socrates?
Essay Topic 5
Lysias is a minor character whose presence makes a big difference in the plot. How does he accomplish this? What are some ways that his presence, however brief, alters the outcome of the plot? What would have happened differently if he had not been in the book at all?
Essay Topic 6
Why does Socrates...
This section contains 549 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) | <urn:uuid:265ed9d1-6349-493e-be99-02d3f1da72df> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/phaedrus/essaytopics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00161-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984416 | 212 | 3.703125 | 4 |
June 13, 2013
The U.S. continued its transformation into a majority-minority nation last year, with Census Bureau data showing non-Hispanic whites making up the lowest percentage of the population in American history.
The estimates released today capture several milestones in the country’s demographic makeup. For the first time in more than a century, deaths outpaced births among white Americans. Almost half, 49.9 percent, of the nation’s children younger than 5 were minorities as of July 1. And the nation’s total minority population grew 21 times faster than whites.
Non-Hispanic whites, the nation’s predominant racial group, added 0.09 percent last year to increase their total to 197.7 million, about 63 percent of the total population. Even with the increase, the largest since 2008, the total number of white deaths exceeded white births by 12,419. In 2000, whites were 69 percent of the population, and 80 percent in 1980.
“A natural decrease and eventual loss in the white population is baked into the cake of our older white population,” William H. Frey, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution , a Washington-based policy research group, said in an e-mail. “It’s the younger, rapidly growing minority population that will be driving economic and demographic growth this century.”
Full story here. | <urn:uuid:34534be9-14a7-421a-96de-8985a582a1fa> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.prisonplanet.com/white-share-of-u-s-population-drops-to-historic-low.html/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00008-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933485 | 286 | 3.015625 | 3 |
High tech is a man’s world. But Google wisely recognizes that the gender gap in tech begins at a very young age. That’s why the tech giant launched a $50 million campaign to send young girls a key message: Your smartphone, your apps, and games you love such as Candy Crush and Farm Heroes are all made with code and you can learn how to write them, too.
Gender imbalance at Silicon Valley’s startups, venture capital firms, and big Web players is staggering. Google recently disclosed that only 17 percent of its tech staff are women, while the figure at both Yahoo and Facebook is no better: Their tech workforce is 15 percent female. Google’s own research identified the two top reasons why women don’t get into computer science: lack of encouragement and exposure. Thirty years ago, 37 percent of all computer science bachelor’s degrees went to women, but today that percentage has dropped to 12. Google’s initiative, called Made with Code, aims to introduce girls to computer programming via fun and easy coding projects online, through partnerships with entities like MIT Media Lab and TechCrunch, and by supporting established programs such as Girls Who Code.
Learning the basics of computer programming is increasingly becoming a foundational skill, one that perhaps should be taught in elementary school alongside English and math. A top female executive at Google put it best: “Nowadays, coding isn’t just a skill useful for working at a tech company; engineering isn’t just for engineers. Interior design. Medicine. Architecture. Music. No matter what a girl dreams of doing, learning how to code will help her get there.”
Indeed, exposing young girls to computer science may or may not set them up for careers in high tech. But Google’s financial commitment to Made with Code is a reassuring step toward developing a solid pipeline of women in high-tech careers. | <urn:uuid:4b73e0e8-6c0d-46de-b847-eeab46ee585e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2014/06/29/google-smartly-reaches-out-girls/fRHnwLpKiKJnxQnNv4AA6L/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393463.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946474 | 391 | 3.328125 | 3 |
In the months leading up the the outbreak of War in Europe in the Summer
of 1914, Ireland was facing the prospect of a war of its own. That of
a Civil War.
The problem centred around the third Home Rule bill which was promoted by the Liberal Government and which would establish a separate Irish Parliment in Dublin and give Ireland a measure of Independence within the Empire. The Unionists of Ulster refused to accept Home Rule and were prepared to resist any attempt to implement it. Support for Home Rule was unanimous in the three Southern provinces of Ireland and in the nine counties of Ulster, of which almost half the population was Catholic, support for the bill was growing at an alarming rate. At this time the Protestants formed almost a quarter of Ireland’s population with the majority in the north-east and they feared that if Home Rule was implemented that their civil and religious freedom would be endangered, that the Dublin parliment would ruin the industrial north-east by heavy taxation and restrictive tariffs, and that Home Rule was merely the first step towards casting out loyal contented citizens from a community to which by birth they belong[ed] in a bid to take Ireland out of the Empire forever. Throughout its history, Ulster had been riddled with sectarian warfare, with some of the worst violence being seen in the 1790’s at the Battle of the Diamond and then in the early nineteenth century at Dolly’s Brae and Garvagh, but now a new controversy raged through Ulster over the issue of Home Rule, so under the leadership of the distinguished Dublin Barrister and MP Sir Edward Carson, Unionists prepared to prevent the implementation of Home Rule by extra-parliamentary means. This was to take the form of a massive movement of resistance of which the military wing was to be the Ulster Volunteer Force. | <urn:uuid:5efd0cb9-58fe-4424-85af-c18c9615a175> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.belfastsomme.com/home-rule.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979042 | 370 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Given demographic trends since 2000, the District of Columbia will no longer have a Black majority somewhere around 2014. That’s what I found after completing a simple projection using U.S. Census population data from the 1990 and 2000 census, and 2006 and 2007 American Community Survey population estimates. No matter the approach (trends since 1990 or 2000, projecting population numbers or percentages), every projection (using the best fit line) found somewhere around 2014 would be the turning point when D.C. would enter a new racial era where no major group could claim a majority.
Since 1990, the Black share of the D.C. population has fallen 11.2%. That decline was made up by increases in four other categories: White (6.2%), Asian (1.2%), other (2.2%), and two or more races (1.6%). The U.S. Census Bureau allowed respondents to select multiple races for the first time in 2000, and asks separate questions for race and ethnicity. Over the same time period, the percent reporting Hispanic ethnicity has increased 2.9%.
Here is the Census data, with projections for 2010 and 2014 calculated from the trends since 2000 only:
My projection finds the Hispanic population relatively slowly growing. But unlike the Black and White population, this group may be subject to unique external influences such as immigration policy and global economic patterns that may reduce the validity of this projection.
A couple comments about these numbers. First, they show relatively gradual and ongoing demographic shifts, not abrupt change that most seem to assume is happening. Despite massive investments in a tiny majority of the city’s neighborhoods, D.C. only recently stabilized its population, let alone began to add significant population. Second, since 1990 the city has lost 77,958 Blacks but only gained 30,665 Whites. Collectively, the groups other race, two or more races, and Asian gained almost as many over the same period, 28,979. Overall, from 1990 to 2007 the city shrank by 18,608 people. The declining Black majority thus has three main causes: Black flight, growing White population, AND growing other racial categories.
Here’s the full table, including 2010 projections based on patterns since 2000:
|Two Or More||0||13,446||8,970||9,485||10,833|
Obviously, when the shift occurs it will have profound effects on the city. While I will refrain from making a judgment about what it will mean overall, I hope the analysis above shows it’s not primarily caused by any one factor, but several. | <urn:uuid:38089602-3332-49b1-a456-f95df7fce2eb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2265 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00110-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906386 | 533 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Carbon cuts will be cheap
Next week the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce new rules designed to limit global warming. Although we donít know the details yet, anti-environmental groups are already predicting vast costs and economic doom. Donít believe them. Everything we know suggests that we can achieve large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at little cost to the economy.
Just ask the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
OK, thatís not the message the Chamber of Commerce was trying to deliver in the report it put out Wednesday. It clearly meant to convey the impression that the EPAís new rules would wreak havoc. But if you focus on the reportís content rather than its rhetoric, you discover that despite the chamberís best efforts to spin things ó as Iíll explain later, the report almost surely overstates the real cost of climate protection ó the numbers are remarkably small.
Specifically, the report considers a carbon-reduction program thatís probably considerably more ambitious than weíre actually going to see, and it concludes that between now and 2030 the program would cost $50.2 billion in constant dollars per year. Thatís supposed to sound like a big deal. Instead, if you know anything about the U.S. economy, it sounds like Dr. Evil intoning ďone million dollars.Ē These days, itís just not a lot of money.
Remember, we have a $17 trillion economy right now, and itís going to grow over time. So what the Chamber of Commerce is actually saying is that we can take dramatic steps on climate ó steps that would transform international negotiations, setting the stage for global action ó while reducing our incomes by only one-fifth of 1 percent. Thatís cheap!
Alternatively, consider the chamberís estimate of costs per household: $200 per year. Since the average U.S. household has an income of more than $70,000 a year, and thatís going to rise over time, weíre again looking at costs that amount to no more than a small fraction of 1 percent.
One more useful comparison: The Pentagon has warned that global warming and its consequences pose a significant threat to national security. (Republicans in the House responded with a legislative amendment that would forbid the military from even thinking about the issue.) Currently, weíre spending $600 billion a year on defense. Is it really extravagant to spend another 8 percent of that budget to reduce a serious threat?
And all of this is based on anti-environmentalistsí own numbers. The real costs would almost surely be smaller, for three reasons.
First, the Chamber of Commerce study assumes that economic growth, and the associated growth in emissions, will be at its historic norm of 2.5 percent a year. But we should expect slower growth as baby boomers retire, making emissions targets easier to hit.
Second, in the chamberís analysis, the bulk of the reduction in emissions comes from replacing coal with natural gas. This neglects the dramatic technological progress taking place in renewables, especially solar power, which should make cutting back on carbon even easier.
Third, the U.S. economy is still depressed ó and in a depressed economy many of the supposed costs of compliance with energy regulations arenít costs at all. In particular, building new, low-emission power plants would employ both workers and capital that would otherwise be sitting idle, and would, if anything, give the U.S. economy a boost.
You might ask why the Chamber of Commerce is so fiercely opposed to action against global warming, if the cost of action is so small. The answer, of course, is that the chamber is serving special interests, notably the coal industry ó whatís good for America isnít good for the Koch brothers, and vice versa ó and also catering to the ever more powerful anti-science sentiments of the Republican Party.
Finally, let me take on the anti-environmentalistsí last line of defense ó the claim that whatever we do wonít matter, because other countries, China in particular, will just keep on burning ever more coal. This gets things exactly wrong. Yes, we need an international agreement to reduce emissions, including sanctions on countries that donít sign on. But U.S. unwillingness to act has been the biggest obstacle to such an agreement. If we start taking serious steps against global warming, the stage will be set for Europe and Japan to follow suit, and for concerted pressure on the rest of the world as well.
Now, we havenít yet seen the details of the new climate action proposal, and a full analysis ó both economic and environmental ó will have to wait. We can be reasonably sure, however, that the economic costs of the proposal will be small, because thatís what the research ó even research paid for by anti-environmentalists, who clearly wanted to find the opposite ó tells us. Saving the planet would be remarkably cheap.
Paul Krugman is a columnist for The New York Times. | <urn:uuid:b70c81a1-7d63-4744-8b7d-6e0cbfcb07e9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20140531/OPINION04/705319959 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00021-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948365 | 1,037 | 2.609375 | 3 |
“Right across the Arroyo, we’re making plans for a real close encounter,” says Dave Doody, whose Art Center At Night seminar, “Basics of Interplanetary Flight,” is currently recruiting participants for a class that’s literally out of this world. “My team has been piloting the gangly robot Cassini in wide orbits around Saturn since 2010. But in coming years we’re going to drop in for some up-close-and-personal visits. We’ll plunge the spacecraft between the rings and the planet 22 times before letting go of the spent machine so it can burn up in the gas giant’s atmosphere like a meteor.”
This 2016-2017 segment of Cassini’s 20 year mission has been temporarily dubbed the “Proximal Orbits” by mission planners at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where Doody works as a senior engineer, currently leading the Saturn-bound spacecraft’s flight operations controllers. But after acknowledging that some creative person somewhere could almost certainly conjure a more mission-worthy name, NASA launched the Cassini Name Game, hoping for some better ideas.
“One thing about these orbits will be their huge roller coaster speed,” says Doody. “The camera-laden craft will reach more than 120,000 kilometers an hour as it screams past the innermost ring particles just above the hazy atmosphere. Next, it’ll slow down for three and a quarter days, coasting ‘up’ to the top of its 1.2 million kilometer-high peak, before starting to drop back in again for its next pass. Wild.”
But Cassini isn’t the only game in town. Spacecraft are orbiting Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and soon Jupiter as well, all in touch through NASA’s Deep Space Network, which JPL operates. Plus Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are way, way, out there. Not to mention lots of famous space-based observatories. Pasadena really is the center of the universe, no?
Doody is a commercial pilot; and he brought computers into the learning environment when working as an instructor with Japan Airlines. Decades later, when he learned about Pasadena’s connection with interplanetary exploration, he convinced Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Lab to hire him to help fly spacecraft. After all, they are all about computers and flying.
Today, his Mission Controllers send commands to the spacecraft and manage the data coming back to Earth. And he’s always been eager to share the excitement. Says Doody: “People have dreamed for centuries about visiting those wandering lights in the sky. Now that it’s finally possible, we’ve got robotic emissaries all over the solar system. But they hardly ever enjoy as much public attention as I think they should.”
What’s the connection with Art Center College of Design, besides being neighbors? “Why not?” says Doody. “Art Center has long been about transportation design. So let’s look at how spacecraft are designed, what they have to do, and what conditions they have to operate in. But more than that, the results offer artists tons of new subjects to work with. And not just with visible light: Spacecraft can see in the infrared, the ultraviolet, and other ranges that are like whole new senses. And there are whole new worlds to see.”
So in 2006, Dave began teaching the Art Center at Night seminar. And participants have come from all walks of life—from cartoonists to surgeons, filmmakers to secretaries, celebrities to mechanics. No prior knowledge is necessary; only curiosity about what’s going on in the space around us. | <urn:uuid:109d4e46-a54c-4377-bbb9-36aca8cd5a4e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.artcenter.edu/dottedline/2014/04/28/david-doody-runs-mission-control-jpls-cassini-saturn-exploration-hes-teaching-art-center-night/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00102-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938613 | 801 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Around 500 B.C., Bantu-speaking people migrated into SW Uganda from the west. By the 14th cent. they were organized in several kingdoms (known as the Cwezi states), which had been established by the Hima. Around 1500, Nilotic-speaking Luo people from present-day E South Sudan settled the Cwezi states and established the Bito dynasties of Buganda (in some Bantu languages, the prefix Bu means state; thus, Buganda means "state of the Baganda people"), Bunyoro, and Ankole. Later in the 16th cent., other Luo-speaking peoples conquered N Uganda, forming the Alur and Acholi ethnic groups. In the 17th cent. the Langi and Iteso migrated into Uganda.
During the 16th and 17th cent., Bunyoro was the leading state of S Uganda, controlling an area that stretched into present-day Rwanda and Tanzania. From about 1700, Buganda began to expand (largely at the expense of Bunyoro), and by 1800 it controlled a large territory bordering Lake Victoria from the Victoria Nile to the Kagera River. Buganda was centrally organized under the kabaka (king), who appointed regional administrators and maintained a large bureaucracy and a powerful army. The Baganda raided widely for cattle, ivory, and slaves. In the 1840s Muslim traders from the Indian Ocean coast reached Buganda, and they exchanged firearms, cloth, and beads for the ivory and slaves of Buganda. Beginning in 1869, Bunyoro, ruled by Kabarega and using guns obtained from traders from Khartoum, challenged Buganda's ascendancy. By the mid-1880s, however, Buganda again dominated S Uganda.
In 1862, John Hanning Speke, a British explorer interested in establishing the source of the Nile, became the first European to visit Buganda. He met with Mutesa I, as did Henry M. Stanley, who reached Buganda in 1875. Mutesa, fearful of attacks from Egypt, agreed to Stanley's proposal to allow Christian missionaries (who Mutesa mistakenly thought would provide military assistance) to enter his realm. Members of the British Protestant Church Missionary Society arrived in 1877, and they were followed in 1879 by representatives of the French Roman Catholic White Fathers; each of the missions gathered a group of converts, which in the 1880s became fiercely antagonistic toward one another. At the same time, the number of Baganda converts to Islam was growing.
In 1884, Mutesa died and was succeeded as kabaka by Mwanga, who soon began to persecute the Christians out of fear for his own position. In 1888, Mwanga was deposed by the Christians and Muslims and replaced by his brothers. He regained the throne in 1889, only to lose it to the Muslims again after a few weeks. In early 1890, Mwanga permanently regained his throne, but at the expense of losing much of his power to Christian chiefs.
During the period in 1889 when Mwanga was kabaka, he was visited by Carl Peters, the German colonialist, and signed a treaty of friendship with Germany. Great Britain grew alarmed at the growth of German influence and the potential threat to its own position on the Nile. In 1890, Great Britain and Germany signed a treaty that gave the British rights to what was to become Uganda. Later that year Frederick Lugard, acting as an agent of the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEA), arrived in Buganda at the head of a detachment of troops, and by 1892 he had established the IBEA's authority in S Uganda and had also helped the Protestant faction defeat the Roman Catholic party in Buganda.
In 1894, Great Britain officially made Uganda a protectorate. The British at first ruled Uganda through Buganda, but when Mwanga opposed their growing power, they deposed him, replaced him with his infant son Daudi Chwa, and began to rule more directly. From the late 1890s to 1918, the British established their authority in the rest of Uganda by negotiating treaties and by using force where necessary. In 1900 an agreement was signed with Buganda that gave the kingdom considerable autonomy and also transformed it into a constitutional monarchy controlled largely by Protestant chiefs. In 1901 a railroad from Mombasa on the Indian Ocean reached Kisumu, on Lake Victoria, which in turn was connected by boat with Uganda; the railroad was later extended to Jinja and Kampala. In 1902 the Eastern prov. of Uganda was transferred to the British East Africa Protectorate (Kenya) for administrative reasons.
In 1904 the commercial cultivation of cotton was begun, and cotton soon became the major export crop; coffee and sugar production accelerated in the 1920s. The country attracted few permanent European settlers, and the cash crops were mostly produced by African smallholders and not on plantations as in other colonies. Many Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, and Goans) settled in Uganda, where they played a leading role in the country's commerce. During the 1920s and 30s the British considerably reduced Buganda's independence.
In 1921 a legislative council for the protectorate was established; its first African member was admitted only in 1945, and it was not until the mid-1950s that a substantial number of seats was allocated to Africans. In 1953, Mutesa II was deported for not cooperating with the British; he was allowed to return in 1955, but the rift between Buganda and the rest of Uganda remained. In 1961 there were three main political parties in Uganda—the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), whose members were mostly non-Baganda; the Democratic party, made up chiefly of Roman Catholic Baganda; and the Kabaka Yekka [Kabaka only] party, comprising only Baganda.
On Oct. 9, 1962, Uganda became independent, with A. Milton Obote, a Lango leader of the UPC, as prime minister. Buganda was given considerable autonomy. In 1963, Uganda became a republic, and Mutesa was elected president. The first years of independence were dominated by a struggle between the central government and Buganda. In 1966, Obote introduced a new constitution that ended Buganda's autonomy. The Baganda protested vigorously and seemed on the verge of taking up arms when Obote captured the kabaka 's palace at Mengo, forced the kabaka to flee the country, and ended effective Baganda resistance.
In 1967 a new constitution was introduced giving the central government—especially the president—much power and dividing Buganda into four districts; the traditional kingships were also abolished. In 1969, Obote decided to follow a leftist course in the hope of bridging the country's ethnic and regional differences through a common social policy.
In Jan., 1971, Obote, at the time outside the country, was deposed in a coup by Maj. Gen. Idi Amin. Amin was faced with opposition within the army by officers and troops loyal to Obote, but by the end of 1971 he was in firm control. Amin cultivated good relations with the Baganda. In 1972–73 he initiated severe diplomatic wrangles with the United States and Israel, both of which had provided Uganda with military and economic aid and were now accused of trying to undermine the government. Amin purged the Lango and Acholi tribes and moved against the army. In Aug., 1972, he ordered Asians who were not citizens of Uganda to leave the country, and within three months all 60,000 had left, most of them for Great Britain. Although a small minority, Asians had played a significant role in Ugandan business and finance, and their expulsion hurt the economy. From 1971 to 1973, there were border clashes with Tanzania, partly instigated by exiled Ugandans loyal to Obote, but, in early 1973, Amin and Julius Nyerere, president of Tanzania, reached an agreement that appeared to head off future incidents.
Amin's rule became increasingly autocratic and brutal; it is estimated that over 300,000 Ugandans were killed during the 1970s. His corrupt and arbitrary system of administration exacerbated rifts in the military, which led to a number of coup attempts. Israel conducted a successful raid on the Entebbe airport in 1976 to rescue passengers on a plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. Amin's expulsion of Israeli technicians won him the support of Arab nations such as Libya.
In 1976, Amin declared himself president for life and Uganda claimed portions of W Kenya; the move was diverted by the threat of a trade embargo. In 1978, Uganda invaded Tanzania in an attempt to annex the Kagera region. The next year Tanzania launched a successful counterinvasion and effectively unified disparate anti-Amin forces under the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF). Amin's forces were driven out and Amin himself fled the country.
Tanzania left an occupation force in Uganda that participated in the looting of Kampala. Yusufu Lule was installed as president but was quickly replaced by Godfrey Binaisa. The UNLF, suffering from internal strife, was swept out of power by Milton Obote and his party, the Uganda People's Congress. The National Resistance Army (NRA) conducted guerrilla campaigns throughout the country and, following the withdrawal of Tanzanian troops in 1981, attacked former Amin supporters. In the early 1980s, approximately 200,000 Ugandans sought refuge in neighboring Rwanda, Congo, and Sudan. In 1985, a military coup deposed Obote, and Lt. Gen. Tito Okello became head of state.
When it was not given a role in the new regime, the NRA continued its guerrilla campaign and took Kampala in 1986, and its leader, Yoweri Museveni, became the new president. He instituted a series of measures, including cutbacks in the civil service and army and privatization of state-owned companies, in a generally successful effort to rebuild the shattered economy. Many former government soldiers who had fled to the north when Museveni came to power formed a rebel force there, and in 1987 they mounted an unsuccessful attack on the new government. The rebels, however, were not crushed. AIDS became a serious health problem during the 1980s and has continued to claim many lives in Uganda; at the same time, however, the country has had greater success than many other African nations in slowing the spread of the disease.
In 1993, Museveni permitted the restoration of traditional kings, including King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, the kabaka of the Baganda people, but did not grant the kings political power. In 1994 a constituent assembly was elected; the resulting constitution, promulgated in 1995, legalized and extended a ban on political party activity, although allowing party members to run as independents. In May, 1996, Museveni was easily returned to office in the country's first direct presidential elections. A new parliament, chosen in nonpartisan elections in June of the same year, was dominated by Museveni supporters.
In the late 1980s and 90s rebel militias based in Sudan and Congo (Kinshasa) staged intermittent attacks on border areas of Uganda. Fighting with northern rebels, mainly the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), continued into the next decade. In 2002, after Sudanese officials permitted Ugandan forces to attack rebels bases in Sudan, the conflict intensified, but the army failed to achieve any significant success.
Ugandan troops also became involved in ongoing civil unrest in the Congo (then called Zaïre), first (1997) helping rebel groups to oust Mobutu Sese Seko and install Laurent Kabila as president, and then (1998) backing groups who sought to overthrow Kabila. Conflicts also erupted with Rwandan troops in the Congo in 1999. Uganda claimed its only interest was in securing its own borders. In early 2000, Ugandan officials discovered the bodies of nearly 800 people who had died by mass murder and mass suicide; they had been members of the Ugandan millennialist Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God. In May, 2000, new fighting between Rwandan and Ugandan forces in the Congo led to tense relations with Rwanda.
In June a referendum was held in which Ugandans could vote for Museveni's "no-party" system or a multiparty democracy. Museveni argued that Uganda was not ready for political parties, which he said had divided the nation by tribe and religion. Opposition leaders, calling Museveni's system a one-party state, called for a boycott of the referendum. Museveni secured the voters' approval, but by a narrower margin than in 1996; although 88% voted yes, the turnout was only 51%.
In the presidential election in Mar., 2001, Museveni was reelected, but his margin of victory was inflated by apparent vote fraud. His popularity was, in part, diminished by discontent with Uganda's intervention in Congo's civil war and signs of corruption in the government. Uganda's forces were largely withdrawn from Congo by the end of 2002, but there was fighting in 2003 between the remaining Ugandan forces and Congolese rebels allied with Rwanda shortly before the last Ugandan troops withdrew. In 2005 the International Court of Justice ruled that Uganda had engaged in human rights abuses while in Congo, and had to pay compensation to Congo for looting by its forces.
Early in 2004 LRA rebels massacred perhaps as many as 200 civilians in N Uganda. The attack prompted a renewed government offensive that achieved some successes against the LRA; late in 2004 there was a brief truce with the LRA. In Oct., 2005, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for LRA leader Joseph Kony in connection with atrocities committed by the LRA. Meanwhile, in July, 2005, voters approved a return to a multiparty system, This time Museveni supported the abandonment of Uganda's "no-party" politics, in part because of international and internal pressure for the change. He also subsequently signed into law a constitutional amendment that eliminated the presidential term limit.
In Oct., 2005, Kizza Besigye, a former colonel who had been Museveni's doctor and confidant and who had run against the president in the 2001 election and received almost 30% of the vote, returned to Uganda from self-imposed exile to challenge Museveni again for the presidency. In November Besigye was arrested on treason and rape charges that his supporters denounced as trumped up to keep him for running against Museveni, who subsequently announced he would seek a third term. The arrest sparked riots and was criticized internationally, including by the African Union's fledgling Pan-African parliament. (Besigye was acquitted of the rape charge in Mar., 2006, and the constitutional court ordered the treason charges dismissed in Oct., 2010.) The campaign was also marred by army attempts to influence the vote in favor of Museveni and other irregularities. Museveni was reelected in Feb., 2006, with 59% of the vote. The results, which were challenged by Besigye's party, were upheld (April) by Uganda's supreme court, which said that the irregularities were not significant enough to have affected the outcome.
Talks with the LRA that began in July, 2006, led to an August agreement that called for a cease-fire, for rebels to assemble at camps in S Sudan, and subsequent peace negotiations. Kony and other LRA leaders, fearing ICC warrants for their arrest, remained in Congo along the Sudan border, and in late September the LRA pulled out of the talks, accusing the Ugandan army of trying to surround the camps. Uganda, on its part, accused LRA forces of violating the agreement by leaving the camps. In late October, Museveni won Congo's agreement to oust the LRA from its camps there, and subsequently Uganda and the LRA signed a new cease-fire agreement that called for buffer zones around the assembly camps. The cease-fire was extended several times, but otherwise the negotiations progressed with difficulty, and the cease-fire was marred by occasional violence.
In Feb., 2008, a peace agreement, including a permanent cease-fire, was finally reached with the LRA. It was scheduled to be signed in early April, but a number of issues, including the nature of procedures for trying rebels accused of crimes and whether ICC warrants against LRA leaders would be dismissed, led Kony (who had moved from Congo to the Central African Republic in March) to fail to sign the accord as planned. Subsequently there were signs that the LRA was rearming and recruiting. In June Uganda, Sudan, and Congo (Kinshasa) agreed to mount a joint offensive against the LRA if the talks failed, while Kony said that he would engage in further negotiations. The ICC warrants remained a sticking point, however. In Sept.–Oct., 2008, there were LRA attacks against villages in NE Congo that led the ICC's prosecutor to once again demand Kony's arrest.
In Dec., 2008, after Ugandan rebels based in Congo failed in November to sign a peace agreement with Uganda, Ugandan, Congolese, and South Sudanese forces mounted a joint campaign against the rebels' Congolese bases that lasted until Mar., 2009. Subsequently, Ugandan forces fought LRA that had moved into the Central African Republic, and Ugandan forces continued small-scale anti-LRA operations in the three neighboring countries in subsequent years. In 2012 the African Union announced plans for a regional military force led by Uganda and including Central African, Congolese, and South Sudanese troops to capture Kony.
In Sept., 2009, some of the worst riots in more than two decades occurred in Kampala when the government refused to allow the Baganda king to visit Kayunga, a district that had declared its secession from Buganda, the traditional Baganda kingdom. In November, passage of a land law that strengthened tenants rights was denounced by Bagandan traditional chiefs, who control large tracts of land. Tensions between the government and the Baganda continued into 2010, and were aggravated in March when a fire destroyed the tombs of the Buganda kings.
In June, 2010, Kampala suffered two suicide-bomb attacks; mounted by hardline Somali Islamists, they were in retaliation for the presence of Ugandan peacekeeping troops in Somalia. In the Feb., 2011, presidential election Museveni's primary challenger was again Besigye. The president was reelected with 68% of the vote in an election marred by some irregularities; Besigye again accused the ruling party of fraud, and subsequently mounted recurring protests against Museveni's government. In 2013, the parliament enacted legislation that gave officials increased powers to limit and disperse public political gatherings.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Uganda Political Geography | <urn:uuid:8eff7f29-8ab5-4e2c-9bce-7c519f1fe7c5> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/uganda-history.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98109 | 3,887 | 3.625 | 4 |
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News
The mysteries of the Antarctic deep will be probed by a new vessel capable of plunging 6.5km (four miles) down.
Isis will be trawling the depths of Antarctica
Isis, the UK's first deep-diving remotely operated vehicle (ROV), will be combing the sea-bed in the region in its inaugural science mission.
Researchers hope to uncover more about the effects of glaciers on the ocean floor, and also find out about the animals that inhabit these waters.
The mission begins in mid-January and will last for about three weeks.
While the scientists and engineers begin their long journey to the Antarctic at the start of January, Isis left the UK shores in November and has only just arrived at its destination.
Once unpacked from its containers, the ROV will be placed aboard the British Antarctic Survey's ship - the RSS James Clark Ross - ready to explore the Marguerite Bay area on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula.
With Isis, scientists hope to bring the UK to the forefront of deep-sea research.
The submersive vessel, which is based at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Southampton, was built in the US in collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The project cost about £4.5m, and Isis is based on of WHOI's Jason II remotely operated vehicle.
UK marine scientists can book time on Isis to carry out their research into the deep.
Isis was built to withstand enormous pressure, explained Peter Mason, the Isis project manager at NOC.
It measures 2.7m (9ft) long, 2m (6.5ft) high and 1.5m (5ft) wide, and weighs about 3,000kg (6,600lb) in the air.
Ten kilometres of cable connect it to its "mother ship", allowing scientists to control the vehicle and receive the data it collects in real-time.
On the ROV, Mr Mason said, were lights, cameras to produce high-quality video and still pictures, sonars for acoustic navigation and imaging, and two remotely controlled manipulator arms to collect samples or place scientific instruments on the sea-bed.
Isis, he added, also had extra capacity to carry a range of scientific tools, such as borers, nets etc, so that scientists could tailor the vehicle to their research needs.
Professor Julian Dowdeswell, director of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, is the principal investigator on this three-week-long inaugural research cruise.
He will be using Isis to investigate in fine detail the sea-floor sediments, which have been delivered to Marguerite Bay by the massive ice-sheets that covered the bay about 20,000 years ago.
The ROV will be traversing the relatively shallow waters of the bay to the continental shelf edge and then down the steeper continental slope beyond.
"The environmental history of the Antarctic is held in these sediments," he said.
"Using the ROV, we can look at the sea-floor and its sub-surface structure on a very detailed scale."
This will help the researchers better understand the record of past glacial activity in the Antarctic.
Another project will also be running alongside. Professor Paul Tyler, a deep-sea biologist at NOC, will use Isis to survey the sea creatures of Marguerite Bay.
"I'm interested in the effects of glaciers on the sea-bed and how this affects the fauna - the animals. I'm also interested in how the animal life in Antarctica changes as one goes deeper and deeper into the water," Professor Tyler said.
"Using the real-time imagery from the ROV, we will be able to look at what is happening as it happens, helping us to answer questions such as why some creatures exist at one depth and not another.
Spider crabs have been found in Antarctic waters (Image: Noaa)
"We are hoping to see a whole bunch of large creatures such as star fish, sea cucumbers, sea fans, sea pens, etc, that inhabit the deep shelf slope and abyssal depths."
He added: "Essentially no-one has explored Antarctica using a ROV at these depths."
After this expedition, Isis will be sent to investigate the deep-sea floor off the Portuguese coast.
Professor Tyler said: "It is great to have this kind of facility in the UK." | <urn:uuid:5a47d8b4-2ccf-43fe-ba16-95bd24d6ae5a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6198019.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00084-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944633 | 931 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Kelvin C, a 13 year old male from Markham, Ontario, Canada, Amérique du Nord asks on November 13, 2003,
I was and I still am wondering if there are any really complex questions that even scientists cannot explain. Can you please list a few of them so I have a challenge?
viewed 18381 times
At the age of 13 you might find this hard to believe but scientists have hardly figured out anything. There are many things that are totally not known, and they are not that complex. Here are ten ordinary ones:
1. How smell works. There are lots of theories, but nobody really knows how our noses work. They have found the sensors in the nose, and they think there are about a thousand, but they don't know for sure exactly what the sensors do, how they detect things, what smell is, or how our brains take the results from our smell sensors and turn them into smells and memories of smells. All this is totally not known.
2. Why we need to sleep. You'd think by now we would know, and of course there are lots of theories, but scientists have no idea why people and animals sleep.
3. Why and how cats purr. Nobody knows.
4. Why sugar tastes sweet. This is similar to the smell thing. We don't know.
5. Gravity. Nobody knows what causes it, or how it is transmitted through space.
6. Aging. Nobody has figured out why animals age, and why some live way longer than others.
7. How cells know how to change themselves into other things. When any creature starts, including you, it starts as just one cell that divides billions of times until the whole animal is formed. Nobody knows how the different cells, like bone cells, skin cells, eye cells, stomach cells, decide to become what they are.
8. Dark matter and dark energy. When astronomers look into space, they can see a certain number of stars and you can work out how much matter (or stuff) this is. You can also work out how much energy they give out. However, if you consider all the gravity required to hold it all together, it turns out there must be tons of other stuff out there that we cannot see. This is called dark matter. Also, the same is true for energy. It turns out that what we can detect and see is only 5% of what is out there. That means after you count all the stars, planets, galaxies, dust clouds, and everything you see in space, you've still only accounted for 5% of the whole universe. So what is the rest? Nobody knows.
9. The genetic code. Although scientists have figured out the whole human genome, they have no idea what it does. If you examine it and figure out which parts of the code are instructions to make proteins (molecules of life), it turns out this accounts for only 3% of the whole code. So the question is: what is the other 97% for?
10. Finally, have you ever noticed when you are in a group of people and one person yawns, other people yawn right afterwards. Why is this? Nobody knows.
I've only scratched the surface. You will find that in any branch of science as soon as you start asking questions, it does not take very long for the scientist to say, "That's a very good question. We just don't know."
Note: All submissions are moderated prior to posting.
If you found this answer useful, please consider making a small donation to science.ca. | <urn:uuid:c2f01b9d-3674-4013-bdd1-44134631d289> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.science.ca/askascientist/viewquestion.php?qID=1692&-table=activities&-action=list&-cursor=0&-skip=0&-limit=30&-mode=list&-lang=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00055-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972571 | 741 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Breast Infections and Inflammations
What is lactational mastitis?
The most common type of breast infection is lactational mastitis. This happens when a woman is breastfeeding. The nipples become cracked and sore, allowing bacteria from the baby's mouth to enter the ducts and rapidly multiply in the milk. Occasionally, infection also arises from a blocked milk duct. In both cases, the breast becomes hard, reddened, hot, and painful.
Treatment for lactational mastitis
Specific treatment for lactational mastitis will be determined by your healthcare provider based on:
Your age, overall health, and medical history
Extent of the condition
Your tolerance for specific medicines, procedures, or therapies
Expectations for the course of the condition
Your opinion or preference
Your healthcare provider may suggest trying to unblock the duct with warm compresses and massage. He or she may also prescribe antibiotics and an analgesic for pain. In some cases, lactational mastitis progresses and forms an abscess, a more serious condition that may require drainage.
What is nonlactational mastitis?
Nonlactational mastitis is similar to lactational mastitis but occurs in nonlactating women. In some cases, this condition happens in women who have had lumpectomies followed by radiation therapy, in women with diabetes, or in women whose immune systems are depressed.
While this condition is rare, it is usually accompanied by high fever and headache and treated with antibiotics. Talk with your healthcare provider for a diagnosis and treatment.
What is chronic subareolar abscess?
Chronic subareolar abscess is a breast infection that does not happen often. Surgery may be needed to stop this repeating infection. Consult your healthcare provider for a diagnosis and treatment. | <urn:uuid:770ae0d0-8507-429b-8816-230d12e27b1c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthlibrary/related/doc.php?type=85&id=P00146 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00180-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926873 | 365 | 3.125 | 3 |
How to 'infect' students with a love of science
Pitt program helps high school students hunt for viruses; Results published in PLoS GeneticsStudies may show that U.S. high school students are losing interest in science, but don't tell Andrew Hrykowian. As a sophomore at Greater Latrobe Senior High School in Latrobe, Pa., he began the research that would lead to his discovery of a new bacteria-eating virus, which he named "catera" after a friend's dog.
Today, the work done by Hrykowian--who is now a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh--and three other high school students, three high school teachers, seven undergraduate and seven graduate students at Pitt, one volunteer, and seven researchers (from Pitt, the University of Montana, Cornell University, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Stanford University, and Williams College)--is being published in the journal Public Library of Science Genetics.
The paper, titled "Exploring the Mycobacteriophage Metaproteome: Phage Genomics as an Educational Platform," not only represents groundbreaking research into the nature of the bacteriophage genome, but also serves as a blueprint for getting students interested in science.
Bacteriophages ("phages" for short) are viruses that infect bacteria. The most prevalent life form on earth, some cause serious diseases like botulism and cholera. However, phages also may offer cures for bacteria-caused diseases.
Graham Hatfull, who is Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, brings high school and undergraduate students into his "phage-hunting" research through his appointment as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professor.
In what Hatfull calls the "flagship paper" of his HHMI professorship, the researchers examined the genetic sequences of 30 bacteriophages and sorted them into more than 1,500 "phamilies" of related sequences. They noted that only 15 percent of the phamilies had similar sequences of amino acids to previously reported proteins, reflecting the "enormous genetic diversity of the entire phage population."
In addition to its research on phage genomics, the paper also covered the ideal attributes of a program for getting students into science: simplicity, flexibility, and ownership. Hatfull believes phages are an ideal platform for discovery-based education.
"Phages are an absolute gold mine of interesting biological processes and events," he said. "Studying individual phages at the genomic level gives you insight into how evolution works." And they may provide the answer to getting more Andrew Hrykowians infected with a love of science.
Also involved in the research were Pitt Biological Sciences Professors Roger Hendrix and Craig Peebles and Associate Professor Jeffrey Lawrence.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 30 Apr 2016
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:df968cf1-e3de-4f9f-9fd2-5e6c74efb967> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2006-06/uop-ht060706.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956435 | 622 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Mostly all Civil War movies/reenactments you come across a scene that goes as follows... Union/Confederacy are advancing in an open field towards the enemy but are walking as cannonballs and what not are flying passed. Why are they walking? If it was me I'd be trying to sprint across that open field as quickly as possible. The only reason I can think of, is that they are trying to conserve energy for when they do come in range of the enemy. Is conserving a little energy worth the casualties associated with walking? Is there any truth to that or any other reasons why walking across a battlefield as cannonballs are coming at you is a good idea.
In the Civil War era and earlier, the units needed to keep together in order to avoid being ridden down by cavalry. An experienced infantryman could shoot three times a minute, and a line of them could punish a cavalry unit easily. If you scatter, then you have fewer effective shots while an enemy approaches and they get among your men and cut them down.
This was even more of a factor in the pre-Civil War era, when musket ranges were very short. Then you needed the mass to form square to repel horsemen.
You have a similar issue when facing another enemy infantry unit. If you lose formation, the other side has more firepower and more mass at the area of contact and you will likely lose the engagement.
The final reason to keep a unit form is tactical management. The officers can't control a unit that scatters over a wide area and can't see what to do. A unit not under control just has to sit there and take it, and thus could well lose more men than one that moved more slowly, but under control.
By definition, re-enactments are a reflection of the way battles were actually fought. Civil War re-enactments are a reflection of the way Americans fought in the mid-nineteenth century. (Just about everyone in that war was American, with the exception of the odd foreigner.)
Americans were much better shots than most (European) foreigners. American (and British) soldiers and officers therefore had a much greater respect for "firepower." The way to maximize the value of firepower was to have soldiers "walk" across a battlefield at a measured pace, even if some of them, inevitably, get killed. This was in contrast to the melee and charging tactics that some European armies used. And by the Civil War times, guns could be reloaded fast enough so that these "walking" tactics were often effective even against cavalry.
The difference between and re-enactment and the "real thing" is that re-enacters don't fire, while their counterparts did. But re-enacters would walk/march across the battlefield at the same pace as real soldiers. | <urn:uuid:bce9de6e-2e9d-49dc-91e1-c226601b4ebf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/12578/in-civil-war-reenactments-why-do-people-walk-across-the-battlefield | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395166.84/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00028-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981787 | 579 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Ways to Save Money in College
Managing the Money You Have
Get a free checking and savings account.
Take the free checks that the bank offers in the maximum amount they allow.
Failure to keep track of your bank/checking account can easily cost you money via overdraft fees.
If you have to have a credit card, make sure you get one with the lowest interest rate possible; no annual fees and with only enough of a credit limit to get you by in an emergency.
Pay credit card bills on time.
Don't drink, or drink less, especially when socializing in bars and restaurants.
Don't smoke. Cigarettes are very expensive and are a serious public hazard. Smoking is not allowed on UNI campus.
Before purchasing a textbook, consider borrowing it from someone else on campus or from the campus library.
If you can’t borrow, buy used college textbooks.
If you live on campus and pay for a partial or whole meal plan, be sure to utilize it.
Have a coffee fix? Make your own.
Don’t tip just because someone poured you a cup of coffee.
Skip the fast food forays and late night take-out.
Collect coupons and follow the weekly sales at the grocery store.
Kick the bottled water habit; support your local tap water and drink for free.
Computers - Hardware and Software
If you’re buying a computer, save by shopping the student specials; discounts, rebates and back to school specials.
While you’re in college don’t take risks with your electronic equipment. Laptops and other trendy little electronics can be made off with quickly in a dorm environment.
Software is another high-dollar item. Also shop online software clearinghouses for discounted products from all vendors.
Decline extended warranties.
Entertainment- Music, Movies, Arts and Culture
Forget about the T.V. You can watch cable television through your computer.
Trying to save money on going out to the movies? Hit the matinee showings. Look for free movies on campus; chances are you will find classics, independents, student films, noir and experimental.
Rent DVDs as a group.
Buy used CDs at the local music shop. Turn in your old CDs for credit and you may never have to exchange real money!
Avoid spending money this weekend. Be creative in what you choose to do, even if it includes a picnic, a long walk, flying a kite, a pickup game of soccer or football, an impromptu poker game (not played for money), or reading a good book.
Pick up a local newspaper and check upcoming events for freebies: concerts, arts and crafts fairs, theater, festivals, art galleries, and museums.
Off-Campus Apartment Living
Get a studio apartment or split rent with roommates.
Rent a place that will have all appliances provided.
Pay utility bills before they are due. Avoid late fees.
Save money on bills by keeping the A/C or heat turned down or off if possible
Turn off lights; use the oven sparingly and take shorter showers.
If winters are cold and heat bills are high you can insulate your windows with plastic.
If you have to shop, make sure you patronize places that offer student discounts.
Shop for stuff you really need during the tax-free week - available in many regions of the country.
Shop early or late for Christmas and the holidays.
Create Christmas and holiday gifts with your own two hands.
Get a few friends together to pitch in for the price of an annual membership at a place like Sam’s Club or Costco.
Buy in bulk.
Don’t shop hungry, and that goes for any kind of shopping.
Learn how to shop for clothes at the consignment shop.
Try to get an apartment which is close to campus.
Don’t take the car to campus.
Walk, bike, roller blade, skateboard your way around town.
Public transportation is cheap, too.
Save money by doing the least amount of traveling necessary. Road trips are great fun, but you will put out money for gas, accommodations, food, drink and entertainment. When it’s all said and done, your long weekend will smack your wallet.
Name your own price for a flight or accommodations, if you must travel, by using services such as Priceline. Factors such as current events and gas prices may cause travel prices to fluctuate.
Check prices for Amtrak or Greyhound versus air travel. Both companies offer student discounts.
A student travel discount card will get you nice discounts on accommodations, food, and transportation if you are traveling nationally or internationally: STA Travel and International Student Identity Card, ISIC
The Cost of Keeping in Touch
Refer to cell phone comparison sites that offer side-by-side data of plans from company to company.
Save time and save money on your next cell phone plan: avoid text messaging.
Use a pay-as-you-go cell phone plan. This will only work if you use your cell phone on a minimal basis.
Communicate via email, instant messengers, create a blog, share photos on Flickr, or invite friends to visit your MySpace site.
Use an inexpensive or free internet phone calling service: Skype; Vonage; Google Talk; Trillian & Gaim; Facebook; international calling cards
Shop for your personal items at a discount retailer. Money strategists suggest buying the “store brand” as a cost-saving alternative, as well.
Doing laundry costs money: bring your own detergent versus buying the single use from the machines; buy discounted detergent or on sale only; bring your own drink and/or snack versus buying from the vending machine while in the laundry mat; fill the machines to capacity.
Enroll in an on-campus exercise class such as yoga, tai chi, kick-boxing or spinning. Exercise will keep you healthier and happier and will fill up time you might otherwise have spent spending money.
Feeling down and getting the urge to splurge? Instead go for a run, a bike ride, or a brisk walk. You’ll get some exercise-induced serotonin coursing through your brain and the feeling will cost you nothing. | <urn:uuid:550f0e17-9f61-47d5-a357-528fd4efd33e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.uni.edu/internationalservices/international-student-handbook/life-us/money/money-mangement | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00002-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911405 | 1,312 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Hello and Welcome. I'm Dr. George Lundberg and this is At Large at MedPage Today.
Why do physicians order laboratory tests? Reasons include: to make a diagnosis, to confirm a clinical opinion, insecurity, patient and family pressure, concern for liability, to guide therapy, habit.
Case in point. Throat Culture.
Sore throat is one of the most common human illnesses. Most are caused by viruses. Fewer than 10% seem to be caused by Streptococcus. But around 10 to 20% of clinically well children, when cultured, have Streptococci found in their throats.
So, if the strep is there with or without symptoms, i.e., disease, where is the evidence for causation?
The standard of care for many decades has been to treat patients with sore throat who are found to have Streptococcus pyogenes with antibiotics, usually penicillin or related drugs.
But the length of time the person with sore throat is symptomatic prior to recovery is four to seven days, whether or not the strep is found and regardless of whether antibiotics are used.
So, why are sore throats cultured, and why are antibiotics administered?
Studies from the 1940s and 1950s found that the rates of acute rheumatic fever following strep throat could be cut from 2% to 1% (not to 0%) by using antibiotics.
So, antibiotics for strep throat became and remain the "standard of practice" to prevent rheumatic fever.
In 2011, the incidence of rheumatic fever in the U.S. is about 1 per 1 million strep throats. Yet, antibiotics are still commonly used to treat sore throats.
Why? Why not?
One million prescriptions for antibiotics for sore throat may prevent one case of rheumatic fever. But they may cause 2,400 cases of significant allergic reactions up to and including anaphylaxis, 50,000 to 100,000 cases of diarrhea and some 100,000 cases of skin rash.
Once an axiom, and still recommended by the American Heart Association, the use of antibiotics to treat strep throat can now be characterized a pseudoaxiom -- a false premise, masquerading as truth, and passed down from generation to generation, brainlessly.
Physicians should not prescribe antibiotics for sore throats, or for that matter, acute bronchitis. Nor need they do throat cultures.
They don't help. They often hurt. First, do no harm!
If you find this article interesting, read the paperback Hippocrates' Shadow by Dr. David Newman for the background of this and many other travesties of modern medical misbehavior.
That's my opinion. I'm Dr. George Lundberg, At Large for MedPage Today. | <urn:uuid:8fe3e2ea-1bca-48cf-9157-850b5612b19a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.medpagetoday.com/Columns/At-Large/26780 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937596 | 573 | 3.078125 | 3 |
I would like to know what is the length of RSA signature ? Is it always the same size as the RSA key size like if the key size is 1024 then RSA signature is 128 bytes , if the key size is 512 bits then RSA signature is 64 bytes ? what is RSA modulus ? Also what does RSA-sha1 mean ? Any pointers greatly appreciated.
You are right, the RSA signature size is dependent on the key size, the RSA signature size is equal to the length of the modulus in bytes. This means that for a "n bit key", the resulting signature will be exactly n bits long. Although the computed signature value is not necessarily n bits, the result will be padded to match exactly n bits.
Now here is how this works: The RSA algorithm is based on modular exponentiation. For such a calculation the final result is the remainder of the "normal" result divided by the modulus. Modular arithmetic plays a large role in Number Theory. There the definition for congruence is (I'll use 'congruent' since I don't know how to get those three-line equal signs)
Simple example - let n = 2 and k = 7, then
7 actually does divide 0, the definition for division is
For a = 7 and b = 0 choose n = 0. This implies that every integer divides 0, but it also implies that congruence can be expanded to negative numbers (won't go into details here, it's not important for RSA).
So the gist is that the congruence principle expands our naive understanding of remainders, the modulus is the "number after mod", in our example it would be 7. As there are an infinite amount of numbers that are congruent given a modulus, we speak of this as the congruence classes and usually pick one representative (the smallest congruent integer > 0) for our calculations, just as we intuitively do when talking about the "remainder" of a calculation.
In RSA, signing a message m means exponentiation with the "private exponent" d, the result r is the smallest integer >0 and smaller than the modulus n so that
This implies two things
To make the signature exactly n bits long, some form of padding is applied. Cf. PKCS#1 for valid options.
The second fact implies that messages larger than n would either have to be signed by breaking m in several chunks <= n, but this is not done in practice since it would be way too slow (modular exponentiation is computationally expensive), so we need another way to "compress" our messages to be smaller than n. For this purpose we use cryptographically secure hash functions such as SHA-1 that you mentioned. Applying SHA-1 to an arbitrary-length message m will produce a "hash" that is 20 bytes long, smaller than the typical size of a RSA modulus, common sizes are 1024 bits or 2048 bits, i.e. 128 or 256 bytes, so the signature calculation can be applied for any arbitrary message.
The cryptographic properties of such a hash function ensures (in theory - signature forgery is a huge topic in the research community) that it is not possible to forge a signature other than by brute force. | <urn:uuid:e97d14ab-8c1f-4a7d-8ab8-c005c4bd4dab> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6658728/rsa-signature-size | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92121 | 671 | 2.765625 | 3 |
A program co-funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) was chosen by Time Magazine for its List of Best Inventions of 2011.
Drs Ali Aliev, Yuri Gartstein and Ray Baughman, of the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), have succeeded in producing what is technically referred to as the "mirage effect from thermally modulated transparent carbon nanotube sheets," or, as some in the popular press have termed it: an 'invisibility cloak'."
The key to this breakthrough are carbon nanotubesthe successful result of another ongoing AFOSR-funded UTD programthat have the ability to disappear when rapidly heated. In reality, this effect is due to photothermal deflection, or a mirage effect, quite similar to what a driver may experience when a highway in the distance becomes so hot that a section of the road may look like a pool of water. This is due to the bending of the light around the hot road surface wherein the driver actually sees the reflected sky in place of the pavement. The carbon nanotubes create much the same effect when heated.
AFOSR funding for this program was critical in enabling nanotube sheet fabrication which offers key advantages for photothermal deflection which permits the transparency effect to take place. This unique characteristic of nanotube sheets may one day result in applications such as photo-deflectors and for switchable transparency materials, as well as their use as thermoacoustic projectors and sonar.
|Contact: Robert P. White|
Air Force Office of Scientific Research | <urn:uuid:286562ee-6a90-4825-ba4e-15dc64ca97c9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-technology-1/Transparent-material-breakthrough-21115-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00176-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936434 | 329 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Your Own Carrot Seed?
Ever wondered why you never see carrot
seed on carrots?
The reason is that carrots are biennials which
means they grow one year and then produce seeds the next year.
Unfortunately for carrots, we eat them in year one and they
never get a chance to produce seed!
If you want carrot seed you need to over-winter the carrot and collect the seeds the next year. The
seeds will then form around mid June in year two. Collect the seeds
when they are fat but dry and before they fall to the ground.
Don't bother collecting seed from F1 carrots, they will not come
true to type.
To Plant Carrots
Carrots are best sown over a long period to ensure that they are
ready for eating from early
June to October (longer if stored
correctly). The table below shows when to sow carrots
(early and maincrop varieties) and when the will be ready for
harvest. Note that (as with all GardenAction pages) if you have
set your weather settings (see main menu at top), the months below
will be automatically adjusted for your area - if not, the
months shown below will be average dates.
June to July
Name: kenneth hawksworth
Date posted: October 02, 2011 - 03:34 pm
Message: dear sir can i sow carrat seeds and cabbage in october.
Name: Boyd Holmes
Date posted: November 26, 2010 - 08:49 am
Message: My carrots never seem to grow very large. They always seem to thin and twirley in shape is this because they have too much water ?
Name: steven hutton
Date posted: September 14, 2010 - 07:55 am
Message: i have been attempting to sow carrot seeds for the past three years and nothing comes up. I am using a well raked and dug up soil topped off with top soil | <urn:uuid:df206c27-6ce3-4f84-b4a6-6f73de6edf0b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_february_1a_carrot.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903895 | 408 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Markups- Margins & Lady Gaga
LADY GAGA MAKES MONEY – SO SHOULD YOU!
Old news maybe, but read up anyway:
- Margin is percentage of the final selling price that is profit.
- A markup is a percentage added to the cost and the cost and added percentage becomes the selling price.
Markup and margin are different, a selling price with a margin of 50% results in more profit than a selling price with a markup of 50%.
Marking up your costs by 50% results in a margin of 33% or 33% gross profit.
Overheads (like rent, fixed costs, corporation tax, wages, etc) still need to be deducted before you can know if you made money or not. Your net profit is what’s left after everything else has been accounted for.
Wages are not profit, if you make $50 an hour you have a job that pays $50 an hour. If you want to be paid $50 an hour and have money left over after all other costs are paid, that’s your net profit.
Sell a job for $1000 and if all your costs and overhead and wages come to $998.25 you have a net profit of $1.75.
That’s why you need to set prices with minimum acceptable margins.
What should you markup as a contractor?
For remodelers in residential construction most experts agree that a minimum markup of 50% is needed to stay in business. Some contractors will need more, some less but if you work for less you might want to just go to work for someone else and let them take the risks of being in business. A 50% markup is not only fair, its necessary for you to live with pride and dignity.
Here are some markups for other businesses:
- Jewelry sales: 100 to 400%
- Wine at a restaurant: 300%
- Starbucks coffee: 400- 600%
- Clothing: 250- 350%
- Designer eyeglasses: 1000%
- Movie theater popcorn: 500%
- Over the counter drugs: 300- 3000%
Even getting buried has markups involved, a casket is generally marked up 300% to 500% before you get to lay in it.
My point is, being afraid to markup 50% makes no sense, everything you and your family purchases is most likely marked up quite a bit higher than 50%.
Margin vs Markup Chart
|% Markup||=||% Gross Profit|
|15% Markup||=||13.0% Gross Profit|
|20% Markup||=||16.7% Gross Profit|
|25% Markup||=||20.0% Gross Profit|
|30% Markup||=||23.0% Gross Profit|
|33.3% Markup||=||25.0% Gross Profit|
|40% Markup||=||28.6% Gross Profit|
|43% Markup||=||30% Gross Profit|
|50% Markup||=||33% Gross Profit|
|75% Markup||=||42.9% Gross Profit|
|100% Markup||=||50% Gross Profit|
Rock and Roll uses markup and margin
Lady Gaga, the Rolling Stones and many if not most successful artists markup their tour costs by 400% or more. That means if Lady Gaga spends $25,000,000 on costumes, transportation, food, marketing, roadies and musicians, then Lady Gaga expects the tour to pull in $100,000,000 and that also means Lady Gaga has a markup of 400% leaving a tidy profit for some high style living. Sure your not Lady Gaga or Mick Jagger but you aren’t chopped liver either so markup fairly at 50 or 60% and enjoy the fruits of your hard labor and risks. | <urn:uuid:51f0dfa5-b31d-4f30-ab1f-18a3b24a79f2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.remodelcrazy.com/markups-margins-lady-gaga/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402746.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00013-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.884771 | 813 | 2.671875 | 3 |
At a Grand Talk held the 16th of February, 1789, on the Waters of Cusey River, at a Town Called Coosowothee, Being Present the Chief of All the Warriors Belonging to the Cherokee Nation, a Talk from His Excellency Samuel Johnston, Esq., Governor of North Carolina, Was Laid Before Them By Alexander Dromgoole, and Fully Explained to Them, in Answer to Which Letter, they Address the Following Talk:
Friend and Brother:—
Mr. Alexander Dromgoole, our beloved brother, arrived safe to our land with your talks, which give us great satisfaction to hear from you. We then sent all through the Nation to collect the head men and warriors to hear your talks. Your talks was so good that young and old repoiced at it. What you said about war, we are sure it is true, and for our part, I can assure you we never wanted war with our brother, the white people, but was totally drawn into it contrary to our own intentions by some bad people on the Western waters.
But Mr. Dromgoole has fully explained to us your good intentions towards our Nation, and what he says, we faithfully depend on. We have been at a loss a long time for somebody to come into
Now, brother, I hope the Great Spirit above will hear both our talks, and that he will do justice on both sides. You write you wish to treat with us, which we have all agreed to do, and as we have all agreed to lay still till the Great Talk is held, I expect you will stop your bad people on the Western waters from coming into our town or disturbing us any more. It is surprising to me that you can’t keep them from killing us, and I hope you will do everything in your power to keep these bad people from us and from encroaching on our hunting grounds. By these means I hope a lasting peace will be forever. It would give me pleasure to see our children raised in peace together, as we ought to do if things could be comraised for us with respect to our lands we would be very glad to return to our old town, Cowwee. You mention in your letter you wish to treat with us at French Broad River. But our people don’t wish to treat there; our desire is all to treat at Linekaa, where the last treaty was held between our people and the Commissioners before. When everything is ready for a treaty, you may write to us and let us know. I hope you will have provisions enough for us, so that we may not be hungry. We were informed by the proclamation of Congress that all the white people would be removed off our hunting grounds, and we find they are very slow about it. When they get a little scared we find them run off from their houses, but as soon as we return they come back to them again. We set out last fall in company with our brothers, the Creeks, in order to lay waste and burn the houses of all those people settled on our hunting grounds, but hearing the good talks of Congress, we done nothing but took one station, which we thought would answer in satisfaction for our beloved men killed on that quarrel, and our beloved warriors took pity to see the white people killed and desired all our young warriors to return home and set down to see if Congress would remove them, which we all expect will be done soon, and in consequence of this, we have all laid down the hatchet.
Now, this is our beloved women’s talk; they say they have heard our great talks, and they hope to live at home in their houses in satisfaction, and they have told their warriors to be at peace from this time out, that they may raise their children in happiness. | <urn:uuid:c1b2097d-b724-45e2-a5f9-5506a7908f3e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr22-0609 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00080-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978465 | 782 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Point Pelee National Park of Canada
Birds of Point Pelee National Park
© Parks Canada
-Calidris fuscicollis (Vieillot)
A small sandpiper with straight bill about as long as the head. The only small, moderately short-legged sandpiper with a complete white rump patch. Might be confused with Stilt Sandpiper, which also has a white rump and is somewhat similar in autumn dress, but the Stilt Sandpiper's longer bill is abruptly broadened near the tip, and its legs are much longer than those of the White-rump, extending the feet well beyond the tip of the folded wing. | <urn:uuid:71469e9f-a383-4a2d-8020-4968a11e51bf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/pelee/natcul/page4_E.asp?id=116&r=5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00102-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955477 | 141 | 2.625 | 3 |
The Future of the Gandhian Movement in IndiaConstructive Nonviolence
Printable Version: Download as PDF
"Gandhi was fully committed to the belief that
while nonviolence had an impressive power to protest and
disrupt, its real power was to create and reconstruct."
Dr. M.P. Mathai, a world-renowned Gandhian scholar and professor at the School of Gandhian Thought and Development Studies at the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India, recently came to speak at UC Berkeley about the history and future of the Gandhian movement in India. His talk encompassed the far-reaching possibilities of constructive nonviolence, including a positive international response to 9/11 and different strands of Gandhian thought in India. Mathai continues to work with those who directly contributed to the independence movement and hopes to replicate the same type of liberation from centralized, authoritarian power for the villages of India. Fully embracing Gandhi's idea of self-sufficient improvement, he wants to bring development and personal empowerment back into the hands of the people.
Mathai opened with a historical overview of the Gandhian movement. At the beginning of India's fight for independence, all members of the Satyagraha (holding fast to truth) campaign were united under the common goal of ending British colonialism. There were those, of course, who were more active in the political realm, practiced civil disobedience, and lead the direct nonviolent resistance against the British. The other stream of the movement, who Mathai called "the silent service," helped pull the rural population, bereft of resources, out of extreme poverty. Gandhi's Constructive Program at the time of independence had over 80 arms and included aiding the cause of the untouchables, women, the elderly, and educating the youth in the methods of nonviolence.
However, the movement began to split and the members of the Indian National Congress distanced themselves from Gandhian ideas of social justice and the duties of the Satyagraha in favor of political and public life. So before his death in 1948, Gandhi expressed his vision for a nonviolent, peaceful, egalitarian Indian society and set up the Sarva Seva Sangh to carry it out. The organization, whose name means, "to serve all people," was to coordinate, provide funding for, and carry out all aspects of the Gandhian movement.
When Gandhi said, "corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today," he expressed his faith in self-rule but was cautious of the political process itself. Corruption on the national and local level soon began to wear away at the social fabric of India. Mathai explained that Gandhi had always been wary of the National Congress, perhaps because he foresaw a conflict between the government and his vision of development. Although, initially, Sarva Seva Sangh actively participated in the political process, in the atmosphere of rapid industrialization and economic progress, it was quickly marginalized.
Amidst the political emergency of the early 1970s, the Gandhian movement surged to the forefront of national debate. When Indira Gandhi began to centralize power in response to economic instability, opposition parties began to rally en masse. People took to the streets, union workers began to strike and plunged the country into a state of emergency. However, despite draconian government measures that attempted to stamp out popular resistance, Gandhi's influence could be seen everywhere. The right-leaning Janata power called on the police to resist the call of breaking up protests, and a huge rally surrounded Indira Gandhi's residence, demanding accountability and her resignation. Fearing the nonviolence movement's perceived radical nature, the government instituted a "commission of inquiry," what Mathai called a witch-hunt, to persecute the movement's supporters.
However, those in the "silent service" never ceased to serve the population of India and they became the base of the movement's second revival. Workers struggling for economic opportunity, farmers organizing for sustainable agricultural practices, and women coming together for social justice formed pockets of resistance to an increasingly deregulated market. Mathai expressed his apprehension about the economic growth that the government promised as the main channel to eradicate poverty and adamantly professed his fear that this would leave the rural population without any recourse to activate civil society organizations and reclaim access to their resources. To give these people a political voice, the Gandhian movement was reborn in the countryside. Organized officially in 1994, the National Alliance of Peoples' Movements struggled on behalf of those people who had been pushed to the periphery by economic globalization. The most triumphant victory for the movement was the closing of a Coca-Cola production facility that was poisoning river waters, draining underground reserves, and polluting the environment in Kerala, one of the most densely populated and poorest states of India.
However, the movement again began to lose steam without the guidance of a leader and a set of goals to which to aspire. This was when Mathai said he realized the problem plaguing any kind of progressive development was the lack of participation on the part of the younger generation. The trouble is not that they are apathetic or lazy; the trap that the youth falls into, he says, is the desire to live a propitious career life. Wanting to make a difference, they join political parties and are then co-opted by the system of power and corruption and forget their desire to change the system itself. He says that many people pay lip service to the movement but refuse to associate themselves with it. Radical intellectuals and Gandhian scholars sit comfortably in professorships or publishing houses and refuse to connect with the people they are trying to help. He derided this kind of armchair activism, saying that the most important part of the nonviolence movement was the practice of constructive work.
Mathai's greatest hope for the movement is what he called a global nonviolent reawakening. He wishes for the Gandhian movement to mark the point in history when a transformation begins to take place and people will unite under the goal of ending poverty and suffering all over the world. Mathai left us with the example of several students he knew that, immediately after graduating from one of the top engineering universities in India, moved to villages in rural India to work on water conservation and bringing renewable electricity directly to the people. These students contributed a couple years of their lives for the betterment of the world around them and embodied the Gandhian model of development.
His speech carried a resounding message for college students today: To make a difference in the world, one may have to sacrifice superfluous material things, "live simply so that others may simply live," and commit yourself to what you believe in. | <urn:uuid:3e567e77-199c-417c-a6d6-f915641bc047> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://calpeacepower.org/0302/gandhifuture.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00194-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966756 | 1,364 | 2.609375 | 3 |
What is Suiseki?
Japanese "Suiseki", the delicate and traditional art form, represents much more than art - it also represents a process, a feeling, a relationship between the object and the viewer. Read some of the definitions we have gathered from our friends in the Suiseki world:
Suiseki are stones that suggest mountains, lakes, waterfalls and other natural scenes or that are aesthetically pleasing in shape and texture. They represent nature in the palm of your hand.
Suiseki are small, naturally formed stones admired for their beauty and for their power to suggest a scene from nature or an object closely associated with nature. Among the most popular types of suiseki (pronounced suu-ee-seck-ee) are those that suggest a distant mountain, a waterfall, an island, a thatched hut, or an animal.
Collected in the wild, on mountains and in streambeds, and then displayed in their natural state, these stones are objects of great beauty. They are also sophisticated tools for inner reflection that stir in all who see them an appreciation for the awesome power of the universe.
Explained in a simple way, the suiseki is the comprehension and the appreciation of nature through a stone, resulting from nature.
Suiseki (Sui = water, Seki = stone) is the study and enjoyment of naturally formed stones as objects of beauty. The art of Suiseki involves the collection, preparation and appreciation of unaltered naturally formed stones. These stones are found in mountain streams, on windblown deserts, along ocean beaches - anywhere that nature may have deposited or shaped them.
A suiseki has the capacity to represent with the eyes of the man, on a few centimeters, the whole earth and cosmos.
The result of scaling and reproducing an awesome mountain landscape into a well-balanced suiseki is so visually pleasing, inspirational and mind refreshing. It's every collector's dream to someday find the perfect Stone, to create the perfect miniature landscape. Perfection is always the next Stone and the dream lives on.
...and the dream lives on.
Please explore our website for more insight into suiseki and other forms of the art of stone appreciation. We welcome you to sign our guest book and share your thoughts.
If you are a collector, or have any related interest you would like to add to this website, please click here to find out about having your own page on Suiseki.com. | <urn:uuid:b15b84a7-933c-420d-afd2-9c5b2f73e59e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.suiseki.com/about/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00082-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942064 | 512 | 2.671875 | 3 |
We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s-1970s at the Woodmere Art Museum through Jan. 24, 2016 is an important realization of the Woodmere’s mission to tell the story of artists in the Philadelphia area. The exhibition is a fascinating survey of an entire community—one that created its own artistic institutions in the face of neglect, if not outright exclusion by the mainstream Philadelphia art world. The project grew out of a series of conversations between the curators—Susanna W. Gold, Rachel McCay, and the museum’s director, William R. Valerio—and participants; 13 of them are transcribed in the catalog (ISBN 978-1-888008-5), making it an essential complement to the exhibition. Among those interviewed were artists and their heirs, collectors, teachers, and other arts professionals. They were able to re-insert important figures into a history that has never been completely documented. A number of videos, playable on small monitors in the gallery and available on the museum’s website, offer still further information.
Search for African visual traditions
A small gallery sets the stage and introduces several themes with works that occasionally pre-date the given timeframe. The cultural history behind the art on view begins in the 1920s with the New Negro Movement, whose champion, Alain Locke, was a native Philadelphian. The movement’s search for African visual traditions is represented by the polychrome maquette for “Ethiopia Awakening” (1914) by the Philadelphia-educated artist Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller. The sculpture’s tightly bound legs and the drape covering her head reflect knowledge of Egyptian burial customs, even though Fuller was working prior to the worldwide Egyptomania that followed the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Nearby is Barbara Chase-Riboud’s stunning, wall-hung sculpture in aluminum and silk, “Time Womb” (1970), emphasizing the curators’ interest in including women in the exhibition, as they often faced a double prejudice as artists. “Time Womb” is a study in contrasts, an upper part in metal from which hangs a knotted skein of silk, a slender form in pale, glistening colors that nevertheless conveys strength and agency; the crumpled aluminum suggests a fist about to open.
Another predecessor whose work and example were crucial to many of the artists in the exhibition is Henry Ossawa Tanner, with “Study for Christ” (1900), a black chalk drawing of a bearded model, stripped to the waist. Tanner’s career was eased by the fact that he spent most of his working life in France, where his race was not an impediment to his success. The drawing represents another theme that runs throughout the exhibition: the representation of black identity through images of the black, male body. In addition to the Tanner, this is powerfully introduced in the first gallery with Barkley Hendricks’ “J.S.B. III” (1968)—a portrait of James Brantley, an artist whose own portrait of a young man, “Clarence Morgan” (1972), was one of the paintings I was happy to discover.
Black artists were supported by a number of crucial institutions, including the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Fine Print Workshop, Alfred Barnes and the Barnes Foundation, and The Pyramid Club. Although the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (PAFA) was one of a handful of American art schools that admitted black artists as early as the 19th century, it was only at the end of the period covered by the exhibition that increasing support for black faculty at the mainstream art schools—PAFA, Tyler, and University of the Arts—created expanded opportunities for significant numbers of black students.
Various community-based organizations offered employment and facilities to black artists, including the public schools and groups such as the Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center, the Wharton Centre, and the Green Street Workshop, all supported by the federally-funded Model Cities Program during the ’60s-’70s. Many of the artists crucially functioned as mentors for the next generation. Numerous interviewees mentioned the importance of Charles Pridgen as a particularly generous mentor; his most important painting, “The Blues” (c. 1950), is a standout, exhibited along with a graphite study for the painting.
New discoveries even for seasoned viewers
The exhibition was organized around an artistic community rather than a style or subject, so it is not surprising that the works do not necessarily address one another. Instead they present an opportunity to view a broad range of strong artworks that will include unknown discoveries for many visitors—such as myself—and a welcome, renewed acquaintance for insiders of this community. While a number of works are owned by the Woodmere and by other Philadelphia institutions, many are in private collections, therefore not generally accessible. There is a good selection of prints, some of which are products of the WPA, others printed in the Brandywine Workshop, another institution important to this community. I was particularly impressed by the lithographs of Raymond Steth, such as “Evolution of Swing” and “Beacons of Defense” (c.1942); they reveal an almost cinematic ability to combine crowds of figures in complex, narrative subjects within clear compositions. They would certainly have scaled up to become successful murals.
Roland Ayres’ “Cataclysm, Rebirth New World” (1968), a pen and ink drawing, is a modern version of Hieronymus Bosch’s depictions of a world in chaos. His extraordinary imagination and virtuosic technique reveal a first-class illustrator whose work I was happy to discover. “Meet Miss Subway” (1965) by Edward Hughes is another standout by an artist I didn’t know; the bust of a striking young woman occupies at the lower right of the canvas yet commands the expansive red background, suggesting her emotional tenor. While I know Barbara Bullock’s current, wall-hung, multimedia constructions, I was delighted to be introduced to the exuberant palette and vertiginous composition of her 1982 painting, “Dark Gods”. She has learned from the best, Baroque masters—such as Rubens, whose “Prometheus” is the subject of an exhibition that just closed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA). And familiarity with Donald Camps’ monumental, frontal portraits did not prepare me for the subtle, almost Pictorialist quality of his earlier landscape photographs.
The Woodmere has assembled a picture of a self-organized community that thrived without outside help; in doing so, the museum enables the rest of Philadelphia’s art community to see what they’ve been missing and to open their doors a bit wider. | <urn:uuid:57f641e3-c465-418e-8a73-448af3ad90bf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.theartblog.org/2015/12/we-speak-black-artists-in-philadelphia-1920s-1970s-at-the-woodmere-art-museum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398216.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961914 | 1,423 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Latest ResearchMy research is on Star Formation in the Nearby Galaxy, using Spitzer, Chandra and other ground based telescope facilities.
Most stars form in clustered environments, embedded in clouds of gas and dust that collapse under gravity to form protostars with envelopes and disks of circumstellar material from which exoplanets may form. The surrounding dust obscures the Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in visible light, so these young clusters are observed at IR and X-ray wavelengths. YSOs are classified on the amount of circumstellar material they possess: from Class 0, I, and Flat Spectrum protostars with gas and dust envelopes, to Class II YSOs with optically thick inner disks. Transition Disks have inner disk holes that may be due to clearing by orbiting exoplanets. Class III pre-main sequence stars have cleared their disks, possibly processing the dust into the rocky material from which planets form. | <urn:uuid:d62eaffb-1d41-4c9b-83e7-d268259b2e54> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/ewinston/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00027-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926932 | 190 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Your guidebook for spotting and identifying 42 sharks and 25 skates and rays
The cookie cutter shark lives in the deep Gulf, looks like an Italian sausage with bulging eyes, and glows in the dark. It feeds by attaching itself to a sperm whale and gnawing hunks of flesh.
Often misidentified as a shark, the smalltooth sawfish is really a ray and may be in danger of disappearing in Gulf environs. The twenty to thirty teeth on each side of its snout work well for rooting up food from the sandy bottom or slashing through schools of prey. But the teeth tangle easily in commercial fishing nets.
In Sharks, Skates, and Rays of the Gulf of Mexico: A Field Guide, fascinating rarities such as these and all the commonly sighted species await the naturalist, commercial or recreational fisher, outdoor enthusiast, or beach-goer. This guidebook covers almost all the species of sharks and rays that cruise Gulf waters from the abundant, shallow-dwelling finetooth shark and the frightening electric ray to the deep-dwelling goblin fish.
Color photography, line drawings, and easily understood keys developed exclusively for this book help the reader quickly identify species. In addition to general information on reproduction, sensory systems, feeding, and other aspects of marine biology, there is practical information on how to reduce the risk of shark attack, how to prevent and treat stingray wounds, and how to safely catch, handle, and release a shark.
Personal and anecdotal information gathered from twenty-five years of shark research as well as significant facts and figures make Parson's book the ideal companion for anyone scouting the Gulf for its most exciting denizens.
Glenn R. Parsons is a professor of biology at the University of Mississippi. He has contributed to such books as Shark Nursery Grounds and The Reproduction and Development of Sharks, Skates, and Rays. His work has appeared in such periodicals as Mid-South Hunting and Fishing News, Marine Biology, and Journal of Experimental Zoology.
Photograph—Caribbean reef shark, courtesy Carlos Minguell | <urn:uuid:dd0eb0a0-f45d-4a7a-8ca7-cdc2ca0b62ba> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/661 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00094-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927316 | 432 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Chances are, they're in your pockets, your closet, and even your body.
From cotton to coltan, materials tainted by slavery and child labor flow through opaque, fragmented supply chains to end up, often without our knowledge, in the products we buy. It's a global reality that has received little mainstream scrutiny, but a new California law may herald a changing national attitude towards holding corporations accountable for the materials they use.
This week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California's Supply Chain Transparency Act. The law, sponsored by state Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), requires companies operating in California and making more than $100 million in annual revenue to publicly report on voluntary efforts to monitor their direct supply chains in order to eliminate exploitation.
The use of slave and child labor is common in the mines and fields where resources are obtained as well as in the factories where they’re manufactured. The International Labor Organization reports a staggering 200 million children at work worldwide, while global estimates of people in slavery are as high as 27 million. But in a market that rewards the companies selling the cheapest goods, reform has been sluggish at best.
Corporations that benefit from underpaid or slave labor, including that of children, have also long enjoyed the benefits of plausible deniability—essentially, shoulder-shrugging—when human rights violations occur on their watch. When child labor is discovered in sweatshops at the lowest rung of production at companies like Nike, Apple, Firestone, or Abercrombie, those suppliers are reprimanded and sometimes put out of business. But the companies themselves, which contract for the mining, sewing, and harvesting involved in getting their products on the shelves, often pay little or no penalty.
California's new legislation could change that. Well, sort of.
While some corporations have voluntarily published official statements on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for years, this law requires all businesses with substantial profits to use a fraction of that money to report on strategies for tracking and responding to slavery in the work they commission. If they don’t have a strategy, they must report that too. And that doesn’t look good.
Compliance also requires answering basic questions about CSR policies, including whether or not the company ensures that its suppliers follow laws regarding slavery and trains employees to recognize and deal with exploitative labor. Most importantly, a CSR policy must state whether it uses third-party verification—in other words, does it allow outside auditors to conduct independent assessments and unannounced check-ins with suppliers? Think of it like a secret shopper for human rights.
Companies such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Disney have published CSR initiatives for a long time, but it’s hard to say how effective or transparent the internal assessments of any company’s efforts are. Internal reporting is susceptible to corporate greenwashing, whereby businesses promote socially responsible positions that are often sugared with self-praise, but weak when it comes to real action. Allowing outside auditors to inspect what’s happening on the ground and publishing independent analyses is a first step of good faith from companies to consumers.
Sponsors of the law chose to pioneer this effort in California because its robust economy—the 10th largest in the world—makes it fertile territory for pushing the limits of corporate accountability. Hundreds of billions of dollars in imports pour into the state each year, and it is responsible for $1.8 trillion of total U.S. economic activity. Anyone who wants to continue doing business in California (read: any major player in the U.S. economy) will have to investigate their own supply chains—and make their efforts transparent for consumers all over the world—by January 2012. An estimated 3,200 companies will be affected.
One test of the law’s potency is how strongly corporations pushed to kill it, and the one thing corporate lobbies were (bewilderingly) transparent about was protecting their interests. "These are the kinds of issues that create great consternation for my companies, which spend a lot of time worrying about their image," Dorothy Rodrock of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association told the Los Angeles Times. Additionally the California Chamber of Commerce expressed concern about the fact that retailers and manufacturers doing little or nothing to eradicate slavery from their supply chains would get bad press.
Corporate interest groups fretted about the feasibility of monitoring entire supply chains, but the law only applies to companies with adequate resources to pull it off. It may even help smaller businesses that have prioritized fair trade compete with multinationals that have not.
The California law comes on the heels of the expansive Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act, which included a provision requiring electronics companies to publicize whether their products are sourced from conflict-ridden regions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and, if so, how they intend to protect human rights in those supply chains.
A Victory for Honduran Workers
How the "Just Pay It!" campaign on college campuses leveraged $1.5 million for Nike garment workers.
Such policies are not intended to punish businesses but rather to steer the whole economic constellation towards a more responsible future, argues Lisette Arsuaga of the L.A.-based Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), a co-sponsor of the California law. It's the most basic principle of supply and demand: Suppliers produce what the market demands, and the market is changing.
More consumers are asking questions about the origins of the products they buy—and those at the helm of global production are beginning to have to come up with answers. The purpose of this move by California, then, is to make sure those answers are based on transparent information, not misdirection or corporate greenwashing.
Just as environmental consciousness and the burgeoning organic food movement have given way to growing awareness of the impact that each of us has on the world we share, a cultural shift towards economic justice is leading many to confront their "human footprint": the impact that behavior–especially consumer behavior–has on others.
Ultimately, laws like these are only tools. Without consumer action, there's zero consequence for continuing to use the worst forms of exploitative labor: Enforcement is left to the market itself. Helping people access and make sense of the information that the California law makes public will be critical in preventing it from atrophying into thousands of glossy but toothless CSR policies, and making it a tool of real change instead.
Thousands of grassroots, African-led efforts are building locally rooted alternatives to the chemical agriculture promoted by the Gates Foundation and Monsanto.
Video: GLEE-inspired activism for a democracy run by human beings, not corporations.
The recession creates an opportunity to challenge flawed existing models and assert new strategies for Africa's economic progress. | <urn:uuid:d69cbc70-2a88-4487-af8a-3526237c1806> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/slavery-goes-public?icl=yesemail_wkly20101231_yesnews&ica=titleSlaveryGoesPublic | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950098 | 1,398 | 2.71875 | 3 |
New Book, Film Commemorate 70th Anniversary Of D-Day
This Friday will mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day: the day 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, in a bid to invade Nazi-controlled territory on the western front. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers died that day in a battle that paved the way for Nazi surrender the following year. Many civilians and Resistance fighters were also involved.
D-Day: Normandy 1944
The Saint Louis Science Center is currently showing a new documentary about the Normandy invasion at the Omnimax. “D-Day: Normandy 1944” is a 43-minute film that gives an overview of the historic day, beginning with the planning process and continuing through the aftermath. Directed by Frenchman Pascal Vuong and narrated by journalist Tom Brokaw, the film uses a combination of techniques to tell the story, including re-enactments, animation and computer generated images.
St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh spoke with Vuong when the film first debuted at the Science Center. Vuong said he first became familiar with D-Day from the film, "The Longest Day," which he watched when he was a boy.
“It was so amazing, so incredible, that this story stayed in my mind for years,” said Vuong. He described his historical documentary as complementary to “The Longest Day” and “Saving Private Ryan,” because his film gives more detail and has a greater focus on accuracy than the feature films do. He chose to use a variety of film techniques in order to demonstrate the broad scope of the day.
Vuong said he hopes his film will be an educational tool for children to understand both the gravity of war, and the importance of freedom.
“I think it can be a start point for kids to consider that peace is not forever, and perhaps we have to fight to protect peace and liberty,” said Vuong. “And perhaps it is better to fight before war than during war.”
The Dead and Those About to Die
Military historian John McManus offers another remembrance of D-Day in his new book, “The Dead and Those About to Die: The Big Red One at Omaha Beach.” He teaches at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla and is in St. Louis to speak about his book at the St. Louis County Library.
His book focuses on the role of one military unit during the first 19 hours of battle: the 1st Infantry Division. Called the “Big Red One” because of the big red number 1 on their unit patch, the First Infantry Division was an experienced unit involved in some of the heaviest fighting on D-Day. They fought in the eastern sector of Omaha Beach, where things did not unfold as planned.
“Omaha Beach is sort of the classic example of Murphy’s Law, anything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong,” said McManus.
According to McManus, the plan for Omaha Beach was mostly sound. But a lack of communication and not enough time devoted to naval and air force bombardment left the soldiers on the ground facing a strong German defense after swimming through choppy water while weighed down with 80-pound packs.
At Omaha Beach, medics had among the most dangerous job, said McManus. In order to rescue the wounded, medics had to pull the soldiers towards the enemy line. Otherwise the wounded would have drowned.
Three Medals of Honor were awarded for actions taken on D-Day, all to men of the Big Red One.
St. Louis County Library Presents John McManus
Monday, June 2, 2014
St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
For more information, call 314-994-3300 or visit the St. Louis County Library website. | <urn:uuid:8c42705b-fb84-48fe-b986-31bfa75304f8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/new-book-film-commemorate-70th-anniversary-d-day | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403508.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969669 | 813 | 2.6875 | 3 |
VOL. 05, NO. 16, March 02, 2012 (Falgun 19, 2068)
The Khasas of Nepal
By Shirshak Ghimire
Bipin Adhikari, Nepalka Khas Jati (Biratnagar: New Nepal Research Centre, 2068/2011) (in Nepali)
Identity is a fluid concept. There are no clear cut definitions or boundaries. Every person belongs to a minority in his own way. But politics of identity have found its roots in the country and flourished.
This booklet Nepalka Khas Jati [The Khas People of Nepal]authored by Dr. Bipin Adhikari provides a brief but illuminating insight into the long history of the Khas people namely the Chhetri, Bahun, Kami, Thakuri, Sarki, Sanyasi, Badi, Damai, Gharti Gaine and others, and their identity.
The author is not a historian by profession. Yet, this booklet provides a straightforward account of its subject matter based on almost all available historical sources. The significance of this work, however, lies in its attempts at debunking several myths and inaccurate perceptions about this ethnic group considered to be the dominant one in the multi-cultural country of Nepal. It has come to publication at a very relevant time, considering the current socio-political situation of the nation, where identity politics is almost paralyzing the country. This book cites many national and international reference materials including seminal works on Nepal's history written by noted scholars in the same pursuit. The net argument of the author is that the Khas people are as much indigenous to this country as the Kirant people, and there is little evidence to show who the first settlers out of these two communities are.
The first major contention of the author, who is a renowned constitutional expert of Nepal, is that the Khas people have lived in the Himalayan foothills for several millennia in an area stretching from Kashmir to Bhutan. The author has cited several sources in claiming that the Khas people were the early Caucasians who migrated into the Himalayas from Eurasia, at least over three thousand five hundred years ago. In doing so the author intends to debunk the popular perception that the Khas people had came over to the areas currently in Nepal to escape the Muslim invasion of India in the 10th to 12th century. He asserts that there is no tangible record or evidence supporting this theory.
Dr Adhikari has analysed plenty of references to prove his contention. Based on these references, he depicts the Khas and the Kirantis as two earliest tribes to settle in the Himalayan foothills. The epic Mahabharat is cited to show that the Khas and the Kirantis had participated in that war, fighting alongside the Kauravas. Several ancient scriptures discussed by the author also seem to suggest Khas people as historically non-Hindus and thus "impure" people in the eyes of devout Hindus in the plains of the South Asia.
The second major contention of the author is that there is a strong distinction between the Khas people and the Vedic Aryan people. He puts forth a bold claim that the arrival of the Khas people preceded the Aryan invasion of India. It is thus asserted that the Khas people arrived along the Hindu-Kush and Himalayan range as a nomadic race and settled in the foothills. This is in contrast to the Aryans who settled in the fertile plains of Punjab and further south, along the Indo-Gangetic plains. The author cites several cultural differences between the Vedic Aryans and the Khas, showing that the early culture of the Khas people was more compatible to that of the local tribal cultures. It is amazing to note the analytical, social anthropological skills of the author in this regard.
An important question that arises is - how and why did the Khas people adopt the cultural practices and societal structures of the Hindus? The author writes that the Khas people were in contact with both the Buddhist and Hindu faiths. So the Khas people started off with coating their own practices with Hindu faith but the Hindu influence continued to increase. The author cites an old practice of the Khas people of keeping a "Masta’ (similar to a clan deity or "kuldeuta") devoid of any form or idol. Such cultural practices were assimilated into the broader Hindu culture once the rulers started following Hindu traditions and claiming lineage from the influential old Kshatriya clans in the plains. It was basically done to get the recognition of the several powerful kingdoms in the plains.
The author maps the journey of the Khas people from a nomadic tribe to the Sanskritised dominant group of Nepal (although he does not use the word Sanskritization anywhere in the text. As it is known the Khas people have had a major contribution in the formation of Nepal. The turning point in Khas ethnicity as pointed by this booklet arrived due to the level of prestige attached to having Vedic/Aryan heritage which caused the Sanskritized rulers to abandon their true Khas ethnicity. This according to the book seems to have trickled down to the public who sought new roles in accordance with the Varna system. The enactment of the Muluki Ain by Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana in 1854 helped the social reorganization under Hindu norms. The author has pointed out that in spite of the Sanskritization, the hill dwelling Khas people with the rare exception of the Shah and Rana rulers, have avoided inter-marriage with their Hindu counterparts from the plains.
The book has attempted to gather a fresh outlook on the ethnic relations in Nepal. It is written that the Khas people were in contact with many of the other ethnic groups existing in Nepal but maintained a close association with the Magars and both the ethnic groups have many common characteristics. Similarly the usage of Khas language (now known as Nepali) is claimed to have been the common inter-ethnic mode of communication used even by the Malla Kings of Kathmandu valley.
Overall this book takes the focus away from the history of the Kathmandu valley which dominates most of the academic exercises regarding the history of Nepal. Hopefully this work will facilitate new discussions with regard to the ethno-cultural history of Nepal that will help dispel misconceptions and have a positive impact upon the current socio-political trends.
Despite its sharp analysis and presentation, the booklet is still a difficult reading for people who have limited understanding of Nepal’s history. Its references at times look like short hand expression for people already familiar of Nepal’s archives and records. The author can consider further elaborating his work giving it the shape of a full-fledged book.
Nevertheless, it is still an important piece of work. It can make any ethno-activist community which claims indigenous status to it at the cost of Khasas shy of its claim. Although the author does not make the comparison, the Khasas may have much claim for such a status than any other group in Nepal who arrived to settle in this land a couple of millenniums later than the Khas people. | <urn:uuid:bfe8a4d2-d102-4c4d-bab4-c67505dfc602> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nepalnews.com/contents/2012/englishweekly/spotlight/mar/mar02/national4.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00185-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964398 | 1,468 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Did you know that the seeds of many nonnative
plants have tiny hooks that enable them to hitchhike on the
clothing or shoelaces of unsuspecting hikers? Or that sharing trail
snacks with wildlife does them more harm than good? Below are some
additional conservation tips for hikers.
Do not take or disturb any plants, animals, or
other natural objects
Pack out everything you bring with you.
Clean gear and examine clothing before leaving an
area to avoid transporting non-native species.
Keep your distance from wildlife.
Do not feed wildlife.
To learn how to get the most out of your next hike
with the least impact to the landscape and the wildlife that live
there, visit the following web sites; Tread
Lightly and Leave | <urn:uuid:b9143120-8876-4816-a1ea-5b0ccd68af29> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/recreation/hiking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00161-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924801 | 162 | 2.96875 | 3 |
An internationally acclaimed model for reviving dying languages was pioneered in New Zealand by the Maori community. The Language Nests are kindergartens for children and their parents where they get the chance to speak to elders and other Maori in a warm, homely, tribal environment.
Around the world it is today's adult generation that has suffered the greatest damage in terms of language deprivation. The solution in the Maori communities is to let elders communicate with young children and their parents at the same time. Rather than teaching, it is a process of immersing oneself within the Maori language and culture.
"Before Maori moved to the big cities, this is how they used to live amongst their own tribes," says Jade Robson, one of the many thousands of Language Nest graduates. "You've heard the phrase: It takes a village to raise a child."
The first Language Nest opened in 1982 and they can now be found in hundreds of places around the country. The model has been put to use in Hawaii as well. But it is costly, and there have been controversies in New Zealand with studies claiming that the Language Nests do not meet the standards for early childhood education.
The proportion of Maori people actually speaking the language is now around 25 percent - up a few percentage points since the early 1980s. It might look like a meager result, but according to linguist Christopher Moseley it should be considered a success.
"Compared to how quickly a language can disappear, in just one generation in extreme cases, the figures are good," he says. "They are actually quite encouraging."
Source: Al Jazeera | <urn:uuid:151d2a64-8fa3-47d3-b293-56114dc3bdb8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/livingthelanguage/2012/04/2012416141630195978.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00174-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972031 | 332 | 3.46875 | 3 |
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The reference to a "well regulated" militia, probably conjures up a connotation at odds with the meaning intended by the Framers. In today's English, the term "well regulated" probably implies heavy and intense government regulation. However, that conclusion is erroneous.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Good read on the Second Amendment
The way the Founders saw things: | <urn:uuid:6ceafc1a-70f9-427f-8afd-bd8612262c20> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://beloitballistics.blogspot.com/2012/12/good-read-on-second-amendment.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950982 | 119 | 2.78125 | 3 |
NEW YORK (December 19, 2007) - Thailand's Western Forest Complex - a 6,900 square mile (18,000 square kilometers) network of parks and wildlife reserves - can potentially support some 2,000 tigers, making it one of the world's strongholds for these emblematic big cats, according to a new study by Thailand's Department of National Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation and the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society. The study, which appears in latest issue of the journal Oryx, says that to make these numbers a reality, better enforcement to safeguard both tigers and their prey from poachers is critical.
According to the study, the entire Western Forest Complex currently supports an estimated 720 tigers. These tiger densities were lower than those reported by Wildlife Conservation Society scientists from some protected areas in India with similar habitat, but better enforcement. For example, tiger densities of as many as 12 tigers per 100 square kilometers were measured in India's Nagarahole, Bandipur and Kanha forests, as opposed to four tigers per 100 square kilometers in Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary.
The authors of the study conducted intensive surveys of tigers in Huai Kha Khaeng, using camera traps to estimate a population size of 113 individual animals living in the 1,084 square-mile (2,810 square kilometer) protected area.
Despite the lower densities, plenty of good tiger habitat remains in Thailand, with 25 percent of the nation still forested, and 15 percent of it managed under wildlife protection legislation.
"Thailand has the potential to be a global centerpiece for tiger conservation," said Dr. Anak Pattanavibool of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Thailand Program and a coauthor of the study. "This study underscores that there is an opportunity for tigers to thrive in Thailand - provided tigers and their major prey species are protected from poachers."
"Working together with WCS scientists helps set a standard for tiger monitoring and conservation here in Thailand," said Saksit Simcharoen, a tiger specialist working for the Thai government. "The tiger and prey population monitoring and patrol improvement systems have given people hope and direction to do better for tigers and other wildlife."
Other Co-authors of the study included scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Though no truly accurate global numbers exist, conservationists roughly estimate that 5,000 tigers remain in the wild. 150 years ago, an estimated 100,000 tigers may have roamed throughout much of Asia.
Last year, the Panthera Foundation in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society announced its "Tigers Forever" program that pledges a 50 percent increase in tiger numbers in key areas over the next decade.
The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild lands through science, international conservation, education and management of the world's largest system of urban parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. With hundreds of scientists at work in over 60 countries, it is a leader in the race to save the last of the wild. Learn more at www.wcs.org. | <urn:uuid:8473d150-d8a8-44c3-b835-50600af40be4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/wcs-ss2122007.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930679 | 624 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Basic Water Safety for Human Powered Craft
Water Safety is extremely important for everyone going on, in, or near the water. From the smallest lake to biggest bays here are some tips we have assembled to help keep you as safe as possible.
Knowledge – Make sure you have studied or taken lessons for the water craft you plan to use that is specific to the the place you are going to use it. You should also try to obtain as much information on the area/location in which you are getting in to the water. Seek out the expert (person/website) in your location and get to know as much as possible (i.e. weather patterns, submerged obstructions, dangerous places, and or dangerous critters). Consult a map beforehand so you are aware of your surroundings. When leaving be thinking of what it will take to get back to where you started. Be constantly be aware of changing situations. Despite what the forecast is, or what the guy on the beach said, whatever is actually happening is more important.
CPR - Get certified and stay current.
Water Temp + Air Temp = 100 Some call it the rule of 100 but the rule of 110 may be better and here's how it works. Take the Air Temperature and Add it to the Water temperature. If the combined total is not at least 100 (some would say 110 is safer) then you should consider not going. Or at least only going only with special gear to deal with the situation as a more dangerous one.
The Buddy Rule - It's best to enjoy the water with a buddy.
The SUP Flip Rescue - Thanks to Nikki Gregg for this one. This is a greaet technique for using a SUP board to rescue and unconscious person. Watch a video on how to perform an SUP Flip Rescue.
Swimming – You should never take to the water in smaller craft (i.e. Kayaks, or Stand Up Paddleboards) if you are not able to swim. Swimming alone is risky and should be avoided if possible.
RULE 9 – The rule of tonnage which basically states that the larger the vessel in weight/size the more rights they have. This may seem counter intuitive but when you understand that the larger commercial traffic (i.e. Freighters) can take many miles for them to stop it starts to make sense. In addition the course options of these larger vessels is extremely limited. The best choice these larger vessels may have in terms of limiting damage and safety to others is to continue on course – as in run you over.
Boats and Prop Wash - Be very cautious when going behind any vessel. Prop wash can be extremely turbulent and dangerous. Before crossing behind any running vessel try making eye contact with the skipper. Never linger - always cross as quickly as possible. Also pay extra caution to tug boatss. Many modern tug boats have the capability for their props to spin 360 degrees. This means the prop wash can come from any side and can change at any time. Also note that when a tug is towing a barge that the chain connecting the barge and tug may be underwater and therefore not visible to you. Make sure to check well behind any tug boat to ensure it's not towing anything. See photo below - the tug is towing the barge and the tow line is invisible. While the tug can stop that barge has no power source and will keep on going. Tug boats often make fast and unpredictable actions and should be given extra room when they are working.
Collisions – Collisions are to be avoided at all costs. It does not matter if you are in the right you still must avoid the collision. If you are in the right but do not avoid the collision then you are instantly in the wrong. My dad always used to say "They can put 'He was in the right' on your tombstone."
Boats using Horns and Lights Horns/whistles and lights are still used for signaling on boats. While you don't need to learn the whole system of signaling there are few particular things worth memorizing.
- First the repition of 5 horn blasts. This means a nearby vessel operator is seriously concerned of an impending collision and is telling everyone to stay clear. The sequence of 5 may be repeated until the operator is certain they have a safe course.
- The The other is a single horn/whistle blast. This is just an operator letting everyone know where they are.You may hear this at T-Junctions or as Boats exit marina's to let you know they are coming out.
- Lights on a boat that are green lidentify the right (starboard) side of the boat. Red one's identify the left (port) side of the boat.
Navigation Aids (i.e. buoy's, channel markers, beacons, and pilings) are usually placed along coasts and navigable waters as guides to mark safe water and to aid mariners in determining their position in relation to land and hidden dangers.
Almost all U.S. lateral marks follow the traditional 3R rule of "red, right, returning". This means, when returning from sea, keep red marks on the right hand (starboard) side of the vessel. This is important for all Kayakers, Boaters, and Stand Up Paddlers to know this information as it aids in helping gauge the direction that other vessel traffic may be taking. Remember most boats CAN NOT go outside these markers for fear of running aground or hitting an underwater obstruction. As always give ample room to all traffic and try to stay on the right hand side of any channel. Red marks may by marked by triangular shapes and have even numbers on them where green marks are squares and eodd numbered.
Current & Wind – Always be aware of forecasted winds and currents. Remember the axiom "Shallow water moves slower than deep water." This means that if you need to overcome the current you should seek out the shallower water which is usually located at the shore side. Be aware that as water becomes shallower the wave effect will become bigger. For Stand Up Paddleboards you should know proper Knee Paddling Technique. This is key for overcoming the effect of wind. YouTube Knee Paddling Video Click Here.
The Beach – The beach or ocean environment requires special attention. For example a life jacket is a bad thing to wear in a surf zone. Being safe in the surf requires you to be able to swim under water to mitigate the effects of breaking waves. Make sure as always you wear a leash that is the appropriate length and strength for your board. For additional Surf/Ocean specific safety please click here.
Personal Flotation Devices or PFD's - Coast Guard approved Type III PFD's should always be worn with a few notable exceptions. Do not wear a Type III PFD in a surf zone. Purpose built flotation for surf zones is ok when properly matched to rider weight. Also windsurfers and kiteboarders may want to use some flotation however Type III vests should be used very cautiously or avoided. Both Kiteboarders and Windsurfers may need to dive down under the water in order to get to a safe place. Type III PFD's will hold you at the surface preventing you from diving down when you need to do so for safety. For example if you are trapped under your sail.Purpose built flotation aids are ok when matched properly to rider weight. These vest however are not as safe as Type III PFD's.
The Golden Rules – When in doubt don't go out. See the Buddy Rule above - it's Golden too.
Safety Gear/Procedure Checklist
• A properly fitted Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs). While the inflatable PFD's are comfortable and convenient they are not the optimal safety systems. They require you to be conscious and alert in order to deploy and then put them on. The inflatable PFD's are not appropriate for children under 13. Type III Coast Guard Approved vests are recommended except as noted in the above situations.
• Sound Producing Devices – i.e. Whistle.
• Lighting - Be highly visible.
• A 10 to 20ft piece of line is always good to carry if possible
• Weather Forecast Checked?
• Tide Checked?
• Your board/boat has your name and phone number on it. This can save massive searches from occurring when the board may be lost and the rider identified.
• Proper attire is critical for forecasted conditions based on the sport. Natural fibers like cotton are not good choices and should be avoided. Use lycra, nylon, or fabrics that will not absorb moisture. Use layering to be flexible as conditions can change quickly and you should always be ready for the coldest scenario you may encounter.
• With a few exceptions you should never leave your boat or board. While your life jacket may float you it's your board or boat that will get you out of the water helping to avoid hypothermia. If you do become separated try to keep a small amount of motion going. Swimming or treading water to help keep body temperatures up. Never ever give up.
• The universal signal for a physical call for help is to wave both hands back and forth over the top of your head. Repeat this until your 100% certain you have been spotted.
• A water proof VHF radio is not a bad call if possible. Channel 16 on the VHF radios is monitored by the Coast Guard.
• Cell Phone in Water Proof Bag.
• File a "Flight Plan". That means someone who is not going with you has knowledge of where you are going and about when you may return.
• For boards make sure you ALWAYS WEAR A LEASH. Even on the calmest of days and in the most seemingly serene environments the leash is a must wear. Bigger heavier boards require thicker longer leashes. A 6ft surf leash is not appropriate for 35lb 12 foot long surfboard. Work with your local shop to make sure you are properly geared up for whatever you are doing that day.
• Water Pumps, Sponges, and Bailing Devices for Kayaks
• Paddle Float (for Sea Kayak/Closed Deck Kayaks) Video Here
• Use the right gear for the right situation. Do not take race gear in to the surf for example.
Always respect the ocean and any body of water. Karma is always out there.
Please note this is by no means a fully listing but only our best attempt to get as much information to ensure your time on the water is the safest possible. If you have any additional ideas or safety please let us know and we will add them to the list. | <urn:uuid:4d7445f3-34a1-4cc7-8ac2-52e8a5a7bc26> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.101surfsports.com/index.php/stand-up-paddleboarding-sup-marin-county-san-rafael/basic-water-safety-bay | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00025-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948886 | 2,216 | 2.9375 | 3 |
|Preface||Preview Material||Table of Contents||Supplementary Material|| || || |
2009; 417 pp; hardcover
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A Gentle Introduction to Game Theory - Saul Stahl
The Game's Afoot! Game Theory in Myth and Paradox - Alexander Mehlmann
An Introduction to Game-Theoretic Modelling: Second Edition - Mike Mesterton-Gibbons
Models of Conflict and Cooperation is a comprehensive, introductory, game theory text for general undergraduate students. As a textbook, it provides a new and distinctive experience for students working to become quantitatively literate. Each chapter begins with a "dialogue" that models quantitative discourse while previewing the topics presented in the rest of the chapter. Subsequent sections develop the key ideas starting with basic models and ending with deep concepts and results. Throughout all of the sections, attention is given to promoting student engagement with the material through relevant models, recommended activities, and exercises. The general game models that are discussed include deterministic, strategic, sequential, bargaining, coalition, and fair division games. A separate, essential chapter discusses player preferences. All of the chapters are designed to strengthen the fundamental mathematical skills of quantitative literacy: logical reasoning, basic algebra and probability skills, geometric reasoning, and problem solving. A distinctive feature of this book is its emphasis on the process of mathematical modeling.
Undergraduate students interested in game theory.
"Gillman and Houseman have provided a well-written and much needed text to introduce a wider class of students to the application of mathematics to the world of social interactions."
-- Mathematical Reviews
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|Name: _________________________||Period: ___________________|
This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What did Esther fill the basin with?
2. What did children recognize before adults?
(a) All of these.
(d) Freedom and liberty.
3. What did Ivan not speak to his father about?
(a) His dreams.
(b) All of these.
(c) His frustrations.
(d) His yearnings and hopes
4. What did Vanya take solace in?
(b) Rock and roll music.
(c) Disrespecting his parents.
(d) Disobeying authority.
5. What was the name of the old woman who Ivan's mother used to bring things to?
(a) Baba Yada.
(b) Baba Tira.
(c) Babi Tila.
(d) Baba Tila.
Short Answer Questions
1. What was the woman dressed in?
2. What did Matfei immediately regret?
3. What did the woman say to Ivan?
4. What had Vanya figured had happened?
5. What class did Katerina think Ivan belonged to?
Short Essay Questions
1. Why did Vanya finally decide to let the Mohel circumcise him?
2. What was Ivan's excuse for not writing home?
3. What was Yaga supposed to have felt, but didn't?
4. What happened to Esther when Ivan rescued the princess Katerina?
5. Why is Nadya hesitant to show the Princess' hoose to her son and Father Lukas?
6. How did Ivan's parents' sacrifice weigh heavily on his mind? How did this affect the way he led his life?
7. How does Ivan justify his wearing the princess' hoose?
8. What was Katerina's justification for their treatment and purchase of slaves?
9. How did Ivan's relationship with his mother differ from his relationship with his father?
10. What did the Princess think of Ivan?
This section contains 959 words
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This is your bedbug-size brain on drugs. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are growing "mini-brains" — smaller than the period at the end of this sentence — that may contain enough human brain cells to be useful in studying drug addiction and other neurological diseases.
The mini-brains, grown in a laboratory dish, could one day reduce the need for the use of laboratory animals to conduct this type of research or to test therapeutic drugs, the researchers said.
Labs from around the world have been racing to grow these and other organoids — microscopic, yet primitively functional versions of livers, kidneys, hearts and brains grown from real human cells. The version of the mini-brain from Johns Hopkins represents an advance over others reported in the last three years, in that it is quickly reproducible and contains many types of brain cells that interact with each other, just like a real brain, the researchers said.
The researchers, led by Dr. Thomas Hartung, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, reported their progress on Feb. 13 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [11 Body Parts Grown in the Lab]
Hartung noted that the mini-brain cannot yet replace animal models in the study of neurological diseases. But he added that the concept, which until quite recently seemed years from maturity, may be realized in as little as 10 months.
Growing organoids involves the use of cells called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a technology developed by Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for that line of research. With iPS cell technology, scientists can theoretically turn back the clock in any type of mature cell — be it skin, muscle, bone, etc. — and bring it to a near-embryonic state. From there, cells can be coaxed into developing into any of a number of cell types, much in the same way that actual human embryonic cells develop into all the cell types that make up the human body.
Several labs are growing mini-brains. The first researchers to accomplish this, in 2013, were Jüergen Knoblich of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, Austria, and Madeline Lancaster of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England.
These researchers said they can grow globular mini-brains a few millimeters in diameter in about three months, and that these organoids may be ideal for the study of fetal brain development, including microcephaly, the incomplete brain growth seen in some infants that researchers say may be linked with the Zika virus.
Hartung's group has taken a different approach to grow smaller mini-brains, about 350 microns (0.35 millimeters) across, but say their method has easier reproducibility, a greater diversity of brain cell types and takes less time — only 10 weeks.
He described them as "Mini Coopers" in that they are small but identical, ideal for comparative studies, as opposed to the hand-crafted, custom-made "luxury cars" made in other labs.
"This allows us not to compare different brains but to compare different drivers," Hartung said, referring to different experiments that could be performed on identical brain models.
Hartung said his lab's mini-brains have a variety of glia cells (which support neurons) such as astrocytes and Schwann cells, as well as oligodendrocytes, which form the insulating myelin sheaths that enable nerve impulses — all in proportions similar to those found in the human brain.
The mini-brains' three-dimensional structure and ability to carry neurotransmitters — chemical messengers such as dopamine that enable communication between neurons — provide a simple but relatively realistic platform to study what goes wrong in the brain in, say, drug addiction and how the problem can be remedied.
Hartung said his group accomplishes this by starting with a type of adult skin cell called a fibroblast, inducing those cells back to the state of neural stem cells that give rise to all the cells of the brain and nervous system, and then growing them in a gently rolling, vibrating environment to create the 3D-ball structure. The lab has grown thousands of these mini-brains, each with about 20,000 cells.
Missing for now in the mini-brain but present in a real brain, Hartung said, are immune cells, which come from a different line of stem cells. He said he hopes to incorporate these types of cells soon. Hartung said he may have a working mini-brain for laboratory experimentation by the end of 2016, which could be mailed to any laboratory in the world. [Top 3 Techniques for Creating Organs in the Lab]
Once the mini-brain model is mature, "no one should have the excuse to still use animal models, which come with tremendous disadvantages for brain studies in particular," Hartung said. "While rodent models have been useful, we are not 150-lb. rats. And even though we are not balls of cells, either, you can often get much better information from these balls of cells than from rodents."
Hartung added that upward of 95 percent of therapeutic drugs for neurological orders that look promising in rodent studies fail in humans because of the intrinsic brain differences between the species.
The mini-brain model is well-suited for studying brain addiction, in that scientists can study how drugs can destroy glia cells. Such destruction leads to the death of neurons and poorer transmission of neural impulses, Hartung said.
Hartung's group is investigating the possibility of using the mini-brain to study the effect of Zika virus on a developing brain.
- 10 Things You Didn't Know About the Brain
- 6 Foods That Are Good for Your Brain
- 3D Images: Exploring the Human Brain
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Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline)
Hemoglobin or haemoglobin (frequently abbreviated as Hb) is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red cells of the blood in mammals and other animals. Hemoglobin in vertebrates transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, such as to the muscles, where it releases the oxygen load. Hemoglobin also has a variety of other gas-transport and effect-modulation duties, which vary from species to species, and which in invertebrates may be quite diverse.
The name hemoglobin is the concatenation of heme and globin, reflecting the fact that each subunit of hemoglobin is a globular protein with an embedded heme (or haem) group; each heme group contains an iron atom, and this is responsible for the binding of oxygen. The most common types of hemoglobin contains four such subunits, each with one heme group.
Mutations in the genes for the hemoglobin protein in humans result in a group of hereditary diseases termed the hemoglobinopathies, the most common members of which are sickle-cell disease and thalassemia. Historically in human medicine, hemaglobinopathies were the first diseases to be understood in mechanism of dysfunction, down to the molecular level.
Each individual protein chain arranges in a set of alpha-helix structural segments connected together in a "myoglobin fold" arrangement, so called because this arrangement is the same folding motif used in the heme/globin proteins. This folding pattern contains a pocket which is suitable to strongly bind the heme group.
A heme group consists of an iron atom held in a heterocyclic ring, known as a porphyrin. This iron atom is the site of oxygen binding. The iron atom is bonded equally to all four nitrogens in the center of the ring, which lie in one plane. Two additional bonds perpendicular to the plane on each side can be formed with the iron to a fifth and sixth bonding position, one connected strongly to the protein, the other available for binding of an oxygen molecule. The iron atom may either be in the Fe2+ or Fe3+ state, but ferrihemoglobin (methemoglobin) (Fe3+) cannot bind oxygen.
The Fe2+ in hemoglobin may exist in either a high-spin (deoxygenated) or low-spin (oxygenated) state, according to population of the iron (II) d-orbital structure with its 6 available d electrons, as understood in crystal field theory. With the binding of an oxygen molecule as a sixth ligand to iron, the iron (II) atom finds itself in a octahedral field (defined by the six ligand points of the four porphyrin ring nitrogens, the histamine nitrogen, and the O2). In these circumstances, with strong-field ligands, the five d-orbitals (these are the “3d” orbitals of the iron) undergo a splitting in energy between two of the d-orbitals which point directly in the direction of the ligands (dz2 and dx2-y2 orbitals, hybridized in these circumstances into two eg orbitals), and three of the d-orbitals which are pointed in off-directions (the dxy ,dxz, and dyz, hybridized in these circumstances into three t2g orbitals).
When oxygen is bound to Fe2+ in heme, all 6 d-electrons of the iron atom are forced into the three lower-energy t2g orbitals, where they must all be paired (see crystal field theory for diagram). This produces the “low-spin” state of oxyhemoglobin. The sharp high-energy of transition between the t2g and empty eg states of d-orbital electrons in oxyhemoglobin is responsible for the bright red color of the substance. When oxygen leaves, the Fe2+ is allowed to move out of the porphyrin ring plane, away from its five ligands toward the empty space formerly occupied by the O2, and in these circumstances eg orbital energies drop and t2g electrons move into them. This causes the iron atom to expand and increase its net spin, as d-orbitals become populated with unpaired electrons. In these circumstances, the absorption spectrum becomes broader, with smaller transition levels, producing the dark color of deoxyhemoglobin.
In adult humans, the most common hemoglobin type is a tetramer (which contains 4 subunit proteins) called hemoglobin A, consisting of two α and two β subunits non-covalently bound, each made of 141 and 146 amino acid residues, respectively. This is denoted as α2β2. The subunits are structurally similar and about the same size. Each subunit has a molecular weight of about 16,000 daltons, for a total molecular weight of the tetramer of about 64,000 daltons. Haemoglobin A is the most intensively studied of the haemoglobin molecules.
Types of haemoglobins in humansEdit
|hemoglobin, alpha 1|
|hemoglobin, alpha 2|
In the embryo:
In the fetus:
- Haemoglobin A (α2β2) (PDB 1BZ0) - The most common type.
- Haemaglobin A2 (α2δ2) - δ chain synthesis begins late in the third trimester and in adults, it has a normal level of 2.5%
- Haemoglobin F (α2γ2) - In adults Haemoglobin F is restricted to a limited population of red cells called F cells.
Binding of ligandsEdit
As discussed above, when oxygen is bound to Fe2+ in heme, all 6 d-electrons are forced into three lower-energy t2g orbitals, where they are all paired. This causes contraction of the iron atom, and causes it to move back into the center of the porphyrin ring plane (see moving diagram). At the same time, the porphyrin ring plane itself is pushed away from the oxygen and toward the histamine interacting at the other pole of the iron. The interaction here forces the ring plane sideways toward the outside of the tetramer, and also induces a strain on the protein helix containing the histamine, as it moves nearer the iron. This causes a tug on this peptide strand which tends to open up heme units in the remainder of the molecule, so that there is more room for oxygen to bind at their heme sites.
In the tetrameric form of normal adult hemoglobin, the binding of oxygen is thus a cooperative process. The binding affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen is increased by the oxygen saturation of the molecule, with the first oxygens bound influencing the shape of the binding sites for the next oxygens, in a way favorable for binding. This positive cooperative binding is achieved through steric conformational changes of the hemoglobin protein complex as discussed above, i.e. when one subunit protein in hemoglobin becomes oxygenated, this induces a conformational or structural change in the whole complex, causing the other subunits to gain an increased affinity for oxygen. As a consequence, the oxygen binding curve of hemoglobin is sigmoidal, or S-shaped, as opposed to the normal hyperbolic curve associated with noncooperative binding.
Hemoglobin's oxygen-binding capacity is decreased in the presence of carbon monoxide because both gases compete for the same binding sites on hemoglobin, carbon monoxide binding preferentially in place of oxygen. Carbon dioxide occupies a different binding site on the hemoglobin. Through the enzyme carbonic anhydrase, carbon dioxide reacts with water to give carbonic acid, which decomposes into bicarbonate and protons:
- CO2 + H2O → H2CO3 → HCO3- + H+
Hence blood with high carbon dioxide levels is also lower in pH (more acidic). Hemoglobin can bind protons and carbon dioxide which causes a conformational change in the protein and facilitates the release of oxygen. Protons bind at various places along the protein, and carbon dioxide binds at the alpha-amino group forming carbamate. Conversely, when the carbon dioxide levels in the blood decrease (i.e., in the lung capillaries), carbon dioxide and protons are released from hemoglobin, increasing the oxygen affinity of the protein. This control of hemoglobin's affinity for oxygen by the binding and release of carbon dioxide and acid, is known as the Bohr effect.
The binding of oxygen is affected by molecules such as carbon monoxide (CO) (for example from tobacco smoking, cars and furnaces). CO competes with oxygen at the heme binding site. Hemoglobin binding affinity for CO is 200 times greater than its affinity for oxygen, meaning that small amounts of CO dramatically reduces hemoglobin's ability to transport oxygen. When hemoglobin combines with CO, it forms a very bright red compound called carboxyhemoglobin. When inspired air contains CO levels as low as 0.02%, headache and nausea occur; if the CO concentration is increased to 0.1%, unconsciousness will follow. In heavy smokers, up to 20% of the oxygen-active sites can be blocked by CO.
In similar fashion, hemoglobin also has competitive binding affinity for cyanide (CN-), sulfur monoxide (SO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfide (S2-), including hydrogen sulfide (H2S). All of these bind to iron in heme without changing its oxidation state, but they nevertheless inhibit oxygen-binding, causing grave toxicity.
The iron atom in the heme group must be in the Fe2+ oxidation state to support oxygen and other gases' binding and transport. Oxidation to Fe3+ state converts hemoglobin into hemiglobin or methemoglobin (pronounced "MET-hemoglobin"), which cannot bind oxygen. Hemoglobin in normal red blood cells is protected by a reduction system to keep this from happening. Nitrogen dioxide and nitrous oxide are capable of converting a small fraction of hemoglobin to methemoglobin, however this is not usually of medical importance (nitrogen dioxide is poisonous by other mechanisms, and nitrous oxide is routinely used in surgical anesthesia in most people without undue methemoglobin buildup).
In people acclimated to high altitudes, the concentration of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (2,3-BPG) in the blood is increased, which allows these individuals to deliver a larger amount of oxygen to tissues under conditions of lower oxygen tension. This phenomenon, where molecule Y affects the binding of molecule X to a transport molecule Z, is called a heterotropic allosteric effect.
A variant hemoglobin, called fetal hemoglobin (HbF, α2γ2), is found in the developing fetus, and binds oxygen with greater affinity than adult hemoglobin. This means that the oxygen binding curve for fetal hemoglobin is left-shifted (i.e., a higher percentage of hemoglobin has oxygen bound to it at lower oxygen tension), in comparison to that of adult hemoglobin. As a result, fetal blood in the placenta is able to take oxygen from maternal blood.
Degradation of hemoglobin in vertebrate animalsEdit
When red cells reach the end of their life due to aging or defects, they are broken down, and the hemoglobin molecule broken up and the iron recycled. When the porphyrin ring is broken up, the fragments are normally secreted in the bile by the liver. The major final product of heme degradation is bilirubin. Increased levels of this chemical are detected in the blood if red cells are being destroyed more rapidly than usual. Improperly degraded hemoglobin protein or hemoglobin that has been released from the blood cells too rapidly can clog small blood vessels, especially the delicate blood filtering vessels of the kidneys, causing kidney damage.
Role in disease Edit
Decreased levels of hemoglobin, with or without an absolute decrease of red blood cells, leads to symptoms of anemia. Anemia has many different causes, although iron deficiency and its resultant iron deficiency anemia are the most common causes in the Western world. As absence of iron decreases heme synthesis, red blood cells in iron deficiency anemia are hypochromic (lacking the red hemoglobin pigment) and microcytic (smaller than normal). Other anemias are rarer. In hemolysis (accelerated breakdown of red blood cells), associated jaundice is caused by the hemoglobin metabolite bilirubin, and the circulating hemoglobin can cause renal failure.
There is a group of genetic disorders, known as the porphyrias that are characterized by errors in metabolic pathways of heme synthesis. King George III of the United Kingdom was probably the most famous porphyria sufferer.
To a small extent, hemoglobin A slowly combines with glucose at a certain location in the molecule. The resulting molecule is often referred to as Hb A1c. As the concentration of glucose in the blood increases, the percentage of Hb A that turns into Hb A1c increases. In diabetics whose glucose usually runs high, the percent Hb A1c also runs high. Because of the slow rate of Hb A combination with glucose, the Hb A1c percentage is representative of glucose level in the blood averaged over a longer time (the half-life of red blood cells, which is typically 50-55 days).
Hemoglobin levels are amongst the most commonly performed blood tests, usually as part of a full blood count or complete blood count. Results are reported in g/L, g/dL or mol/L. For conversion, 1 g/dL is 0.621 mmol/L. If the total hemoglobin concentration in the blood falls below a set point, this is called anemia. Anemias are further subclassified by the size of the red blood cells, which are the cells which contain hemoglobin in vertebrates. They can be classified as microcytic (small sized red blood cells), normocytic (normal sized red blood cells), or macrocytic (large sized red blood cells).
Glucose levels in blood can vary widely each hour, so one or only a few samples from a patient analyzed for glucose may not be representative of glucose control in the long run. For this reason a blood sample may be analyzed for Hb A1c level, which is more representative of glucose control averaged over a longer time period (determined by the half-life of the individual's red blood cells, which is typically 50-55 days). People whose Hb A1c runs 6.0% or less show good longer-term glucose control. Hb A1c values which are more than 7.0% are elevated. This test is especially useful for diabetics.
This Hb A1c level is only useful in individuals who have red blood cells (RBCs) with normal survivals (i.e., normal half-life). In individuals with abnormal RBCs, whether due to abnormal hemoglobin molecules (such as Hemoglobin S in Sickle Cell Anemia) or RBC membrane defects - or other problems, the RBC half-life is frequently shortened. In these individuals an alternative test called "fructosamine level" can be used. It measures the degree of glycation (glucose binding) to albumin, the most common blood protein, and reflects average blood glucose levels over the previous 18-21 days, which is the half-life of albumin molecules in the circulation.
Hemoglobin in the biological range of lifeEdit
Hemoglobin is by no means unique to vertebrates; there are a variety of oxygen transport and binding proteins throughout the animal (and plant) kingdom. Other organisms including bacteria, protozoans and fungi all have hemoglobin-like proteins whose known and predicted roles include the reversible binding of gaseous ligands. Since many of these proteins contain globins, and also the heme moiety (iron in a flat porphyrin support), these substances are often simply referred to as hemoglobins, even if their overall tertiary structure is very different from that of vertebrate hemoglobin. In particular, the distinction of “myoglobin” and hemoglobin in lower animals is often impossible, because some of these organisms do not contain muscles. Or they may have a recognizable separate circulatory system, but not one which deals with oxygen transport (for example, many insects and other arthropods). In all these groups, heme/globin containing molecules (even monomeric globin ones) which deal with gas-binding are referred to as hemoglobins. In addition to dealing with transport and sensing of oxygen, these molecules may also deal with NO, CO2, sulfide compounds, and even O2 scavenging in environments which must be anaerobic. They may even deal with detoxification of chlorinated materials in a manner analogous to heme-containing P450 enzymes and peroxidases.
The structure of hemoglobins varies across species. Hemoglobin occurs in all kingdoms of organism, but not in all organisms. Single-globin hemoglobins tend to be found in primative species such as bacteria, protozoa, algae, and plants. Nematode worms, moluscs and crustaceans, however, many contain very large multisubunit molecules much larger than those in vertebrates. Particularly worth noting are chimeric hemoglobins found in fungi and giant annelids, which may contain both globin and other types of proteins [PMID 11274340]. One of the most striking occurrences and uses of hemoglobin in organisms occurs in the (up to) 2.4 meter giant tube worm (Riftia pachyptila also called Vestimentifera) which populates ocean volcanic vents at the sea floor. These worms have no digestive tract, but instead contain a population of bacteria constituting half the organism’s weight, which react H2S from the vent and O2 from the water to produce energy to make food from H2O and CO2. These organisms end with a deep red fan-like structure ("plume") which extends into the water and which absorbs H2S and O2 for the bacteria, and also absorbs CO2 for use as synthetic raw material (after the manner of photosynthetic plants). The bright red color of the structures results from several extraordinarily complex hemoglobins found in them which contain up to 144 globin chains (presumably each including associated heme structures). These tube worm hemoglobins are remarkable for being able to carry oxygen in the presence of sulfide, and indeed to also carry sulfide, without being completely "poisoned" or inhibited by this molecule, as hemoglobins in most other species are [PMID 8621529]. See also [PMID 15265029].
Other biological oxygen-binding proteinsEdit
Myoglobin: Found in the muscle tissue of many vertebrates including humans (gives muscle tissue a distinct red or dark gray color). Is very similar to hemoglobin in structure and sequence, but is not arranged in tetramers, it is a monomer and lacks cooperative binding and is used to store oxygen rather than transport it.
Hemocyanin: Second most common oxygen transporting protein found in nature. Found in the blood of many arthropods and molluscs. Uses copper prosthetic group instead of iron heme groups and is blue in color when oxygenated.
Vanabins: Also known as Vanadium Chromagen are found in the blood of Sea squirt and are hypothesised to use the rare metal Vanadium as its oxygen binding prosthetic group, but this hypothesis is unconfirmed.
Erythrocruorin: Found in many annelids, including earthworms. Giant free-floating blood protein, contains many dozens even hundreds of Iron heme containing protein subunits bound together into a single protein complex with a molecular masses greater than 3.5 million daltons.
Leghemoglobin: In leguminous plants, such as alfalfa or soybeans, the nitrogen fixing bacteria in the roots are protected from oxygen by this iron heme containing, oxygen binding protein.
See also Edit
- Hemoglobin A1C
- Hemoglobin S
- Hemoglobin C
- Hemoglobin F
- Hemoglobin A2
- Campbell, Mary K. (1999), Biochemistry (Third Edition), Harcourt College Publishers, ISBN 0-03024-426-9.
- Reece, JB (2005), Biology (Seventh Edition), Benjamin Cummings, ISBN 0-8053-7171-0.
- Di Maio, M, Pisano, C & Tambaro, R, Greggi S, Casella G, Laurelli G, Formato R, Iaffaioli RV, Perrone F & Pignata S (May 1, 2006), "The prognostic role of pre-chemotherapy hemoglobin level in patients with ovarian cancer", Front Biosci, vol. 11:1585-90. PMID 16368539.
- Eshaghian, S, Horwich, TB & Fonarow, GC (January 2006), "An unexpected inverse relationship between HbA1c levels and mortality in patients with diabetes and advanced systolic heart failure", Am Heart J, vol. 151(1):91. PMID 16368297.
- Hardison, RC (June 11, 1996), "A brief history of hemoglobins: plant, animal, protist, and bacteria", Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. PMID 8650150.
- Kneipp, J, Balakrishnan, G & Chen, R, Shen TJ, Sahu SC, Ho NT, Giovannelli JL, Simplaceanu V, Ho C, Spiro TG (November 22, 2005), "Dynamics of Allostery in Hemoglobin: Roles of the Penultimate Tyrosine H bonds", J Mol Biol. PMID 16368110.
- Ganong, William F. (March 17, 2003), Review of Medical Physiology (Twenty-First Edition), Lange Medical Books (McGraw-Hill Medical Publishing Division), ISBN 0-07140-236-5.
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).| | <urn:uuid:8debefaf-b6e2-441f-b278-435453632143> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Oxyhemoglobin | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00090-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900861 | 4,761 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Canada’s National Post newspaper has reported the findings of a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The Post carried the headline “Videogames make you eat more”, further on in the article it added that watching TV and working at a computer have the same effect.
The article, published on the National Post’s website, stated that:
“A Canadian-led study has offered up a new clue to the country’s obesity epidemic, suggesting that video-game use is not just a rampant and sedentary replacement for physical exertion, but actually compels players to eat more — even when they are not hungry.”
Dr. Jean-Philippe Chaput, lead author of the study, reported that the teenage subjects spent an hour sitting in a comfortable chair and then, on another occasion, an hour playing a videogame. After the hour spent gaming, participants consumed an average of 80 calories more at a pasta lunch.
“Surveys filled out by the 22 young men who participated in the study showed the gamers consumed an average of 163 more calories through the day,” the Post’s article continued. “Blood tests for appetite-related hormone levels showed no evidence that game playing had actually made them hungrier, however.”
Dr. Chaput hypothesised that the impact in a ‘real-life’ setting was actually much greater than the 80 calories established by his study “since in a real-life setting gamers often play with others and eat while they play — both factors that would encourage food intake,” the Post postulated.
Later in the article, other “sedentary activities”, such as watching TV and working at a computer were also mentioned, and the initial point expanded upon by Dr. Sharma, chair of obesity research at the University of Alberta:
“There is this widespread misconception that obesity results largely from people being physically inactive, not burning calories,” said Dr. Sharma. “Canadians are not getting fat because they’re lazy. They’re getting fat because they don’t have time and because they’re stressed out, they’re working too much … they never shut off.”
Dr Chatput has stated that he would like to look next at “a new generation of games, such as the Nintendo Wii, that actually require physical exertion that mimics the characters on screen, to see whether they trigger the same over-eating effect.” He warned that if they do, any health-boosting benefit of those games could be offset by the resulting compulsion to eat.
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here. | <urn:uuid:c4e89dfa-73c2-4d18-a191-a03af757c187> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.vg247.com/2011/04/19/report-videogames-make-you-eat-more/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399428.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967987 | 584 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Students Examine Launch Pad for Flame Trench Model
A team of Louisiana State University students who proposed to build a tabletop-sized flame trench to test flame-resistant materials took a look at the real thing at Launch Complex 39B on Oct. 14.
Dr. Luz Marina Calle, a materials researcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, posted the requirement for a lab-sized model of the flame trench and Christine Woodfield, Jacob Koch and Kevin Schenker, all mechanical engineering students at LSU, took on the assignment with their professor, Dr. Shengmin Guo. Their senior design engineering project is funded through the Exploration Space Grant Project managed for the Agency by the Kennedy Space Center Education Program Office.
"The pictures are pretty accurate, but the size . . . and then seeing the effects the environment has that it's exposed to," Woodfield said.
"You can't understand it until you come and see it," Koch said as the group looked up from the bottom of the 40-foot deep trench.
Upgrading the flame trench is a high priority as the launch complex is modernized following the retirement of the space shuttle, said Jose Perez Morales, project manager for the work at Pad 39B.
"It's one of the most challenging projects we've got," Perez Morales said.
The flame trenches were built when Pads 39A and 39B were constructed in 1966 to handle the Saturn V moon rocket. They were lined with thousands of fireproof bricks, many of which remain in place today. However, the fasteners holding some of the bricks in place occasionally gave way in the face of intense flame and the force of 7 million pounds of thrust during dozens of shuttle launches.
"We have a unique condition here, so there are no commercial materials out there for this," Perez Morales said. "The water deluge and the acid from the solid rocket boosters also have to be considered."
A cement-like compound called Fondue Fyre was used to cover suspect areas, but it required maintenance after each launch, Perez Morales said.
"We have spent a lot of money on the maintenance of the insulating material," Perez Morales said. "After every launch there's a lot that has to be refurbished."
Recognizing that there may not be a commercially available product that can stand the flame trench conditions and require little maintenance, Kennedy's scientists are working to come up with an alternate material to handle the job. Testing it on a small scale is important to the project, Calle said. If it proves handy to another industry, then NASA can get a commercial company to produce it, too.
"If there is a potential material, we're going to need to test it in the lab," Calle said.
The students also will build a system that simulates the flames of a rocket. Since the pad is to be used for the Space Launch System, which currently is planned for four space shuttle main engines and two solid rocket boosters, the thrust will be on par with a Saturn V.
"Trying to make it as close to the real thing as possible is the objective," Koch said. "I think we're going to use a plasma torch or a plasma cutter."
The team expects to begin work on the project soon after returning to school.
"This semester we'll go into putting down a plan and then next semester we'll build it early and go through samples and prepare them with things like saltwater," Woodfield said.
While the trip had a scientific reason for it, the history of the area was not lost on the students.
"This has always seemed out of reach to me, so I never dreamed that I would get to come and tour a launch pad," Woodfield said.
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center | <urn:uuid:91966028-a7b6-4529-8094-e05de8333d25> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/home/lsudesignteam.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393997.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00073-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965851 | 777 | 3.0625 | 3 |
In July, 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance establishing the Northwest Territory, and later that year Congress sold John Cleves Symmes over 250,000 acres between the Miami Rivers. In November 1788, Major Benjamin Stites led the first group of permanent settlers down the Ohio to establish Columbia at the mouth of the Little Miami River near the site of the present day Lunken Airport.
On July 9, 1788, General Arthur St. Clair, the President of Congress, arrived at
|Hamilton County 1798|
Survey, Columbus, OH. | <urn:uuid:abb92b04-06a2-4508-b367-361944d7f6cf> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://hcgsohio.blogspot.com/2012/05/first-families-of-hamilton-county-early.html?pfstyle=wp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403826.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00033-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914099 | 117 | 3.640625 | 4 |
A person or business that has a monopoly: production by a monopolist is cheapest [as modifier]: the state-owned monopolist generating company
More example sentences
- A monopolist can determine the market price for its product and can be described as a price maker rather than a price taker.
- It was followed, at the end of the 15th cent., by the Merchant Venturers of London, monopolists of the expanding cloth industry's overseas trade.
- When you talk about withdrawing your services from the sick, it's just like the monopolists using monopoly power.
Words that rhyme with monopolistoligopolist
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: mon|op¦ol|ist
Definition of monopolist in:
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Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed. | <urn:uuid:b8ca36d8-7246-4919-8d13-9110758c54db> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/monopolist | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00017-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922126 | 185 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Spring is nearly here, and the bats that frequent your backyard will be coming home soon - if they can find a home.
Bats return from migration as early as March in most of the US (but stay year-round in the extreme southern US).
This makes late winter one of the best times to erect a bat house.
Bats serve as nature's pest control. In fact, one small brown bat will eat thousands of mosquitos and other night-flying insects each night.
If you are interested in attracting bats to your backyard, please visit our online Bat House Basics
page to learn more on bat house selection, mounting, and other considerations. | <urn:uuid:4b68d32a-1761-4785-adea-0aff63901884> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/rtnewsletter.asp?RTNEWSLETTER_ID=36 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00156-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956734 | 135 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Judaism: Preparing to Stand Before G-d
Moshe KempinskiMoshe Kempinski, author of "The Teacher and the Preacher", is the editor...
On the week that precedes Rosh Hashanah, thousands of Jews gathered at the Western wall for a special evening of Selichot (penitential prayers) that were focused on the threat of Iran and its fanatic rulers.
Just as in the time of Ahashverosh of the Purim story, another fanatic Haman declared that he would try to destroy the Jewish people. Just as in that time, the rulers of our days, are standing back and giving him the tacit permission to do so. Yet just as it was then, the Jewish people were gathered in for prayer before the time of battle.
As a result of the call of the important rabbinic leaders of the Religious Zionist movement and some of the leading Kabbalists, a call for prayer was issued. Thousands heeded the call and were involved together in intense prayer into the small hours of the night. We stand assured that those prayers will be answered .
What then lies behind the power of standing together in such a gathering?
Generally on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashannah, the days of judgment of the whole world, this dramatic verse from the Torah portion of Nitzavim is read in the synagogues.
"You stand this day, all of you, before HaShem your G-d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, your officers, and every Israelite man; your young ones, your wives, the stranger in your gate; from your wood hewer to your water drawer." (Deuteronomy 29:9)
Two concepts demand exploration. The first is the use of the word Hayom ( this day) and the second is Kulchem ( All of You)
The Chatam Sofer asked what is meant by the words "You stand this day,... ". Were they not standing before G-d earlier at Mount Sinai? Were they not standing before Him at the shores of the Reed Sea? Why must we be told that they were standing on "this day"?
The concept of standing before G-d is a daunting and frightening concept when one takes into account who He is and who we are. In fact even the Israelites of Exodus could not muster the spiritual courage to " stand before G-d". They implored Moshe to stand for them in their stead " You go near, and hear all that HaShem our G-d may say; and you will speak unto us all that HaShem our G-d may speak unto you; and we will hear it and do it.' ( ibid 5:23)
G-d responds favorably to their request and tells Moshe " ... "I have heard the sound of the words of this people that they have spoken to you; they have done well in all that they have spoken. Would that their hearts be like this, to fear Me and to keep all My commandments all the days, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! ( ibid 5:25-26) .
Yet now we hear the declaration;
"You stand this day, all of you, before HaShem your G-d ".
These words were spoken in the last 24 hours of Moshe's life. Moshe is telling his people that he has endured the burden of being their protective covering for forty years. Now that they are about to enter the land, they must be prepared to enter the next phase of their Divine mission.
Until "this day" they had been the tools that G-d had been using to reveal His involvement in this world. After "this day" they were becoming active participants in that very revelation. They were about to enter the land of Israel without Moshe standing between them and G-d any longer. Henceforth they were going to stand themselves before HaShem their G-d . They were to do that in the land where Divine involvement with the world is more visible than in any other place in this world.
That thought should have been a daunting almost frightening thought. Could they live up to the task and the expectation?
The Baal Shem Tov related that whenever the word " HaYom - this day" is mentioned it refers to Rosh Hashannah. We too stand before HaShem our G-d on this very day .That thought too should be daunting and frightening. A true understanding of the implications of such a "stand" should be enough to overwhelm our spirit and silence our tongues. What could we say at such a moment? Could we develop the courage to look upward and forward without being daunted by feelings of inadequacy?
The words HaYom-This Day " are used elsewhere as well.
" And it fell on this day( Vayhi HaYom ), that he ( Elisha the prophet )came there, and he turned into the upper chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant: 'Call this Shunammite.' And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him: 'Say now unto her: Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for you? Should you be spoken for to the King, or to the captain of the host?' And she answered: 'I dwell among mine own people.' (Kings II 11-13)
The writings of the Zohar ( parshat Beshalach) offer another level of understanding to the encounter between the prophet and this simple woman. It explains that the prophet Elisha asks this woman if he can intercede on her behalf on "this day" that was Rosh Hashannah before the "King" who is none other than the ultimate King.
Her answer gives insight and inspiration to all of us who are cognizant of our own stand before the King on this Day of Judgment. She answered " I dwell amongst my own people". Though I may feel inadequate to stand before HaShem on this or on any day, I wish only to be judged together with the entire people of Israel. Only when I become part of the corporate soul that is the people of Israel can I receive the empowerment to "stand before HaShem".
That is the deeper meaning of the verse "You stand this day, all of you, before HaShem, your G-d." Only in the unity of the people is our judgment tempered with ultimate Divine mercy. Only when we understand that we are all part of a greater whole can we muster the courage to change and elevate our individual souls.
That is the secret of Rosh Hashannah. Before we enter into the days of Atonement and repentance we enter into the Palace of Rosh Hashannah . There, together, as a people, we declare G-d to be Ruler and Majesty of the Universe. Within that corporate purpose lays the empowerment for individual growth. The eternal concept of Klal Yisrael gives each member of that Klal ( community) the ability and courage to become the individual he needs to be.
It is what gives each of us the courage to stand before Hashem in the celestial throne room on these great and awesome days. It is also that which gives us hope. | <urn:uuid:c524ba34-d044-47c5-9f55-5b951ed6a324> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/12183 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397696.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00053-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969539 | 1,513 | 2.859375 | 3 |
What happened during Land Day in 1976?
March 30th is “Land Day”, commemorated by Palestinian and Israeli Arabs. In 1976, the first Land Day was a protest over confiscation of Arab land for Jewish settlements in northern Israel. Demonstrations, accompanied by a general strike of the Arab sector, erupted into violent clashes with police with six Arab fatalities.
What actually happened in 1976 has been distorted as the annual event has become an instrument of propaganda. On March 11, 1976, the Israeli government published a plan to expropriate approximately 21,000 dunams (5,250 acres) of land in the Galilee. Only 31 percent of the land in question, or less than one-third, was Arab-owned, some of which was to be used to expand the Arab village of Majar near Acre and to build public buildings in Arab towns. This action by Israel was no different than the eminent domain process thatis regularly used in the United States or other countries to acquire land for public projects. Nevertheless, the most prominent political party in the Arab sector at the time, Rakah (The New Communist List), cynically decided to seize upon the decision and called a general strike for March 30. Riots broke out the night before - in which soldiers and police were attacked with stones and firebombs - and continued the following day, resulting in the deaths of six Israeli Arabs. Though the media portrays Land Day as a day when Israeli Arabs peacefully vented their frustrations, Land Day was in fact born in violence, the product of the machinations of a political party that proudly waved the dubious banner of Marxism-Leninism. Since 1976 the date has become an annual event for Palestinians and Israeli Arabs who have turned Land Day into a general protest against what they claim are discriminatory practices by the Israeli government. Land Day has often been marked by angry demonstrations and country-wide violence. Land Day demonstrations are also the focus of open support for Hamas and Hizbullah, showing of flags from Syria and other Arab countries, and denunciations of the Israeli Prime Minister and the government's policies toward the Palestinians. | <urn:uuid:1fc3c48c-09d7-4dd0-b6b1-35dc5c813318> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_1967to1991_land_day_1976.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00169-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974384 | 431 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Say the word ‘statistician‘ and most people might think of an intelligent but reclusive person, probably working in a darkened room and almost certainly wearing glasses. But a new study shows that a monkey in front of a monitor can make a reasonably good statistician too.
Tianming Yang and Michael Shadlen from the University of Washington found that rhesus macaques can perform simple statistical calculations, and even watched their neurons doing it. Psychologists often train animals to learn simple tasks, where the right choice earns them a reward and the wrong one leaves them empty-handed or punished. But real life, of course, is not like that.
Mostly, there are risks and probabilities in lieu of guarantees or right answers. Animals must weigh up the available information, often from multiple sources, and decide on the course of action most likely to work out in their favour.
Yang and Shadlen tested this decision-making ability in two rhesus macaques using a variation of the well-known weather prediction task used to test human volunteers. In the human version, people are shown a series of cards that represent various probabilities of good or bad weather. After some training, they are shown combinations and asked to predict the likely weather from these.
The monkeys had a slightly simpler task – they had to look at either a green or a red target. If they picked the right one (which changed from trial to trial), they were rewarded with a tasty drink. To help the monkeys choose, Yang and Shadlen showed them a series of shapes that represented the probability that the rewarding target was red or green.
For example, a square strongly indicated that the red target was the rewarding one, while a triangle strongly favoured the green one, and an hourglass only slightly favoured the green. The monkeys were shown four shapes out of a possible ten, and to get the right answer, they had to add up the probabilities indicated by these shapes.
And that is exactly what they did. They learned to base their decisions on the combined probabilities of the four shapes, and chose the appropriate target. It did, however, take them a while to learn (or two months of training with over 130,000 trials to be exact). Any statisticians reading this don’t need to fear about being replaced by monkeys any time soon.
They weighed up the strength of the evidence too. When the shapes strongly suggested one colour, the monkeys almost always went with that colour. When the summed probability lay between the two extremes, they chose either target but still favoured the one indicated by the shapes.
With 715 different combinations of shapes, the experiment’s design makes it highly unlikely that the monkeys simply memorised the ‘answers’ for different mixes. And because the shapes only dealt in probabilities, it was still possible to choose the wrong target, even if the monkey strictly adhered to the shapes’ advice. They were clearly reasoning with probabilities, and in pretty subtle ways.
For their next trick, Yang and Shadlen visualised this reasoning directly by looking at 64 neurons in the monkeys’ lateral intraparietal area (LIP). This part of the brain is responsible for several higher functions like mathematical skills. Other studies have found that the LIP collects data from the visual cortex, and helps to process what the monkey sees.
When the monkeys saw a shape, the activity of their LIP neurons was proportional to the probability indicated by that shape. As the four shapes were shown in sequence, the neurons altered their rate of firing to account for the new information. As the evidence was building up, the monkeys were busy doing sums in their heads. Yang and Shadlen were seeing arithmetic in action.
Of course, monkeys are living things and not fuzzy calculators, and they were not equally good at statistical reasoning. One was clearly better than the other, and Yang and Shadlen put this down to differences in their neurons.
Each neuron varies slightly in its typical firing rate, and summed together, these variations can lead to biases in how the monkeys deal with calculations. This explains why the monkeys sometimes did different things when shown the same combination of shapes.
Their confusion was particularly apparent when the shapes gave no strong inclination to pick one target or another. We can certainly relate to that – after all, it’s certainly harder to make a decision, when neither option seems particularly better than the other.
Yang and Shadlen believe that human brains use similar methods to make decisions. Cues about probabilities are funnelled into the brain’s control centres (like the LIP), which act like calculators powered by the firing of neurons.
Reference: Yang & Shadlen. 2007. Probabilistic reasoning by neurons. Nature (doi:10.1038/nature05852) | <urn:uuid:6dd52f09-de96-40d4-bf88-fafca15d50da> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/03/monkey-see-monkey-calculate-statistics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394605.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965519 | 980 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Fundamental breach means any breach to a contract that is so fundamental. Any fundamental breach permits a party to terminate the performance of a contract. This also entitles a party to sue for damages.
Following is an example of a United Nations convention (convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods) defining fundamental breach:
Article 25 defines fundamental breach as A breach of contract committed by one of the parties is fundamental if it results in such detriment to the other party as substantially to deprive him of what he is entitled to expect under the contract, unless the party in breach did not foresee and a reasonable person of the same kind in the same circumstances would not have foreseen such a result. | <urn:uuid:a484dd24-4918-49ff-b682-bfe69a67e323> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://definitions.uslegal.com/f/fundamental-breach/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00063-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937254 | 139 | 2.5625 | 3 |
THEMIS is a constellation mission consisting of 5 satellites in different orbits together with a ground array of magnetometers and auroral cameras located in North America. The outer-most satellites will be as far away as 30 Earth radii (200,000 km). THEMIS answers fundamental outstanding questions regarding the magnetospheric substorm instability, a dominant mechanism of transport and explosive release of solar wind energy within geospace. Every fourth night, all five satellites will line up above North America. While the ground-based instruments monitor the space environment by watching the aurora (Northern Lights), the satellites will directly observe the processes that drive it.
- LASP designed and built the Digital Fields Board (DFB)
- Co-Investigators, Xinlin Li and Bob Ergun
- Data processing for the Electric Field Instrument
LASP designed and built the Digital Fields Board (DFB) for the THEMIS mission (5 flight-units plus 1 spare). The THEMIS DFB performs the spectral processing for the Electric Fields Instrument (EFI) and the Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM). The resulting data represent the electric and magnetic wave power in bands from DC up to 8 kHz, plus a high-frequency electric field band from 30 kHz to 500 kHz. Additionally, the DFB filters and digitizes the analog signals from the EFI and SCM instruments.
The DFB creates two types of spectral products: filter bank data (FBK) and Fourier power spectra (FFT). The filter bank data are meant for survey-type monitoring of wave power. They have broad frequency bands and relatively low time resolution, and are usually available whenever the instruments are on. The FFT data are meant for detailed event studies, and have much narrower and sharper spectral bands as well as higher time resolution. The FFT data are available only when the spacecraft is in burst mode.
Launch date: February 17, 2007
Launch location: Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Launch vehicle: Delta II 2425-10
Mission target: Earth orbit
Mission duration: 2 years planned; currently on extended mission phase
Other organizations involved:
- University of California, Berkeley/Space Sciences Laboratory | <urn:uuid:c14416ee-a388-4ea9-803b-0905ac7883c3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/missions-projects/quick-facts-themis/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00191-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.889654 | 448 | 3.0625 | 3 |
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Darwin And Modern Science: Essays In Commemoration Of The Centenary Of The Birth Of Charles Darwin And Of The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Publication Of The Origin Of Species Charles-Tristan Montholon (comte de), Cambridge Philosophical Society, Glasgow (Scotland). St. Mary and St. Anne (Collegiate church), Cambridge University Press, Jos� Joaquim Lopes de Lima, Manuel Francisco de Barros e Sousa Santar�m (Visconde de), N. X., Napoleon I (Emperor of the French), Pradt (Dominique Georges Fr�d�ric, M. de), Saint Bede (the Venerable), Soci�t� acad�mique de Nantes et du d�partement de la Loire-Inf�rieure, Cristoforo del Bianco (called Scipione Ammirato, the Younger), Luiz Augusto Rebello da Silva, Francesco del Soldato, Joaquim Jos� da Silva Mendes Leal, Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, John Hall Albert Charles Seward University Press, 1834 Evolution (Biology); Science
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Rent Darwin and Modern Science 1st edition today, or search our site for other textbooks by Charles-Tristan Montholon (Comte De). Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Saraswati Press.
Need help ASAP? We have you covered with 24/7 instant online tutoring. Connect with one of our tutors now. | <urn:uuid:896c81e0-48fe-4a84-87ff-21fdf7993514> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chegg.com/textbooks/darwin-and-modern-science-1st-edition-9781249933731-1249933730 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.814684 | 476 | 2.59375 | 3 |
As a child, you were probably told to stand up straight. That’s still great advice. Standing erect and sitting properly can help reduce stress on joints, ward off muscle pain and improve balance to prevent falls.
You’ll feel the price of poor posture. Painful, achy joints steal your sleep and lead to irritability and fatigue. Hunching or tilting to one side makes you vulnerable to falls. Unbalanced pressure on spinal disks can cause neck, back and shoulder pain. Improper alignment can contribute to musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, herniated disks and degenerative disk disease.
Today’s older adults are far more active than previous generations—and they have the aches and pains to prove it. In fact, sports injuries like tendonitis and bursitis have become so common among the over-50 set, there’s a name for the condition—boomeritis.
Some injuries result from years of overuse or repetitive movements. Others happen when out-of-shape weekend warriors try to get back in a game as they did when they were younger. You can stay active and pain free and avoid getting sidelined by boomeritis by following these tips from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:
- Gear your workouts to your own fitness level and goals.
- Know your weak link, such as a previously injured joint, and avoid activities that may strain it.
- Mix up your exercise routine for balanced fitness. Include cardiovascular activities (walking or jogging), strength training (lifting weights) and flexibility exercises (stretching or yoga).
- Choose low-impact aerobic activities like biking, swimming or dancing.
- Warm up before exercising.
- Take 1,200 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D daily to maintain bone strength. People over age 70 should aim for 600 IU.
The Aging Body
Physical changes that occur with age and lifestyle habits conspire to allow slouching. With passing birthdays, people typically experience the following:
- Muscles shrink and lose mass. Strength diminishes and reflexes slow.
- Bone loss outpaces bone building. Bones lose density and strength and break more easily.
- Ligaments, which connect bones at joints, lose elasticity. Overall flexibility diminishes.
- Activity decreases. People tend to move less and in more repetitive ways. Some muscles stay strong while others weaken.
The result? Your body loses correct alignment, putting you at risk for musculoskeletal disorders and pain.
Checking Your Position
The way you hold your body—standing and sitting—is key to proper posture. Examine your alignment with these assessments:
- Stand tall. Stand in front of a mirror. Breathe deeply and relax. Is your head straight and are your shoulders and hips level? Do you see equal spaces between your arms and sides? Do your kneecaps face forward and are your ankles straight?
- Sit smart. Position yourself correctly when seated, especially if you use a computer. Use a pillow to support your lower back. Adjust your chair so your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are at a 90-degree angle. The top of your screen should be level with the top of your head.
Maintaining good posture through the years calls for conscious effort. Exercising regularly to keep your muscles strong and flexible and to maintain good balance is key to holding and carrying your body correctly. In addition, practice these exercises from the American Physical Therapy Association and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to help you improve and maintain correct body alignment:
- Strengthen core muscles. The strength of your core, especially your abdominals, is key to back stability. To strengthen them, lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Using your abdominal muscles to lift your head, neck and shoulder blades off the floor, slowly curl up. Repeat 15 times.
- Boost your balance. Wear sturdy shoes to practice this exercise: Grasp hold of a countertop or the back of a chair. Stand on one leg for one minute; switch legs. As you improve, increase the time, close your eyes or don’t use an object for support.
Seek Treatment for Unresolved Pain
Many people with chronic pain, particularly back pain, can trace their problem to faulty posture. Self-care efforts to improve alignment may not be enough to undo years of slouching and bad habits like carrying an overloaded shoulder bag, but you can keep poor posture from getting progressively worse. See your healthcare provider if you have back pain that is severe, doesn’t improve with rest, is accompanied by numbness and tingling or occurs after a fall or an injury.
Feature Archive | | <urn:uuid:9e3b79dd-a123-4348-86c0-afe3e11c68be> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.riainvision.com/features/030413-good-posture.aspx | 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 | 0.923872 | 1,001 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Osteochondral Knee Fracture
An Osteochondral fracture is a tear of the cartilage which covers the end of a bone, within a joint. This is common in the knee joint, especially in association with other injuries such as ACL tears.
Osteochondral fracture symptoms
The athlete will feel immediate pain at the time of injury with rapid swelling. The pain will get worse on weight bearing and the knee joint may lock or feel unstable. If an osteochondral fracture is suspected then an X-ray may be undertaken to confirm the diagnosis. Fragments are not always clear on an X-ray and so an MRI or CT scan may be used instead.
Osteochondral fractures explained
Osteochondral Fractures are also sometimes known as articular cartilage injuries. The only difference is that with an osteochondral fracture, there may also be a bone fracture involved. Sometimes the torn piece or cartilage also contains a bone fragment. These fragments can vary is size and depth, with larger ones typically causing more problems.
These fragments are sometimes known as 'loose bodies or fragments' and can cause symptoms such as those listed above, which may be intermittent as the fragment moves within the joint. The knee may go for long periods with no symptoms at all, only to then play up for a few days at a time.
Osteochondral fractures occur most frequently in children and adolescents as they bone is softer and so more likely to fracture in this way. This injury most frequently occurs during a violent twist to the knee, especially when weight bearing. The twist may occur from a direct trauma such as a tackle or other impact, or from a fall.
As with similar ankle injuries an osteochondral fracture is graded 1 to 5 depending on severity or type of injury.
- I - Subchondral fracture.
- II - Chondral fracture.
- II a - Subchondral cyst.
- III - Chondral fracture with separate but not displaced fragments.
- IV - Chondral fracture with separate and displaced fragments.
Treatment depends on the severity of the injury. Grade I and II injuries are treated with physical therapy and rehabilitation. The wearing of a cast to immobilise the joint has previously been used, although this is not as common now. More severe injuries (grades III and IV) usually require arthroscopic (keyhole) surgery to remove or repair the damaged fragment. A full rehabilitation programme should follow to regain full strength, mobility and balance. | <urn:uuid:8fd81adc-efd3-4ba7-a27b-693dc3b56978> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/sport-injuries/knee-pain/osteochondral-fractures-in-the-knee | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396945.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928285 | 517 | 2.984375 | 3 |
'It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it; but as matters stood, it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of a savage.'
Set in fictitious Coketown, England during the Industrial Revolution of the 1850s, Dickens wished to expose the enormous gulf between the rich and poor through his writing. In Hard Times, the social and moral purpose of his work is at its most evident. Openly ironic and satirical in its tone, Dickens suggests a mechanization of society, where the wealthy are ruthless and uncharitable towards those less fortunate than themselves.
Siblings Louisa and Tom Gradgrind are raised by their father, a harsh and pragmatic educator and his influence means that they go on to lead lives that are lacking in all areas. Louisa marries the arrogant and greedy Josiah Bounderby, ending in an unhappy pairing and the unfeeling and villainous Tom robs his own brother-in-law's bank. As their father watches their plight, he realises that his own principles may have led to their downfall.
About the Author
Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty. This experience influenced Oliver Twist the second of his fourteen major novels, which first appeared in 1837. When he died in 1870 he was buried in Poets, Corner in Westminster Abbey as an indication of his huge popularity as a novelist, which endures to this day.
Series: Collins Classics
For Ages: 18+ years old
Number Of Pages: 370
Published: 21st August 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Country of Publication: GB
Dimensions (cm): 20.0 x 13.0 x 1.4
Weight (kg): 0.166 | <urn:uuid:f8e2fc11-7fe3-4f13-81bb-94608f708dac> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.booktopia.com.au/hard-times-charles-dickens/prod9780007449941.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397428.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977281 | 369 | 3.25 | 3 |
The origins of major Western holidays, from a Catholic perspective.
Former Catholic Advocate editor Tobin (Selecting the Pope: Uncovering the Mysteries of Papal Elections, 2003, etc.) makes the argument that virtually all aspects of the modern Western calendar are derived from Roman Catholic sources (with a good deal of help from pagan culture). Much of the information here is readily available elsewhere, but he does a service by collecting these facts into a single volume. Tobin begins with the start of the Christian liturgical year—Advent—and moves on to Christmas, tackling the book’s title question (no, Jesus was apparently not born on Christmas, as is now widely known). The author moves along chronologically through the year, treating both well-known holidays such as Easter and Thanksgiving, as well as less widely celebrated ones, such as Christ the King Sunday. Tobin provides interesting tidbits and trivia throughout, making for a quick, entertaining read. Along with an explanation of various holidays, the author explores the origin of the Gregorian Calendar. In all cases, Tobin brings his readers back to the Catholic perspective. For instance, when discussing Thanksgiving (which, he wryly points out, “is not a Catholic holy day, per se”), the author provides a family prayer for use around the Thanksgiving table, approved by the Catholic bishops of the United States. Tobin also devotes a chapter to the effects of the Second Vatican Council on the church calendar. Woven throughout the narrative are references to or reminders of how secular society has made use of various holidays for commercial means (“The greeting card, flower, and candy industries love, love, love St. Valentine, for he provides substantial cash flow in the first quarter of the year, the first major spending holiday after Christmas”).
Nothing groundbreaking, but Tobin provides a light, fluffy, fun read. | <urn:uuid:e213f708-f072-48a9-a72a-420787ca2572> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/greg-tobin/was-jesus-really-born-christmas/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94701 | 385 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Using a language is a vital part in learning a language; however, Japanese learners of English residing in Japan do not feel the need to use English because it is not the language of survival in that country, and because of that there is not as much opportunity to use it. The same holds true for Japanese-language learners residing outside of Japan. They rarely have opportunity to converse in Japanese because they are not exposed to conversational Japanese on a regular basis. With the Internet age, however, geographical restrictions are overcome. Skype, for example, offers learners the opportunity and exposure they need to acquire a foreign language, no matter the country they are residing in at the time. | <urn:uuid:7aee0345-5543-438c-9746-631bfe06a6ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/100370-Please-find-grammatical-errors-in-the-quoted-sentences-quot?p=495152 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00157-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97112 | 135 | 2.859375 | 3 |
For years, Eli Evans has written about history: Civil War history, his own history as a Jew growing up in the South. And his efforts are driven by an undying fascination with cultural inheritance and identity.
Evans was born in Durham, N.C. His family owned and operated United Department Stores, and for 12 years, 1951-63, his father, Emanuel Evans, served as the city's mayor.
"Jews in the North talked about playing stickball and fighting their way through fierce anti-Semitism," he said in a telephone interview last week. "I was picking blackberries and playing basketball and doing all the things young Southern people do."
In 1973, he finished his first book, "The Provincials," a portrait of Jews in the South.
Then he turned his attention to one of the Confederacy's most fascinating characters, Judah P. Benjamin, publishing a biography in 1989.
"I really came to feel over the course of all this that there was a unique Southern Jewish consciousness," Evans said.
Benjamin was born a British subject in St. Croix and spent part of his youth in Charleston. His father was one of the founders of the first Reform synagogue in the United States, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim.
In 1832, Benjamin moved to New Orleans, where he practiced law, owned slaves and served as a Louisiana state legislator and U.S. senator. He was nearly nominated for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, but declined. Instead, he became Jefferson Davis' attorney general, then secretary of war, then secretary of state. He was widely credited with being one of the masterminds of the Confederacy.
Benjamin, Evans said, had been grossly misunderstood by historians, who had relied on second-hand accounts of his life because he had burned most of his papers after the Civil War.
"There's a great mystery about him," Evans said. "He was consciously Jewish but decided not to show it. He was haunted by anti-Semitism the whole period he was a public figure, but never denied his Jewishness."
Evans is in Charleston today to talk about Benjamin. Hosted by the College of Charleston's Jewish Studies Program, Evans is one of several guests lecturing on Civil War issues this semester. His talk is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. in the Stern Center Ballroom at George and Glebe streets.
"He had this smile that he always wore, and it was kind of a pleasant smile," Evans said of Benjamin. "He never was rattled in public."
He was a great orator, always presenting a reasoned states'-rights argument. Though, as a Jew, he certainly would have struggled more in other Southern cities, he was accepted in New Orleans because of the town's tolerance, diversity and plethora of opportunity, Evans said.
Soon, he would become "Jefferson Davis' Jew."
Because he was on the wrong side of history, though, his story is not as widely known as it deserves to be, Evans said.
About a year ago, Evans was summoned to the American Jewish Historical Society because 120 letters written by Benjamin and to Benjamin had been discovered in Rhode Island.
The pre-Civil War correspondence shed new light on this complicated figure, Evans said.
Among the letters' revelations is Benjamin's idea for building a canal across Mexico, connecting the settled part of the U.S. to the West and Orient and boosting commerce in his beloved New Orleans.
"He was a visionary actually," Evans said. "He could think on a grand scale."
Benjamin had gotten far with the project, securing bank investment and foreign support, but the U.S. government wouldn't let the plans proceed, Evans said. This was a time of growing tensions between the North and South, and the federal government had a bigger fish to fry: keeping the Union together.
On the subject of slavery, Benjamin was "complicated, brilliant," Evans said.
He wanted to get England on the side of the South. It would be in England's interest, he argued. The South had cotton, and a divided U.S. would mean a stronger U.K.
The problem was slavery. Britain had outlawed the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1807, and its abolitionist movement was strong and influential.
Benjamin's answer? Free every slave who serves in the Confederate cause.
But that idea was rejected by a majority of Southerners who would have rather died themselves than see the institution of slavery go to its grave. | <urn:uuid:deeeab7f-0ec0-460f-9d4f-334ce66adc6b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20110227/ARCHIVES/302279903/1243/www.charlestonscene.com/section/mobileInstructions | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00143-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.988614 | 935 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Posted Friday 18 October 2013
New South Wales fire fighters could not possibly have done any more to tackle the bushfires engulfing the area around Sydney and are ultimately at the mercy of the elements, according to a senior Kingston University academic.
Dr Neil Thomas, an expert in environmental hazards and disaster management who has worked extensively with fire services in the area, said "all the boxes had been ticked" for a major incident sparked by freak heat in south eastern Australia. "The weather in the past three weeks has been particularly bad - it's been very dry and windy and unseasonably hot," he said. "I've never seen this at this time of year in Sydney."
New South Wales has one of the world's biggest volunteer fire services, with local resident and newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Abbott being a member. Dr Thomas said they were doing as good a job as they possibly could in the circumstances. "They're doing brilliantly, as always," he said. "They're probably the biggest volunteer fire service in the world and they're doing their jobs superbly. The tragedy is that many of them have lost their own homes while they've been out saving those of others."
California was the other place in the world most prone to similar problems and Dr Thomas said exchanges of professional expertise and technology allowed fire fighters to manage the blaze as best they could. However, nature often had the last say. "The Blue Mountains are a tough enough place anyway, because they're so rugged and inaccessible, and once it becomes a crown fire - in the trees, off the ground - that's the most destructive type there is," he said. "It creates its own weather system and the heat and dynamic of the fire make it almost uncontrollable. You almost have to just let it burn itself out and hope for rain."
Events of such a magnitude at this time of year were almost unprecedented, Dr Thomas said. He warned that things would probably get worse before they got better. "We're not used to this at this time of year, it's usually nearer January or February," he said. "The winds usually come from the north west, but occasionally there's a southerly change which appears to have happened and cooled things down a bit. However, it's not lasted long - there's been a bit of rain, but not much. Looking at the Bureau of Meteorology forecast, it's going to get hot again. The firefighters will be hoping for the best but preparing for the worst." | <urn:uuid:0ac46b9e-ed08-49cc-8e26-3ba4f18f0902> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/1150/18-oct-2013-australian-bush-fires-will-be-amongst-worst-ever-seen-disaster-management-expert-predicts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00151-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989221 | 507 | 2.578125 | 3 |
1794 - The U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the U.S. Navy.
1802 - The Treaty of Amiens was signed ending the French
1836 - In Goliad, TX, about 350 Texan prisoners, including their commander James Fannin, were executed under orders from Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna. An estimated 30 Texans escaped execution.
1836 - The first Mormon temple was dedicated in Kirtland, OH.
1841 - The first steam fire engine was tested in New York City.
1860 - The corkscrew was patented by M.L. Byrn.
1866 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the civil rights bill,
which later became the 14th amendment.
1884 - The first long-distance telephone call was made from Boston to New York.
1899 - The first international radio transmission between England
and France was achieved by the Italian inventor G. Marconi.
1900 - The London Parliament passed the War Loan Act that gave 35
million pounds to the Boer War cause in South Africa.
1900 - The Russian army mobilized 250,000 troops for active duty.
1901 - Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by
1904 - Mary Jarris "Mother" Jones was ordered by Colorado state authorities to leave the state. She was accused of stirring up striking coal miners.
1907 - French troops occupied Oudja, Morocco, as a punitive action
for the murder of French Dr. Muchamp.
1912 - The first cherry blossom trees were planted in Washington, DC. The trees were a gift from Japan.
1917 - The Seattle Metropolitans, of the Pacific Coast League of Canada, defeated the Montreal Canadiens and became the first U.S. hockey team to win the Stanley Cup.
1931 - Actor Charlie Chaplin received France’s Legion of Honor
1933 - About 55,000 people staged a protest against Hitler in New York City.
1933 - In the U.S., the Farm Credit Administration was authorized.
1941 - Tokeo Yoshikawa arrived in Oahu, HI, and began spying for Japan on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor.
1942 - The British raided the Nazi submarine base at St. Nazaire,
1946 - Four-month long strikes at both General Electric and General
Motors ended with a wage increase.
1952 - The U.S. Eighth Army reached the 38th parallel in Korea, the
original dividing line between the two Koreas.
1955 - Steve McQueen made his network TV debut on "Goodyear
1958 - Nikita Khrushchev became the chairman of the Soviet Council
of Ministers in addition to First Secretary of the
1958 - The U.S. announced a plan to explore space near the moon.
1976 - Washington, DC, opened its subway system.
1985 - Billy Dee Williams received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1988 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
1989 - The U.S. anti-missile satellite failed the first test in space.
1993 - In China, Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin was appointed President.
1997 - Russian workers, nearly 2 million, held a nationwide strike to
protest unpaid wages.
1997 - In Australia, Governor-General William Deane signed a bill to
overturn a 1996 Northern Territory act to legalize assisted
suicides. The 1996 act was the first in the world to permit
1998 - In the U.S., the FDA approved the prescription drug Viagra. It was the first pill for male impotence.
1998 - Top civilian aircraft makers in France, Spain, Germany and
Britain agreed to create single European aerospace and defense
2004 - NASA successfully launched an unpiloted X-43A jet that hit Mach 7 (about 5,000 mph).
2007 - NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool. | <urn:uuid:e7b0a065-92d8-4a1d-bd50-cafc7da987e0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar27.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946791 | 841 | 3.0625 | 3 |
This is an attempt to catalogue all U-boat losses by cause.
Listing of all U-boats believed to be missing during the war.
4 German U-boats and 1 English submarine were captured at sea in the war.
The war was also fought under the sea. 19 German U-boats were lost to allied submarines.
5 U-boats are still existing today and you can visit 4 of them.
Two German U-boats were interned in Spain during the war.
Listing of all 156 U-boats surrendering after the war.
This is a set of pages listing all the U-boat losses during each year of the war.
This is a compilation of all the U-boats that either survived the war or were later raised and re-commissioned.
This page covers the U-boats lost in harbours and home waters through allied air raids.
A chart showing losses from month to month and gives a graphical overview of the escalation in the war.
This was the turning point in Battle of the Atlantic. 40 U-boats lost and many damaged.
Post-war U-boat fates, wreck discoveries, U-boats raised after the war etc. | <urn:uuid:ffd16150-7cf4-475f-9a9b-3644ed24d06f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://uboat.net/fates/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00015-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982468 | 248 | 2.515625 | 3 |
from the March 28, 2010 Newsletter issued from
Hacienda Chichen Resort beside Chichén Itzá Ruins, central Yucatán, MÉXICO
BULL-HORN ACACIA & ITS ANTS
On a forest trail I almost stepped on something that would have lamed me if I'd been barefooted. It was a twig section from the tree above me, the tree shown above. This is one of a couple of Bull-Horn Acacias we have here, probably ACACIA COLLINSII, Subín in Maya, now in the dry season nearly completely leafless. A close-up of some thorns shows what's bull-hornish about them below:
In that picture notice that two of the 2-¾ inch (4 cm) spines bear holes near their tips. Ants chew these holes, enter the hollow thorns and live inside. A single ant colony may span several A. collinsii trees. If a herbivore comes along and touches the tree, the ants rush onto the animal and bite. Thus it's a mutualistic relationship, with both tree and ant benefiting.
The tree not only provides handy shelters for the ants but also feeds them. Take a look at the expanding leaf below:
Acacia leaves are bipinnate -- twice compound -- so the entire feathery, purplish, ant-mounted structure in the picture's lower right corner is a leaf about to expand. At the top, left of the leaf the shoehorn-like thing with two green-doughnut-like items in the horn is the leaf's stem, or petiole, and the green doughnuts within petiole's concavity are glands producing sweet, energy-rich nectar the ants feed on. Notice that many but not all the leaves' ultimate leaflets bear teardrop-shaped, dark purple, shiny things. Those are Beltian bodies, which are protein- rich structures eaten by the ants as well. Once the leaves are fully expanded, the Beltian bodies will have been eaten and there won't be a sign left of them.
The Bull's-Horn Acacia above me that day was practically leafless, but nearby grew a shoulder-high sapling. Saplings often bear leaves even when larger trees of their species don't. You can see a couple of the Bull-Horn Acacia's feathery, bipinnate leaves below:
from the April 3, 2011 Newsletter issued from Hacienda
Chichen Resort beside Chichén Itzá Ruins, central Yucatán, MÉXICO
BULLHORN ACACIA FLOWERING
Now the Bullhorns are producing very distinctive spikes of tiny, densely packed, yellow flowers, shown below:
At least two closely related species of Bullhorn Acacia occur in the central Yucatán. Earlier I decided that our local species was probably was Acacia collinsii, but there was always a little doubt about whether it might be Acacia cornigera. The only difference I can find mention of is that the fruits, or legumes, of A collinsii split open when mature, while those of A cornigera don't.
from the November 30, 2014 Newsletter issued from
Río Lagartos, on the north-central coast of Yucatán, MÉXICO
BULLHORN ACACIA FRUITING
Here on the Yucatan's northern coast, Bullhorn Acacia is much more common than it was farther south around Chichén Itzá, turning up at woods edges in the savanna and at the edges of marshes. You can see its leaves and thorns now at their end-of-rainy-season peak of perfection below:
We've already noted Bullhorn Acacia's hollow thorns with ants living in them, and the pretty, yellow spikes of flowers that appear in the early dry season. Nowadays the tree is producing its legume-type fruits, and though they're still not mature already you can see that they're appropriate for such a spiny tree. Below, you can see them formed like curved, sharp-pointed cat-claws:
from the March 27, 2016 Newsletter issued from Hacienda Chichen Resort beside Chichín Itzá Ruins,
central Yucatán MÉXICO
VEGETARIAN SPIDER ON BULLHORN ACACIA The BBC is working on a documentary film about the Yucatan and for some time one of their researchers, Alec, has been writing to me for background information. The other day Alec mentioned that he'd like to incorporate footage of a "vegetarian spider," Bagheera kiplingi, a Neotropical jumping spider occurring from the Yucatan south to Costa Rica. I'd never heard of the spider, but learned all about it in a paper by Christopher Meehan and others, entitled "Herbivory in a spider through exploitation of an ant-plant mutualism," in a 2009 issue of Current Biology. The paper can be downloaded from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982209016261
In our area the spider occurs on the Bull-horn Acacia, Acacia collinsii. We've seen that that tree is home to biting ants and yellow "Beltian bodies" at the tips of young leaflets, the Beltian bodies being rich in protein, and providing food for the ants. All this has been known for a long time. What's new is the "vegetarian spider" who also feeds on Beltian bodies instead of killing prey. Meehan and his group describe their paper as ".. the first report of a spider that feeds primarily and deliberately on plants."
Upon reading the above article I went to see who might be roaming the leaves of Bull-horn Acacias near the hut. Normally our Bull-horns are leafless at this time of year, but during the last month we've enjoyed three puddle-making rains, so things have greened up surprisingly. I mention this because I've seen Beltian bodies only on newly emerging leaves after good rains. Maybe after our recent rains the Bull-horns would bear some new leaves with Beltian bodies.
The first Bull-horn Acacia I checked bore no new leaves or Beltian bodies, and only a few ants wandered among thorns and few remaining older leaves. The second tree, however, in a shadier environment and with the ground around it covered with moisture-conserving leaf litter, was indeed producing a few new leaves, and the leaflets bore tiny, egg-shaped, orangish-yellow Beltian bodies. Moreover, hundreds of ants swarmed all over the tree, and some were harvesting Beltian bodies, as you can see below:
Meehan's paper says that in the Yucatan the ant species his group had seen harvesting Beltian bodies was Pseudomyrmex peperi, so I assume that that's what we're seeing in the picture. To help with identification, a side view of an ant scurrying away carrying a Beltian body is shown below:
I had hardly hoped to find the "vegetarian spider," Bagheera kiplingi, but lo and behold a jumping spider turned up on a leaf right before my face, shown below:
Was this the vegetarian? Later I'd see that it was similarly structured but differently colored from those in pictures of the species on the Internet, though it almost matched some pictures. The species is known to be variable so I'm thinking that this is indeed the "vegetarian spider," Bagheera kiplingi, though I can't be for sure.
Meehan's paper says that the diet of spiders studied in the Yucatan consisted of about 91% Beltian bodies, though in Costa Rica only about 60%. They supplemented Beltian bodies with nectar from glands at the base of acacia leaves, plus they occasionally abandoned their vegetarianism and preyed on larvae of the acacia ants, as well as small, nectar-feeding flies, and (rarely) other "vegetarian spiders" smaller than themselves. On a second visit to the tree I didn't see the spider in our photo, but there was another jumping spider, much smaller and pale yellow, which I thought might be an immature "vegetarian spider."
It's hard for me to envision the spiders preying on the ants' larvae because the spider I watched spent a lot of time avoiding the ants. I didn't see the spider feed on Beltian bodies, or even get close to the smaller, ant-infested leaves bearing the bodies.
One final note about this amazing spiny-acacia/ Beltian-body/ ant/ spider relationship is that, at least in our area, yet another species seems to be involved. Every Bull-horn Acacia I've seen lately bears at least one melon-sized paper-wasp nest, the wasps obviously choosing the acacia's spiny branches over non-spiny ones.
I guess that the benefit to the wasp is that small animals are less likely to climb a spiny, ant-infested tree to feed on the wasps' larvae. However, what about the larva-eating disposition of the "vegetarian spider," and possibly of the acacia ants themselves? We've documented marauding army ants robbing a paper-wasp nest of its larvae, at http://www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/ant-wasp.htm
Meehan and his group have described a very interesting web of relationships centering around the Bull-horn Acacia, but maybe the web is even more intricate and surprising than his paper documents. | <urn:uuid:79210dfd-0a21-4dd2-b254-524b9cf43ee2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.backyardnature.net/yucatan/acacia-t.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397636.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00150-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962587 | 2,038 | 2.703125 | 3 |
This guide describes the various maps and atlases in the Archives Service Center, many of which are also available online. The main geographic foci of our cartographic collections are the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area and the local tri-state region of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, early exploration and westward expansion, military defense, municipal evolution, industry and transportation. These materials range in date from the 16th century through the 20th century and present an enlightening view of the political and economic development of this region. For example, the circa 1910 map below shows the line of a proposed subway from Wilkinsburg to Beltzhoover.
For more information, click here to contact us.
Map of Pittsburgh and vicinity, showing the location of the proposed subway with terminal points in
Wilkinsburg and McKinley Park, circa 1910. Archives of Industrial Society (AIS) Assorted Maps and
Atlases, 1830-1990, AIS.Maps, Folder 3, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh. | <urn:uuid:22f7c4bb-bea0-441f-b4ca-bb482f6fbd4e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://pitt.libguides.com/ascmapsatlases | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00007-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.88795 | 217 | 2.5625 | 3 |
See what questions
a doctor would ask.
Hyperexplexia: A rare condition where the startle reflex is exaggerated. Triggers include sudden noise, movement or touch. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Hyperexplexia is available below.
Home medical testing related to Hyperexplexia:
Read more about complications of Hyperexplexia.
Read more about causes of Hyperexplexia.
Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Hyperexplexia:
Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:
Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis). See symptoms of...read more »
Research related physicians and medical specialists:
Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:
Read about other experiences, ask a question about Hyperexplexia, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:
Search Specialists by State and City | <urn:uuid:26dbc4d5-2a70-4991-86a1-973454d75b23> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/h/hyperexplexia/intro.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400572.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00124-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.866776 | 230 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2005 December 5
Explanation: Fountains of ice shoot out from Saturn's moon Enceladus. Clear discovery images of the fountains were made using observations from the robot Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn. During a recent pass, Cassini was programmed to look back toward the Sun where Enceladus would appear as a thin crescent. From this vantage point, particles emitted from the surface would better show themselves by reflecting sunlight. The tactic was successful -- the above frame shows several plumes emanating from regions previously known to contain gashes in the surface dubbed tiger stripes. Cassini detected an increase in particle emissions from these regions during a July flyby. Some of these ice particles likely contribute to the make up of Saturn's mysterious E ring.
Authors & editors:
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: EUD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U. | <urn:uuid:d08c1a30-d315-41de-a85f-2bdbe4ef2b99> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051205.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933186 | 234 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Use the Law of Cosines for SAS
When you have two sides of a triangle and the angle between them, otherwise known as SAS (side-angle-side), you can use the law of cosines to solve for the other three parts. Consider the triangle ABC where a is 15, c is 20, and angle B is 124 degrees. The following figure shows what this triangle looks like.
Now, to solve for the measure of the missing side and angles:
Find the measure of the missing side by using the law of cosines.
Use the law that solves for side b.
You end up with the value for b2. Take the square root of each side and just use the positive value (because a negative length doesn’t exist).
The length of side b is about 31.
Find the measure of one of the missing angles by using the law of cosines.
Using the law that solves for a, fill in the values that you know.
Solve for cos A by simplifying and moving all the other terms to the left.
Using a scientific calculator to find angle A, you find that A = cos–1(0.916) = 23.652, or about 24 degrees.
You can also switch to the law of sines to solve for this angle. Don’t be afraid to mix and match when solving these triangles.
Find the measure of the last angle.
Determine angle B by adding the other two angle measures together and subtracting that sum from 180.
180 – (124 + 24) = 180 – 148 = 32. Angle B measures 32 degrees.
How about an application that uses this SAS portion of the law of cosines? Consider the situation: A friend wants to build a stadium in the shape of a regular pentagon (five sides, all the same length) that measures 920 feet on each side. How far is the center of the stadium from the corners? The left part of figure shows a picture of the stadium and the segment you’re solving for.
You can divide the pentagon into five isosceles triangles. The base of each triangle is 920 feet, and the two sides are equal, so call them both a. Refer to the right-hand picture in the preceding figure. Use the law of cosines to solve for a, because you can get the angle between those two congruent sides, plus you already know the length of the side opposite that angle.
Determine the measure of the angle at the center of the pentagon.
A circle has a total of 360 degrees. Divide that number by 5, and you find that the angle of each triangle at the center of the pentagon is 72 degrees.
Use the law of cosines with the side measuring 920 feet being the side solved for.
Because the other two sides are the same measure, write them both as a in the equation.
Solve for the value of a.
The distance from the center to a corner is between 782 and 783 feet.
The computations here involve using rounded values. It’s usually best to hold off doing the rounding until you’re ready to report your final answer. In these cases, it didn’t really matter, but you want to be cautious if more accuracy is needed. | <urn:uuid:307f76c7-8b75-43cc-8552-9761369b39db> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/use-the-law-of-cosines-for-sas.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00047-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923961 | 687 | 3.953125 | 4 |
Nuts vs Bolts
Many people head to hardware stores searching for particular nuts or bolts without actually knowing exactly what they need. In cases like this, it is important to understand the differences that tend to cause confusion between these hardware parts, especially the like of nuts, bolts and screws.
A nut can be given a simple definition as a small metallic object, shaped in a way as to allow for easy and firm grip, with a spiral cut groove that runs around a hole in its centre. The spiral groove is referred to as the thread.
A bolt on the other hand is a metallic piece with a round stem as its body and threaded into one end, with a head to provide firm gripping at the other end. Bolts form the key part of a threaded connection. Some types of bolts are threaded for the full length and others are threaded for just a small length of the end.
One key difference between bolts and nuts is that bolts come in various length and sizes. The choice of bolt depends on the thickness of the material between the bolt’s head and the nut. However, there’s no particular type of metal that is used to make nuts or bolts. The most common metal used, though, is carbon steel, often coated with zinc to prevent corrosion. Notably, bolts made from stainless steel, a high grade steel material with a large percentage of nickel or chrome, are used in corrosive atmospheres. Other materials that can be used to make bolts and nuts include aluminum, plastic, brass and just steel. Selecting the type of nut and bolt to use depends on a number of factors including environment and strength.
Both nuts and bolts come in many types. Nuts come in the form of hex, cap, coupler, wing, turnbuckle and lock types. The hex nuts are six-sided and a standard spanner is used to turn them. Coupler nuts have some similarity with hex nuts except for their bigger thickness. Like their name suggests, coupler nuts are used to connect two bolts together.
As for bolts, there are the hex type, square, round and flat head bolts, studs and threaded rods both of which have no heads, anchor bolts nor toggle bolts.
A nut is a small metallic piece of metal with a spiral cut groove that runs around a hole in its centre while a bolt is a metallic piece with a round stem as its body and threaded into one end.
Bolts have different length sizes while nuts have a standard size. | <urn:uuid:20f48572-5ff8-4203-abba-9f443f8e305e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.benzworld.org/forums/x204-glk-class/1549308-lug-nuts-lug-bolts.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00171-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946676 | 509 | 3.328125 | 3 |
I've been working with electronics for a while now, and I understand how to work with/account for voltage drop. But I'm still mystified as to how it works, particularly with components in series. Say I have two small incandescent lamps in series hooked up to a power supply. Through what physical mechanism is the voltage spread evenly over both lamps, resulting in both lamps running dim, instead of the first lamp consuming all the power and running at full brightness and the second running dark?
EDIT: It seems that people were getting hung up on the fact that I was using LEDs in my example and were focusing on whether the LEDs would run at all with lower-than-rated voltage. This wasn't my intention - I am focused on the phenomenon that both drop an equal amount of voltage instead of the lead LED dropping more voltage than the second LED. As a result I changed the example to incandescent lamps which show a closer-to-linear relation between voltage and brightness. | <urn:uuid:629e7b9f-cbe1-44f4-bfd4-641d01d2dd2b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/124165/how-does-voltage-drop-work | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00146-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976902 | 200 | 3.0625 | 3 |
A crazy person; a crank.
There are countless words in the language that began as two-word terms, later to become hyphenated and later still to merge into a single word, for example, 'zigzag', 'forewarned', 'ninepence' etc. Crackpot is on that list.
If you go about researching the origin of 'crackpot' it won't take long to come up with the village of Crackpot, in Swaledale, Yorkshire. This is the site of the imposing ruined farmstead, Crackpot Hall. This name long predates the use of the term 'crackpot' meaning crazed, as it dates from at least the 12th century, before which the region had been taken over by Viking insurgents. Inviting as the idea might be, the Vikings didn't turn up there and decide that the locals were mad and name the place accordingly. At that time the village was called Crakepot, which derives from the Norse terms 'kraka', a crake or crow and 'pot', a deep hole or pit - neither of which has anything to do with the current 'crazy' meaning of the word. Crackpot was merely 'the hole where crows gather'.
To discover its origins, we need to ignore the Vikings and realise that 'crackpot' is a shortened form of 'cracked-pot', which splits into its constituent parts, cracked and pot.
Cracked is itself a shortening of 'brain-cracked' (or cracked-brained'). 'Cracked' simply meant 'impaired'; 'faulty'. Both of these terms were current in the 17th century. For instance, in Randle Cotgrave's, A dictionarie of the French and English tongues, 1611, we find:
Estropié de caboche, ou de ceruelle, frantick, witlesse, braine-sicke, brain-crackt.
And in John Canne's A Necessity of Separation from the Church of England, 1634, we find:
If Mr. Bradshaw had found such a reason in Mr, Johnson's writing, he would surely have called idle head, cracked-brained, fool etc.
In the Middle Ages, 'pot' was used to mean 'skull' or 'head'; for example, this piece from Guy de Chauliac's translation of Grande Chirurgie, circa 1425:
Ye pot of ye heued
So, a 'cracked pot' was a 'faulty head' and crackpot is synonymous with our more recent terms 'numbskull', 'blockhead', 'brain-dead' etc.
The first record that I can find of the term 'crack-pot' (with a hyphen at that stage) is in a Broadside Ballad, recorded by John S Farmer in 1883:
My aunty knew lots,
and called them crack-pots. | <urn:uuid:68f39285-6dc6-4dcb-90dc-86fdc87ffd8d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/crackpot.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00068-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953742 | 622 | 2.53125 | 3 |
A never-before-seen global superstorm has been spotted on a planet outside our solar system, a new study says.
Record-breaking supersonic winds are blasting through the atmosphere of the hot gas giant HD209458b, which orbits a distant star.
By studying the "fingerprints" of carbon monoxide gases racing between the planet's day and night sides, astronomers are getting a rare glimpse into the storm.
"We were shocked to find that the resulting pressure and temperatures differences between the hotter light side and cooler dark side triggers such fierce winds," said study leader Ignas Snellen, an astronomer at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands.
"Incredibly this tempest encompasses the entire planet, blowing at speeds of 5,000 to 10,000 kilometers [about 3,100 miles to 6,200 miles] per hour."
Hot and Cold Exoplanet
The exoplanet orbits a sunlike star about 150 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus.
One side of the gas giant is eternally locked toward its sun, which creates scorching temperatures of 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (982 degrees Celsius) on its day side and much cooler temperatures on its night side.
As seen from Earth, the hot Jupiter passes directly in front of its star, taking about three hours to transit on a 3.5-day orbit.
Doppler Effect Seen on Stormy Exoplanet
In their new research, Snellen and his team discovered that when the planet passes in front of its star, a distinctive Doppler effect is visible in the starlight.
Astronomers determine Doppler effects by using electromagnetic wavelengths to figure out how quickly cosmic bodies such as stars move toward or away from Earth.
Some of that starlight also filters through the exoplanet's atmosphere, leaving behind a fingerprint of carbon monoxide gases, according to the study published tomorrow in the journal Nature.
As a result astronomers were able to directly measure carbon levels in the atmosphere of the exoplanet.
"It seems that H209458b has about as much carbon as our Jupiter, which may indicate they share a similar evolutionary past," Snellen said.
Using an exquisitely sensitive spectrograph connected to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, the astronomers also unexpectedly detected a Doppler shift in the carbon monoxide gas. This hints that the gas is blowing rapidly across the planet's atmosphere.
"We figured there was more information embedded inside the observed Doppler effect that can only be explained by the movement of these gases," Snellen said.
"For the first time we can directly measure not just the levels, but the movements of atmospheric gases and see superwinds blowing on an extrasolar planet."
"Exciting New Technique" Used in Storm Study
Using the Doppler effect to show movements of gases is a "very exciting new technique for studying exoplanet atmospheres," said Sara Seager, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
For instance, the technique offers "new information not previously accessible: That there are likely winds, and that the winds are faster than the speed of sound," said Seager, who is not involved in the research.
But Seager cautioned that more detailed observations are needed to confirm the extent of these winds in the planet's upper atmosphere and their actual velocities.
The discovery also could boost astronomers' work in detecting environmental conditions on other exoplanets, she noted.
"The abundances of molecules and wind speeds on a number of different hot Jupiter planets," she said, "will really advance the field of exoplanet-atmosphere research." | <urn:uuid:edbe766f-b107-4f0d-a41f-2e1877c12d06> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100623-exoplanet-storm-space-science/ | 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 | 0.935006 | 752 | 3.625 | 4 |
The famous sentence, at left, spoken by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has been quoted countless times as expressing one of America's bedrock values, its language almost sounding like a constitutional amendment on equality.
Yet today, 50 years after King shared this vision during his most famous speech, there is considerable disagreement over what it means.
The quote is used to support opposing views on politics, affirmative action and programs intended to help the disadvantaged. Just as the words of the nation's founders are parsed for modern meanings on guns and abortion, so are King's words used in debates over the proper place of race in America.
WE'RE STILL NOT THERE
For at least two of King's children, the future envisioned by the father has yet to arrive.
“I don't think we can ignore race,” says Martin Luther King III.
Bernice King doubts her father would seek to ignore differences.
“When he talked about the beloved community, he talked about everyone bringing their gifts, their talents, their cultural experiences,” she says. “We live in a society where we may have differences, of course, but we learn to celebrate these differences.”
The meaning of King's monumental quote is more complex today than in 1963 because “the unconscious signals have changed,” says the historian Taylor Branch, author of the acclaimed trilogy “America in the King Years.”
Fifty years ago, bigotry was widely accepted. Today, Branch says, although it is denounced, many people unconsciously pre-judge others.
“Unfortunately race in American history has been one area in which Americans kid themselves and pretend to be fair-minded when they really are not,” says Branch.
Branch believes that today, King would ask people of all backgrounds – not just whites – to deepen their patriotism by leaving their comfort zones, reaching across barriers and learning about different people.
“To remember that we all have to stretch ourselves to build the ties that bind a democracy, which really is the source of our strength,” Branch says.
King says her father is asking us “to get to a place … where the first thing that we utilize as a measurement is not someone's external designation, but it really is trying to look beyond that into the substance of a person in making certain decisions, to rid ourselves of those kinds of prejudices and biases that we often bring to decisions.”
A CONSERVATIVE DECLARATION
For many conservatives, the modern meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote is clear: Special consideration for one racial or ethnic group is a violation of the dream.
The quote is like the Declaration of Independence, says Roger Clegg, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, a conservative think tank that studies race and ethnicity. In years past, he says, America may have needed to grow into the words, but today they must be obeyed to the letter.
Many others agree. King's quote has become a staple of conservative belief that “judged by the color of their skin” includes things such as unique appeals to certain voter groups, reserving government contracts for Latino-owned businesses, seeking more non-white corporate executives, or admitting black students to college with lower test scores.
“Conservatives feel they have embraced that quote completely. They are the embodiment of that quote but get no credit for doing it,” says conservative author John Hawkins.
COLOR AS CHARACTER
Some doubt we will ever be able to ignore what a person looks like.
“To ignore color is to ignore reality,” says Lewis Baldwin, an Alabama native who marched in the civil rights movement and now teaches courses on King at Vanderbilt University.
“Dr. King understood that we all see we are different. You accept color differences, affirm them, celebrate them, but don't allow them to become a barrier to human community,” said Baldwin.
Yet Martin Luther King III believes that one day we will be able to live every word of his father's dream.
“I think my father's vision was that we should at some point have a colorblind society,” he says. “He always was challenging us to be the best nation we could be.”
- Anaheim short-term rentals owners 'reeling' after Anaheim says they have to shut down
- Costa Mesa police arrest man in Craigslist robbery
- Fan Friday: Rob Rohm's man cave is jam-packed with Angels memories
- California governor denies parole for ex-Mexican Mafia chief
- Philippines' New President, Rodrigo Duterte, Vows Tough Stance on Crime | <urn:uuid:a55ca133-a505-4cb9-a68a-825451b32a91> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ocregister.com/news/king-205014-ocprint-says-quote.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966115 | 961 | 3.71875 | 4 |
ASHKELON, Israel, Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- How often a person with diabetes must monitor his or her blood sugar is not one-size-fits- all. Factors that play into physician recommendations include type and severity of diabetes, age, duration of disease, presence of diabetic complications and overall health. However, people don't always take good advice to heart and act on it, even from a respected physician—and even when failing to comply can be life-threatening. In the area of diabetes, which in the U.S. alone affects 25.8 million people according to the American Diabetes Association, self-testing one's blood sugar can be an important tool in preventing complications. Blood sugar tests are traditionally performed with a portable electronic device that measures sugar levels in a small drop of blood obtained by pricking the skin with a small needle and provides important information for diabetes management.
Among those who take insulin to manage Type 2 diabetes, doctors may recommend blood sugar testing one or more times a day, depending on the number of insulin doses taken. Testing is commonly done before meals, after fasting for at least eight hours, and sometimes after meals.
A recent Johns Hopkins study pointed out the need for those with Type 2 diabetes to monitor blood sugar levels more than twice a day, as suggested by the International Diabetes Federation. This recommendation is based on several recent research reports suggesting that sustained elevated blood sugar levels might increase the risk of heart disease and other diseases. Researchers say blood sugar levels exceeding 150 milligrams per deciliter on a sustained basis increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Twice daily (or more) to stick oneself with needles for self-testing? Ouch! But it's not all bad news: in fact, compliance is about to get more manageable, thanks to a man named Avner Gal and his team at Israel-based Integrity Applications, Inc.
Gal, an electrical engineer and retired commander from the Israeli Navy, is co-founder, President and CEO of Integrity Applications. Integrity has developed a painless blood glucose testing device—GlucoTrack®. This noninvasive blood glucose monitor is designed for everyone, regardless of age or body type, with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. GlucoTrack removes the two most frequent "excuses" people make for not complying as they should—pain and cost—since no disposable needles are required.
GlucoTrack—with a patented combination of ultrasonic, electromagnetic and thermal technologies—provides clinically acceptable accuracy in blood glucose measurement. A small sensor clips comfortably to the earlobe, activating a proprietary algorithm, and the blood glucose level is calculated. The result is displayed on a small portable unit, as well as verbally announced. The company intends to seek FDA approval for GlucoTrack here in the United States.
For more on GlucoTrack, visit integrity-app.com, which paid for the writing and dissemination of this release.
Laura Radocaj, Dian Griesel Int'l. 212.825.3210
|SOURCE Integrity Applications|
Copyright©2012 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved | <urn:uuid:5b61eb86-4ae7-42cb-8a1e-953859235712> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-technology-1/How-Some-People-with-Diabetes-Can-Eliminate-the-Pain-of-a-Daily-Procedure-37035-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408828.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00173-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935366 | 646 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Release Date: Feb. 24, 2009
Moon and Venus Viewing, New Display at ASU Planetarium
The Angelo State University Planetarium will host a special viewing of the crescent moon as it passes near Venus and will unveil a new display celebrating the International Year of Astronomy on Friday, Feb. 27, at the ASU Vincent Nursing-Physical Science Building.
Starting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 27, telescopes from the ASU Physics Department and San Angelo Astronomy Association will be set up in the Vincent Building parking lot to view the moon as it passes near Venus in the western sky. Then, at 7:15 p.m., Planetarium director Dr. Mark Sonntag will unveil two new mural-sized images taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory. Following the unveiling, attendees will be invited to attend a program in the Planetarium theater. All the evening’s events are open free to the public.
The murals each contain stunning photographs of the Messier 101 spiral galaxy. A six-foot-by-three-foot image shows three striking, full-color images that showcase the galaxy’s features in the infrared light observed by Spitzer, the visible light observed by Hubble and the X-ray light observed by Chandra. The images show details of the grand design spiral structure for which the galaxy is famous, the underlying giant clouds where stars are born and the hidden locations of black holes and exploded stars.
The other three-foot-by-three-foot image of Messier 101 combines the views from all three telescopes into an amazing composite. It has been compared to seeing the galaxy with your eyes, night vision goggles and X-ray vision all at once.
The International Year of Astronomy 2009 celebrates the 400th anniversary of Galileo first using a telescope to study celestial bodies. From Galileo’s first spyglass, telescopes have grown ever-larger and more powerful and have moved to mountaintops and to space. NASA's great observatories represent the achievements of astronomy four centuries later and are honoring this legacy with a national image unveiling. The ASU Planetarium was selected by the Space Telescope Science Institute to present these images to the San Angelo community.
The new images will be on permanent display in the Planetarium lobby, which is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Public Planetarium shows are presented at 8 p.m. each Thursday when ASU classes are in session. For more information, call the Planetarium at 942-2136 or go online to www.angelo.edu/dept/physics/planetarium.html. | <urn:uuid:b9f93371-a269-46d8-8ff3-7a94d6fb17be> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.angelo.edu/services/communications_marketing/09feb/2-23-09.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00024-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.891453 | 556 | 2.59375 | 3 |
With the popularity of digital cameras, more and more people are taking more and more photographs. In fact despite scare-mongering stories about "the end of history" and "the death of photography", the truth is that there are more photos being taken today than ever before. However most of those photos will never be seen by anyone except the person who took them, because hardly anyone prints their photos any more. This is very odd, because many people have home computers with photo-quality printers that are more than capable of producing first-class prints from almost any digital photograph. Printers are ludicrously cheap, to the point that when your printer runs out of ink it’s almost cheaper to throw it away and buy a new one than it is to buy more ink.
Types of printer
There are two main types of photo printer in common home use. By far the most common is the inkjet printer, which includes most of the models from most of the major manufacturers, which basically means Epson, Canon, Lexmark and Hewlett Packard (Dell printers are made by Lexmark). They operate off a fairly simple principle. The printer has a head which moves rapidly over the surface of the paper. In this head are a number of tiny nozzles, through which minute droplets of ink are forced, spraying onto the paper in tiny but precisely measured quantities, as many as 30,000 droplets per second. The actual method by which the ink is forced out of the nozzles varies from one manufacturer to another, with Canon, HP and Lexmark favouring a thermal system which boils the ink at the print head, using the bursting bubbles to spray the ink (hence Canon’s BubbleJet name), while Epson uses a more complex and expensive but also more versatile piezo-electric compression system.
Usually when printing a photo it will take several passes of the head over each line to build up the full colour image one colour at a time, which means that photo printing is much slower than printing a text document, and also uses up a lot more ink.
While some older printers use one ink cartridge for black (primarily for text printing) and another for three additive primary colours, a recent trend is for printers to use multiple colour cartridges, in some cases as many as eight. This has two main advantages. The addition of lighter shades such as grey, light magenta and light yellow means that the printer is better at reproducing subtler colour variations, especially in skin tones, and is also better at reproducing shadow and highlight detail. The other advantage is that if one colour runs out you don’t have to throw away a cartridge that might still have plenty of the other colours left. You just replace the one that’s empty. This is a lot less wasteful, and also works out cheaper in the long run.
The other main format of home printer is the dye-sublimation type, often shortened to “dye-subâ€. This technology is popular for smaller dedicated photo printers, such as Kodak’s EasyShare range of docking printers. Most print out at sizes no larger than 6 x 4 inches, although some A4-sized models do exist, such as the Olympus P-440.
Dye-sub printers work in a completely different way to inkjets. They use a ribbon carrying coloured panels of special dye, and this dye is transferred to specially treated paper by a thermal process. The ribbon will have to be replaced after a specific number of uses, so paper and ribbons are usually sold together as a pack, with just enough paper for the lifetime of the ribbon. Usually the ribbons carry cyan, yellow and magenta dye, and the image on the paper is built up one colour at a time. Dye sub printers are usually slower than equivalent-sized inkjet printers, and are usually also more expensive to buy and run. They are more wasteful of resources, since the ribbons cannot be reused despite there frequently being a lot of dye left after use. The main advantage with dye-sub printers is that they do produce almost perfect photo-quality prints, since the image is built up in transparent layers rather than a pattern of tiny dots. Dye-sub prints may also be more resistant to fading. | <urn:uuid:2731e7b3-0a18-4553-a2c5-bde31227ee5c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/digital-photography-tutorial-photo-printing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965371 | 885 | 2.703125 | 3 |
(BlackDoctor.org) — Of course, you know that pulse rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate are vital signs that are taken and used to monitor your health when you visit your physician.
At the recent NMA conference, doctors discussed the increased importance of yet another vital sign — waistline management. Why? Because how large your waistline is can help doctors determine your heart health risks. Fat around the waist is detrimental to your health…in fact, studies show that it’s better to have fat on your butt than on your stomach.
My Waist & My Health: What’s The Connection
People who gain weight around the waist increase their likelihood of developing heart disease, which is the number cause of death of African American men and women. This is why doctors are advocating to make patients more aware of their weight. This means measuring their waists in addition to just weighing them.
What’s a Healthy Waistline For Me?
The standard waist measurement for women should be no greater than 35 inches. For men, it should not be greater than 40 inches.
More Than Just About Heart Health
Many patients don’t like it, of course, but measuring one’s waist is very important because of the risk for developing not only heart disease, but diabetes, elevated cholesterol, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and/or other medical conditions.
Will all doctors be embracing this new vital sign? Yes, but like most medical topics, it will take time. Because of the ever-increasing cases of child obesity, more and more pediatricians are already measuring waistlines as an indicator for future health problems.
By Dr. Thaddeus J. Bell, BDO General Health Expert | <urn:uuid:7054b27d-f18d-4f74-ae8f-65615ce1548e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blackdoctor.org/3917/your-waist-size-the-new-vital-sign/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398209.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00036-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926123 | 355 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Published on January 23rd, 2009 | by Ariel Schwartz8
Chemical Engineers Build World's Smallest Fuel Cell
January 23rd, 2009 by Ariel Schwartz
US chemical engineers have built the world’s smallest fuel cell, clocking in at only 9 cubic millimeters. While the hydrogen-fueled cell is currently a prototype, it could one day replace batteries in portable electronics.
Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created the cell using 4 components: a water reservoir, a chamber containing metal-hydride, a thin membrane separating the two, and an assembly of electrodes. The device’s water flow is conducted by surface tension— so it will work even if moved and rotated.
Small holes in the membrane let the water molecules reach the chamber as vapor. The vapor then reacts with the metal hydride to form hydrogen, which fills the chamber, pushes the membrane up, and blocks the flow of water.
As the hydrogen is depleted, more water enters the chamber to keep the reaction going.
The bite-sized cell currently generates 0.7 volts and a current of 0.1 milliamps for 30 hours before fuel runs out. That’s only enough power for microrobots and simple electronic systems, but future versions may be able to power cell phones.
Photo Credit: Saeed Moghaddam
Get CleanTechnica’s 1st (completely free) electric car report → “Electric Cars: What Early Adopters & First Followers Want.”
Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter. | <urn:uuid:41e27369-7efc-47a3-86b8-542d9a54c032> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cleantechnica.com/2009/01/23/chemical-engineers-build-worlds-smallest-fuel-cell/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00038-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.889735 | 371 | 3.078125 | 3 |
There is an immediacy and ubiquity to this country’s recent history from which Berliners especially cannot escape.
No wonder Germany remains committed to expose and seek redemption for this dark period of its recent past.
It is in this context, and with Berlin as my home for nearly a year now, that I follow the debate in the UK about the place of the Third Reich in its school and university history syllabuses.
Only perhaps amongst Britons, most of whose ancestors’ lives were - mercifully – not ended or scarred by the aggressive expressions of twentieth century nihilistic ideology, could the argument that we place too much emphasis on teaching our recent past, and the years 1933 to 1945 in particular, hold much support.
Of course, I recognise that undue emphasis on a study of this period can only be at the cost of omitting that of other chapters of our own country’s rich and varied history, as well as that of the wider world.
Nonetheless, we must be careful not to downplay the significance of a period when the world almost fell off its moral axis and from which there are still very important lessons for us all, as global citizens, to learn.
Like it or not, 1933 to 1945 were pivotal years which - more than any other in our recent history - shaped the contemporary world as well as provided us with crucial lessons which, if we ignored, we would do so at our peril.
The argument that this period should retain its elevated position in UK school history syllabuses has, ironically, been hindered rather than helped by the popularisation of the subject.
Students have been too easily distracted by its more prurient and commercial elements, whether it be the sex lives of its leaders or the pop memorabilia of the SS, for example.
Even the horrors of the Second World War have been sanitised through books and films that have inevitably given higher priority to commercial success over factual accuracy, and populist narrative over objective analysis.
All this has undermined the pedagogical and moral justification for teaching the subject.
It must be the responsibility of especially schools to focus on the less familiar but more intellectually fulfilling topics of the period, to rescue the academic respectability of the subject as well as to ensure their students appreciate the relevance it holds for all who wish to protect the civilised values which the Third Reich displaced.
The Nazis’ rise to power, for example, provides a fine example of how a small minority can exploit democracy to weaken, subvert and ultimately destroy it.
It also illustrates the vulnerability of government to self-interested pressure groups capable of exerting undue political influence at a time of political instability. Hitler was, let us not forget, appointed Chancellor more as a result of a ‘backstairs intrigue’ (as Alan Bullock famously put it) than popular support from the German electorate.
Similarly, a study of the Nazis’ ‘euthanasia’ (ie. murder) campaign may shed light on the continuing debate on the sanctity of human life and the state’s approach to and treatment of minorities.
And finally, the willingness of ordinary people to turn a blind eye to acts of state violence on their doorstep – and not just in the torture chambers of the secret police – informs us about the weakness of the human condition, as well as the moral dilemmas faced by a minority who chose to defy the authority of the state.
I have read much of Germany’s modern history, but the mystery of how a civilisation that has produced the likes of Beethoven, Schiller and Brecht could also succumb to the monstrous regime of Hitler, Himmler and Goering remains as perplexing and paradoxical as ever to me.
Unless you fall for the myth that ‘it could never happen to us’, a study of the Third Reich still provides lessons for us all, and should retain its prominent place in the history syllabuses of the UK’s schools and universities.
We owe it to Albert and Erna Lewitt - along with over fifty million others.
*Graham Lacey is head of the Berlin British School, Germany. | <urn:uuid:400509e2-c08f-4792-a985-eac848eca7e6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8684734/Do-mention-the-War.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00153-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958609 | 852 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
The diploid spore-producing phase in the life cycle of a plant that exhibits alternation of generations. It is the dominant stage in vascular plants.
spo′ro·phyt′ic (-fĭt′ĭk) adj.
(Botany) the diploid form of plants that have alternation of generations. It develops from a zygote and produces asexual spores. Compare gametophyte
spo•ro•phyte(ˈspɔr əˌfaɪt, ˈspoʊr-)
the form of a plant in the alternation of generations that produces asexual spores. Compare gametophyte.
spo`ro•phyt′ic (-ˈfɪt ɪk) adj.
In plants, fungi, and certain algae, the individual organism or generation of organisms that produces spores. A sporophyte is formed from the union of the nuclei of male and female reproductive cells, and each of its cells has two sets of chromosomes. In nonvascular plants, such as the mosses and liverworts, the sporophyte is a small plant or a part that grows on top of the gametophyte. In vascular plants, such as the ferns, grasses, conifers, and flowering plants, the sporophyte is the main form of the plant. Compare gametophyte. | <urn:uuid:26fb7640-ec50-4153-97ca-01560f6e46e4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sporophyte | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.772139 | 315 | 3.5625 | 4 |
A luxury yacht.
A medium-sized boat that is used to sail from port to port in the Mediterranean is an example of a yacht.
Origin of yachtDutch jacht, earlier jaghte, short for jaghtschip, pursuit ship (i.e., against pirates) ; from jaght, a hunt ; from jagen, to chase + schip, a ship
intransitive verbyacht·ed, yacht·ing, yachts
Origin of yachtProbably obsolete Norwegian jagt, from Middle Low German jacht, short for jachtschip : jagen, to chase (from Old High German jag&omacron;n) + schip, ship.
- A slick and light ship for making pleasure trips or racing on water, having sails but often motor-powered. At times used as a residence offshore on a dock.
- "Would you like to go sailing on my uncle's yacht?"
- "You are a true yachtsman! Are you a member of the local yacht club?"
- Any vessel used for private, noncommercial purposes.
(third-person singular simple present yachts, present participle yachting, simple past and past participle yachted)
Circa 1557; variant of yaught, earlier yeaghe (“light, fast-sailing ship"), from Dutch jacht ("hunt"), in older spelling jaght(e), short for jaghtschip, jageschip (“light sailing vessel, fast pirate ship"), literally, "pursuit ship", compound of jagen (“to hunt, chase") and schip (“ship") (see ship), from Proto-Germanic *jagÅnÄ… (cf. West Frisian jeie, German jagen, Swedish jaga), from Proto-Indo-European *yegÊ°o- (compare Irish éad (“jealousy"), Russian Ñрый (járyj, “furious"), Albanian gjah (“hunt"), Ancient Greek ζητÎω (zÄ“téÅ, “to search, seek"), Sanskrit यवन (yÄvana, “barbarian; agressor"), यतà¥à¤¨ (yÄtna, “zeal")).
In the 16th century the Dutch built light, fast ships to chase the ships of pirates and smugglers from the coast. The ship was introduced to England in 1660 when the Dutch East India Company presented one to King Charles II, who used it as a pleasure boat, after which it was copied by British shipbuilders as a pleasure craft for wealthy gentlemen. | <urn:uuid:bc0ef768-c493-44a5-88b7-34150e1252b2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.yourdictionary.com/yacht | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00018-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905937 | 620 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Folklore and legend are always
some of the more intersting and definitive aspects of a
culture. The works in this section of the Florida Heritage
Collection are very rich examples of Florida folklore. Elements
of magic and the supernatural are woven into elaborate tales
that exemplify elements of Florida culture. Florida folklore
encompasses oral history as well as crafts handed down through
generations of family members. The Florida Heritage Collection
includes oral histories, folk tales, stories, and other
materials that encompass folklore of the Sunshine State.
One of the more significant works in this collection are
the writings of Lafcadio Hearn, which contains a story about
the Fountain of Youth. | <urn:uuid:3f121b24-e655-470b-ad29-5a7b14c05c09> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://palmm.fcla.edu/fh/themes/folklore.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00163-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904561 | 145 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The ongoing radiation releases from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station 140 miles from Tokyo, with the possibility of much more to come, has invited comparisons to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster a quarter century ago.
However, the amount of radiation released in Japan thus far is very small in comparison, and officials and workers still hope to prevent more catastrophic damage. The spread of radioactive contaminants into the atmosphere from the Chernobyl accident was detected globally.
While the spread of radiation from Japan might also reach detectable levels in the United States, many state and federal officials quoted in the news media have indicated that they expect any amount of radiation that reaches the United States will be too low to result in increased health risks.
Nonetheless, there are many reports of customers cleaning out pharmacy shelves and internet suppliers in a rush to buy potassium iodide tablets.
The tablets offer some protection when taken immediately before or during an exposure to radioactive iodine by competing with radioactive iodine for a place in the thyroid gland. But there is no point in taking potassium iodide in the absence of an exposure, health officials say, and individuals who are allergic to iodine or shellfish may have adverse reactions.
“People should not be taking potassium iodide now,” says Stuart Heard, PharmD, executive director of the California Poison Control System and professor with the UCSF School of Pharmacy. “It can have side effects. It’s not appropriate for everybody. People should not take it unless they are properly advised.”Most Iodine Contamination Was from Food
Studies of the health effects of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 are still underway and may shed light on potential risks faced by workers and many Japanese in the region of the damaged nuclear reactors.
UCSF epidemiologist Lydia Zablotska, MD, PhD
, has published several research studies on health impacts due to radiation released during the accident. Her recent, ongoing studies have focused on thyroid cancer among those exposed as children or adolescents in Ukraine and Belarus, and on leukemia and other blood disorders among clean-up workers.
The incidence of thyroid cancer due to release of the short-lived radioactive isotope iodine-131 rose as a result of the Chernobyl accident. Zablotska and her colleagues from the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the National Cancer Institute have observed that most of the exposure to radioactive iodine was due to consumption of contaminated foodstuffs within a few months of the accident -- although there was some airborne exposure while nuclear fuel burned and smoked and was spread by winds.
“The portion of the dose that came from inhalation was minimal, and it really was limited to the first week after the accident,” Zablotska says. Most of the exposure was due to ingestion of milk, other dairy products and leafy vegetables contaminated with this radioisotope during the two months after the accident, she says.
Read more at Jeffrey Norris, UCSF News Center | <urn:uuid:710ae338-f484-4bc1-8fc7-76568a5840df> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cancer.ucsf.edu/news/2011/03/18/chernobyl-studies-offer-perspective-on-radiation-risks.542 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960871 | 595 | 3.5 | 4 |
Equations With Variables on Both Sides
What You'll Learn
- To solve equations with variables on both sides
- To identify equations that are identities or have no solution
To solve a problem involving renting in-line skates, as in Example 2
Investigation Click here to view the Investigation for this lesson.
Solving Equations With Variables on Both Sides
To solve an equation that has variables on both sides, use the Addition or Subtraction Properties of Equality to get the variables on one side of the equation.
Vertical angles are congruent, so their measures are equal.
Variables on Both Sides
GeometryFind the value of x in the diagram below.
RecreationYou can buy used in-line skates from your friend for $40, or you can rent some. Either way, you must rent safety equipment. How many hours must you skate for the cost of renting and buying skates to be the same? | <urn:uuid:3ac5b1f0-b501-4571-a893-5bb8bcbb5463> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.phschool.com/iText/math/sample_chapter/Ch02/02-04/PH_Alg1_ch02-04_Obj1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905871 | 202 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Steroid Induced Diabetes
Corticosteroids are used to reduce harmful inflammation but can lead to diabetes - often referred to as steroid diabetes.
People on steroids who are already at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes or those who need to take steroids for longer periods of time are the most susceptible to developing steroid induced diabetes.
What is the role of steroids?
Steroids are taken to reduce inflammation, brought on by the body’s immune system, and can be taken as treatment for a number of illnesses including:
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative colitis
To achieve their purpose, corticosteroids mimic the action of cortisol, a hormone produced by the kidneys and responsible for brining on our body’s classic stress response of higher blood pressure and increased blood glucose levels.
Corticosteroids increase insulin resistance thus allowing blood glucose levels to rise and remain higher.
Read more on steroids and their side effects.
What are the symptoms of steroid induced diabetes?
People taking steroids may notice the following symptoms of diabetes:
- Dry mouth
- Blurred vision
- Increased thirst
- Increased need to urinate
- Tiredness and lethargy
However, symptoms may not be present unless blood sugar levels are significantly higher than normal.
Is steroid induced diabetes permanent?
High blood glucose levels whilst taking steroids may subside after you stop taking steroids, however, some people may develop type 2 diabetes which will need to be managed for life.
Type 2 diabetes is more likely to develop following longer term usage of steroids, such as usage of oral corticosteroids for longer than 3 months.
Am I at risk of developing steroid induced type 2 diabetes?
People at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes include:
- Those that are overweight
- If you have one or more close family members with type 2 diabetes
- If you have had gestational diabetes
- If you have polycystic ovary syndrome
- If you are over 40 and of caucasian origin
- If you are over 25 and are of South Asian, African-Caribbean or Middle Eastern origin
Did steroids bring on my type 2 diabetes?
There has been debate as to whether corticosteroids are a cause for diabetes or whether steroids advance the development of existing type 2 diabetes.
A study published in 2012, carried out by the University of Sydney, looked to investigate answers to the question.
The study, titled Steroid-Induced Diabetes: Is It Just Unmasking of Type 2 Diabetes?, found that those which developed new onset steroid induced diabetes had lower risk profiles than is typical of people with type 2 diabetes.
How is steroid induced diabetes treated?
The treatment for diabetes you are put on may depend on the extent of insulin resistance and how high your blood glucose levels are. It may be possible to treat your diabetes with diet and physical activity but you may need oral anti-diabetic medication or insulin.
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, you will need to attend health screenings at least once annually so your health can be monitored and treated appropriately. | <urn:uuid:20c3f463-b4e1-4f66-8f2e-ca4177919060> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.diabetes.co.uk/steroid-induced-diabetes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398516.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00152-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939794 | 651 | 2.78125 | 3 |
BERRYVILLE -- "I've had snakes all my life, and I never knew this could happen!" said Dale Ertel, owner of Snake World in Berryville.
A captive female Florida Water Moccasin (cottonmouth) he obtained half-grown two years ago gave live birth to one baby. The viper had never been kept with another snake.
He said a customer noticed there was a baby in the tank with the 4-foot mother cottonmouth on Saturday.
Ertel called a fellow collector with connections to a biologist at Jonesboro University, and found out some snakes can reproduce by "parthenogenesis," or asexual reproduction.
"It's rare in captive populations," Ertel said, "but it can happen."
His friend told Ertel he had had a Fer-de-Lance viper for three years, then sold it to a Springfield museum, who had it for five years when it gave live birth to 11 offspring.
"It had never been introduced to a mate," Ertel said.
Some snakes that may appear to produce virgin birth offspring instead actually delay gestation by what is known as "sperm retention," according to author Chad Minter in "Venomous Snakes of the Southeast."
Ertel knew about this.
"A snake can be fertilized and twist its uterus so it won't give birth until conditions are favorable," he said.
But that's not the case with his cottonmouth.
"This snake has never been near any other snakes," he said. "I got it when it was immature, not old enough to be mating."
Ertel said the cottonmouths around here are Western Water Moccasins, a different sub-species from his snake. In captivity, cottonmouths can live up to 20 years, he said.
Minter records another occasion of parthenogenetic birth. In the wild, cottonmouths give birth to eight to 12 live young, usually in the fall. He reported a case of two virgin births from a cottonmouth in Georgia that had been in captivity for more than five years.
"Parthenogenesis has been confirmed in at least one other species of pit viper, and many species of lizards," Minter wrote. "The babies remained unusually small, though they ate well. Their skulls also seemed to be slightly deformed."
Ertel said the new baby, about 7 inches long, has already eaten its first meal, a newborn rat.
"I just wonder if there were more than one baby," he said. "It's possible if there were more, the mother ate them. They are cannibalistic, confined in a small space like that. That baby might have been the last one left."
He plans to keep the new cottonmouth at Snake World. | <urn:uuid:e3694fb3-743b-425c-beb3-d629d8c3a21f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.carrollconews.com/story/1891658.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00029-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985594 | 574 | 2.59375 | 3 |
The climate crisis
The climate crisis
By Wei Sun
November 26, 2013
World production and consumption have been increasing rapidly in recent decades due to global ‘westernization’. While socially this can mean a higher standard of living for many in the developing world, the results are mostly negative on the local, national and global natural environment. For example, global transportation has increased the consumption of fossil energy, causing an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which has in turn increased the warming of Earth’s climate.
Investors want returns on their investment, so capitalism requires growth; a drive towards increased production and expansion into other ‘markets’ necessitates increased use of energy and natural resources. Greenhouse gas emissions are treated as an externality, not factored in to a firms expenses.
This graph (figure 1) shows the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, measured in parts per million (PPM) Scientists now agree with 97% certainty that concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses are the cause for increasing temperatures. For about 900 years, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere remained relatively stable, but there is a rapid increase following the industrial revolution. CO2 in the atmosphere grew from approximately 270ppm to 390ppm between 1900 and 2000, a 44% increase. This trend appears to be increasing, with CO2 recently reaching 400ppm. This has massive negative effects beyond just warmer weather.
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Looking at this graph (figure 2), we can see that the frequency of natural disasters such as drought, extreme temperatures, famine, flood, insect infestation, landslides, wild fires and wind storms had been relatively stable for centuries, but began increasing slowly from 1900 to 1960, and then started rising rapidly. Within only 40 years, from 1960 to 2000, the number of disasters per year went up from around 30 to 425, that is an increase of more than 14 times. Much of the increase in the number of events reported is probably due to significant improvements in information access and also due to population growth, but the number of floods and cyclones being reported is still rising compared to earthquakes, which could not be affected by the climate.
According to a case study from the Himalayas in India, a glacier will advance in a healthy climate and retreat in response to a warmer climate. Before being affected by climate change, glacier length records were at maximum from around 1700 to 1825, and then began to decline. As we can see in the graph (figure 3) there is a massive retreat from approximately 1825 to 2000. Alarmingly, this trend seems to be continuing. According to the latest studies, the average glacier thickness loss is approximately 30% from 1976 to 2012.
The loss of mass from glaciers contributes to increasing sea levels, along with melting polar ice. Sea level increased approximately 20cm from 1880 to 2000. This puts low-lying countries at risk, particularly island nations. Oceanic acidity increases as the water warms, affecting the delicate balance of ocean dynamics, and putting ecosystems at high risk.
According to the Ministry for the Environment, the likely impacts of climate change on New Zealand include higher temperatures, though likely to be less than the global average, rising sea levels, changes in rainfall pattern (higher rainfall in the west and less in the east) and more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts (especially in the east) and floods.
Agricultural productivity is expected to increase in some areas although others will run the risk of drought and the further spread of pests; forests and vegetation may grow faster, but native ecosystems could be invaded by exotic species. It is likely that there would be costs associated with changing land-use activities to suit a new climate; undoubtedly the costs of this shift will be passed onto to consumers at the supermarket. People are likely to enjoy the benefits of warmer winters with fewer frosts, but hotter summers will bring increased risks of heat stress and subtropical diseases.
Drier conditions in some areas are likely to be coupled with the risk of more frequent extreme events such as floods, droughts and storms, rising sea levels will increase the risk of erosion and saltwater intrusion, increasing the need for coastal protection and glaciers are expected to retreat and change water flows in major South Island Rivers.
People are aware of the dangers ahead, which is why at the end of November thousands of people protested against deep sea oil drilling on beaches across Aotearoa. Deep sea oil drilling has additional problems as well. While it may be too late to stop the planet warming by up to two degrees, it’s not too late to prevent further warming. That can be done though social movements like those behind the Banners on Beaches protests. Social movements needs to align themselves with those who will be affected the most by climate change, who tend to be among the world’s most oppressed, people like Ioane Teitiota who recently attempted unsucessfully to become the first climate change refugee, or those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. These movements can be most effective by targeting the structural causes of climate change, which lie in our economic system.
• The dangers of deep sea oil drilling, Byron Clark, Fightback
• Bid for recognition of first official climate change refugee, Byron Clark, Fightback
• Pacific migration: Climate change and the reserve army of labour, Ian Anderson, Fightback
• Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Crisis: For climate justice now, Partido Lakas ng Masa (Party of the Labouring Masses, PLM), reprinted by Links | <urn:uuid:4ecb9bec-d083-402f-b666-d0580e80ab0e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1311/S00232/the-climate-crisis.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397873.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00059-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95222 | 1,142 | 3.375 | 3 |
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Psychological and neurobiological evidence implicates hippocampal-dependent memory processes in the control of hunger and food intake. In humans, these have been revealed in the hyperphagia that is associated with amnesia. However, it remains unclear whether ‘memory for recent eating’ plays a significant role in neurologically intact humans. In this study we isolated the extent to which memory for a recently consumed meal influences hunger and fullness over a three-hour period. Before lunch, half of our volunteers were shown 300 ml of soup and half were shown 500 ml. Orthogonal to this, half consumed 300 ml and half consumed 500 ml. This process yielded four separate groups (25 volunteers in each). Independent manipulation of the ‘actual’ and ‘perceived’ soup portion was achieved using a computer-controlled peristaltic pump. This was designed to either refill or draw soup from a soup bowl in a covert manner. Immediately after lunch, self-reported hunger was influenced by the actual and not the perceived amount of soup consumed. However, two and three hours after meal termination this pattern was reversed - hunger was predicted by the perceived amount and not the actual amount. Participants who thought they had consumed the larger 500-ml portion reported significantly less hunger. This was also associated with an increase in the ‘expected satiation’ of the soup 24-hours later. For the first time, this manipulation exposes the independent and important contribution of memory processes to satiety. Opportunities exist to capitalise on this finding to reduce energy intake in humans. | <urn:uuid:05f646e9-13fe-485c-bb3e-1eb3dfb14b4c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.scoop.it/t/cognition/?tag=eating | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396959.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00064-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958858 | 372 | 2.984375 | 3 |
The onset of the First World War underlined the seismic change that was engulfing every aspect of life in the early part of the 20th century. As Europe’s great powers tumbled over the precipice into a catastrophic four years of carnage, few could envision the role that powered transportation would play in the conflict, or the toll that mechanized, industrialized warfare would extract from its youth.
In a war that left such an indelible mark on society, oil would for the first time play a significant role. To that end, the First World War is a significant landmark in the formation of corporations that came to dominate the 20th century. The age of the majors had dawned.
Among the horror and humanity of the First World War, which started 100 years ago this month, those embroiled in the fledgling oil industry found their patriotic niche. Great oil powered dreadnoughts prowled shipping lanes while the relentless thrum of troop carriers married the youth of far flung empire to blood-soaked front line. Men looked down upon the earth from frail, spindly flying machines and huddled around kerosene lamps in half submerged shell holes seeking warmth and respite.
From the Parisian omnibuses that rushed French troops out to meet the German army’s great curling hook as it tore through northern France, to the lumbering British tanks that lay shattered and strewn across the muddy fields of Cambrai, war was mechanized now. War needed oil.
But the push required a catalyst and a champion, and three major elements conspired to drive oil into the war zone. All would come in the fleeting years that fell as Europe’s golden age lurched toward its bloody end.
The first, in February 1907, was the coming together of a Dutch petroleum company and a British trading and transport company that had once imported seashells. The Royal Dutch company, which took the lion’s share of the amalgamated business, was looking for a partner to help redress the growing influence of Standard Oil, a company that Mr. Warren Platt was already pretty familiar with when he founded Platt’s National Petroleum News in 1909.
The following year came the second major event, when a British expedition, after eight years of searching, finally struck oil in the deserts of Persia, prompting the Shah of Iran to grant oil rights for virtually the entire country to one British businessman, William Knox D’arcy. Turning to his majority shareholder, Burmah Oil, the concession would be exploited by a new company, and in 1909 the Anglo-Persian Oil Company came into existence.
The final element also came from Britain, and its champion was a man who, despite his contemporaneous fame, had yet to realize his true destiny. It started with a Royal Commission on Oil Fuel and Oil Engines, instigated in 1912 by the newly appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, one Winston Spencer Churchill.
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The role the Royal Navy plays in this is one of catalyst. As an entity, the Navy held a sometimes-reluctant place at the cutting edge of technology. The move from sails to steam had been difficult, but the military advantages of steam won the case.
Oil was slightly different. Steam power was born of coal, a resource that Great Britain was not short of. The same could not be said for oil, as the only proven reserves of which were currently overseas.
The case was overwhelming though. Churchill’s ally, the retired Admiral John Fisher, had been a long term advocate of oil over coal, recognizing that oil meant less smoke, more power more quickly, less weight and fewer men, meaning that an oil-powered vessel had up to four times the range of a conventional coal-burner. As early as 1904, Fisher had pushed for Britain to secure its oil reserves, even as Anglo-Persia was surveying in Iran.
Churchill echoed the naval man’s sentiment; “in war, speed is everything” he noted. As a former cavalryman himself, the strategic significance of greater speed and range was immediately evident to Churchill.
They won their case in 1912, with the laying down of the first oil powered warship, the battleship Queen Elizabeth. From here on, Britain’s capability to wage war was dependent on its capacity to secure oil. Around the globe, great bunkers that had once housed coal began to accommodate a new fuel.
For Anglo-Persian, the decision was most opportune. While in its discovery phase, the company’s precursors had already come close to bankruptcy twice in its short life. The discovery of oil, which came right on the cusp of a decision by its backers to cut losses and pull out, proved a mixed blessing. They had oil, but nowhere to place it. But the confirmation of naval demand saw production in Persia leap from 1,600 b/d to 18,000 b/d between 1912 and 1914. In time, Anglo-Persian was contributing one fifth of the Royal Navy’s oil needs.
The company also acquired a new brand name to add to its catalog. Savvy German industrialists, backed by Deutsche Bank and looking to penetrate new markets at a time of heightened sensibilities, adopted a patriotic moniker for their UK fuel distribution operations. When war came, the company, its assets and its name — British Petroleum — were all seized. In due course, they passed to Anglo-Persian.
For Royal Dutch, the company under its executive Henri Deterding was alert to the change in naval power, and Anglo-Persian correctly identified them as a rival in the potential riches that military contracts could bring. The whiff of foreign ownership was enough to make it an occasional target of politicians and businessmen, including executives from Anglo-Persian and Churchill himself. But its UK history in the form of its “Shell” brand and its evident commitment to the war effort — one of the company’s key figures Marcus Samuel lost both his son and son-in-law during the war — ensured that there was no popular backlash.
The company itself underlined its early integration as Shell’s own corporate history acknowledges, becoming the sole supplier of aviation fuel to the Royal Flying Corp, the main supplier of fuel to the British Expeditionary Force and, from its petrochemical division, the supplier of 80% of the British Army’s TNT. The effort was enough to earn Deterding an honorary knighthood by the end of the war and Shell virtually occupying the position of quartermaster-general of oil.
When peace and the congress at Versailles came in 1919, as much as Europe tried to pretend otherwise, it was clear to see that the world had changed.
For Germany, its inability to deliver the knockout blow that would have prevented it fighting a war on two fronts was compounded by its inability to secure oil in the way the allies had. Every foray into east Europe to capture Romanian oil wealth was checked by Britain’s imperial forces, while Major T.E. Lawrence’s guerrilla campaign in the Arabian peninsula brought ever more of the oil-rich lands under British influence.
The fact was not lost on either side of the conflict; nor was the growing role of the US as a provider of that oil. Lord Curzon, one of Britain’s chief architects of foreign policy in the Middle East, famously summarized the war with the words ‘The Allies floated to victory on a wave of oil.”
By war’s end, 80% of the oil supply had been coming from the US; a further sign of the changing world around them. Here too lay seeds of discord, as America’s oil industry awoke to the huge potential reserves that Britain and France now sought to divide between themselves. Nor did either statement acknowledge the substantial human cost on both sides that had been the price of victory. | <urn:uuid:cd2bf8d1-f078-4e37-b4c5-dfe0108e2f3f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blogs.platts.com/2014/08/15/oil-world-war-one/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00142-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975815 | 1,691 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Grammar Engineering Frequently Asked Questions
The LKB says I'm missing a right bracket, but I can't figure out where. What should I do?
This error means that you have a syntax error somewhere near the position that the LKB reports, perhaps but not necessarily a missing right bracket. (The LKB is taking a guess there, sometimes it is right.)
Possible errors include:
- Missing right bracket.
- Missing & after a type name.
- Missing period at the end of a type definition.
To go to the position indicated by the error message, make sure your current buffer in emacs has the right file open. Then do M-x goto-char and type in the position number.
You can scan the area to see if something is obviously missing, but usually its more efficient to use the tab indentation of tdl mode to find the spot where somethings wrong. See FAQ: How do I use tab to help me figure out where my syntax error is?
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- 02 Nov 2004
Topic revision: r2 - 2008-02-13 - 08:58:08 - lain0523 | <urn:uuid:0669c807-be76-4998-a316-2c3eb61ae9a3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://depts.washington.edu/uwcl/twiki/bin/view.cgi/Main/RightBracket | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903759 | 249 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The English language is famous for the way it absorbs new words from other cultures. This is part of the reason for its huge vocabulary.
In addition, the British were a highly migratory people, so they constantly came in close contact with new things. Usually the local words for these things were adopted into English. Sometimes English speakers know this, but sometimes the knowledge of the words' origins has been lost to ordinary speakers.
Here are more Hindi words that have been adopted into English:
bandanna, bangle, bungalow, chintz, cot, cummerbund, dungaree,
juggernaut, jungle, loot, maharaja, nabob, pajamas, punch (the drink),
shampoo, thug, kedgeree, jamboree | <urn:uuid:f78b0508-6d2d-4def-afe1-28f5ee2b2f5f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/106259-pls-check-if-this-is-correct-sentence/page4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394414.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941988 | 165 | 2.671875 | 3 |
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