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Topic summary contributed by volunteer(s): Randy Kale is a dark leafy green, cruciferous vegetable, and an excellent choice for one of our nine a day servings of fruits and vegetables. It is a good source of antioxidants, calcium, nitrates, skin-enhancing carotenoids and other phytonutrients such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which may be protective against glaucoma. Unfortunately, kale is not common in the American diet. Like other cruciferous vegetables, it may boost mood, lower cholesterol, prevent DNA damage, improve immune function, prevent cancer (like breast and kidney cancer) increase cancer survival rates, and reduce the risk of chronic age-related diseases. Kale is one of the more effective bile acid-binding vegetables, which may play a role in lowering the risk of premature degenerative diseases. To avoid interfering with thyroid function, a person must be careful not to eat too much of it raw. Chopping it and then waiting at least 40 minutes before cooking it or mixing some mustard powder to cooked kale helps produce the anti-cancer nutrient, sulforaphane. Kale chips can be both a healthy and delicious snack. Image Credit: Pixabay. This image has been modified. All Videos for Kale Kidney Stones and Spinach, Chard, and Beet Greens: Don’t Eat Too Much Given their oxalate content, how much is too much spinach, chard, beet greens, chaga mushroom powder, almonds, cashews, star fruit, and instant tea? How to Cook Greens Dark green leafy vegetables are the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. What’s the best way to prepare them? Dairy & Cancer How do we explain the increased risk of prostate cancer but the decreased risk of colon cancer associated with dairy consumption? Do Lutein Supplements Help with Brain Function? Avocados, greens, and lutein and zeaxanthin supplements are put to the test for improving cognitive function. Brain-Healthy Foods to Fight Aging What is the best source of lutein, the primary carotenoid antioxidant in the brain? Best Brain Foods: Berries & Nuts Put to the Test Randomized controlled studies put nuts, berries, and grape juice to the test for cognitive function. Pros & Cons of a Macrobiotic Diet What happens when you put diabetics on a diet composed of largely whole grains, vegetables, and beans? Bean Pastas and Lentil Sprouts Do the benefits of beans, and lentils, and chickpeas remain when they’re powdered? Also, how to use temperature stress to boost sprout nutrition. The Benefits of Kale & Cabbage for Cholesterol Dinosaur kale and red cabbage are put to the test. Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen Checklist In my book How Not to Die I center my recommendations around a Daily Dozen checklist of all the things I try to fit into my daily routine. Dr. Greger in the Kitchen: My New Favorite Beverage Dr. Greger blends up a vegetable smoothie inspired by a recipe in his How Not to Die Cookbook. Fighting Autism Brain Inflammation with Food One food may be able to combat all four purported causal factors of autism: synaptic dysfunction, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation.
Our Dr. Seuss lesson plan introduces students to the life and contributions of Dr. Seuss. This engaging lesson includes the design of a poster advertisement to familiarize students with Dr. Seuss’ books, as well as a group presentation of the created poster. Students are asked to complete an interactive activity in which they cut out words and word 10 Dr. Seuss book titles using them. Students are also asked to read a series of Dr. Suess quotes and tell what they think they mean, and how it can be helpful to them. At the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify Dr. Seuss and list facts about his life and explain his significance in history. Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.1.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.7, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.3, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.7
As the volumes of data used in businesses grows, getting data suitably annotated and tagged to train machine learning models is an enormous challenge. Businesses that want to increase profits using machine learning and artificial intelligence must pay attention to the accuracy of the data labeling process. While many are conscious of how the convenience and speed that machine learning offers can help make their business operations more efficient, less attention has been given to the losses that could be incurred if their data sets have been labeled with poor accuracy. See also: Data Annotation Feeds the AI Beast Machine learning is not magic. It’s a technical process that involves developing a model through pattern recognition, and the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” has never been more relevant than in the case of machine learning. Simply put, poorly labeled data results in a model that makes a higher number of mistakes, resulting in losses. One of the most crucial potential losses is, of course, monetary loss. For example, if a model that has been trained to detect ripe apples in an orchard does not meet the acceptable accuracy levels, it is much more likely to miss ripe apples that should be picked. In the United Kingdom, there have already been losses of roughly 16 million apples in 2019 due to a lack of harvesting capabilities. These are apples that could have been sold for profit. For smallholder farmers, losses like these could make or break their operations, especially if their ability to provide a constant supply to supermarkets comes into question. Farmers who are at risk of losing their contracts with buyers would likely decide to switch to a different computer vision company that would be able to provide machines with higher accuracy levels. They would need a service provider who can guarantee a high level of accuracy of at least 85% to 95%. In order to achieve this, it’s vital for a service provider to obtain high accuracy training data sets. Having access to this will allow the company to establish its reputation as one that can provide highly accurate algorithms for highly accurate machines. Companies that fail to do this would likely lose out on business that goes to their competitors with more accurately trained models. It’s an opportunity cost that would very easily be avoided by simply having high quality labeled data. Common Reasons for Low Accuracy Labelled Data To understand what constitutes high-quality data, one must first grasp how data annotation is conducted and the issues that lead to inaccurately labeled data sets. At this early stage of machine learning, the initial processing of data is manual and may involve actions like data annotation, data transcription, and sentiment tagging. This is work that is conducted by humans and is a laborious task that requires immense attention to detail. Besides putting a strain on the labeler’s cognitive load, the process also leaves room for prejudicial bias that occurs due to stereotype influences or cultural contexts. As data volume grows, the difficulties in catching mistakes only increases. Therefore, it’s important to have data labeling standard operating procedures that are compliant with quality control best practices. Obtaining High Accuracy Training Data Sets Some businesses may consider having their in-house team working on data labeling as an effective quality assurance measure, especially because the team is more likely to be familiar with the materials being labeled. But high-quality data labeling is not always correlated to familiarity. More often, it’s about the ability to set up stringent workflows and rigorous quality control methods. Setting these up is not always cost-efficient and may not be the best use of human resources that could be better spent on the actual development of algorithms. The more efficient solution is to look for a dedicated data labeling partner that provides high quality, accurate training data sets to use for training AI and machine learning models. A suitable partner should have a team comprising individuals that have been hand-picked and trained to deliver high precision. They should also have a workflow that takes into consideration issues such as the quality of collected data, prejudicial bias, and a review system that is rigorous enough to attain high levels of accuracy. Companies that specialize in data labeling would have quality assurance measures already in place to do this and would be able to set up ground truth and consensus scoring processes to ensure that their data annotators perform at the highest levels. For a business to succeed with machine learning, high-quality data is crucial. But if it wants to scale, if it wants to get to the next level, having a strong partner is imperative.
An optical fiber sensor to measure gaseous oxygen is presented in this work. The device is based on platinum tetrakis pentrafluorophenyporphine (PtTFPP), a reagent that shows a luminescence at 650 nm when it is illuminated at 390 nm. The emitted signal decreases as oxygen concentrations increases. This sensing material is deposited onto a cleaved-end plastic silica cladding (PCS) fiber by means of the Layer-by-Layer method (LbL). The experimental set up has been also optimized in terms of the dimensions of the optical components in order to get the highest signal level. The response of the sensor has been studied in terms of different oxygen concentrations as well as dynamic conditions. The resulting sensor shows a reversible and linear behavior for oxygen concentrations from 0% up to 100% (R2 = 0.9991). The initial inconvenience derived by the non-water solubility of PtTFPP and its challenging deposition by LbL has been overcome by preparing an emulsion. - Oxygen sensing - Plastic cladding optical fiber
A couple of good prototype machining china pictures I located: Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II and the very first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Though developed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a range of aerial weapons: traditional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons. On August 6, 1945, this Martin-constructed B-29-45-MO dropped the initial atomic weapon utilised in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, Bockscar (on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio) dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance climate reconnaissance aircraft that day. A third B-29, The Excellent Artiste, flew as an observation aircraft on both missions. Transferred from the United States Air Force. Nation of Origin: United States of America Overall: 900 x 3020cm, 32580kg, 4300cm (29ft 6 5/16in. x 99ft 1in., 71825.9lb., 141ft 15/16in.) Polished all round aluminum finish 4-engine heavy bomber with semi-monoqoque fuselage and high-aspect ratio wings. Polished aluminum finish all round, standard late-World War II Army Air Forces insignia on wings and aft fuselage and serial number on vertical fin 509th Composite Group markings painted in black "Enola Gay" in black, block letters on reduce left nose. Boeing’s B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated, propeller-driven, bomber to fly for the duration of World War II, and the very first bomber to residence its crew in pressurized compartments. Boeing installed quite sophisticated armament, propulsion, and avionics systems into the Superfortress. In the course of the war in the Pacific Theater, the B-29 delivered the 1st nuclear weapons used in combat. On August six, 1945, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., in command of the Superfortress Enola Gay, dropped a highly enriched uranium, explosion-sort, "gun-fired," atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. 3 days later, Main Charles W. Sweeney piloted the B-29 Bockscar and dropped a highly enriched plutonium, implosion-kind atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Enola Gay flew as the advance climate reconnaissance aircraft that day. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese accepted Allied terms for unconditional surrender. In the late 1930s, U. S. Army Air Corps leaders recognized the need to have for really lengthy-range bombers that exceeded the performance of the B-17 Flying Fortress. A number of years of preliminary research paralleled a continuous fight against those who saw limited utility in establishing such an high-priced and unproven aircraft but the Air Corps issued a requirement for the new bomber in February 1940. It described an airplane that could carry a maximum bomb load of 909 kg (two,000 lb) at a speed of 644 kph (400 mph) a distance of at least eight,050 km (5,000 miles). Boeing, Consolidated, Douglas, and Lockheed responded with style proposals. The Army was impressed with the Boeing style and issued a contract for two flyable prototypes in September 1940. In April 1941, the Army issued an additional contract for 250 aircraft plus spare parts equivalent to yet another 25 bombers, eight months ahead of Pearl Harbor and almost a year-and-a-half just before the first Superfortress would fly. Amongst the design’s innovations was a lengthy, narrow, high-aspect ratio wing equipped with big Fowler-kind flaps. This wing style permitted the B-29 to fly quite quick at high altitudes but maintained comfortable handling traits throughout takeoff and landing. A lot more revolutionary was the size and sophistication of the pressurized sections of the fuselage: the flight deck forward of the wing, the gunner’s compartment aft of the wing, and the tail gunner’s station. For the crew, flying at intense altitudes became much far more comfortable as stress and temperature could be regulated. To shield the Superfortress, Boeing developed a remote-controlled, defensive weapons technique. Engineers placed 5 gun turrets on the fuselage: a turret above and behind the cockpit that housed two .50 caliber machine guns (four guns in later versions), and another turret aft near the vertical tail equipped with two machine guns plus two much more turrets beneath the fuselage, each equipped with two .50 caliber guns. One of these turrets fired from behind the nose gear and the other hung further back near the tail. An additional two .50 caliber machine guns and a 20-mm cannon (in early versions of the B-29) had been fitted in the tail beneath the rudder. Gunners operated these turrets by remote manage–a true innovation. They aimed the guns utilizing computerized sights, and every single gunner could take control of two or much more turrets to concentrate firepower on a single target. Boeing also equipped the B-29 with sophisticated radar equipment and avionics. Based on the type of mission, a B-29 carried the AN/APQ-13 or AN/APQ-7 Eagle radar method to help bombing and navigation. These systems have been precise adequate to permit bombing via cloud layers that fully obscured the target. The B-29B was equipped with the AN/APG-15B airborne radar gun sighting method mounted in the tail, insuring correct defense against enemy fighters attacking at night. B-29s also routinely carried as numerous as twenty diverse varieties of radios and navigation devices. The very first XB-29 took off at Boeing Field in Seattle on September 21, 1942. By the finish of the year the second aircraft was prepared for flight. Fourteen service-test YB-29s followed as production began to accelerate. Building this advanced bomber necessary huge logistics. Boeing built new B-29 plants at Renton, Washington, and Wichita, Kansas, whilst Bell built a new plant at Marietta, Georgia, and Martin built one in Omaha, Nebraska. Both Curtiss-Wright and the Dodge automobile firm vastly expanded their manufacturing capacity to build the bomber’s powerful and complex Curtiss-Wright R-3350 turbo supercharged engines. The plan necessary thousands of sub-contractors but with extraordinary work, it all came together, despite key teething problems. By April 1944, the 1st operational B-29s of the newly formed 20th Air Force began to touch down on dusty airfields in India. By Could, 130 B-29s were operational. In June, 1944, significantly less than two years right after the initial flight of the XB-29, the U. S. Army Air Forces (AAF) flew its 1st B-29 combat mission against targets in Bangkok, Thailand. This mission (longest of the war to date) called for one hundred B-29s but only 80 reached the target area. The AAF lost no aircraft to enemy action but bombing final results were mediocre. The very first bombing mission against the Japanese principal islands considering that Lt. Col. "Jimmy" Doolittle’s raid against Tokyo in April 1942, occurred on June 15, again with poor outcomes. This was also the 1st mission launched from airbases in China. With the fall of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in the Mariana Islands chain in August 1944, the AAF acquired airbases that lay several hundred miles closer to mainland Japan. Late in 1944, the AAF moved the XXI Bomber Command, flying B-29s, to the Marianas and the unit began bombing Japan in December. However, they employed higher-altitude, precision, bombing techniques that yielded poor benefits. The higher altitude winds were so powerful that bombing computer systems could not compensate and the climate was so poor that rarely was visual target acquisition attainable at high altitudes. In March 1945, Significant Common Curtis E. LeMay ordered the group to abandon these tactics and strike alternatively at night, from low altitude, using incendiary bombs. These firebombing raids, carried out by hundreds of B-29s, devastated a lot of Japan’s industrial and financial infrastructure. But Japan fought on. Late in 1944, AAF leaders selected the Martin assembly line to make a squadron of B-29s codenamed SILVERPLATE. Martin modified these Superfortresses by removing all gun turrets except for the tail position, removing armor plate, installing Curtiss electric propellers, and modifying the bomb bay to accommodate either the "Fat Man" or "Little Boy" versions of the atomic bomb. The AAF assigned 15 Silverplate ships to the 509th Composite Group commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets. As the Group Commander, Tibbets had no particular aircraft assigned to him as did the mission pilots. He was entitled to fly any aircraft at any time. He named the B-29 that he flew on 6 August Enola Gay right after his mother. In the early morning hours, just prior to the August 6th mission, Tibbets had a young Army Air Forces upkeep man, Private Nelson Miller, paint the name just below the pilot’s window. Enola Gay is a model B-29-45-MO, serial number 44-86292. The AAF accepted this aircraft on June 14, 1945, from the Martin plant at Omaha (Positioned at what is nowadays Offut AFB close to Bellevue), Nebraska. Soon after the war, Army Air Forces crews flew the airplane for the duration of the Operation Crossroads atomic test system in the Pacific, despite the fact that it dropped no nuclear devices during these tests, and then delivered it to Davis-Monthan Army Airfield, Arizona, for storage. Later, the U. S. Air Force flew the bomber to Park Ridge, Illinois, then transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution on July four, 1949. Despite the fact that in Smithsonian custody, the aircraft remained stored at Pyote Air Force Base, Texas, in between January 1952 and December 1953. The airplane’s final flight ended on December 2 when the Enola Gay touched down at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The bomber remained at Andrews in outdoor storage until August 1960. By then, concerned about the bomber deteriorating outdoors, the Smithsonian sent collections staff to disassemble the Superfortress and move it indoors to the Paul E. Garber Facility in Suitland, Maryland. The staff at Garber began operating to preserve and restore Enola Gay in December 1984. This was the biggest restoration project ever undertaken at the National Air and Space Museum and the specialists anticipated the perform would call for from seven to nine years to complete. The project truly lasted nearly two decades and, when completed, had taken about 300,000 function-hours to complete. The B-29 is now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
Today in the journal Nature, researchers led by Charles Lieber report a big step forward in the field of tiny computing: the creation of linked-up logic circuits made of nanowires, which could be used to build itty-bitty processors. The devices described in the paper layer additional wires across the germanium-silicon ones; charges can be trapped in these wires, influencing the behavior of the underlying nanowires. This charge trapping is nonvolatile but reversible; in other words, you can switch one of the nanowires on or off by altering the charge stored in its neighborhood. This makes it possible to turn the nanowires into a standard field-effect transistor (the authors term them NWFETs for “nanowire field-effect transistors”). [Ars Technica] Lieber had been able to create simple versions of those NWFETs before, but those were difficult to build on a large enough scale to create logic circuits. Lieber’s team reports in this week’s Nature that they’ve been able to build a programmable array of nanowires that can have up to eight distinct logic gates. They dub such an array a “logic tile,” with the idea that multiple tiles could be connected to perform more-complex logic functions. [IEEE Spectrum] Though Lieber’s achievement is impressive, he concedes that it’s difficult to imagine his tech competing with the incredible pace at which computer processing speed accelerates. But, he says, he doesn’t have to: Nanoscale processors have qualities that could make them more suitable than traditional ones for the very small devices that are on the leading edge of research. “The key thing is to recognize that we’re not trying to compete directly with high-performance silicon electronics,” he says. Projections show that the new wires could be up to 100 times more energy efficient than conventional technologies. That could make the meshes useful as logic circuits in low-power applications such as small robots, or perhaps biomedical devices. [Nature] 80beats: Nanowire-Coated Cotton Cleans Water by Zapping Bacteria to Death 80beats: A Nano-Wiretap: Scientists Use Nanowires to Spy on a Cell’s Inner Life 80beats: 2 New Nanotech Super Powers: Desalinating Sea Water and Treating Cancer Discoblog: Nano Snacks! Researchers Say Edible Nanostructures Taste Like Saltines Image: Lieber et. al.
Does L, the special source used by the author of the Gospel of Luke, represent Jesus as a male descendant of the Hebrew people? Like Mark and Q, L uses masculine nouns, pronouns and verbs of Jesus: L 7:11b-15 “his disciples” “with him” “As he approached” “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion” “he came forward” “And he said” “He gave him” L 7:36-47 “asked him” “He went” “took his place” “he was eating” “his feet” “this man” “he would have known” “touching him” ” ‘Teacher’ ” “he said” L 10:39-42 “the Lord’s feet” “he was saying” “came to him” ” ‘Lord, do you not care…’ ” “the Lord answered her” L 13:1b-5 “He asked them” L 13:10-17b “he was teaching” “he called her over” “he laid his hands on her” “he said this” “The Lord answered him” L 13: 31b-32 “He said to them” L 14:2-5 “in front of him” “He said to them” L 14:8-10 & 12-14 “He said also” L 15:11-32 “He said” L 17:12-18 “As he entered” “approached him” “when he saw them, he said” “thanked him” L 18: 2-8a “He said” “And the Lord said” L 19:2-10 “to see him” “he looked up” “to welcome him” “He has gone to” “said to the Lord” Also, as with Mark and Q, the main character in the L source is referred to as ‘Jesus’ (or Yeshua): L 7:36-47 “Jesus spoke up” L 10:30-37a “Jesus said to him” L 13:10-17b “When Jesus saw her, he called her over” L 14:2-5 “Jesus asked” “So Jesus took” L 17:12-18 ” ‘Jesus, Master…’ ” “Then Jesus asked” L 19:2-10 “He was trying to see who Jesus was” “When Jesus came to the place” “Jesus said to him” ‘Jesus’ or ‘Yeshua’ was one of the more common names for a Jewish male (a male descendant of the Hebrew people) in Palestine in the First century. As with Mark and Q, L places Jesus in Palestine: L 10:30-37a “Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by the other side. …But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. …’ ” L 13:1b-5 [told him about the] “Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He [Jesus] asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you: but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them–do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’ ” L 13:31b-32 ” ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ ” (words spoken to Jesus).‘Herod’ here is presumably Herod Antipas (‘Herod’ being a dynastic title) who killed John the Baptist around the time Jesus started his own ministry. Antipas was appointed tetrarch over Galilee and Perea in 4 BCE, and he ruled there until 39 CE. Even if the above passage refers to some other ‘Herod’ in the dynasty, the various ‘Herods’ ruled over various areas in Palestine. L 17:12-18 “As he [Jesus] entered a village, ten lepers approached him. …He [one of the lepers] prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. …” Samaritans originate from Samaria, and Samaria was located in Palestine between Galilee (in the North) and Judea (in the South). So, this story suggests that Jesus met these lepers when he was visiting a village somewhere in Palestine. L 18:10-14a ” ‘Two men came up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.’ ” [The phrase “the temple” here clearly refers to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem]. Representing Jesus as a man who was an adherent of the Jewish faith who was living in Palestine in the First Century (at about the time of Pilate) suggests that Jesus was a male descendant of the Hebrew people. One final passage provides additional confirmation that Jesus was a descendant of the Hebrew people, or at least that L represented him as such: L 17:12-18 “As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at his [Jesus’] feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ ” In the above passage, Jesus refers to the ‘Samaritan’ man as a ‘foreigner’. Why? Consider the following commentary on Jesus’ parable about the ‘Good Samaritan'(in Luke 10:29-37): By making the hero of the story a Samaritan, Jesus challenged the longstanding enmity between Jews and Samaritans. The latter were regarded as unclean people, descendants of the mixed marriages that followed from the Assyrian settlement of people from various regions in the fallen northern kingdom (2 Kgs 17:6, 24). (The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX, “Luke” by R. Alan Culpepper, p.229) When Jesus refers to the grateful Samaritan (in the ten lepers incident) as a ‘foreigner’, Jesus means that this man was a descendant “of the mixed marriages that followed from the Assyrian settlement…”. In other words, Jesus is implying that the grateful man was racially impure, not a purebred descendant of the Hebrew people. But in using the term ‘foreigner’ Jesus is also implying that he (Jesus) was racially pure, was a purebred descendant of the Hebrew people, and NOT a product of “the mixed marriages….”. So, in this passage, Jesus strongly implies that he is a descendant of the Hebrew people. My conclusion is that L, like Mark and Q, represents Jesus as being a male descendant of the Hebrew people.
Messier 70 (also known as M70 or NGC 6681) is a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1780. M70 is at a distance of about 29,300 light years away from Earth and close to the Galactic Center. It is roughly the same size and luminosity as its neighbour in space, M69. Only two variable stars are known within this cluster. Picture obtained with the Wide Field Camera of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The field of view is around 3.3 by 3.3 arcminutes. - ^ Shapley, Harlow; Sawyer, Helen B. (August 1927), "A Classification of Globular Clusters", Harvard College Observatory Bulletin (849): 11–14, Bibcode:1927BHarO.849...11S. - ^ Goldsbury, Ryan et al. (December 2010), "The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. X. New Determinations of Centers for 65 Clusters", The Astronomical Journal 140 (6): 1830–1837, arXiv:1008.2755, Bibcode:2010AJ....140.1830G, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/1830. - ^ a b c "SIMBAD Astronomical Object Database". Results for NGC 6681. Retrieved 2006-11-17. - ^ a b Boyles, J. et al. (November 2011), "Young Radio Pulsars in Galactic Globular Clusters", The Astrophysical Journal 742 (1): 51, arXiv:1108.4402, Bibcode:2011ApJ...742...51B, doi:10.1088/0004-637X/742/1/51. - ^ distance × sin( diameter_angle / 2 ) = 34 ly. radius - ^ a b Forbes, Duncan A.; Bridges, Terry (May 2010), "Accreted versus in situ Milky Way globular clusters", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 404 (3): 1203–1214, arXiv:1001.4289, Bibcode:2010MNRAS.404.1203F, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16373.x. - ^ "Tight and Bright". ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week. Retrieved 13 April 2012. - Messier 70, SEDS Messier pages - Messier 70, Galactic Globular Clusters Database page - Messier 70 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images \|\|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Messier 70. Coordinates: 18h 43m 12.64s, −32° 17′ 30.8″
Back and neck pain, headaches, and shoulder and arm pain are common computer-related injuries. Such muscle and joint problems can be caused or made worse by poor workstation (desk) design, bad posture and sitting for long periods of time. Although sitting requires less muscular effort than standing, it still causes physical fatigue (tiredness) and you need to hold parts of your body steady for long periods of time. This reduces circulation of blood to your muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments, sometimes leading to stiffness and pain. If a workstation is not set up properly, these steady positions can put even greater stress on your muscles and joints Eye strain and fatigue are common complaints from people who use electronic devices regularly. At first, the discomfort is barely noticeable, but gradually it increases in intensity and can develop into strained vision, pain, and even severe headaches for some. Constant exposure to blue light emitted by LED screens has also been shown to degrade sleep quality - another common complaint of those who regularly use their phones or tablets in bed prior to sleep. The Anti-Blue Light line is a higher class of screen protector that preserves eye health and prevents harmful blue light from impairing your vision and ability to concentrate. An additional razor-thin layer of film filters and disperses blue light that would otherwise cause symptoms of eye fatigue.
2. John Meek was born in Nov 1745 in County Antrim, Ireland. He died on 26 Dec 1803 in Ninety-Six, Laurens Co., SC. Burke's "American Families With British Ancestry" lists William John Meek as the earliest American ancestor, and states that he emigrated to SC in 1774. "Meek Genealogy," by Carleton Meek, lists this person simply as John Meek (D-3). The first genealogy about this family known to this author was A Meek Genealogy, 1902, by H. B. Meek. Mr. Meek's sources are unknown. Carleton Meek copied the work of H. B. Meek although he added some additional branches. Both authors have been discredited on the main focus of their books, the descendants of Jacob Meek, son of Adam Meek. There is no reason to trust them as a source for John's ancestors. John Meek served in the Revolutionary War under Gen. Francis Marion. He was listed 1790 Census, Laurens Co., SC, Ninety-Six District, p. 71. His will, where his surname is spelled Meeks, is dated December 13, 1802, proven 6 Apr 1803, File #49-5, Probate Judge Office, Laurens, SC (Will in Book C1, p. 44, SC Archives, Columbia, SC.) This will, with his wife 'Ellinor' as a joint executor with Charles C. Neall and William Rowe, lists "Meek, Jno. -- children William, Betty, Nancy, Jenny, Samuel, John and James to share equally as they marry." ("South Carolinians in the Revolution," by Ervin, p. 162.) He married Eleanor Mills in 1776 in Laurens Co., SC. She was born on 3 Jan 1748 in County Antrim, Ireland. She died in 1823 in Laurens District, SC. John Meek and Eleanor Mills had the following children: - 11. William Meek was born on 24 Feb 1777 in Laurens District, SC. He died in 1804 in Laurens Co., SC. He never married. - 12. Elizabeth (Betsey) Meek was born on 21 Mar 1779 in Laurens Co., SC. Carleton Meek lists year of birth as 1770. This is considered a typographical error. She died in 1824 in Newberry, Newberry, SC. She married John Atkinson about 1797. He was born in Newberry, SC. - 13. Agnes (Nancy) Meek was born on 12 Aug 1781 in Laurens District, SC. She died in 1804 in Laurens Co., SC. Called Nancy in her father's will. She married Charles O'Neal M.D. in 1803. He died after 1862 in Laurens Co., SC. He was named an executor of his father-in-law's will, dated 13 Dec 1802, where his surname is spelled O'Neall. This date is prior to his marriage date shown. - 14. Jane (Jenny) Meek was born on 9 Jan 1784 in Laurens District, SC. Source gives birth year 1873 in another place. She died in Greene Co., AL. Called Jenny in her father's will. She married David Hitt on 14 Mar 1803. - 15. Samuel Mills Meek M. D. was born on 20 Aug 1786 in Laurens District, SC. He died on 27 May 1846 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Tuscaloosa Co., AL. He was a physician and a Methodist minister. Lived in Charleston and Columbia, SC, Milledgeville, GA, and moved to Tuscaloosa, AL in 1819, where he also owned an apothecary shop. He married Ann Arabella McDowell on 19 May 1813 in Charleston, Charleston, SC. She was born on 11 Feb 1796 in Charleston, SC. She died on 13 Jun 1853. She is listed 1850 Census, Tuscaloosa Co., AL, p. 305, as Ann A. Meek, head of household, with children Caroline, Samuel, Henry, and B. F. Meek. The will of Mrs. Ann A. Meek was dated 2 Jan 1852 and filed for probate 14 Nov 1853 (Book 1, p. 333); it lists "only daughter Elizabeth Jane; son Alexander." [Compiler's Note: We show other children also living then.] - 31. Alexander Beaufort Meek was born on 17 Jul 1814 in Columbia, SC. He died on 1 Nov 1865 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. His baptismal middle name was Alexander Black Meek, but he changed it. Middle name also found spelled Beauford. Prominent orator, lawyer, statesman. Held office of Attorney General of Alabama by appointment of Gov. Clay. Member of the House of Representatives for several terms; judge of Probate Court in Tuskaloosa [sic]. In 1845 he was appointed by President Polk as assistant secretary of the U. S. Treasury. About 1847, he was commissioned federal attorney for the southern district of Alabama, a position he held until the end of President Polk's term. He then came to reside in Mobile, and was associate editor of the Mobile Register newspaper. Shortly before his sudden death, he had removed to Columbus, MS. Though twice married, he left no children. He married Emma D. Clacker-Slater on 3 Sep 1856 in Mobile, AL. She was born on 19 Nov 1816. She died on 30 Aug 1863 in Mobile, AL. Thomas Campbell list month of death as June. Last name listed as Slatter in "History of Mobile County" [AL], p. 422. He married Eliza Jane Cannon on 24 Sep 1864 in Columbus, MS. She was born on 10 Feb 1819 in Darlington, SC. She died on 15 Dec 1901. According to Thomas Campbell, her maiden and married surname was Cannon. - 32. Mary Ann Ellen Meek was born on 16 Oct 1816. She died on 26 Sep 1821. Also found listed as Mary Alice Ellen Meek. - 33. Elizabeth Jane Meek was born on 19 Jan 1819 in Tuscaloosa, AL. She died after Jan 1852 (date of mother's will.) She married Alexander Glascock on 26 Jul 1854 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL. He was born on 19 Jan 1819 in Tuscaloosa, AL. He died on 20 Feb 1857 in Lauderdale, MS. - 34. John William Meek was born on 6 Nov 1822 in Tuscaloosa,AL. He died on 1 May 1851 in Carrollton, Pickens, AL. Graduated University of Alabama at age 18. Unmarried. - 35. Caroline Mary Meek was born on 26 Dec 1825 in Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa, AL. She died on 28 Sep 1851 in Tuscaloosa, AL. Listed 1850 Census, Tuscaloosa Co., AL, as b: 1830, AL (p. 305 under household of Ann A. Meek). - 36. Julia Arabella Meek was born on 7 Sep 1828 in Tuscaloosa, AL. She died on 24 Jul 1851 in Tuscaloosa, AL. School teacher, Selma, AL; unmarried. - 37. Henry Francis Meek was born on 4 Oct 1833 in Tuscaloosa, AL. He died in 1856 in Lauderdale, MS. Listed 1850 Census, Tuscaloosa Co., AL, p. 305, in household of Ann A. Meek, as b. 1833, AL. (Thomas Campbell gives 1837 as year of birth.) - 38. Samuel Mills Meek Jr. was born on 11 Nov 1835 in Tuscaloosa, AL. He died on 24 Dec 1901 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. Thomas Campbell lists date of death as 21 Dec 1901. Listed 1850 Census, Tuscaloosa Co., AL, p. 305, in household of Ann A. Meek, as b. 1831 in AL. He was an attorney, admitted to the bar in 1854. Held several state offices, and was a state senator at time of death. (Source cited does not specify state; probably Mississippi.) He married Mary Louise Cannon (daughter of Eliza Jane Cannon) on 19 Aug 1856. She was born on 1 Jul 1838. She died on 25 Dec 1901 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. - 124. William Cannon Meek was born on 21 May 1857. He died on 27 Feb 1923 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. He married Mary Eloise (Elise) Hopkins on 6 Nov 1899 in Fort Gibson, MS. ("Three Centuries of Meeks" lists marriage as 4 Nov 1891, in Claiborne, MS.) She was born on 28 Sep 1846. She died on 15 Mar 1915. She was buried in Clairborne Co., MS - Wintergreen Cemetery. Name listed as Mary Elsie in Carleton L. Meek's "Meek Genealogy", and Mary Elise by Thomas Campbell. She was of Port Gibson, MS. - 125. Florence Meek was born on 19 Jun 1859. She died on 19 Jun 1859 in Columbus, St. Clair, MI. - 126. Irene Meek was born on 4 Feb 1861 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. She died on 4 Feb 1861 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. - 127. Lillian Annie Meek was born on 12 Mar 1862. She died in Apr 1862. - 128. Alice Alabama Meek was born on 22 Apr 1863 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. She died on 29 Dec 1901. - 129. Alexander Beaufort Meek III was born on 17 Nov 1865 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. He died on 18 Nov 1914 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. He was married to Matilda Marguerite Seth on 15 Sep 1891. Matilda Marguerite Seth was born on 13 Jul 1872 in Galveston, TX. She died on 17 Aug 1894 in Paris, Lamar, TX. Of Paris, TX. Alexander Beaufort Meek III and Matilda Marguerite Seth had the following children: - 130. Susan Elizabeth Meek was born on 25 Mar 1868 in Nashville, Davidson, TN. She died on 15 Aug 1928. She married Robert L. Bolton on 19 Jun 1905. He was born in Oct 1867. He died on 1 Apr 1906. Of Nashville, TN. - 131. Mary Erwin Meek was born on 14 Jan 1869 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. She died on 14 Jan 1869 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. - 132. Samuel McDowell Meek was born on 10 Dec 1870 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. He died in 1941. He married Mrs. Sadie Reid Ray on 7 Nov 1920. She was born in 1870. She died in 1941. - 133. Carrie Amelia Meek. was born on 12 Jun 1873. She died on 26 Mar 1948. She compiled a large part of the Meek family genealogy, which was the basis of both Carlton L. Meek's and Thomas Campbell's publications. She married Battle E. Sessums on 8 Jan 1902. He was born on 1 Oct 1875. He died on 6 Sep 1944. Of Columbus, MS. - 134. Julia Adair Meek was born on 24 Jan 1876. She died on 10 Feb 1953 in Columbus, Lowndes, MS. She married James Madison Gerety M.D. on 21 Sep 1904. He was born on 1 Oct 1875. He died on 8 Oct 1904. - 39. Benjamin Franklin Meek was born on 20 Sep 1836 in Tuscaloosa, AL. Thomas Campbell gives 1839 as year of birth. He died on 16 Jun 1899. Listed 1850 Census, Tuscaloosa Co., AL, p. 305, in household of Ann A. Meek, as B. F., b. 1836, AL. He was professor of Latin and Greek at University of Alabama for many years. - 40. Florence Amelia Meek was born on 10 Dec 1839 in Tuscaloosa, AL. (Thomas Campbell gives 1841 as year of birth.) She died on 18 Nov 1841 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL. - 16. John Alexander Meek M. D. was born on 16 Apr 1790 in Laurens Co., SC. - 17. James W. Meek M.D. was born on 10 Feb 1794 in Laurens Co., SC. He died on 21 Dec 1856 in Attala Co., MS. He was buried in Harmonia Cemetery. He moved from AL in 1833. Listed 1850 Census, Attala Co., MS with children."The Heart of the South" lists two other children: "John, who died in boyhood; Dr. William Meek, who practiced medicine for many years near Pickens and in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, where he died, leaving a large family;"He married Mary (Polly) Wyche on 5 Nov 1815. Married by Rev. Christ, near Sallis, MS or Jones Co., GA. She was born on 24 Nov 1797 in SC. She died on 13 Dec 1888 in Attala Co., MS. She was buried in Harmonia Cemetery. Her parents were Batt Wyche and Mary Jarrett. - 50. John Meek died young. - 51. William H. Meek was born about 1821 in Alabama. He appeared in the 1850 census of Winston Co., MS with wife Nancy age 26. It is not proven that this is the son of James. - 164. Mary Meek was born about 1847 in Alabama. - 165. James Meek was born about 1850 in Mississippi. - 52. May A. Meek was born about 1823 in AL. She married William McCormick 25 May 1854 in Attala Co., MS. The "large family" lived near Camden, MS. - 53. Caroline Ellen Meek was born in 1824 in AL. She married William White. - 54. Liddy A. Meek was born 2 Aug 1825 in AL. She died 1 Jun 1881 in Attala Co., MS. She married James Harmon. - 55. Lucinda G. Meek was born 2 Aug 1825 in AL. She died 6 Aug 1902 in Attala Co., MS. She was unmarried. - 56. Sarah Wyche Meek was born in 1828 in AL. She married William W. McAtee. He was born 09 Jan 1801. He died 25 Feb 1875. William is buried in Seneasha Cemetery, Newport, Attala Co MS. This is the family of Reed McAtee. - 57. James J. Meek was born in 1829 in AL. He died in 1890 in Warren Co., AR. He married (2) Katherine Elmira Franklin. - 58. John B. W. Meek was born in 1832 in AL. He died in 1862 in VA while in the Confederate Army. - 59. Robert T. Meek was born 2 Feb 1834 Tuscaloosa Co., AL. He died 14 Oct 1907 in Attala Co., MS.He married Nancy Adeline Brown. - 60. George Wyche Meek was born 2 Apr 1836 in AL. He died in 1915. He served throughout the Civil War in the Confederate Army. He married Sarah Ann Simmons 11 Apr 1867. She was born 16 Aug 1846in MS. She died 23 Dec 1907. - 161. William Edward Meek was born on 21 Jan 1868 in Kosciusko, Attala, MS. Mayor of Goodman, Holmes Co., MS for several years. - 162. David Adolphus Meek Sr. - 163. Lonnie Meek. Lonnie was a nickname. He lived in Goodman, MS. - 61. Susan Patience Meek was born in 1838 in AL. She died 27 Apr 1881 in Attala Co., MS. She married Rev. W. A. Ross in Attala Co., MS. - 62. Junius S. Meek was born in 1840 in AL. He died in Gettysburg. - 63. Emma J. Meek was born in 1842 in AL. She died 23 Jan 1859. Disclaimer: This genealogy was prepared by the author using undocumented and/or unverified sources. Some facts presented here MAY NOT be correct. Never accept as factual any information you find in a library, the Internet or from other genealogist unless it is supported by documentation. Documentation DOES NOT include the undocumented genealogies of other people including those on this web site. Information provided in part by Dell L. and Carolyn Meek Nelson
Help Now > FREE Catholic Classes Titular see of Bithynia Prima, founded by King Zipoetes. About 264 B.C. his son Nicodemes I dedicated the city anew, gave it his name, made it his capital, and adorned it with magnificent monuments. At his court the vanquished Hannibal sought refuge. When Bithynia became a Roman province Nicomedia remained its capital. Pliny the Younger mentions, in his letters to Trajan, several public edifices of the city — a senate house, an aqueduct which he had built, a forum, the temple of Cybele, etc. He also proposed to join the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora by a canal which should follow the river Sangarius and empty the waters of the Lake of Sabandja into the Gulf of Astacus. A fire then almost destroyed the town. From Nicomedia perhaps, he wrote to Trajan his famous letter concerning the Christians. Under Marcus Aurelius, Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, addressed a letter to his community warning them against the Marcionites ( Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl.", IV, xxiii). Bishop Evander, who opposed the sect of the Ophites (P.L., LIII, 592), seems to have lived at the same time. Nicomedia was the favorite residence of Diocletian, who built there a palace, a hippodrome, a mint, and an arsenal. In 303 the edict of the tenth persecution caused rivers of blood to flow through the empire, especially in Nicomedia, where the Bishop Anthimus and a great many Christians were martyred. The city was then half Christian, the palace itself being filled with them. In 303, in the vast plain east of Nicomedia, Diocletian renounced the empire in favour of Galerius. In 311 Lucian, a priest of Antioch, delivered a discourse in the presence of the judge before he was executed. Other martyrs of the city are numbered by hundreds. Nicomedia suffered greatly during the fourth century from an invasion of the Goths and from an earthquake (24 Aug., 354), which overthrew all the public and private monuments; fire completed the catastrophe. The city was rebuilt, on a smaller scale. In the reign of Justinian new public buildings were erected, which were destroyed in the following century by the Shah Chosroes. Pope Constantine I visited the city in 711. In 1073 John Comnenus was there proclaimed emperor and shortly afterwards was compelled to abdicate. In 1328 it was captured by the Sultan Orkhan, who restored its ramparts, parts of which are still preserved. Le Quien (Oriens Christ., I, 581-98) has drawn up a list of fifty metropolitans, which may easily be completed, for Nicomedia has never ceased to be a metropolitan see. Some Latin archbishops are also mentioned by Le Quien (III, 1017) and by Eubel (Hierarchia Catholica medii aevi, I, 381). As early as the eighth century the metropolitan See of Nicomedia had eight suffragan sees which disappeared by degrees. Among its bishops, apart from those already mentioned, were: the three Arians, Eusebius, Eudoxius, and Demophilus, who exchanged their see for that of Constantinople; St. Theophylactus, martyred by the Iconoclasts in the ninth century; George, a great preacher and a friend of Photius ; Philotheus Bryennios, the present titular, who discovered and published Didache ton apostolon . To-day Nicomedia is called Ismidt, the chief town of a sanjak directly dependent on Constantinople. It has about 25,000 inhabitants, who are very poor, for the German port of Haidar Pacha has completely ruined its commerce. Since 1891 the Augustinians of the Assumption have a mission and school, and the Oblates of the Assumption, a school and a dispensary. The Latin Catholics number about 250 in the region of the mission, seventy of them living in the city. The Armenian Catholic parish numbers 120. Copyright 2020 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2020 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.
The Beginning: inFORM In 2015, Sean Follmer, human-computer interaction researcher and designer at MIT, introduced inForm: breakthrough technology developed alongside his team to create a “smart” tool able to adapt itself to the user needs. They called it, Shape-Shifting Technology. Built with linear actuations, inFORM is a tool that is able to render both physical content and user interface elements. Able to create 3D data graphs, respond to movement, or even create entire cities of interactive architecture models, it changes its 3D display as needed and promises to be a tool that revolutionises the way we work, and the way our homes work. Creating a visual tool like no other, inForm is able to interact with the physical world around it, recognising and responding to movement. This allows for remote distance collaborations, as with inFORM, users can simply reach out and touch objects in front of them, and the device will mimic the movement on the other party’s interface. The benefits in the current international market are obvious. The inFORM team went further. Explaining how their ambition to create mainstream responsive furniture, and take the meaning of “smart” homes to a whole new level, they introduced their responsive table. Using the same technology used in their work interface, the team was able to create a table that is able to respond to the environment around it and mould itself to what you need. Follmer demonstrated the uses this could bring to your home by showing how the table is able to shape itself around different objects. It can change its shape to better accommodate your laptop, thus creating an instant work environment. It can also recognise objects placed on it by their shape, identifying them by importance, such as your keys, and then able to raise them above other objects to stop you from forgetting them. The Present: Shape-Shifting Micro-Robot Now, shape-shifting technology has made its debut in synthetic biology. But this time, as the first ever shape-shifting robot- made from DNA and protein. Yes. You read it right. It was developed by a research team at Tohoku University and the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. The robot, which is able to perform important living functions, is believed to be the first step into creating a bio-inspired robot designed on a molecular basis. Image Source: Science Daily In the past, chemistry and synthetic biology fields have been able to integrate bio-modules into their work. However, what makes this robot unique is that the researchers were able to push the boundaries of bio-robotics further, by integrating molecular machines into artificial cell membranes, effectively creating a molecular robot. The robot’s body is able to change shape through its integrated actuator, responsible for putting mechanical devices into motion. Thanks to the molecular clutch, and the fact that it is made from protein and DNA, the robot is able to start and stop its shape-shifting behaviour by responding to specific DNA signals. Though the molecular robot is currently extremely small in size, a millionth of a millimetre, it is a major advancement towards the world of robotics engineering, as: it is the first molecular robot able to function in environments like the human body. The Future: The Potential in Medicine Much advancement has already been made over the recent years in shape-shifting technology. Scientists have progressed from working with material which needed external triggers to tell it to transform, to material which can be encoded to follow a sequence of shape shifting transformations without stimuli. Like this, they have been able to create things like synthetic flowers that bloom at pre-determined times. These developments have major implications for medical and scientific fields. Through the creation of a micro-robot that is able to shape-shift and live in the human body, the development of the field of implants and prosthetics promises to benefit greatly. Technologies like these continue to evolve and revolutionise industries. And medicine is the field that will be most promisingly impacted by shape-shifting technology and materials. Research into adaptation of the pre-programmed shape-shifting technology into medical applications has already begun. Scientists are working on developing implants that can deliver medicine from within the human body, or react to conditions in a predetermined manner without necessary stimuli beyond the pre-programmed. The development of shape-shifting robot by Japanese researchers seems to be the catalyst to a new age of medicine, where humans will be able to seamlessly join technology and medicine to unknown limits.
Buy Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been? essay paper online “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” was written by Joyce Carol Oates and she dedicated it to artist Bob Dylan. The story is about Connie, a fifteen-year-old girl who is described as a vain, stubborn, rebellious, and careless individual. The tragic story begins when Connie starts going out with Eddie. One night, while Connie and Eddie were out, she sees a man in a parking lot who tells her “Gonna get you, baby.” When Connie is left alone by her parents in the house, she sees a man outside and remembers him as the man she met in the parking lot. The man introduces himself as Arnold Friend and he asks Connie to go ride in the car and go with him. Connie refuses because the man is acting weird and tells her of details about her parents that mean he has been spying on her and her family. Arnold continues to persuade her with threats but Connie still refuses and tells him that she will call the police. Arnold follows her in the house and there, he stabs Connie repeatedly. Oates wrote a vague ending but it is certain that the story finishes with Connie dead. The tragic story brings about questions about the values and lessons embedded in Oates’ work. The objective in writing this analysis is to determine the factors or elements that contribute and led to Connie’s demise. Connie’s tragic end was caused by her inability to discern right from wrong, carelessness, stubbornness to get what she wants, and rebellious streak. Symbolism in the StoryWant an expert to write a paper for you Talk to an operator now “Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?” is a cautionary story that illustrates the probable outcomes of carelessness, stubbornness, and rebelliousness, especially to young teenagers who refuse to listen to their parents. Another trait that led to Connie’s tragic end is her vanity and insistence of attracting other boys’ attention by trying to look and act mature. In the beginning of the story, Connie’s mother criticized her for being vain, “Stop gawking at yourself” (Oates, 1). Connie also tries to look mature by dressing up inappropriately and acting flirty around boys. She constantly lies to her mother and sister and never told them about what she has been up to. Ultimately, her stubbornness and rebelliousness against her family led to trouble when they were supposed to attend a barbecue at her aunt’s place but she said no. Instead, Connie chose to stay at home. She preferred to be alone and think about the boy she spent the night with, “her mind slipped over onto thoughts of the boy she had been with the night before and how nice he had been” (Oates, 2) instead of spending the Sunday with her family. However, Connie’s behavior is not entirely her fault. In the story, Oates hints errors on how Connie’s parents treat her. While Connie’s mother is harsh, her father seems detached and uncaring. Connie’s father “was away at work most of the time and when he came home… He didn’t bother talking much to them” (Oates, 1). Connie’s mother always criticizes her, “Who are you? You think you’re so pretty?” (Oates, 1) and compares her to June (Connie’s older sister), which may just be the reason why she feels insecure about herself and also feels the need to look mature. Moreover, the lack of attention from her father may be the reason why Connie feels that she has to attract the attention of boys. The ways her parents treat Connie symbolize the detrimental outcomes of bad or detached parenting to children. Moreover, this part of the story underscores the idea that the traits or characteristics of children are reflections of how they were raised by their parents. Nevertheless, Connie’s thoughts while she is danger show that no matter how she hated her parents, they are the ones she thinks of at a time of need, “She cried out, she cried for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness” (Oates, 5). Connie’s vanity and desire to look and act mature and attractive may also be the reason why Arnold was attracted to her in the first place. Arnold told her that the first time he saw her in the parking lot, “Seen you that night and thought, that’s the one, yes sir” (Oates, 5), which proves that carelessness attracts danger. During Connie’s confrontation with Arnold, she notices that his car is a convert jalopy painted with gold. The car that Arnold owns reflects the idea that people who we are not supposed to trust may present themselves as dazzling or attractive people. Arnold who owns a shiny car represents the type of people who charm and entice other people – wolves who hide in sheepskin – and they are the ones who take advantage of naïve, careless, and stubborn individuals. In the story, Oates argues three important points: (a) that carelessness, stubbornness, and rebelliousness court danger, especially to young and naïve teenagers, (b) that bad parenting affects the traits and characteristics of teenagers and (c) that dishonest and devious people are usually the ones who appear to be honest or worth trusting. I agree with the three points that Oates embedded in the short story. Nowadays, it is important for parents to pay attention to their children and open lines of communication, with special focus on making sure that their children feel like they could be trusted with whatever teenagers want to say. On the other hand, teenagers must also make a conscious effort to listen to their parents. I was a teenager once and I understand that sometimes, parents seem to be the first ones to criticize and attack their children. However, teenagers must keep in mind that their parents know what is best for them. Lastly, everyone, not only teenagers, must be wary of people who pretend to be someone they are not, especially the ones who exert too much effort to be trusted because they usually are the distrustful ones who are capable of committing deviant acts. Most popular orders What Our Customers Say Check our customer feedback to ensure that we offer top-notch papers
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 So, HFCS is a sweetener. The main component of HFCS is fructose which is a naturally occurring sugar, typically in something like corn. However, nothing in nature comes with high fructose corn syrup. That means that it needs to be made in a laboratory somewhere. And, we all should know that if something needs to be made in a lab, it's generally not good for you. The problem with the process of making HFCS is that you need to use different chemicals to extract the fructose from the corn and concentrate it to become high fructose corn syrup. One of those chemicals that is used is (wait for it) Mercury! Yep, the toxic metal that is liquid at room temperature and is being taken out of vaccines because it's so toxic. There was a study recently published in the Environmental Health Journal in 2009 showing that mercury is found to be more than elevated (in some cases more than 10 times greater than a serving of some fish) in some batches of HFCS, even "organic" HFCS. But it's not all that bad since HFCS comes from corn and corn is all natural like the commercials say. Right? Typically, the corn that is mass produced for uses like HFCS or corn starch or other corn products comes from a Genetically Modified version of corn. In these cases, the corn has typically had its DNA changed to incorporate pesticides and other toxic chemicals. That means that it doesn't matter how much you wash it, the toxic chemicals won't come off, the chemicals are in their genes. There's a very eye-opening documentary about that the genetic modification of food, specifically corn, titled "The Future of Food", which goes into much more depth than I can (it can currently be seen for free on Hulu.com here http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food). Just some things to keep in mind next time you go to the grocery store. And just so you know, HFCS is a lot more prevalent than you might think, so read your labels. Tuesday, July 20, 2010 It's what our bodies are made up of, besides a little carbon and nitrogen here and there. It may be hard to imagine that more than 70% of our bodies are H2O since we aren't just rippling and floating our way through life, but water is needed in more functions than you might think. It's what our skin needs to stay pliable and taught. It's what our cells need to stay inflated and functional. It's what our lungs and air passages need to stay open and mucousy. There are plenty of other functions to list, but the list would get way too long for entertainment purposes. So, since we have so much water in us, we probably don't need to add anymore right? Wrong. We lose a lot of our water through everyday activities from breathing to sweating to using the restroom to evaporation. I recently read a medical article stating that the amount of water that we "need" is far less than what we thought. I believe that they suggested that we only need 8 ounces of water per day to survive. But we're not just here to survive are we? We are here to thrive. And in order to thrive and allow your cells and skin and lungs and all other parts of your body to function at their highest capacity, you need way more water than only 8 ounces per day. So, in order to keep pace with all of the water that we lose during the day, you should be drinking at least 64 ounces per day (that's about 8 glasses of water). And that's just water, not any of that other stuff. But pop and juice and beer and milk are mostly water right? They are. But they also have plenty of other fillers in them. Most other drinks have sweeteners in them whether they are synthetic like high fructose corn syrup (that's a whole other topic) to the lactose found in milk. The problem is, most of that other stuff found in "tasty" drinks, including sweeteners, can have the opposite effect of water. Caffeine, alcohol, and sugar can make you dump water. Plus, you are still adding all of that unnecessary stuff to you body. So, just stick to the water to get your 64 ounces. The best way to make sure you get enough water during the day is to keep water right in front of you. That way you will be reminded every time you see your glass or Nalgene or stainless steel bottle. In fact, you probably got a little thirsty just reading this. So if you haven't already, get a reusable water bottle and bring it with you to work, school, outings, wherever. Just make sure you try to get that 64 ounces. Your body deserves it. Monday, July 12, 2010 I know that as a kid, I was all over the place running around, falling, and getting bumps and bruises. (In fact, it's been said that you fall more times in the first 4 years of your life than you do the rest of your life!) Yeah, it may have hurt a little bit for a short time as a kid and maybe gave some outward appearance of minor bodily damage. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Anytime someone falls, bumps into something, gets hit, or anything like that, there's the potential for minor damage to the spine. And over time, that minor spinal damage can add up and lead to things like chronic low back pain, headaches, weakness, asthma, indigestion, and a whole lot of other problems in the future. The falls and bumps and bruises aren't usually even the most traumatic thing to happen to a kid. Actually, one of the most traumatic events that anyone could go through in their entire life is the birthing process, especially if it was a non-natural process or if the doctors needed to yank and pull on you on the way out. Think about it. How often do you have someone pulling and twisting on your head with multiple pounds of force? Not very often. But most people had this done to them when they weren't even 1 minute old! Now I don't know about you, but based on that, I think that a good deal of damage can be done to an infant's spine in the birthing process. Those are some of the main reasons why we have a Kids Day. It's important to get those stresses out of the spine especially during the growing periods. That way, we can help prevent some more serious issues down the road and hopefully add some quality to those little lives. My wife and I just recently had our first child, and one of the first things I did was check his spine because I know how important it is for a child's development to have everything in working order. So if you thought chiropractic was only for treatment following a car accident or to get rid of that chronic low back pain or crick in the neck, hopefully this was able to show why all people should at least get their spines checked, especially kids. Friday, July 9, 2010 Living in the Pacific Northwest, we have all learned to appreciate when the sun is out. And now that summer is fully upon, that means that we will be getting more and more sunshine. But don't let all of those sunscreen lotion commercials fool you, a little bit of unprotected sunlight for our skin is just what our bodies need. That's right, it's OK to get some sun without putting on sunscreen. But just like everything else, in moderation. Of course you don't want to lie out in the sun for 6 hours without any protection! You may be wondering, doesn't the sunlight still hit your skin even when wearing sunscreen? It does, but sunscreen blocks the UVA and UVB rays that the sun emits, which is a good thing when you're out in the sun for multiple hours. But those UVA and UVB rays are what our bodies use to synthesize Vitamin D. And Vitamin D is essential for hundreds of different vital processes in our bodies every single second of the day from skin health to energy levels and many more. Therefore, it's not just OK to get some unblocked sun, it's crucial! So, how much unprotected sun is enough without getting too much? One rule of thumb is to get at least 15 minutes of unblocked sun on your completely bare legs, arms, and head. Now, I know that my skin can handle a little bit more sun than that, so I usually go at least a half an hour before putting on some sunscreen. It's your judgment call based on your history. Some people burn really fast, others don't seem to burn at all. Just remember, it's all about using common sense and don't forget, a little bit of unprotected sunshine goes a long way toward your overall health and wellness.
Infections during infancy – rather than antibiotic use, as previously suspected – were associated with an increased risk of childhood obesity in a Kaiser Permanente study of more than 260,000 infants over 16 years. The findings were published today in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. "In previous studies, antibiotics used to treat infant infections have been associated with weight gain. However, we separated the two factors and found that antibiotics do not, themselves, appear to be associated with childhood obesity," said De-Kun Li, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the study and a reproductive and perinatal epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California. "Our study is one of the largest analyses of the interplay among infections, antibiotic use and childhood obesity, and adds important evidence to a small but growing body of research on how the microbiome, or gut bacteria, may be affecting children's development." In the United States, more than one-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research has shown that energy imbalance (calories consumed versus energy expenditures) cannot account for the entire increase in obesity in childhood. Scientists are exploring numerous factors that may play a role in growth and development during early childhood, including chemicals in the environment, maternal gestational diabetes, and the metabolic programming of body weight during early childhood. Both infections and antibiotic use have been shown to influence the composition of intestinal microorganisms; the intestinal microbiome can affect metabolic processes and the immune system, which can in turn affect metabolic processes, growth patterns and weight development. In this study, researchers reviewed 260,556 births that occurred between January 1, 1997, and March 31, 2013, at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California. Kaiser Permanente's comprehensive electronic medical record, Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, allowed researchers to obtain data on infections and antibiotic use in infancy, and to capture heights and weights measured in these children for up to 18 years. All infant infections were included, with respiratory and ear infections accounting for the majority. The electronic medical record provided additional information that allowed Dr. Li's team to control for potential confounding factors, such as maternal smoking during pregnancy, pre-pregnancy body mass index, race/ethnicity and breastfeeding. Children diagnosed with an infection during their first year of life who had no antibiotic use were about 25 percent more likely to become obese (defined as in the 95th percentile for body mass index of all children studied) compared to those without infections. There was a dose-response relationship, meaning that higher numbers of untreated infections were associated with a larger increased risk of obesity. In contrast, there was no increased risk of obesity associated with antibiotic use during the first year when compared to infants with untreated infections. The type of antibiotics used (broad or narrow spectrum) did not influence the outcomes. Researchers recommend focusing efforts on reducing infections in infancy while being careful in prescribing antibiotics. In addition to Dr. Li, co-authors of the study were Hong Chen, MPH, Jeannette Ferber, MPH, and Roxanne Odouli, MSPH, all of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. The study was funded by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Effectiveness & Safety Research. Through investments in infrastructure and specific projects, the center takes advantage of Kaiser Permanente's talented research teams, rich data assets, and integrated delivery system to contribute to the knowledge base in comparative effectiveness and safety.
SPECIES: Artemisia abrotanum Howard, Janet L. 1998. Artemisia abrotanum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ . No special status Southernwood has a long history of cultivation in the Old World and its region of origin is uncertain. It is thought to be native to the Mediterranean [4,13]. It is an introduced species of minor importance in the United States and southern Canada. It has escaped from cultivation in the Northeast and occurs there sparingly. It is adventive in the Great Plains and the Intermountain region [8,9,13,23]. FRES36 Mountain grasslands FRES38 Plains grasslands CT IL KS MA MN ME UT VT NS Southernwood rarely persists after cultivation and is not an important member of plant communities in the United States . Southernwood has been used for rehabilitation of rangelands and mine spoils in the Intermountain region. It withstands drought and prolonged freezing temperatures and is recommended for soil stabilization and as a nurse plant Southernwood is established by outplanting of stem cuttings. In the Intermountain region, survivorship of transplants in the first few years after outplanting has been good to excellent Southernwood probably will not persist on reclamation sites due to poor reproduction Southernwood is an introduced shrub or perennial forb from 1.6 to 6.6 feet (0.5-2.0 m) tall. It is woody at the base and much branched in form [8,9]. The inflorescence is an open panicle with multiple flowerheads. The fruit is a cypsela bearing a tiny seed . Southernwood occurs on disturbed sites such as roadsides and open fields [8,9,14]. It grows in moderately acid to moderately alkaline soils and tolerates elevations above 10,000 feet (3,050 m) [13,15]. Southernwood flowers in late August or September in the Great Plains, the Midwest and the Northeast [8,9,14]. Seeds usually do not reach maturity. Plants in the Intermountain region rarely flower . Response of southernwood to fire has not been documented in the literature. Since southernwood sprouts from the root crown after top-kill by agents other than fire, it probably sprouts from the root crown after fire has removed topgrowth. Southernwood twigs are killed by freezing temperatures when twigs are not insulated by snow. In spring, southernwood sprouts from the root crown after winter dieback. Southernwood also sprouts from the root crown after heavy browsing. Plummer reported that southernwood is more vigorous when topgrowth is removed regularly. Southernwood regeneration by seed after fire is probably insignificant. tall shrub, adventitious bud/root crown Southernwood is probably top-killed by fire. Southernwood probably sprouts from the root crown after top-kill by fire. 1. Austin, D. D.; Hash, A. B. 1988. Minimizing browsing damage by deer: Landscape planning for wildlife. Utah Science. Fall: 66-70. 2. Bergendorff, Ola; Sterner, Olov. 1995. Spasmolytic flavonols from Artemisia abrotanum. Planta Medica. 61(4): 370-371. 3. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. 4. Davis, P. H., ed. 1975. Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands. Edinburgh, Great Britian: Edinburgh University Press. 890 p. 5. Everett, Richard L.; Meeuwig, Richard O.; Butterfield, Richard I. 1980. Revegetation of untreated acid spoils Leviathan mine, Alpine County, California. California Geology. 32(1): 8-10. 6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. 7. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. 8. Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New York Botanical Garden. 910 p. 9. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. 10. Kartesz, John T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume I--checklist. 2nd ed. Portland, OR: Timber Press. 622 p. 11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. United States [Potential natural vegetation of the conterminous United States]. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 1:3,168,000; colored. 12. McArthur, E. Durant; Giunta, Bruce C.; Plummer, A. Perry. 1977. Shrubs for restoration of depleted range and disturbed areas. Utah Science. 35: 28-33. 13. McArthur, E. Durant; Stevens, Richard. 1986. Composite shrubs. Unpublished manuscript on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Labortory, Missoula, MT. 155 p. 14. Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 1986. (Revised edition). Guide to the vascular flora of Illinois. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press. 507 p. 15. Plummer, A. Perry. 1974. Oldman wormwood to stabilize disturbed areas. Utah Science. 1974 March: 26-27. 16. Plummer, A. Perry. 1977. Revegetation of disturbed Intermountain area sites. In: Thames, J. C., ed. Reclamation and use of disturbed lands of the Southwest. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press: 302-337. 17. Plummer, A. Perry; Christensen, Donald R.; Monsen, Stephen B. 1968. Restoring big-game range in Utah. Publ. No. 68-3. Ephraim, UT: Utah Division of Fish and Game. 183 p. 18. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. 19. Shiflet, Thomas N., ed. 1994. Rangeland cover types of the United States. Denver, CO: Society for Range Management. 152 p. 20. Stark, N. 1966. Review of highway planting information appropriate to Nevada. Bull. No. B-7. Reno, NV: University of Nevada, College of Agriculture, Desert Research Institute. 209 p. In cooperation with: Nevada State Highway Department. 21. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. 22. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1994. Plants of the U.S.--alphabetical listing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 954 p. 23. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p.
This is general advice about the type of computers students should consider to support their studies in computer science. Included is advice on: laptops, OS, and GitHub. This is often a common question from students new to the program and making the correct laptop choice can allow for a higher level of productivity. However, often the best choice depends on the individual. But here are some things to think about: The majority of the work done in the Department of Computer Science is done using open source tools. This means Linux, but you can do Ok with a OSX, Chromebook, or Windows machine. It is just incrementally more hassle. GitHub is an archival resource that is currently very popular. The resource provides versioning options for your software and tools for examining the state of your repository. The are also other features, like the ability to host webpages. There are two important points to remember about using GitHub, first is do not make any of your assignments public during a course semester and second be sure to ask your professor if you can use GitHub during a course. On the first point, if you make your programs public, then you are allowing others in a course the ability to plagiarize your work and you could be considered complicit in their misdeeds. On the second point, instructors often have reasons for why they ask students to do what they wish, do not do something that makes your life easier assuming that this will be allowed. Always ask the instructor teaching a course what are their desires in regards to GitHub. If and when you do use GitHub, be sure to get a full account, allowing you to make your repositories private if you wish. This is free to students (see GitHub on availability,) otherwise you are advised to pay the small monthly fee.
Oklahoma City is located in the epicenter of Tornado Alley. Tornados can happen here at any time, and there are yearly averages of 5 severe tornados touching down. We would love to share some other Oklahoma City tornado facts with you. Please see below. - The F5 tornado that struck the Oklahoma City area on May 20, 2013 resulted in 24 fatalities, 350 injuries and caused $2 billion worth of damage. - 13 violent tornados (11 F4 and 2 F5) have struck the immediate Oklahoma City area. The most recent was on May 20, 2013 (mentioned above). - There is a tie for the record amount of tornados to strike in a single day (5). The first was on June 8, 1974 and the second was on May 31, 2013. - The Oklahoma City area has been struck 21 times by two or more tornados on the same day. - Of the 6 November tornados on record, two struck on Nov. 10, three on Nov. 19 and the sixth on Nov. 20. - Since 1950, the longest period without a tornado in the immediate Oklahoma City area is 5 years, 8 months (Oct. 8 1992, through June 12, 1998. The area then was struck by 11 tornados in the following 11 months (June 13, 1998, to May 3, 1999). Don’t wait any longer to keep your family safe! Contact us today for more information about our reliable storm shelters.
Students and professors at University of North Carolina Wilmington have a small contraption that they believe can simultaneously solve environmental and economic issues by turning plastic, a pollutant, into oil, a commodity. Now, those involved with the project are working to convince local business leaders and government officials to implement the concept. The piece of equipment is called a tabletop depolymerizer, and UNCW is the first university to receive one, said Scott Davis, Plastic Ocean Project business development intern. The college partnered on the research with national nonprofit Plastic Ocean Project and PK Clean, the makers of the technology. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports, “In the United States, plastics are not made from crude oil. They are manufactured from hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) and natural gas. HGL are byproducts of petroleum refining and natural gas processing. These liquids are used as feedstocks by petrochemical manufacturers to make plastic and are used as fuels in the manufacturing process.” Plastic Ocean Project executive director Bonnie Monteleone was the driving force behind UNCW acquiring the technology, Davis added. Monteleone, who also works in the chemistry department at UNCW, has completed countless expeditions to gather data and marine plastic. The equipment’s location at UNCW means not only can Monteleone use it, but grad students and members of the college’s chapter of Plastic Ocean Project can too. Currently, Davis said, they are working to figure out what type of plastic creates what type of oil — and, subsequently, how each type of oil can be used. They’ve been able to form oil out of all types of plastic except PVC. The technology hasn’t caught on yet because earlier versions made by other companies yielded a toxic byproduct, Davis said, and there hasn’t previously been data to prove a return on investment. He hopes municipalities will take interest in PK Clean’s large-scale unit, which can process 10 tons of mixed recycling daily. Local industries showing interest in the technology are asphalt and petrochemical, he said. Davis and Monteleone are also spreading the word around campus, holding informational events April 4, and April 5 they presented the equipment and research to a few of the New Hanover County Commissioners. Plastic Ocean Project’s main mission is keeping plastic out of the ocean, which PK Clean’s new technology would do. Plastic Ocean Project estimates there are 600 million pounds of plastic in the ocean, where it can be consumed by marine life. PK Clean’s technology would also keep plastic out of landfills. Three hundred million tons of plastics are produced globally each year, brochures distributed during the April 4 meeting stated, yet only about 10 percent is recycled. Davis said there’s just not enough motivation to recycle. One problem for consumers is convenience — there aren’t always nearby recycling bins and some municipalities, like Davis’ Wrightsville Beach community, don’t offer curbside recycling. For municipalities, the issue is economic. “Right now, New Hanover County is losing about $40 per ton of plastic that they collect out of the recycling stream because as oil prices drop, plastic waste loses value,” Davis said. PK Clean’s data shows the large-scale unit, with the ability to process 10 tons daily, will pay for itself in less than three years. Davis believes if people and municipalities know their recycling efforts go directly toward creating a valuable commodity like oil, they will be more likely to recycle. “Once people know that it’s actually going to serve a purpose, create more revenue for municipalities, then you’re much more inclined to throw it in the recycling bin,” he said. Davis, Monteleone and representatives from PK Clean are working to get others to buy into the concept by appealing to people’s minds and pocketbooks but also to their hearts, by encouraging them to be part of solving what Davis calls the “completely avoidable problem” of plastic pollution. “Hope, that’s my biggest selling point,” he said.
< Browse to Previous Essay \| Browse to Next Essay > Asian elephant Chai gives birth to 235-pound baby girl at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo on November 3, 2000. HistoryLink.org Essay 2784 : Printer-Friendly Format On November 3, 2000, at 4:48 a.m., a 235-pound girl was born to Chai, an Asian elephant, at Woodland Park Zoo, after a typical 22-month elephant pregnancy. The birth was historic and not only for the new mother. Asian elephants are an endangered species, with from 35,000 to 50,000 left in the wild, and about 300 in captivity in North American zoos. The baby is healthy and on her first day goes from wobbling to running. She is clueless how to stop and runs into her mother's leg. In March 2001, the baby will be named Hansa (pronounced Hun-suh), which means Supreme Happiness in Thai. The name was submitted to a public competition by 6-year-old Madison Gordon, of Redmond. Note: On June 8, 2007, 6-year-old Hansa will be found dead in her stall. Zookeepers Help Chai Learn to Mother Female Asian elephants live in groups known as matriarchies. As with other higher mammals, maternal behavior is learned. In captivity Chai has not had an opportunity to observe mothering, but she is bonding with her calf very nicely. The baby cannot reach her mother's milk (elephants have only two human-like breasts between their front legs). In the wild the mother elephant knows to kneel down, plus in the wild the Aunty elephants babysit and provide other assistance. The zookeepers built a little platform for this baby to climb up on so the calf could reach her mother's milk and this worked very well. Chai, an elephant from Thailand, was 21 years old at the time of the birth. She arrived in Seattle at age one and grew up at Woodland Park Zoo. She lives within the third ranking of the dominance hierarchy of the zoo's four elephants. The other elephants were permitted to witness the birth and they can see the new baby but they were kept separate. The zoo's four elephants in order of dominance are: - Watoto, 30, an African elephant, wildborn, who was probably an orphan. She was born in Kenya during a time of extensive poaching. Watoto is quite interested in the new baby and reaches out to touch it with her trunk. - Bamboo, 33, an Asian elephant who grew up in the Children's zoo area of Woodland Park Zoo. Bamboo reaches out to touch the baby but when the baby moves she startles back as if she has just encountered a snake. - Chai, 21, is described by her keeper, Pat Maluy, as a sweetheart. She is shy and gentle, not very curious, and relates to the other elephants more than to people. - Sri (pronounced See), 20, an Asian elephant who like Chai was a gift from Bangkok. Sri is of the same opinion as Bamboo. Breeding in Captivity: Difficult and Dicey For six years, attempts were made to artificially inseminate Chai. She was inseminated more than 50 times, but never got pregnant. Therefore it was decided to try to breed her with a bull elephant. The Woodland Park Zoo elephant exhibit is designed for female elephants and has no bull. It was decided to breed Chai to Onyx, a bull at Dickerson Park Zoo, in Missouri. Onyx aka "Big Mac" was born in the Assam Valley in northern India. He was once part of a three-elephant act known as the "Mitie-Mites." For Chai, the journey to Missouri would involve a long and extremely stressful trip. But, since she wasn't getting pregnant, and since elephants in captivity tend to lose the ability to get pregnant at about age 25, it was decided that it had to be done. A special elephant crate was brought to the zoo and the keepers trained her to get into the crate. Finally she got in for the big trip. The door was closed and the crate was forklifted onto a truck and Chai began her 2,100-mile trip to Missouri. It was 60 hours on the road. According to lead elephant keeper Pat Maluy: "We were concerned with her being on the freeway and the movement of the vehicle and not knowing where she was. We tried to plan for every contingency we could think of. We contacted over 15 different facilities with veterinary care that agreed to be on call during the course of the trip, should there be any problems. Chai was extremely tired and frightened and she wasn't eating. Certainly elephants can go weeks without food, but our main concern was that she wasn't interested in drinking water and that could be a big problem. We had to tempt her with a variety of water-based foods such as watermelon and things that she was interested in eating. "I couldn't explain to her that everything would be ok. That was somewhat hard for me to deal with. We were finally getting closer to our destination at Dickerson Park. The bull that we planned to breed Chai with at Dickerson Park was named Onyx, and we were curious as to how the initial introduction would go. We started getting really concerned towards the last part of the trip, around the 40th hour. She had been laying down a lot and we were concerned that she might somehow become wedged in the small confines of the crate. So I made the decision to go into the crate with her, just to hold her hand so to speak, and to make sure that she knew somebody was there with her. It seemed to help. In fact, she never did lie down again while I was riding with her." Chai spent 51 weeks socializing with Onyx and the other elephants. Elephants are clannish and slow to accept newcomers and the other females at Dickerson picked on her. She was unhappy and lost 1,000 pounds. But finally she got pregnant and could come home. The trip home was a breeze. She ate all the way. She knew she was coming home. Her keeper stayed in the cage with her and when he fell asleep she would sniff his face with her trunk. When she arrived the other elephants became extremely excited. Baby Takes First Steps and First Run Her calf was born 22 months later, exactly on schedule. After the new baby was born, the public was barred from visiting for the first two days to enable Chai to bond with her without disturbance. The public was admitted on the third day. A baby elephant is like a colt, and she stood, walked, and ran on the first day. Chai's legs had been chained so she wouldn't squash the baby, and they were unchained on November 6. According to lead elephant keeper, Pat Maluy, Chai and her calf were learning how to walk around each other. "Chai treads carefully and adjusts her body to accommodate her calf beneath her legs." In 2004, Hansa weighed 3,112 pounds. She continued to nurse and also ate hay, grain, vegetables, and fruit. On June 8, 2007, Hansa, who was 6 years old, was found dead in her stall. She had been "under the weather" since May 31. Zoo staff had noted colic-like symptoms, and a poor appetite. Tests had been inconclusive, but she was under observation and being given antibiotics. The zoo conducted a necropsy on the afternoon of her death, but results would not be known for several weeks. The elephant exhibit was closed for the day and there were many expressions of shock and sadness. Note: Hansa's sire Onyx died at the age of 38 in May 2002. Pat Maluy, "Chai," (www.zoo.org); Sherri Stripling, "First Elephant orn at Woodland Park Zoo, The Seattle Times, November 3, 2000, (http:/seattletimes.com); Sherri Stripling, "It's a Girl: Woodland Park's Asian Elephant Gives Birth," The Seattle Times, November 4, 2000, Ibid.; "Zoo's New Elephant Sees Outdoors for First Time," The Seattle Times, November 6, 2000, Ibid.; "And the Winner is ... Hansa: First-Grader Names Zoo's Baby Elephant," The Seattle Times, March 27, 2001 Ibid.; "Sire of Zoo's Baby Elephant Dies," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 25, 2002 (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com). Note: This essay was revised on March 27, 2001, and updated on May 25, 2002, and again on August 28, 2004. It was updated once again on June 8, 2007. Travel through time (chronological order): < Browse to Previous Essay Browse to Next Essay > Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit. Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington \| Patsy Bullitt Collins \| Paul G. Allen Family Foundation \| Museum Of History & Industry \| 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) \| City of Seattle \| City of Bellevue \| City of Tacoma \| King County \| The Peach Foundation \| Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You Baby elephant, born to Chai at Woodland Park Zoo on November 3, 2000 Courtesy Woodland Park Zoo Chai and her new baby, born November 3, 2000 at Woodland Park Zoo Courtesy Woodland Park Zoo Hansa age 1 year, Woodland Park Zoo, November 3, 2001 Courtesy Woodland Park Zoo
Without question, the Arabian is the most distinctive and easily recognised horse on the planet. It is also a breed of antiquity, with records suggesting a origin of 5,000 years ago. With a high set tail carriage and a fine head shape unique to the breed, the Arabian is a picture of grace and deceptive delicacy. It is believed that every riding horse in the world can be traced back to one Arabian or another, with many bloodlines dating back centuries and spanning the globe – examples from America to continental Europe and the Middle East. How the Arabian came to be so well distributed is blamed upon war and trade, with the Arabian being added to the breeding program of other developing breeds to include its endurance, strength, willingness and refinement. Having evolved beneath the hot Arabian sun, one would be hard-pressed to find a hardier or more versatile equine, capable of achieving greater speeds, demonstrating greater stamina, or showing a more gentle and balanced disposition. For these reasons, the Bedouin people of the Arabian Desert favoured the breed and made certain to preserve and evolve its merits. The Arabian features heavily in ancient folklore and mythology, with one Bedouin legend describing how the horse formed from the scattered rain of a thundercloud, thereby acquiring the title ‘Drinker of the Wind.’
Harina Blanca para Tortillas Marca Masa Lista In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize, usually called "corn". In Mexico, there are three colors of maize dough for making tortillas: white maize, yellow maize and blue maize. In addition to its sharply different color, blue corn has several nutritional advantages. It contains 20% more protein and has a lower glycemic index than white corn. When used to make tortillas, blue corn produces a sweeter, nuttier taste than yellow or white corn. To make tortillas, tamales and sopes (These links will open in a new browser tab)
by Sandi Watson Have you ever seen a llama or alpaca up close? They are beautiful animals, with their big eyes, flirty eyelashes, long legs, and soft fleece. \|alpacas in Pacchanta, Peru April 2010\| For the Heifer project families who raise them, llamas and alpacas are also tremendously useful. After turning the fleece into yarn, families can create blankets, hats, ponchos, and other items. During our volunteers study tour in Peru, we learned that these beautiful weavings are also part of a rich cultural heritage. Special symbols such as condors, alpacas, mountains, and rivers honor Mother Earth. Sometimes white fibers are dyed, using inks made from local plants. Other times, the weavers use only the naturally occurring colors rich browns, pale taupes, creamy whites. All these hand-crafted pieces are an important source of income for the families. Llamas thrive at high altitudes, as we saw when we visited Pacchanta (over 13,000 feet above sea level). They are nimble and strong, able to carry loads to market. And because they are related to camels, they dont need much water. The next time you need a fun gift for a loved one, consider giving a llama in your beloveds name. The person you honor will be thrilled and youll make a tremendous difference in the lives of the people who receive your gift! This post originally appeared on the Heifer in Boston volunteer blog.
Arkansas has made great strides in reducing the number of hungry children in our state, and we've been recognized nationally for our efforts. Still, we have a long way to go to reach our goal of ending this crisis in the next three years. Summer is starting, and while many of us have fond memories of what that season meant to us as kids, it's actually a time of year that leaves thousands of Arkansas children more at risk for hunger and malnutrition. While summertime provides students a break from classes, it also means losing a reliable source of nutritious food. Thousands of kids count on eating breakfast and lunch at school every day. The Arkansas Summer Food Service Program helps bridge that gap for children who live in eligible areas. They can receive the same high-quality meals during the summer as they get during the school year. Even with this program available, too many children go without enough food. During the 2009-2010 school year, for example, as many as 200,000 children needlessly went hungry in the summer, even though feeding programs were available. Many Arkansas families still don't know that these neighborhood programs exist, and that is partly to blame for low participation in the Summer Food Service Program. Recent research also found that some children don't participate because their parents feel stigmatized about needing the help. Other families are unable to find transportation to a food site, and some parents worry about leaving their children somewhere unfamiliar. In the past few years, however, participation has improved. Last summer, Arkansas added 100 open summer-meal sites and increased the number of meals served by 16 percent. Still, more than one-in-four children in our State are uncertain about where they will get their next meal, and this is unacceptable. As we launch this year's Arkansas Summer Food Service Program, our goal is to connect an additional 13,000 kids to these free summer meals. Kids who participate get more than food. Many summer meals sites offer fun through learning and recreational activities, so that young children and teens can eat a healthy meal while staying active and spending time with friends. This is so important because a lack of nutrition and activity during the summer months can set students back and put them at a higher risk for poor performance once school begins again. Hunger often leaves children more prone to illness and other detrimental health issues, including obesity. Making sure that Arkansas's children are fed is an investment in the future of our State. We have to provide better access to nutritious food if we hope to create opportunities for success for all members of our future generations. If you or someone you know is interested in free summer meals, call 1-888-454-3427 or text "FoodAR" to 877-877. Information can also be found on the Arkansas Department of Human Services Web site. Together, we can reach our goal of ending childhood hunger in Arkansas, not just in the summer, but throughout the year.
Daniel Coates who works a our studio is a Sound Healer and has put together this interesting information about the power of sound. This is Part II Recording Studio: Entrainment In 1665 a Dutch scientist Christian Huygens, ‘discovered’ the principle of ‘entrainment’. This principle states that whenever two or more oscillators in the same field are pulsing at nearly the same rate, they tend to lock in and begin pulsing at exactly the same rate. The powerful rhythmic vibrations from one source will cause less powerful vibrations of another source to lock into the vibration of the first source. This can be demonstrated in a recording studio with two tuning forks. Put two tuning forks of the same note next to each other and strike one of them and the other tuning fork will vibrate as well. Systems theory states that; “the less diversity there is in a system the more energy it will conduct.” It takes less energy to pulse in cooperation that in opposition. The composer Paul Hindemith said “People who make music together in a recording studio cannot be enemies, at least while the music lasts!” Nature seeks the most efficient state. We see the law of entrainment in action when birds fly together in migration; they will flap their wings together and glide at the same time to save energy. Women who work or live together will often find that their menstrual cycles will synchronize. Itzhak Bentov illustrates this phenomenon in his book ‘Stalking the Wild Pendulum’. If you place a number of grandfather clocks on a wall with pendulums all swinging at different rates within a few hours all the pendulums will be swinging at the same speed! The principle of entrainment can be experienced when one sings in a choir. If you are singing next to someone in a recording studio with a strong voice it is easy to sing your part. If the person with the strong voice is singing a different part to you it becomes much harder to hold your part in the recording studio If you sing a strong clear harmonious sound to a person who is sick or out of balance their body will lock into your powerful healing sound. The principles of resonance and entrainment are both at work in a sound healing treatment. Recent scientific research has identified specific sound frequencies, which relate to different parts of the body. Therapeutic application of the appropriate sound frequencies can help disorders in those parts of the body. If a part of our body is out of balance we can retune it like tuning a piano. in a recording studio If a piano is out of tune, do we drug the offending key or rip out the offending piano wire? This is precisely what we do to the human body. Rudolph Steiner said: – There will come a time when a diseased condition will not be described as it is today by physicians and psychologists, but it will be spoken of in musical terms, as one would speak of a piano that was out of tune. Recording Studio: Intention Jonathan Goldman in his book ‘Healing Sounds – The Power of Harmonics’ says: – “When we have learned techniques for harmonic toning, the human voice is able to create nearly every frequency, at least within the bandwidth of audible frequency”. Jonathan offers the simple formula: – “Frequency plus Intention equals Healing”. If we can find the right sound frequency coupled with the right intention then healing will occur. Intention is another important principle underlying the way sound healing works. If we sing a pure sound to another person with a pure intention then healing will occur. Every action we perform has a conscious or unconscious intention behind it. We can see the principle of intention at work when a mother sings her baby to sleep. In a Sound Healing treatment, the sound carries our intention to the person receiving treatment.
Last week the Iraqi government launched a new version of its official history. As students return to school from the Ramadan holiday they found new history books waiting for them that include the major changes the nation has experienced in recent years and open up topics that were once censored. This power to write history is sacred. As Oscar Wilde said, "Anybody can make history; only a great man can write it." This power comes from the fact that the narratives we live in have a powerful, hidden hand in determining how we interpret our environment. This fact, long noted by Hindu and Buddhist traditions, is supported by an ever-growing body of scientific knowledge. Innovators who significantly impact the world seem able to recognize when we are living a story with a dead ending. Then they abandon the current tale to enter a new one that empowers people to act when no one else will. I’ve been researching narratives relating to business, and I’ve found three lessons that can help us better leverage the full power of storytelling. 1. Choose a new starting point Like turning the rudder of a ship, you can change the future people anticipate by retelling the past. One key is to strategically pick the right starting point. Let’s consider Hewlett-Packard as an example of this principle. Since 2006, HP has engineered a remarkable turnaround under the leadership of CEO Mark Hurd. But I believe the groundwork for this 180-degree change was laid years prior under his predecessor Carly Fiorina. Core to her strategy was the idea of "resetting" the HP story by reaching back to HP’s original roots. The company’s internal and external messaging brought to life the story of the company’s founders, Hewlett and Packard, working in their garage, building their first products. In fact the HP "garage" was elevated into an icon that roots the company in a common starting point and grounds them in a history of invention. 2. Show the system is stuck People are willing to change only when they grow discontented with where things are. In 2007, Michael Dell took back the reins of his company. Dell, the company that had revolutionized the computer industry by introducing a direct-to-consumer model, was in serious trouble as competitors began copying that model. With its stock sinking, the company turned to its founder for help. In trying to craft a turnaround, Michael Dell has played on the story, as all narrative experts do. He repeatedly says that "this is a defining moment in our history and in our relationships with customers." The first part of his message is a wake-up call: the future that Dell employees and partners are imagining is not the right one because the old direct model is no longer unique. He then paints a future of promise: "We know our competitors drive complexity and needless cost into consumers’ environments. We intend to break this cycle." In other words, he is arguing that the competition is stuck and this presents an opportunity for his company. Embedding a new story requires far greater effort than you might think. Communicating your version of the past and future—your vision—demands repeatedly delivering it to your audience using creative methods to remind them and keep them convinced. I’ve worked with several companies to embed new stories that alter behaviors and thereby build a competitive advantage. It usually requires carefully picking the stories that illustrate the turning points you want people to remember, then telling them over and over in meetings, by email, through visual displays, in continuing education classes and through textbooks, like the Iraqi government. But the effort is worth it. Every leadership book underscores the importance of maintaining a long-term vision in the minds of your people. This vision is a product of the past, of the story people tell themselves about what has happened and therefore what to expect in the future. For your innovations to succeed you must revise, edit, and rewrite prevailing stories. Ask yourself the questions below to see how you can rediscover your past and write a new success story. 1. Where did this idea come from? 2. How did the company find its current direction? 3. Is our mission clearly stated? 4. How can I remind my employees that they are working toward something bigger than themselves? 5. How can I use my company’s stories to engage and inspire my staff and my customers?
*** To support my company's move to bring awareness on wild life endangered species and what we can do to help, I am posting this article courtesy from my company's bulletin. Let’s play our part... to know our world a little better, to contribute a little more, to secure a better tomorrow. I would like to share news on the animals that we, humans, are threatening to extinction. Understand them and what threatens them and we could all make a change before its too late.... not only for them... but for us as well. Scientific Name : Megaptera Novaeangliae Habitat : Oceanic Did You Know?... Each whale has its own unique pattern on the underside of its tail flukes, which can be used like "fingerprints" to identify individual whales. Humpbacks produce a wide array of sounds but how it create these sounds is still unknown as they do not have functional vocal cords. Humpbacks are among the most endangered whales as fewer than 10% of their original population remains. Humpbacks are found in all oceans to the edges of polar ice, and follow definite migration paths from their summer feeding grounds to warmer waters in the winter. The climate change (global warming) has forced these migratory whales to swim up to 500km further and for less food. Shrinking sea ice reduces whale foraging areas and the abundance of the Antarctic krill on which the whales feed. As the krill is dependent on sea ice, less sea ice will reduce the abundance of food for whales in the feeding areas. humpback’s main food source - krill What Can We Do?... Saturday, 28th March 2009 From 8:30pm to 9:30pm You may ask “what difference can one make in an hour?”... Our question to you... “why not participate and find out?!” Once you’ve seen the impact, it would encourage you and the people around you to be more mindful with the On and Off switches in the future. Join us to say “I did my part” by signing up at www.earthhour.org.my Lights Out people! “Your Switch is your vote - Vote Earth!”
Taking Effective Minutes In most community groups having a record of meetings is a vital part of being effective. The group’s recorder holds the responsibility of making sure the minutes accurately reflect the course of the meeting by recording discussions, decisions and actions, and task assignments. Taking effective minutes for a group meeting can be a difficult task, from deciding what is pertinent to be recorded to making sure the facts are straight. In our own hometown, Brushy Fork found the answers to some of the questions we’ve been asked about taking minutes. The Berea Community School’s Committee on Committees compiled a list of suggestions to other school committees about what to include in minutes. This list was designed to fit the situation at the school, so not all the suggestions are pertinent to community groups. But these ideas will provide a good start for recorders who may be unclear on how to go about taking good minutes. - Committee name - Date of meeting - Names of committee members present - Any decisions made Good to include: - Time the meeting began and ended - Names of others present, if they chose to introduce themselves - Summary of major points made in reports and discussions - Names of people who presented reports - Attachments of documents relevant to the committee’s discussions - Follow-up summary: who agreed to do what - Point-by-point account of discussions - Specifying who said what in a discussion - Reports on off-track discussions - Optional items that could embarrass someone Other considerations (added by Brushy Fork): - The minutes should be approved at the next meeting. - Copies of minutes should be sent to all group members (especially helpful to inform those who were not present!). The group might choose to send minutes to anyone else they want to keep informed of their work, such as local officials or stakeholders in the group’s efforts. —adapted from a handout designed by Berea Community School Committee on Committees Download this file to print as a handout.
The Romans were immensely proud of their empire. Through the Pax Romana they believed that they were bringing the light of civilisation to the darkest corners of Europe and Asia. They had an unshakeable belief that Rome was superior to any other country or culture, so by conquering foreign peoples, they thought they were doing them a favour. How paternalistic! What they promoted in the end was fascism and imperialism. It was the mother of all scams, and we are still witnessing this ruinous and degenerate culture today. Let's get some facts straight. Civis romanus non sum. I am not a Roman citizen. All my ancestors were Hernici, an ancient Italic people, and thus I am an Hernicus or Hernican. Though their territory was included in Latium, in the sense in which that term was understood in the days of Augustus, Hernicans were still distinguishable as a separate people. Cicero categorised their spoken Latin as rusticitas, and Hernicans are mentioned even at a later time as retaining many characteristics of their rude and simple forefathers. For most of the 5th century BC, the Roman Republic had been allied with the other Latin states and the Hernici to successfully fend off the Aequi and the Volsci. In the early 4th century BC this alliance, however, fell apart. A war fought between Rome and the Hernici in the years 366–358 BC ended in Roman victory, and the submission of the Hernici. Rome also defeated a rebellion by some Hernican cities in 307–306 BC, which a few years earlier had allied with the Aequi and the Marsi, proof that the Hernicans were still resisting the Arrogantia Romana. Those cities which had stayed loyal to Rome — Alatri (Aletrium), Ferentino (Ferentinum), and Veroli (Verulae) — retained only nominal independence as municipia. The rebellious Hernicans of Anagni (Anagnia) and of other cities were incorporated directly into the Roman Republic, and were given citizenship without the right to vote (civitas sine suffragii latione), in essence citizenship without the right to marry Roman citizens, so they were citizens, but effectively treated like peregrini (foreigners). In the course of the following century the Hernici became indistinguishable from their Latin and Roman neighbours, and disappeared as a separate people. It is an old story, but few realise that the Hernicans were the first to become a conquered people by the so-called forces of civilisation. Let me again repeat the simple facts. Civis romanus non sum. I am not a Roman citizen. Not only all my ancestors were Hernici, but today I have the same kind of phoney citizenship that was granted to the rebellious Hernicans of Anagni (Anagnia) and of other cities. Even though I am an Italian, and thus a European Union citizen through my mother and the Roman legal concept of jus sanguinis, since I have refused to submit to the Arrogantia Romana, today I have neither a European passport, nor an Italian national ID card, and so if I go to Italy I cannot stay for a longer time than any American tourist. I also have a phoney American citizenship by the Roman legal concept of jus soli, and for this reason I cannot legally become the next President or Vice President of the United States, so I have rejected my original US citizenship by rebellion against New York City, and have acquired Native American citizenship by adoption, since I was adopted by a Native American traditional organisation that is acknowledged by some recognised Native American tribes, bands, or traditional communities. Hernican [1, 2] was the ancient language of central Italy that the Hernici spoke, a member of the Oscan group within Sabellic (Osco-Umbrian). Two inscriptions in the language have been identified thus far, dating to the 1st millennium BC. Hernican, a North Oscan dialect, was written in a manner similar to how Oscan proper was written. Some Sabellian languages were affiliated with Oscan (the so-called North Oscan dialects: Hernican, Marrucinian, Paelignian, Vestinian), others with Umbrian (Aequian, Marsian, Volscian). It should be noted that the word Hernici is a derivative of what the Marsi called Herna. As was stated in Latin, «Hernici dicti a saxis, quae Marsi herna dicunt.» Translation: "The Hernici are named from the stones, which the Marsi call herna." So there was certainly some linguistic adoption even between Sabellian languages. This linguistic adoption goes even further in me, and shows just how much of a freedom fighting Sabellian or Italic I am. My forename Cesidio [3, 4] derives from the Latin Caesidius (the Roman nomen of the gens Caesidia), which in turn derives from the Oscan Kaisidis (or Caisidis). The name Caesidius, like all aristocratic names ending in "idius", "iedius", or "edius", is of Sabellian language origin, the oldest epigraphic evidence coming from the Marsi area of the city of Trasacco in the 4th century BC. Oscan speakers adopted the Etruscan alphabet to write their language. This event probably occurred around the 7th century BC, but the first evidence of the Oscan alphabet did not appear until the 5th century BC in the form of inscriptions on coins. The Oscan alphabet was written from right to left, a feature preserved in Etruscan and in a few languages today such as Arabic and Hebrew , but not in Latin. Also, to mark separation between words, a dot was used. As Rome conquered territory occupied by Oscans, it assimilated the Oscan people into the Roman world. As a consequence, the Oscan ethnic identity and culture disappeared, and the Oscan language ceased to be spoken and written by the end of the 1st century AD. Víteliú was the Oscan term for the Italian peninsula. This name is probably connected with the word for "calf" (seen in the Latin vitulus, and the Umbrian vitlu), and was originally applied to the Greek colonies in Italy. Gradually the word came to refer to the entire peninsula, and was adopted by allied Sabellian tribes to foster a sense of nationalism during the Italic revolt against Rome. A form of the ancient word survives in the modern Italian name Italia (Italy).
While researching history, I've turned again to my wonderful "America's Fascinating Indian Heritage" published by Reader's Digest. I cannot tell you how many times I have counted on this historical guide to help me get my facts straight...and to learn. In 1881, Sitting Bull and his Sioux tribe surrendered to the U.S., closing the history of the plains Indians as we know it. All plains Indians were confined to reservations in the Dakotas, to lands so dry and unyielding, that even experienced farmer's would encounter problems working the soil. The people were expected to survive on supplies rationed by the government to supplement what they grew, but sadly, the food they received was as scarce as the yield they garnered from the tilled soil. Land-hungry white men took advantage of the starving Indians and tried to buy their plots for as little as 50 cents per acre, and certain government agencies pressured the red man to consent to sell off the excess real estate. Caught in the middle of greed and hunger, the tribe sustained themselves with memories of the old days. Far away, a Paiute prophet, Wavoka had a vision that spread and gave a new hope to the desparity. The Ghost Dance would bring a new dawn and a time when the white man would disappear. The dead would be resurrected and all Indian existence would change, living forever and hunting the new herds of buffalo that would reappear. In preparation, The Ghost Dance had to be performed, a simple ceremony consisting of dancing and chanting, often resulting in a frenzy where participants often fell into a semi-conscious state and saw visions of the coming of the new world. A Ghost Dance shirt, thought to make the wearer safe from the white man's bullets, was adopted, and because so many wore such shirts, the garments may have been the reason the ritual was considered a war dance. Despite mistreatment at the hands of the whites and the undertones of the Dance, no antiwhite feelings were expressed and the message of the cult was one of peace, but fear mongering among the white officials on the reservation and spreading of gossip pointed a finger at Sitting Bull, who was thought to be the focus of the ceremony. Forty-three Indian police were ordered to arrest him, and descended upon his cabin. He fought against the injustice due to what has been said to be taunts from old women to resist the whites once again. Shots were fired and at the end, fourteen people, including Sitting Bull lay dead. More next month of the aftermath known as the Slaughter at Wounded Knee. Note from Ginger: All information pertaining to the Ghost Dance is attributed to Reader's Digest. I have paraphrased to share this event with you.
Embark on an adventure of personal creativity and invention with fan favorite Rosie Revere! This activity book features art from the picture book Rosie Revere, Engineer and will inspire young readers with activities of all kinds. Kids will have the chance to design a better bicycle, build a simple catapult, construct a solar oven, and more! This empowering activity book will teach problem-solving and creative-thinking skills crucial to STEM fields while also providing opportunities for its readers to try new things and, sometimes, to fail. As the picture book so brilliantly showed hundreds of thousands of young readers, flops are an inevitable part of success and something to be celebrated rather than feared. Created by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, the same New York Times bestselling team who brought us Rosie Revere, Iggy Peck, and Ada Twist, this activity book will be perfect for old and new fans alike!
Alternative Title: Joseph Shuster Learn about this topic in these articles: contribution to comic strip ...1937) and Action Comics (begun 1938). Superman, which appeared first in Action Comics, was the creation of Jerry Siegel (scenario or text) and Joe Shuster (art); it was soon syndicated and transposed to other media. The Superman formula of the hero who transcends all physical and social laws to punish the wicked was widely imitated. The... Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joseph Shuster introduced Luthor into an already swelling rogue’s gallery, but he ultimately eclipsed all the comic’s other villains. He is Superman’s greatest foe because he relies not on cosmic powers but on the power of his own mind. When it comes down to a battle of wits, Luthor has the advantage over Superman.
Technology Policies to Address Climate Change This brief presents public policy tools available to provide support for research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) of technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An emissions price induced by a cap-and-trade program can provide an incentive to “pull” new technology into the marketplace, while public funding for technology can provide a “push” with the two approaches more powerful in tandem than either alone. Economic theory provides the rationale for public expenditure on RDD&D, which can compensate for several market failures that would otherwise generate sub-optimal investments from the private sector. The appropriate policy tool depends on the stage of development for a particular technology and the scale of a project. Direct public expenditures, channeled through organizations such as the Department of Energy or the National Science Foundation, have a long history of funding earlier stages of research and development, and make up the bulk of current technology dollars. Some technologies to address climate change, such as next-generation nuclear power and carbon capture and storage, require a larger investment for early projects than private industry is likely to make, and could benefit from public funding of demonstration projects. The federal government can also provide inducements for private industry to invest in RDD&D with mechanisms such as investment tax credits. Indirect policies that can support technology deployment include standards that require a minimum performance or a market share requirement, and programs that identify and certify top efficiency performers in the marketplace. Funding sources for technology programs include appropriations from general revenues and dedicated revenues, perhaps from climate- or energy-related sources such as allowance auctions or dedicated energy taxes. Regardless of the source, funding must flow through and to multiple institutions that manage, select, and perform the actual RDD&D options. Each institutional option has strengths and weaknesses. Download the brief (PDF)
In a recent blog entry, we shared news of a study that found a link between a mosquito insecticide and autism. Since that publication, more news has become available that shows chemicals that were banned decades ago are contributing to an increase in autism diagnosis. Prenatal Exposure to Banned Chemicals In a study, Drexel University researchers shared their revelations that certain chemicals and pesticides banned back in the 1970s are still putting today’s children at a significantly greater risk of developing autism. The research was carried out by professors at A.J. Drexel Autism Institute. According to the study, children born after being exposed to organochlorine chemicals during their mother’s pregnancy were about 80% more likely to be diagnosed with autism. Even though the chemicals were banned in 1977, they remain in the environment. In fact, they have been known to move long distances via surface runoff or groundwater. Humans can be exposed to the chemicals by eating fish, dairy products and other fatter foods that are contaminated. To this day, many people in the U.S. have a measurable level of these chemicals in their bodies. The Study at a Glance Lead researcher, Dr. Kristen Lyall, and her collaborators looked for the chemicals in pregnant women because they can seep through the placenta and affect the neurodevelopment of the fetus. While there had been previous studies looking at how exposure to the chemicals led to low birth weight, little was known about how they affected autism, specifically. Dr. Lyall and her team focused on a sample of 1,114 children born in Southern California. Blood tests taken during the second trimester of the mother’s pregnancy revealed that prenatal exposure to the chemicals can influence neurodevelopment in adverse ways. What You Should Do If You’ve Been Exposed to Organochlorine? These chemicals pose a risk to the health of the mothers as well, and can damage the liver, kidney, central nervous system, bladder, and thyroid. If you believe you may have been exposed, we advise you to contact your doctor immediately. If Your Child Has Autism, Get In Touch With The Fitzgerald Law Firm We can help you find out why your child has developed autism. If medical malpractice or environmental toxins are found to be involved, we’ll seek compensation for your child. Call The Fitzgerald Law Firm today for a free consultation. Our number is 800-323-9900.
Letter ID and Sight words interventions and more. This product allows YOU to select the letters or sight words you want to focus on. Simply type in the editable boxes and the entire worksheet is filled in with the letters or sight words you want to use for your intervention. Use this as an intervention or for your entire classroom instruction. Want to see how it works and try it for EARTH DAY FREE for a week? See the product preview! Set one: 3-6 letters per week Set two: 3 words per week, up to 5 letters long. Set three: 6 words a week, up to 10 letters long Target student instruction to THEIR needs with 6 focus words per page that you program in. You will just type the words in 6 boxes (ie because, instead, everywhere, should, which, fantastic). I have programmed this document to then import these words onto every page. Next, you will select one of the themes you want to use for the week and hit print! It will take you less than a minute to have your sight word interventions and work prepared! Sort the words Color code the words Write the words quickly Spin and write the words *Use the words in a sentence This product will accommodate words that are 10 letters long. NOTE: "m" and "w" will count as 1.5 space. EDITABLE FILES: Hi there... in order to enter your own sight words you will need to keep these things in mind: 1. Open the file in ADOBE (it will not allow you to edit in any other document reader) 2. Once you download the file, close all of your internet browsers, then open the file. The ADOBE app will not let you edit the file with the correct fonts. 3. Be sure your ADOBE is up to date. Please let me know if you experience difficulty. Included in this unit: Letter ID intervention ~ Editable! Help Me! Help You! Sight Words intervention ~ Editable! Help Me! Help You! Sight Words Intervention 2 BIG WORDS ~ Editable! Help Me! Help You! Intervention: Super Speed through the year-ELA and Math Intervention: ELA or Math Superheroes EDITABLE Want more games? Roll, Say, Keep – themes: Roll, Say, Keep GAMES Or save 35% on the bundle! Roll, Say, Keep BUNDLE I hope you enjoy! I'd love it if you would... ✿Follow me on Instagram ✿Follow me on Pinterest ✿Join our Facebook Group
Is the future of automotive transportation finally here? Perhaps. While it doesn’t yet include the flying cars we may have dreamed of when we were children, nonetheless our cars are getting more innovative and are getting some very unusual new features. The most unusual new feature demonstrated recently by Google is the “driverless” car. Google has been working on prototypes of the driverless car since 2010. The company recently released a new video of the car being “driven” by a blind driver. Although the car still has the common features we expect to see – such as a steering wheel – it has new capabilities that can improve safety and mobility. The car safely transported its “driver” on his daily errands, including a trip to Taco Bell’s drive-thru for lunch. New technology is not unusual for Detroit’s auto manufacturers. The automotive companies have been adding automated features as well as new initiatives for safety and entertainment. But are they ready for the next revolution in driving? Group Activities and Discussion Questions: - Show the video to start the discussion: http://youtu.be/cdgQpa1pUUE - Ask students if they would ever consider buying a driverless car. Why or why not? - Discuss the role of product innovations for Google. The company has traditionally only been in software. Why is it expanding into hardware products? - Discuss if this is a viable product to market. - Who is the target market? - How could this product be marketed? - What are potential obstacles for marketing the product? (e.g., insurance, service, etc.) - What are the implications of the driverless car for Detroit auto manufacturers? Global implications? - What are the new technologies that car manufacturers have already implemented (i.e., GPS, phones)? How have these technologies changed consumer expectations? - What are the implications for Google’s business strategy? Source: Brandchannel.com,4/27/12; Google.com – news announcements; Los Angeles Times
Growth and fruiting characteristics of eight apple genotypes assessed as unpruned trees on 'm.9' rootstock and as own-rooted trees in southern france The influence of root system and genotype on vegetative and reproductive growth was characterized on untrained apple (Malus domestica) genotypes that were own-rooted or grafted onto M.9 rootstock. The eight genotypes assessed were selected at INRA for resistance to scab (Venturia inaequalis) and low susceptibility to mildew (Podosphera leucotricha), good fruit quality and aptitude to storage, and depending on genotype, other traits such as regular bearing and one fruit per inflorescence. The two main objectives were to determine the influence of (1) the scion genotype, and (2) the root system genotype on tree growth and yield. Trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA), branch cross-sectional area (BCSA) and position of branches with a basal diameter of more than one centimeter were measured at the end of the third year of growth in the orchard. Yield and fruit size data were collected during the first four years of tree growth. Different genotypes had different TCSA and total BCSA but all had a smaller TCSA and total BCSA when grown on M.9 compared with own-rooted trees. The relationship between TCSA and total BCSA was also different depending on genotype but remained unaffected by root system. The relative location of BCSA, or basitony of the trunk, was influenced by the type of root system. Own-rooted trees were more basitonic than trees on M.9. Yield, precocity and fruit size differences were attributed to both genotype and root system. In all genotypes, yield efficiency (kg of fruit/cm2 TCSA) was higher with M.9. This may not be the defining characteristic since some genotypes expressed similar or even higher yields and fruit size in the 3rd and/or 4th year when own-rooted. Precocious own-rooted trees, which in our study belong to type IV architectural class (acrotonic), may be more interesting in the long-term because, although they have later entrance into production, they may have higher cumulative yields as early as the 4th year, and a better distribution of fruit within the canopy.
There are total 8 letters in Eutectic, Starting with E and ending with C. In Eutectic E is 5th, U is 21st, T is 20th, C is 3rd, I is 9th letters in Alphabet Series. Total 24 words created by multiple letters combination of Eutectic in English Dictionary. Eutectic is a scrabble word? Yes (12 Points) Eutectic has worth 12 Scrabble points. Each letter point as below.
Unsafe abortion continues to be a major cause of maternal mortality and disability—accounting for 13% of pregnancy-related deaths worldwide.1 Every year, 47,000 women die because of unsafe abortion and millions more face injuries, including hemorrhage, infection, chronic pain, secondary infertility and trauma to multiple organs. Of the 38 million abortions performed annually in developing countries, more than half are unsafe (56%); in Africa and Latin America, virtually all abortions are unsafe (97% and 95%, respectively).1 The World Health Organization (WHO) defines an unsafe abortion as one performed by an individual without the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to minimum medical standards, or both.2 A holistic approach to reducing the number of abortions that are unsafe and minimizing the consequences of those that still take place has at least three major components. First, improving access to quality family planning services to prevent more unintended pregnancies in the first place would mean fewer abortions overall— including those that are unsafe—because almost all abortions are preceded by an unintended pregnancy.1 Second, ensuring that safe abortion care is more widely available would mean fewer women would need to resort to unsafe, usually clandestine alternatives. Finally, enhancing the quality and availability of comprehensive postabortion care—including treatment for the complications associated with incomplete abortions—would substantially mitigate the harms that too often result from unsafe procedures. Of these three, the one that is least constrained by politics and culture is postabortion care, so it should be the area with the most potential for progress. Yet, postabortion care services remain incomplete, inferior or altogether unreachable for too many women in developing countries. Elements of Postabortion Care According to the most recent estimates, 8.5 million women annually faced injuries from unsafe abortions that required medical care, while only three million received treatment.3 Almost all unsafe abortions—98%—take place in developing nations, because the majority of such countries severely restrict legal abortion, which results in women’s reliance on clandestine procedures.1 Postabortion care encompasses a set of interventions to respond to the needs of women who have miscarried or induced an abortion. Over time, the view among medical and public health experts has evolved to define postabortion care services to include a comprehensive package of public health interventions beyond those oriented primarily around emergency medical treatment. Indeed, in 2002, the Postabortion Care (PAC) Consortium updated its model of postabortion care to include five essential, interrelated elements: treatment, family planning services, counseling, other reproductive and related health services, and community and service provider partnerships.4 The consortium represents international nongovernmental organizations with expertise in reproductive health and is the leading international forum for information and advocacy on postabortion care. Both incomplete and unsafe abortions can lead to potentially life-threatening complications, so postabortion care services traditionally have centered around providing medical treatment. This entails use of high-quality methods such as manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) techniques or drugs such as misoprostol to complete incomplete abortions and halt bleeding. WHO strongly recommends the use of MVA over other surgical methods such as dilation and curettage (D&C),2,5 because MVA is safer, more cost-effective, less painful, less resource-intensive (no need for operating rooms or regular electricity) and can be performed by midlevel health providers at the primary care level (instead of physicians at tertiary facilities such as hospitals). As a result of broader MVA use, the accessibility, sustainability and quality of postabortion care services has increased. More recently, WHO has come to strongly recommend the use of misoprostol as a nonsurgical alternative. Another key element of postabortion care is timely access to family planning services, including a broad choice of contraceptive methods to help space births, prevent future unintended pregnancies and avert unsafe abortions. Ideally, women would receive such family planning services at the time of postabortion care, rather than through referral. Counseling—a related but separate element—not only includes postabortion family planning education, but identification of the broader range of other physical and emotional health needs and concerns of the patient, to be addressed directly by the same provider or through referral to an accessible facility. Another affiliated component calls for linkages with additional reproductive and related health services available on site or through referral, including STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment; gender-based violence screenings; nutrition education; infertility counseling; hygiene education; and cancer screenings. Such linkages are important to ensuring that women’s broader sexual, reproductive and other health needs also are met. Finally, this postabortion care construct recognizes that strong partnerships among community members and health care providers are critical to preventing unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion, to mobilizing resources so that women can obtain appropriate and timely care, and to ensuring that health services are responsive to community needs. Without community outreach and participation, efforts to prevent and treat unsafe abortion and to advocate for positive change will remain limited. Current Challenges to Care A multitude of practical and interrelated problems interfere with the availability of model postabortion care, including those involving cost, quality, access, supplies, provider training, stigma, and lack of treatment protocols and policy guidelines, to name a few. Several recent country-level analyses conducted by the Guttmacher Institute highlight some specific challenges and their impact on women, their families and communities. One common set of problems revolves around disparities in access to abortion-related services. In Rwanda, where abortion is legally restricted and access to safe abortion care is limited, poor and rural women are particularly likely to develop abortion complications (see chart).6 That likely stems in large part from a reliance on self-induced abortion, rather than abortions obtained from trained providers. Moreover, women who experience complications also face problems in access to postabortion care. Among all Rwandan women who suffered abortion complications and needed medical care, 30% did not receive it from a health facility, likely because not enough facilities were equipped to provide postabortion care and because many women wanted to avoid feeling stigmatized or mistreated as they often are when they do show up for care. The disparity between poor women and nonpoor women was stark, however: Some 38–43% of poor women did not obtain facility-based treatment, compared with 15–16% of nonpoor women.6 Poor women are also more likely to entirely forgo necessary medical care when facing abortion complications than their nonpoor counterparts. These women are especially likely to suffer debilitating consequences. Although postabortion care literally can be life-saving, or at least critical to preventing serious illness or disability, obtaining that care often represents a significant economic burden, especially at the individual and family level. In Uganda, for example, Guttmacher found that the majority of women surveyed who had received treatment for unsafe abortion complications had experienced a decline in financial stability from the costs of their postabortion care: Some 73% had lost wages, 60% had had children deprived of food or school attendance or both, and 34% had faced a drop in the economic stability of their household.7 At the national level, the costs are also significant: An estimated $14 million is spent each year to treat the complications of unsafe abortion in Uganda.8 The costs of postabortion care can be mitigated in part by ensuring that health care facilities that provide treatment utilize the most current standard of care according to WHO—which is also less expensive than traditional treatment—and that such treatment protocols are delineated through national guidelines. In Colombia, for example, Guttmacher found that postabortion care services are significantly more costly at higher-level medical facilities (an average cost of $200 per patient) than at primary-level specialized facilities ($45), largely because of the former’s reliance on D&C, which is a more expensive and invasive procedure than alternatives, and is also less safe.9 The cost, coverage and quality of postabortion care could be vastly improved if misoprostol or MVA were more commonly used, and if nonspecialized providers were encouraged and trained to provide services. Paths to Progress Technical experts and advocates are advancing a number of recommendations to improve and scale up postabortion care, which range from education to address stigma and provider bias, to developing national medical protocols on postabortion care, to ensuring adequate and appropriate supplies and equipment. Meanwhile, two interventions in particular deserve increased attention, priority and resources because of their high-impact potential for protecting women’s health and saving lives: integrating family planning services into postabortion care and incorporating misoprostol into first-line treatment. The former should have been easier to accomplish than it has been, but instead has been a major challenge ever since postabortion care first appeared on the global health agenda more than two decades ago. The latter represents an important, relatively new treatment option with the potential to substantially expand the availability of services. Because contraceptive use dramatically reduces the risk of future unintended pregnancies, repeat unsafe abortions, and maternal health complications and deaths, it plays a critical role in postabortion care. Even so, integration of family planning into postabortion care is uneven and difficult, for reasons ranging from shortfalls of contraceptive commodities to lack of provider knowledge and training at all tiers of the health system—especially the primary care level. Unanimity about the importance of family planning in postabortion settings is apparent in expert policy statements and guidelines. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has designated postabortion family planning as one of several proven high-impact practices in family planning. This label signifies its ability to maximize USAID family planning investments overall.10 In 2013, a group of key donors, medical associations and health organizations—the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), International Confederation of Midwives, International Council of Nurses, USAID, White Ribbon Alliance, United Kingdom Department for International Development, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—issued a joint consensus statement on their commitment to ensuring that “voluntary family planning counseling and services are included as an essential component of post abortion care in all settings.”11 These and other experts have identified several best practices and recommendations to better incorporate family planning into postabortion care. First and foremost, family planning counseling, services and supplies should be provided at the same time and place as postabortion treatment. Women in these situations are more likely than those who are referred for services elsewhere to choose and use a method of contraception.10 Having a wide range of contraceptive methods available, including long-acting methods, is very important to protecting the ability of women to make informed choices and helping them select the method that best meets their needs and life circumstances. Almost all methods can be used immediately after postabortion care. Methods that are unavailable at primary-level facilities should be available elsewhere by direct referral. Similarly, referrals or other procedures should be in place to ensure that women can obtain ongoing contraceptive supplies if they choose methods that require additional or routine follow-up. Expert recommendations also suggest shifting tasks to midlevel providers, who play an important part in expanding delivery of postabortion care. Training of providers in skilled postabortion counseling—including about family planning and STIs—goes hand-in-hand with recommendations for shifting tasks to lower-level or less specialized health providers, such as midwives, nurses and other staff. A broad range of providers can help ensure that postabortion family planning services are offered at all tiers of the health system, including through community-based counseling and outreach. Also important is the development of national guidelines on postabortion care that clearly address integrated family planning services. Often hard to address but still essential to overcome are the social and cultural impediments to postabortion care. For example, a regularly overlooked recommendation is engaging men in postabortion family planning counseling. Many women would prefer that their partners be part of the decision-making process, but providers concentrate their counseling and services on women.10 Although efforts to improve postabortion treatment in the 1990s focused mostly on expanding MVA use, the last decade has seen a push by public health experts and advocates for misoprostol. As a highly effective medical method of treating incomplete abortions, misoprostol may be used where surgical methods such as MVA are unavailable or to complement existing MVA services. Originally marketed to treat gastric ulcers, misoprostol now has multiple uses, primarily in the area of obstetrics and gynecology. Because the drug contracts the uterus, it can reduce bleeding and, therefore, has proven highly valuable in preventing and treating postpartum hemorrhage—the top cause of pregnancy-related death in developing countries.12 It is also utilized to induce labor, as well as to perform a medication abortion; as an abortifacient, misoprostol is often combined with mifepristone, otherwise known as RU-486. Misoprostol’s ability to evacuate the uterus makes it also effective for treatment of incomplete abortions. Misoprostol’s favorability among providers derives from its many advantages for a low-resource setting. Research shows it to be a safe and effective postabortion treatment method. It is inexpensive, does not need refrigeration and can be taken orally by tablet. Because of its simplicity, it may be administered practically anywhere by midlevel providers with no surgical training. As such, misoprostol has the potential to lower health costs and, more importantly, make postabortion care more available to women in their communities. Medical bodies such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, FIGO and WHO have recommended misoprostol in postabortion care as an important intervention to reduce maternal mortality. In 2009, WHO added misoprostol to its model list of essential medicines—which provides guidance to nations on what medicines to stock—because of the drug’s track record of safety and effectiveness in treating complications of unsafe abortion.5 Two years later, WHO endorsed misoprostol again by placing it on the organization’s list of highest priority medicines to save mother’s and children’s lives.13 Despite the clear benefits of promoting misoprostol in postabortion care, the medicine has faced numerous political, bureaucratic and social barriers to gaining widespread acceptance. Among the toughest hurdles for misoprostol proponents is getting regulatory approval of the product in individual countries, which is an important precursor to making it more available in both the public and private market. Even though it is now available through the black market or used off-label in many developing countries, regulatory status—specifically for treatment of incomplete abortion—is still necessary to legitimize the drug among providers and consumers. In addition, to support an environment of safety standards and quality, misoprostol needs to be incorporated into medical protocols by governments and health professionals in-country. Such standardization would go a long way in tackling the related challenges of provider preferences, differences and attitudes in treatment. Many providers are still relying on disfavored surgical methods or are otherwise reluctant to use misoprostol—for some, because of its alternative identity as an abortifacient. Punitive and restrictive abortion laws create disincentives and can stigmatize both providers and patients using misoprostol—even though postabortion care itself is generally legal. Indeed, providers’ persistent bias against abortion and the women who rely on it has impeded the provision of dignified and respectful health care. Experts note the need for further education to sensitize both providers and community members that all women deserve health care without stigma or biased treatment, no matter who they are (young or old, married or unmarried) or what type of service they are seeking (abortion-related or not). Running into Politics Clearly, one of the biggest challenges to scaling up the use of misoprostol as a treatment option—and to delivery of postabortion care overall—is the association with abortion. Indeed, the skills, supplies and training that providers need to provide postabortion care are essentially the same as those needed to provide safe abortion care itself. This has presented a special dilemma for the United States, as postabortion care is an important, legitimate and widely supported (even by antiabortion activists) aspect of the U.S. reproductive health program overseas, while U.S. law prohibits support for abortion services in most circumstances. The 1973 Helms amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act prohibits U.S. funds from paying for abortion when used “as a method of family planning.” Importantly, this prohibition has never been interpreted—by antiabortion and prochoice administrations alike—to preclude USAID from including postabortion care programs within its global health portfolio. For example, the issue was raised in the context of the global gag rule, which disqualified foreign nongovernmental organizations from eligibility for U.S. family planning aid if they used non-U.S. funds to provide or advocate for access to safe abortion care. During 2001–2009, the last time the global gag rule was in effect, the antiabortion administration of George W. Bush made it clear that “treatment of injuries or illnesses caused by legal or illegal abortions, for example, post-abortion care” were explicitly permissible.14 When President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, he rescinded the global gag rule. Almost every year since then, antiabortion leaders in Congress have tried to legislate the gag rule back into effect (to no avail), but have continued to support postabortion care. At the international level, 179 countries agreed to address the impact of unsafe abortion at the 1994 United Nations (UN) International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), a seminal meeting that shifted the global development discourse toward meeting the reproductive health, rights and needs of women. The ICPD signatories recognized that “In all cases, women should have access to quality services for the management of complications arising from abortion. Post-abortion counseling, education and family-planning services should be offered promptly, which will also help to avoid repeat abortions.”15 Subsequent UN conferences on women’s rights, such as the 1995 Beijing Conference and the ICPD+5 Conference in New York, reaffirmed this international consensus on postabortion care. Most recently, in a report reviewing progress on ICPD implementation, the UN Secretary-General urged governments to take concrete measures to minimize abortion-related complications and fatalities by providing nondiscriminatory postabortion care that meets WHO guidelines.16 For its part, USAID has been supporting postabortion care programs since 1994 in over 40 countries. The USAID approach condenses the PAC Consortium model into three elements: emergency treatment; family planning counseling and services, STI evaluation and treatment, and HIV counseling and referrals; and community empowerment. Its major objective is to increase availability of postabortion care “with particular emphasis on [family planning] counseling and services.”17 This particular focus capitalizes on USAID’s strength in the reproductive health field, where historically it has been the world’s single largest donor for contraceptive services with a long history of deep expertise. It also provides a plausible way for the United States to avoid any appearance of getting too close to the line between postabortion care and safe abortion care. Even though the United State is one of the world’s leading supporters of postabortion care activities, the depth and breadth of the U.S. involvement is limited as it tries to walk that line between actively promoting postabortion care while carefully avoiding support for abortion itself. One manifestation of that line is the decision by USAID to not buy critical supplies such as MVA kits and misoprostol tablets because they can be dually used to perform postabortion care and safe abortion care services. As a result, USAID’s commitment to postabortion care—as important and strong as it is—can only go so far. For some time to come, politics undoubtedly will continue to dictate to USAID and other key players that ensuring access to comprehensive, quality postabortion care must operate on an entirely separate track from providing or facilitating access to safe abortion services. The global debate will rage on about the importance of recognizing access to safe abortion as the critical and necessary public health intervention that it is—one that enables women to avoid seeking risky, clandestine care. In the meantime, broad-based support already exists for helping women who suffer from the consequences of unsafe abortion. Policymakers, providers of care and donors can do much more to expand investment in comprehensive postabortion care. This includes making treatment safer, easier and more accessible with greater reliance on misoprostol, and ramping up postabortion contraceptive care to help women avoid another unintended pregnancy. 1. Guttmacher Institute, Facts on induced abortion worldwide, In Brief, 2012, <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_IAW.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 2. World Health Organization (WHO), Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidance for Health Systems, second ed., Geneva: WHO, 2012, <http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/70914/1/9789241548434_eng.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 3. Singh S, Hospital admissions resulting from unsafe abortion: estimates from 13 developing countries, Lancet, 2006, 368(9550):1887–1892. 4. Postabortion Care (PAC) Consortium, PAC model, no date, <http://pac-consortium.org/index.php/pac-model>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 5. World Health Organization (WHO), Unedited draft report of the 17th expert committee on the selection and use of essential medicines, Geneva: WHO, 2009, <http://www.who.int/selection_medicines/committees/expert/17/WEBuneditedTRS_2009.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 6. Basinga P et al., Unintended Pregnancy and Induced Abortion in Rwanda: Causes and Consequences, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2012, <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/unintended-pregnancy-Rwanda.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 7. Sundaram A et al., Documenting the individual and household-level cost of unsafe abortion in Uganda, International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2013, 39(4):174–184, <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3917413.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 8. Vlassoff M et al., The health system cost of post-abortion care in Uganda, Health Policy and Planning, 2014, 29(1):56–66, <http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/1/56.full.html>. 9. Prada E, Maddow-Zimet I and Juarez F, The cost of postabortion care and legal abortion in Colombia, International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2013, 39(3):114–123, <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3911413.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 10. High Impact Practices in Family Planning (HIP), Postabortion Family Planning: Strengthening the Family Planning Component of Postabortion Care, Washington, DC: U.S. Agency for International Development, 2012, <http://www.fphighimpactpractices.org/sites/fphips/files/hip_pac_brief.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 11. Postabortion Care (PAC) Consortium, Post abortion family planning: a key component of post abortion care, 2013, <http://www.pac-consortium.org/attachments/article/69/PAC-FP-Joint-Statement-November2013.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014. 12. World Health Organization (WHO), WHO Recommendations for the Prevention and Treatment of Postpartum Haemorrhage, Geneva: WHO, 2012, <http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/ 10665/75411/1/9789241548502_eng.pdf>, accessed Mar. 4, 2014. 13. World Health Organization (WHO), Priority life-saving medicines for women and children, 2012, <http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/75154/1/WHO_EMP_MAR_2012.1_eng.pdf>, accessed Feb. 21, 2014. 14. Executive Office of the President, Restoration of the Mexico City policy, Federal Register, 2001, 66(61):17303–17313, <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2001-03-29/pdf/01-8011.pdf>, accessed Aug. 27, 2013. 15. United Nations Population Information Network (POPIN), Report of the ICPD, 1994, <http://www.un.org/popin/icpd/conference/offeng/poa.html>, accessed Feb. 21, 2014. 16. United Nations Economic and Social Council, Commission on Population and Development, Framework of actions for the follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) beyond 2014, 2013, <http://icpdbeyond2014.org/uploads/browser/files/sg_report_on_icpd_ operational_review_final.unedited.pdf>, accessed Mar. 4, 2014. 17. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Postabortion Care Global Resources: A Guide for Program Design, Implementation, and Evaluation, Washington, DC: USAID, 2007, <http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADU081.pdf>, accessed Feb. 16, 2014.
- As a German and Jewish surname, from the noun Herr (“gentleman, sir”). Also found in Hungary and France. - As a Hmong surname, variant of Her, named after the Her clan, written in Chinese as 侯 (compare Hou). Herr (plural Herrs) - A surname. From Middle High German herre, from Old High German hēriro, hērro (“grey, grey-haired”), the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”)), from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”). - IPA(key): /hɛr/, [hɛʁ], [hɛr], [hɛɐ̯] IPA(key): [dɜɾ‿hɛr] (der Herr) - Homophones: Heer, hehr, her (common merger) - man, gentleman (polite term) - gentlemen's wear - gentlemen's toilet - Ein älterer Herr - An old gentleman - sir (title of respect) - Wie kann ich Euch zu Diensten sein, Herr? - How can I serve you, sir? - Gnädiger Herr! - (Can be translated as my lord in English, but there is no direct equivalent) - Mr., mister, sir - Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt - (Dear) Mr. Schmidt - Die Herren Schmidt und Müller - Messrs. Schmidt and Müller - Herr Doktor von Braun ― Dr. von Braun - Herr Professor ― Dr. (Ph.D.) / Professor - Herr Bundeskanzler ― Mr. Chancellor or Sir - Jawohl, Herr Oberst! ― Yes, sir! (Because Herr already is a respectful form of address, adding a term like sir is unnecessary) (literally, “Yes, Mr. Colonel.”) - Entschuldigung, der Herr? Sie haben Ihre Uhr verloren. ― Excuse me, sir? You've lost your watch. (standard usage between strangers) - Was kann ich Ihnen bringen, meine Herren? ― What can I bring you, sirs? - Sehr verehrte Damen und Herren ― Dear Sir or Madam (address in formal letters and e-mails) - Meine Damen und Herren... - Ladies and gentlemen... - master, lord (generally denotes that somebody has control over something, either in a generic or in a regal sense) - Herr der Lage sein - to be master of the situation - Weil die Tiere auf seinen Wink reagieren, nennt man ihn den Herren der Wölfe. - Because the animals are at his beck and call, he is called Lord of the Wolves. - (Can we date this quote?) Der gestiefelte Kater: - Wer ist Herr dieser Landen? Der Graf von Karabas. - Who is the ruler/owner of these lands? The Count of Karabas. - Der Schirmherr - the patron - (historical) the lowest title of German nobility - Gans Edle Herren zu Putlitz - Gans (noble) lords of Putlitz - Lord, God - Das Haus des Herrn - The House of God - Gott der Herr - The Lord - Omitting Herr (or the female form Frau) when addressing a person with their last name is usually perceived as disrespectful, but it is more common when speaking about somebody who is not present, except in formal contexts. However, there may be contextual pitfalls and regional differences, which makes it advisable for learners not to leave out Herr (and Frau). - When people address each other with their last name, but say du to each other, the words Herr and Frau are always left out in most regions. In parts of western Germany, however, there is (or was) a system of saying du and Herr (Frau) among coworkers. - The forms Herrn and Herren were originally simple phonetic/graphic variants. Both were used for the singular and plural inflections. In contemporary standard German they are—usually—distinguished functionally, Herrn being the inflected singular, Herren the plural. - “Herr” in Duden online - “Herr” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache - Friedrich Kluge (1883), “Herr”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891 - hër (Portuguese based orthography) Herr m (plural Herre) - Mr., mister, sir - master, lord, generally denotes that somebody has control over something, either in a generic or in a regal sense - Lord, God - Used as a title of respect that is not translated into English or replaced with Sir
An asset to GizMeek Welcome Programmers! In this tutorial, we will teach you how you can build your first android app using Android Studio. Java language to develop our app. So let's get started. We hope you have already installed Android Studio on your PC and completed the setup. If you haven't don't worry, just check out this post and then continue reading. We won't be using much code in this tutorial as this is your first app. Before making the app you must have some basic knowledge of Java. Now, just follow the steps that are given below to build your app. Build Your First Android App Step-1 Open Android Studio and Create a new project - After opening Android Studio, a window will pop up - Select 'Start a new project' - Enter 'Hello world' as the name of your app - Click 'Next' - Select the minimum API as 16 and set the project location. - Click 'Next' - Select the 'Blank Activity' and click 'Finish' - Your project is created and you are all set to go. Step-2 Edit the Welcome message in the main activity - After clicking Finish your project will open and Gradle will start.. - After Gradle will build, MainActivity.java and activity_main.xml will open. - MainActivity.java will contain the main code and activity_main.xml will contain the UI content. In this XML you can design the application. - For now, we will work only on the XML part. - Open the XML part in your android studio project named activity_main.xml. - You will see a tag named TextView and in it, you will see ' android:text="Hello World" ' - Instead of Hello World, write your own text like 'Welcome to my first app' - Congrats! you are all set. Step-3 Run your first App - In the top toolbar click 'Run' and in the dropdown select run the app. - Select the Virtual Device or create a new one or run on an actual app. - Congratulations you have successfully build your first android app.
WORLD BRIEFING \| ASIA; Japan: U.S. Base Must Weigh Effect On Revered Creature By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: January 26, 2008 Judge Marilyn Hall Patel of Federal District Court in San Francisco has ruled that the United States Defense Department violated the National Historic Preservation Act by failing to evaluate the potential effect of a planned United States air base in Okinawa on a recognized Japanese national treasure -- a big, slow-moving aquatic mammal called the dugong -- and ordered it to do so. The dugong, associated with traditional creation myths, is listed on Japan's register of protected cultural properties. In the case, Okinawa Dugong v. Gates, No. 03-4350, the judge sided with environmentalists who said plans to relocate the Futenma Air Station, a Marine Corps base, to a site off the northeast coast of Okinawa would threaten the dwindling number of dugong that live in the seagrass beds. The decision, made Thursday, is the first time the Historic Preservation Act has been applied to an overseas project, Judge Patel said.
A couple of years ago, the European Space Agency launched its BepiColombo spacecraft on a mission toward Mercury. Late last week, this spacecraft successfully completed its first Earth flyby, according to the ESA, which reports that BepiColombo will complete a total of nine flybys during its time in space. On April 10, the spacecraft came within 7,891 miles of our planet. The BepiColombo spacecraft is on a seven-year mission that will take it to Mercury, a planet that may help shed light on the origins of our Solar System. According to the ESA, the mission will take the spacecraft past Venus during its next two flyby events followed by Mercury, where it will conduct a total of six flybys. During its Earth flyby late last week, BepiColombo had to spend a bit over half an hour in the Earth’s shadow. This ‘eclipse phase’ was the most sensitive part of the event, according to the ESA‘s BepiColombo Spacecraft Operations Manager Elsa Montagnon. Because the spacecraft has solar power, it was not getting access to its power source during its time in the shadow. That eclipse phase didn’t put the spacecraft in any danger, however, because the team behind the mission made sure to charge BepiColombo’s batteries and to warm up its sensitive components before it passed through the dark region. The systems’ components were monitored during the dark period; soon enough, the solar panels started generating more electricity, indicating the spacecraft had exited the eclipse. There was another troubling aspect of this flyby, which was one that couldn’t be anticipated when the spacecraft was launched: quarantine. The ESA says that the flyby had to be conducted with only limited staff on-site in Germany. The maneuver had been pre-programmed to happen, but the ESA notes that it was never an option to postpone the Earth flyby.
WASHINGTON — The world's population will increase by 1 billion in this decade, predicts the World Bank. That's in addition to the present 5.3 billion people around the globe. Within 20 years, the world's population will total 7 billion and could reach 11 billion by the end of the next century. This ballooning in population, the Bank says in a new report, will continue even though birth rates should fall slightly in the first half of the 1990s. ``The resulting lower population growth rates have not compensated for the steadily enlarging population base,'' the report says. By the year 2025, 84 percent of the world population will live in developing nations because of higher population growth rates in those countries. That will be up from 76 percent in 1985. Populations in low-income countries are growing by almost 60 million a year. High-income populations are growing by only 4 million a year. Asia, which accounts for about 58 percent of the world's population, is growing by about 55 million people annually. Africa's population is growing more rapidly, with a 3 percent annual increase, compared with only 1.9 percent in Asia. Africa now has a smaller population than Asia, Europe and the Soviet Union, and North and South America. By the year 2000, according to the report, Africa's population will be second only to Asia. The report also predicts that China will likely hold the ranking of the world's most populous country for almost 100 years from now. India will continue to contribute more to world population growth than any other country for the next two centuries. India adds as many people each year as live in Nepal or Australia. Fastest population growth is in Rwanda, Kenya, Malawi, and Saudi Arabia, where the fertility level is above 7, the report states.
Government data does not include racial or ethnic information, and it was only after coming under pressure that the collection of COVID-19 racial data was begun in late April – but has yet to be released. Now outside researchers have shown that 55% of Afro-Brazilian patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19 died, compared to 34% of white patients. The research has found that structural racism – in the form of high-risk working conditions, unequal access to health and worse housing conditions – is a major factor shaping Brazil’s COVID-19 pandemic. There is also extreme economic inequality. White women earn up to 74% more than black men. There are parallels here with data coming out of the UK and USA. Read the full article here.
For those of you who spend time outdoors, one of the fears we run into is a tick bite. For a long time, this fear was more commonly found on the east coast where ticks are much more present. But with the changes of weather patterns, ticks are becoming more and more common even on the west coast. So why are ticks such a big deal? Aren't they just a tiny little bug that burrows themselves into your skin until they are done feeding? Ticks are a problem because they commonly carry a disease known as Lyme Disease. For a long time, we didn't have very efficient ways of treating Lyme Disease. In fact, the actual diagnosis process for Lyme has been very inaccurate, which means many cases of Lyme have gone on for far too long without proper diagnosis. What are the symptoms of Lyme Disease? The big problem with treating Lyme Disease is that the symptoms can prevent itself in many different ways, and it is a master at masking itself as something else. Unless you receive what is known as the “bulls-eye rash” from the initial bite, you can go a long time (even years) without knowing what is wrong with you. Below are some signs and symptoms to look out for if you have been in contact with a tick, or suspect Lyme: - Rashes- This is typically the bulls-eye rash that is found from a tick bite. If you do see this, take a picture to show the doctor, and get checked out immediately - Fatigue- The initial symptoms of Lyme can mimic what you would experience with the flu. A very large percentage of people experience tiredness, exhaustion, or lack of energy. - Achy, Stiff, or Swollen Joints- Many times Lyme causes inflammation within your body, which can elevate achy, stiff, or swollen joints. - Night Sweats and Sleep Disruption- You may wake up with achy joints, or possibly have temperature fluctuations causing night sweats and other disruptions to your sleep. - Cognitive Decline- You may notice that you have issues recalling memories, or maybe you struggle with concentrating. There are many different cases for cognitive decline that has been correlated with Lyme - Headaches, Dizziness, Fever- More common flu symptoms that you may have when first contracting Lyme. Over 50% of cases report having flu-like symptoms. - Sensitivity to Light and Vision Issues- Having a hard time in well-lit areas can be a sign that your body is trying to fight Lyme Disease. - Heart Problems- Lyme Disease can enter the tissues of the heart, causing chest pains, heart palpitations, light-headedness, and shortness of breath Where can Lyme Disease be found? Lyme Disease has been found on every content in the world, except Antarctica. The most common way we know of to contract Lyme is via a tick bite, however there are theories that any bug that transmits blood can also spread Lyme (such as mosquitoes). Not all ticks are infected though. Just because you may find one on your body, does not necessarily mean that you will have Lyme Disease. There are testing centers where you can send your tick to test for Lyme and other pathogens. You can find a few of these testing centers down in the shownotes. Treating Lyme Disease Dr. Darin Ingels ND is a practicing physician who has Lyme Disease himself. He has worked with many patients to help reduce overall symptomology of Lyme Disease, and has an upcoming book on his approach to treating Lyme Disease. Listen in to this episode to learn some steps on how to treat the disease. [2:15] Can you discuss your own struggles with Lyme Disease [6:00] Do you think if you didn't have the stress of opening a clinic you would have been able to avoid the symptoms of Lyme disease [7:10] Is the herbal protocol you used tailored to you, or was it more specifically tailored towards Lyme [8:10] What is Lyme Disease, and what are some early symptoms [11:00] What is the amount of time after receiving a tick bite can they transmit Lyme Disease [12:45] Tick centers that test for Lyme also test for other pathogens [13:00] Are ticks the only way to receive Lyme [14:00] Why are ticks becoming more popular on the West Coast when they normally were only found on the East Coast [16:50] Why were so many people misdiagnosed with other diseases when Lyme was the main cause [22:15] Do those with suppressed immune systems who get bit by a tick with Lyme, then would the disease run wild within the body [23:30] Does Lyme cause other autoimmune issues [25:45] Can you completely remove Lyme from the body [27:30] What is your treatment process for treating Lyme Disease [33:50] Mold can have the exact same symptoms as Lyme Disease [38:00] In Step 1 of the process, we want to make sure the GI Tract is functioning properly [40:20] What are some symptoms to look out for in a disfunctioning GI Tract Learn More About Dr. Darin Ingels
The recent "Cost of Vision Problems: The Economic Burden of Vision Loss and Eye Disorders in the United States" report found that at $10.7 billion, cataract is the second costliest vision disorder (behind refractive error) and the most expensive medical diagnosis. Direct costs include medical costs for diagnosed disorders, medical costs attributable to low vision, medical vision aids, vision assistive devices and adaptations, and direct services including special education and assistance programs. Prevent Blindness has declared June as Cataract Awareness Month to educate the public on cataract, risk factors, symptoms and treatment options, including surgery. Free information is provided through its dedicated web page at preventblindness.org/cataract, or via phone at (800) 331-2020. For those interested in conducting discussions or seminars on the subject, Prevent Blindness also offers a free online module on cataract including a PowerPoint presentation with a complete guide as part of its Healthy Eyes Educational Series. The exact cause of a cataract is unknown. Most often, a cataract is part of getting older. With age comes a greater risk of developing a cataract. There are also several possible risk factors for cataracts, such as: "The best thing we can do to protect our vision is to get regular eye exams," said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. "We can also save our vision by maintaining healthy lifestyles like eating leafy green vegetables, exercising and quitting smoking. All we do to benefit our overall health can benefit our eyes as well!" For free information on cataract, please call Prevent Blindness at (800) 331-2020 or visit the Prevent Blindness website at preventblindness.org/cataract. For information on insurance benefits, including Medicare coverage, free facts can be found at http://www.preventblindness.org/health-insurance-and-your-eyes. About Prevent Blindness Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, or to make a contribution to the sight-saving fund, call 1-800-331-2020. Or, visit us on the Web at preventblindness.org or facebook.com/preventblindness. For advertising/ promotion on HealthNewsDigest.com, call Mike McCurdy at: 877-634-9180. We have over 7,000 journalists as subscribers who can use our content Top of Page Us \| Job Listings \| Help \| Site Map \| About Us Advertising Information \| HND Press Release \| Submit Information \| Disclaimer
"We can equate a change in diet of this magnitude with a change in her status, one that occurred as part of her final demise." But the term "fattening up" is used as an illustration, not necessarily a direct reference to weight gain, he said. "The tissue on the Maiden's forearm is plump, for example," he said. "This is an illustration that these individuals were in good health and condition." What's more, the chemical evidence shows another shift several months before death, indicating that the children were forced on a grueling pilgrimage. The route likely went from Cusco, Peru—the Inca capital—to high-altitude mountain shrines, where the children were drugged and then killed or left to die, Wilson added. The Maiden, for example, was fed fermented maize beer and chewed coca leaves before her death. (Related: "Mystery Mountain of the Inca" in National Geographic magazine [February 2004].) Last Months of Life "This work gives a very interesting and intimate picture of the last months before the deaths of the individuals involved in the capacocha ceremonies," said Kelly J. Knudson, a bioarchaeologist at Arizona State University. Sonia Guillén, a Peruvian archaeologist, said the study was interesting and helps confirm much of what is known about this type of sacrifice. "One key question is how these children differed from others in terms of diet," she said. Other capacocha victims have been found, and other studies have looked at isotopic signatures in order to measure seasonal variations in diet, study leader Wilson said. But none "has linked to such a graphic piece of evidence that would suggest a diet shift of this magnitude that could be equated with change in status." Study co-author Timothy Taylor, also from the University of Bradford, said in a written statement that "the treatment of such peasant children may have served to instill fear and exert social control over remote mountain areas newly incorporated into the empire." Free Email News Updates Sign up for our Inside National Geographic newsletter. Every two weeks we'll send you our top stories and pictures (see sample). SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
\| Home Earth ___ TurkeyDestination Turkey, a transcontinental country located on the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia, with a small enclave in Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. This page aims to give you a broad overview of Turkish art, culture, people, environment, geography, history, economy and government. Beside a country profile with facts and figures, the page contains links to sources which provide you with all the information might need to know about this country, e.g.: official web sites of Turkey, addresses of Turkish and foreign embassies, domestic airlines, city- and country guides with extensive travel and tourism information on accommodation, tourist attractions, events and more like weather information, maps, statistics and local newspapers from Turkey. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul Republic of Turkey \| Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Flag of Turkey Turkey is often called "the cradle of civilization," as it has been home to a rich variety of tribes and nations of people since 6500 B.C. The Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, replacing the dynastic and theocratic Ottoman system, with its Sultanate and Caliphate. The Republic is based on a secular democratic, pluralist and parilamentary system. In 1945 Turkey joined the UN and became a member of NATO in 1952. Turkey occupied the northern portion of Cyprus in 1974 to prevent a Greek takeover of the island; relations between the two countries remain strained. Periodic military offensives against Kurdish separatists have dislocated part of the population in southeast Turkey and have drawn international condemnation. In recent years, Turkey has become a major tourist destination in Europe. border countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Syria local short form: Türkiye Int'l long form: Republic of Turkey Int'l short form: Turkey ISO Country Code: tr Actual Time: Wed-July-27 14:30 Local Time = UTC+2h Daylight Saving Time (DST) March - October (UTC +3) Country Calling Code: +90 Capital City: Ankara (pop. 3.7 million) Istanbul (9.2 million), Izmir (3.2 million), Bursa (1.9 million), Adana (1.7 million) Independence: 29 October 1923 Constitution: 7 November 1982 Location: southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia Area: 783,562 km² (302,535 sq. mi.) Terrain: Narrow coastal plain surrounds Anatolia, an inland plateau becomes increasingly rugged as it progresses eastward. Turkey includes one of the more earthquake-prone areas of the world. Highest Mountain: Mount Ararat 5,137 metres (16,854 ft) Climate: Moderate in coastal areas, harsher temperatures inland. Nationality: Noun--Turk(s). Adjective--Turkish Population: 75 million (2011) Ethnic groups: Turkish, Kurdish, other Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian, Bahai and Jewish Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, and Arabic Natural resources: Coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower. Agriculture products: Tobacco, cotton, grain, olives, sugar beets, pulse, citrus; livestock. Industries: Textiles, food processing, autos, mining (coal, chromite, copper, boron), steel, petroleum, construction, lumber, paper. Exports partners: Germany 15.8%, USA 8%, UK 7.8%, Italy 6.8%, France 6% (2003) Imports partners: Germany 13.6%, Italy 7.9%, Russia 7.8%, France 6%, UK 5%, USA 5%, Switzerland 4.3% (2003) Currency: Turkish New Lira (TRY) Note: External links will open in a new browser window. Official Sites of TurkeyTürkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaskanligi Office of the President (in Turkish). Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (partly in English). T.C. Disisleri Bakanligi The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides comprehensive information on Turkey and Turkish culture. Mission of Turkey to the United Nations Site of the Turkish Mission to the UN. Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in the U.S. Türkische Botschaft Berlin Embassy of Turkey in Germany. List of Turkish Embassies in the World Address List of Turkish Embassies Abroad. Government Bodies and Ministries of Republic of Turkey List of links to Government Agencies and Ministries. Map of Turkey Political map of Turkey. Map of Turkey Shaded relief map of Turkey. Google Earth Map Turkey Searchable map and satellite view of Turkey. Google Earth Map Ankara Searchable map and satellite view of Turkey's capital city. Google Earth Map Istanbul Searchable map and satellite view of Turkey's largest city. Google Earth Map Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque Satellite view with information about Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) and Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque), Istanbul. Google Earth Mount Ararat Satellite view and information about Mount Ararat, highest mountain in Turkey. Map of the Mediterranean Political Map of the Mediterranean. Map of the Balkan Peninsula Political Map of the Balkans. Map of Western Asia Map of Western Asia and the Middle East region. Map of Europe Political Map of Europe. Turkey NewsAnadolu Ajansi The Turkish news agency Turkish Newspaper. (in Turkish) Turkish Newspaper (Turkish) Daily Newspaper (Turkish) Daily Newspaper (Turkish) Daily Newspaper (Turkish) Turkish News (Turkish) Turkish Daily News online Turkish daily news (in English) US based web site featuring turkish daily news and information about Turkey. Turkish Radio - Television Corporation - TRT Provides national and international news in all major languages. TV online (in Turkish) Turkish Radios Online A guide to Turkish Radios List of Turkish national and local news papers and news agencies. Bookmark/share this page Arts & Culture The Topkapi Palace Museum Home of almost all the Ottoman sultans. Turkish Arts & Culture Turkey's culture information by the Ministry of Culture. Extensive information about Turkish Cuisine, includes food history, a food dictionary and recipes. Turkish Cultural Foundation Turkish Cultural Foundation promotes Turkish culture and heritage. Bookmark/share this page Business & EconomyTürkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankasi Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. Istanbul Stock Exchange The official web site of the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) IGEME - Export Promotion Center of Turkey Aims to developing and promoting Turkish exports. Turkish Standards Institution Official website of the Turkish Standards Institution, Ankara. This site is created for information about Turkey and about companies that imports and/or exports goods, make booking and charters. Foreign Economic Relations Board - DEIK Site provides information about doing business in Turkey. Turk Hava Yollari Turkish Airlinesis the national airline of Turkey based in İstanbul. The airline is based in Istanbul and operates holiday charter flights to Turkish resorts from around 100 destinations in 17 countries. The airline is based in Antalya, it operates scheduled and charter flights to destinations in Europe. Atatürk International Airport (IATA: IST) The major international airport in Istanbul, located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, The airport is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and the first president of the Republic of Turkey. Esenboğa International Airport (IATA: ESB)the airport in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. (IATA: AYT) Antalya, Turkey's primary holiday destination located on the Mediterranean coast. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryollar - TCDD Turkish State Railways. Destination Turkey - Travel and Tour GuidesGo Turkey Turkey's official Tourism Portal. Tourist and travel information by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Official Turkey guide for the Americas. Turkey in Pictures Images of Turkish regions, cities and landmarks. Official website of the Turkish capital city. Istanbul Convention & Visitors Bureau A portal to the world's only city on two continents. The Official City Guide. Hotels in Turkey Find a Hotel in Turkey. Travel and Tour Consumer Information The Ankara University, since 1927. Istanbul Technical University University since 1928. The Istanbul University. The Marmara University. The National Library, Ankara. Turkish Academy of Science (TÜBA) Founded in 1993. Turkish Counsel of Higher Education Environment & NatureMinistry of Environment Official website of the ministry. Turkish Foundation for Combating Erosion, for Reforestation, and the Protection of Natural Habitats Official website of TEMA with information about the work and goals of the foundation. Environment Foundation of Turkey Official website of the foundation with information about the activities of EFT. Turkish Marine Research Foundation An institution for marine environment protection and preservation, conducts research on marine life and habitat. Society for the Protection of Nature DHKD Information about the Society (in Turkish) National Parks of Turkey Wikipedia page with information about Turkish National Parks and preserved areas. Private website about the life and work of the creator of modern Turkey. Biography of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk by Turkish National Library. History of Turks & Turkey Various historical aspects of Turkey's past by Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Ottoman Empire The history, military, culture and arts of the Ottoman Empire. Turkish National Archives (until now only in Turkish) Türk Tarih Kurumu The Turkish History Society. History of Turkey Wikipedia's History of Turkey. SearchAll about Turkey A Turkish Directory. Directory of Turkey related sites. Turkey's English-language travel, business, and cultural directory. Additional Information on TurkeyBBC News Country Profile: Turkey Human Rights Watch: Turkey Open Directory Project: Turkey U.S. Library of Congress Country Study - Turkey The World Factbook -- Turkey Other Countries in the Mediterranean: Albania \| Algeria \| Bosnia and Herzegovina \| Croatia \| Cyprus \| Egypt \| France \| Gaza Strip \| Greece \| Israel Italy \| Lebanon \| Libya \| Malta \| Monaco \| Morocco \| Slovenia \| Spain \| Syria \| Tunisia Other countries in the Balkan region: Bulgaria \| Macedonia, Rep. of \| Montenegro \| Romania \| Serbia One World - Nations Online .:. let's care for this planet Actually, it's impossible to simulate freedom --- or? Nations Online Project is made to improve cross-cultural understanding and global awareness. More signal - less NOISE \|Site Map \| Information Sources \| Disclaimer \| Contact: email@example.com \| Copyright © 1998-2016 :: nationsonline.org\|
The answer to the question ‘do male dogs have nipples’ is surprisingly simple: yes. In fact, almost all mammals of both sexes have nipples, with some exceptions such as male rats, male platypuses, and male mice. The more complicated question is why do male dogs have nipples? How Many Nipples Do Male Dogs Have? The nipples on a male dog are found in the same place as they are on a female dog. They run in two lines down the abdomen, pair by pair. The nipples are pretty much the same, regardless if the dog is a neutered male, a spayed female, an intact male, or an intact female, although there are some differences in female nipples compared to male nipples. The number of nipples on a dog, depends on the size. A larger breed dog can have ten nipples in five pairs. A smaller dog can have eight nipples in four pairs. Although, it is possible for some dogs to have more or less. What Do The Nipples On A Male Dog Look Like? If you have a long haired breed, you might never have seen your dog’s nipples. If your dog has a short haired coat, then you may have noticed his nipples. Male nipples look very similar to female nipples. They are small, round bumps. They may be the same color as your dog’s skin color, under his coat, or they may be a different color. Both are completely normal, and nothing to worry about. Do The Nipples Have Names? The nipples on a male dog actually have names. The names relate to where on the body they are. Assuming that the dog has ten nipples, the first pair of nipples are closest to the front legs, and are called the cranial thoracic nipples. After them comes a pair of caudal thoracic nipples followed by the cranial abdominal nipples, and the caudal abdominal nipples. The last are of nipples are near the groin and are called the inguinal nipples. Why Do Male Dogs Have Nipples? Female mammals have nipples to feed milk to their babies, so it seems pretty pointless for male animals to have nipples. Most male mammals have no role in feeding the offspring, so why do male dogs have nipples? It’s nothing to do with feeding. Nipples are what’s called a rudimentary state. When a mammal, in this case a dog is conceived, it begins to develop as am embryo. Before it develops its sex, it develops other body parts first, and nipples are developed in this first developmental stage. Basically at the initial developmental stages, all embryos are exactly the same. As the puppy continues to grow in the womb, it develops other parts of its body, including the hormones that determine whether it’s a girl or a boy. As there’s no evolutionary necessity to change the development process, male dogs have nipples. Another example of a rudimentary state would be the pelvic bones in whales. They no longer have a purpose, but they don’t cause any harm so they haven’t been eradicated through natural selection. Can Male Dogs Have Problems With Their Nipples? Generally speaking, nipples won’t cause your dog any issues. They tend to be harmless, quite useless, but harmless. However, that doesn’t mean that you can completely ignore them. Make checking your dog’s nipples part of his routine so that your will notice any changes as soon as possible. Some changes may be completely benign, but others can have a more sinister cause. - Changes In Size Changes in the size of your dogs nipples can be a cause for concern. Enlarged nipples can be a symptom of testicular cancer. Testicular cancer can affect both neutered and intact male dogs, but it is much more common in intact dogs. If you notice that your dog has enlarged nipples, you should look for other common symptoms, such as swelling in the abdomen, symmetrical hair loss, pain in the abdomen, and anemia. You may also notice other male dogs becoming overly interested in yours. Even if you don’t notice any of these other signs, you should still contact your veterinarian as soon as possible. If your dog is diagnosed with testicular cancer, then there will be two treatment options. If he is intact, then neutering can remove all of cancer. If he is neutered then he may need to have chemotherapy treatment. However, testicular cancer is not usually aggressive and doesn’t often spread to other areas. This means that in most cases, the prognosis is very positive. - Changes In Color It’s common for your dog’s nipples to change color over a period of time. In most cases, this is nothing more than a sign of aging. Both male and female dog’s nipples can go through a color change as they get older. A change in color in younger female dog could be a symptom of mastitis, but it’s not a condition male dogs can get. - Not Actually A Nipple Most owners will panic when they see or feel anything out of the ordinary, and sometime may mistake a nipple for a tick. It’s happened to most of us, so it’s really nothing to feel bad about. If you aren’t sure if what you’re feeling is a nipple, or possibly a tick, have a look at it. If the bump is fully attached to your dog’s body, then it’s a nipple, or a mole, or a scab. If it looks like it’s partially buried into his flesh, then it’s more than likely a tick. You can remove ticks yourself, but you do need to be sure that you’ve removed all of the tick and not just the body. Check out some of the tick-removing tools that can help you to remove ticks from your pet’s skin. - Do Male Dogs Have Nipples?, Michelson Found Animals
Peer Editing the Rhetorical Analysis Essay Lesson 5 of 5 Objective: SWBAT evaluate peer essays in terms of effective organization of building of a topic, use of relevant evidence and logic, and strong command of objective language. Peer Edit Introduction Last class we spent a good deal of time discussing the introduction, and I taught students to look for reference to all parts of the rhetorical situation (SOAPStone) as well as “how” the writer gets her main topic across to the readers. Today students will begin by peer editing each other’s introduction, annotating for all the specific elements and the “how.” I don’t think the introduction can be under-emphasized, not only from the point of view of influencing the audience, but also for the writing process. If students spend a lot of time thinking about the introduction and what goes into it, they can’t help but also think about the piece as a whole, and by doing that deepen their thinking regarding how they will build their topic. It essentially provides a road map for the rest of the piece. The instructions they will be given are as follows: 1. Read your partner’s introduction and identify (highlight, underline, annotate) where the writer references all elements of the rhetorical situation (SOAPStone) and HOW the writer appeals to the audience about the topic. 2. Explain your analysis of each element and “how” to the writer, including where there are gaps. Be specific! I may show them the sample analysis I did yesterday as a model if they have a lot of questions, although I am presuming they will not, since we spent a good deal of time on it last class and I got the sense from working with them individually during the workshop portion that they had a handle on it. While I think peer editing is important, I don’t know that it is that productive without a structured process—without providing some guidance, the feedback inevitably becomes “this was good.” Students simply don’t have the experience to determine what to provide feedback about, and they are a little uncomfortable giving it anyway. So this kind of structured peer-editing model gives students some tools to work with to really help their peers, and also to learn about their own writing, since part of the reason to do peer editing is for students to learn from each other as they read. The “Two Stars and a Wish” model is adapted from a wonderful book on teaching poetry by Baron Wormser called A Surge of Language: Teaching Poetry Day by Day. The activity, and in fact the title itself, emphasized the positive and makes critical feedback seem, well, less critical. Here are the instructions students will receive (I will write these on the board and model as I go through them): 1. Read your partner's rough draft carefully TWICE (this continues to emphasize that close reading usually requires a second read to be done effectively). -while reading, pay particular attention to the following: - evidence--use of relevant, specific evidence to support main idea in a logical manner. - syntax--use of sentence structures to develop objective, fluid prose. - organization--how the main idea builds throughout the essay. 2. For EACH of the above areas, identify two passages that you would give a "star" to and one passage where you "wish" something had been written differently, added, subtracted, had different word choices, etc. 3. Share your thoughts with your partner. Be sure to point to SPECIFIC passages as part of your explanation. (I will give them the option to do one complete paper at a time or bounce back and forth). As students do this, I will listen in on conversations and interject if I want to clarify something, second the “star,” and I will also take questions. Additionally, I can get a good sense of who put a lot of time into the draft, and who is a bit behind—the ones who go through this rapidly generally didn’t do as much, and therefore have little to talk about. So this also gives me a chance to talk to them individually. Next steps—students will write a second draft based on the peer review. I will also give some general feedback—to focus on specific evidence and logical progression, as well as transitions and general clarity. Students will hand this draft in to me tomorrow (at the beginning of class I will schedule each student with a time to meet with me later this week to go over their paper one-on-one before they complete a final draft).
A Pagan Almanac for August 7 & 8, 2012 Lunar Cycle: Tenth day of the full Moon Tenth day of the waning Moon (this is how the Athenians did it; since the Moon was waning, they counted down. Perfectly logical.) Athens: Hekatombaion 20 Hekatombaion 21: The Great Festival of Athena begins Martyred on August 7, 1661: Margaret Bryson and Elspeth Blackie of Edinburgh. They died in our name. Let us remember theirs William Blake wrote: As all men are alike in outward form, so (and with the same infinite variety) all are alike in the Poetic Genius. I edited the 22-page Scots-English version in David Laing’s 1826 Early Popular Poetry of Scotland and the Northern Border (edited in 1895 by W. Carew Hazlitt; London: Reaves and Turner, 2 vols., 1895) down to this size. It seemed to contain material unknown to Walter Scott, whose version has always been one of my favorite poems, and a few elements of which I retained. Let me emphasize that everything here, all the “witchy” language, is what I found in the Scots-English original. This was published in The Witches Trine, vol. 1, no. 6, 1972 As I roamed out this Andrew’s day So lusty belled the oriole That as on Huntlie banks I lay It made the woods around me toll. And there a lady rode with hounds; Her hair hung down like gold spun fine. Though storm clouds held the sky in siege, That lady rode in bright sunshine. A skirt she wore of the grass-green silk; Around her tossed a velvet cape. From every tuft of her horse’s mane Bells rang down like silver grapes. She raised a ram’s horn to her lips; A tune she blew of memory. A while she blew; a while she sang; She met me by the Holydun tree. In courtesy to her I knelt, And feared my heart would burst in three. I bold rose up and seized her hand: “O Queen of Heaven, take pity on me!” “Nay, Heaven’s Queen I’m not,” she laughed, “For I never took so high a degree. It is of Elfland I am Queen, And I ride here after my wild fee.” “Of love, my lady, thou art full wise; Whatsoever thus ask of me, Lest all my games from me be gone, Lady, let me lie by thee!” “Man, thou shalt serve me seven years, Through weal or woe, as may chance to be, For if thou dare to have thy will, Sure of thy body I will be.” “Betide me weal, betide me woe, That weird shall never dampen me.” Then down she lit, and down we lay, All underneath the Holydun tree. And when we rose, her clothes were rags; Her hair wound grey around her head. “How art thou faded in the face, And all thy body like the lead!” She said, “Take leave of sun and moon, For this night thou must go with me.” And in the hill a gate appeared All underneath the Holydun tree. She drew me up on her dappled steed, And we rode in beneath the tree, And we saw neither sun nor moon, But we heard the roaring of the sea. O where we rode both dumb and blind No man of Middle Earth has seen; Three days I heard the sighing flood Until we came to a garden green. Here fruit hung ripely from the trees; Nightingales caroled from their nests. Flutterbies gaily flit about, And thrushes sang, would have no rest. For fault of food I was near faint. I seized an apple with my hand. “Nay, do not take of that and eat, Else never again see thy ain land. “True Thomas, as I name thee now, Light down and lean against my knee, And I’ll show thee three stranger sights Than ever saw man of thy country. “O see thee not yon narrow road So thick beset wi’ thorn and briar? That is the path of righteousness, Though after it but few inquire. “And thee not yon broad, high road That lies across the lily leven? That is the path of wickedness, Though some call it the road to heaven. “And see thee not yon bonny road That winds the hills to yon castle bright? Those shining towers are mine to rule, And thou and I ride there this night.” Again I saw she was fair and good As sunshine on a summer’s day. Her hounds were filled with fresh deer’s blood As to her castle she led the way. There ladies knelt in courtesy, And harp and fiddle there we found, Guitar and pipes and psaltery, All mingling in amazing sound. Knights were dancing three by three; The hall was filled with games and play; A hart was turning in the fire, And ladies sang in rich array. “Thomas, buskin up thy feet. It is three days since thy stay begun, Yet thou hast paid thy fee in full: In thy land seven years are done. “Tomorrow the lord of all this land Among this folk will choose his fee. Thou art a strong and handsome man: I know full well he would choose thee. “Body and soul thou hast served me well; Thou shalt not be betrayed by me.” She drew me up on her dappled steed. She brought me back to the Holydun tree. In sorrow I gazed upon her face. “Then shall I never again see thee? O give me some token, my lady love, That I may know I spoke with thee.” She pulled an apple down from a branch, And said, “This token I give to thee, To tell the wise wherever thou go That of our chase this was the fee. “Harp or carp, or go where thou wilt, Thou shalt never speak evil of me, And when thou lie on Huntlie banks, Then, if I may, I’ll come to thee. “Thy tongue be weal, thy tongue be woe, Thy tongue be chief of minstrelsy: Whether thou spell, or tales wilt tell, No lie shall ever be spoken by thee.” “O lady, nay, my tongue is my ain! A goodly gift thou would give to me! How may I either buy or sell At any fair where I might be? “How may I speak to prince or peer, Or hold any tryst with a fair lady?” “Now, hold thy tongue, True Thomas,” she said, “For as I say, so must it be.” She blew her horn to draw her hounds, And as on Huntlie banks I lay, She rode from me in bright sunshine. We parted thus, on Andrew’s day.
Observations are presented to elucidate the complex and highly efficient feeding mechanisms and habits in the common Atlantic slippersnail, Crepidula fornicata. Using a newly designed video system coupled with video endoscopy and microscopic observations, collection of food particles throughout the feeding cycle was documented. The process is described from postcapture particle transport on the gill, to production and consumption of the food cord, and the results were compared with controversial historical records and descriptions of feeding, especially with regard to the roles of the radula, food pouch, and a purported mucus net or filter. The food cord is produced continuously and is the dominant mode of feeding. Capture of food cords is efficient, but often sloppy; more than 10% of food volume production is ultimately expelled to the exterior of shell, making these energy-rich cords available to other benthic feeders. Although it was observed that the ciliated food pouch produces balls of mucus-laden food, these balls account for ∼10% of feeding events, and less than 1% of food volume production and ingestion; in other words, the food pouch contributes little to the feeding process or the production of pseudofeces. Coprophagy was also noted fairly regularly, clearly a function of the position of the anus in relation to the gill and site of production of the food cord. Video endoscopy demonstrated that food particles are captured on the frontal surface of the filaments and moved distally by the frontal cilia of the gill. Immediately after capture, particles are incorporated into fine mucous strings on the frontal surface and carried both distally and obliquely across the filaments. At the distal edge of the gill, the mucous strings enter the neck canal, are incorporated into a food cord, and are pulled anteriorly, resulting in the oblique movement of material on the gill. The overlap of mucous strings (those moving distally and those moving obliquely) often gave the appearance of a "mucous net," as has been described in older studies with less sensitive means of visualization. The results presented clearly demonstrate there is no mucous net formed, and a model is proposed to describe the capture and movement of particles, providing clarification of the process and new interpretations of the suspension-feeding process. You have requested a machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Neither BioOne nor the owners and publishers of the content make, and they explicitly disclaim, any express or implied representations or warranties of any kind, including, without limitation, representations and warranties as to the functionality of the translation feature or the accuracy or completeness of the translations. Translations are not retained in our system. Your use of this feature and the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in the Terms and Conditions of Use of the BioOne website. Vol. 33 • No. 1
Established grape vines usually consist of a major trunk with several older, dark colored vines extending outward on a trellis or arbor. After several years, the older vines may become too numerous and some of them may need to removed clear back where they are connected to the main trunk. Lighter colored vines extend from the main lines (and sometimes directly from the trunk). These lighter colored vines were produced last year. If most of these vines are allowed to remain, growth will become too thick and fruit will be limited because of lack of light. Some of them may need to be removed completely back to where they connect to the older, dark colored vines. Most of the lighter colored vines should be shortened to a few inches, leaving only 2 to 4 nodes where new shoots will grow. These nodes will produce flowers and fruit. By limiting the number of fruiting buds, vines produce larger clusters of grapes with larger fruits in the cluster. Some of these short vines may need to be tied to a wire or trellis to give them support. Shortly before harvest the lower leaves surrounding the grape bunches can be removed to provide better sun exposure. This helps to ripen the grapes and also improves air circulation, which helps to prevent disease infection.
Education Services home page > CensusAtSchool home page > Year 7 Resources CaSMa13 - The Statistical Cycle Year 7 \|You can download this activity, the teacher solutions and the assessment rubric as a rich text file (RTF) at the bottom of the page. Download our printer friendly Prepared Samples as Excel files or access data using the Random Sampler.\| Key Statistical Literacy Competencies Addressed - Data awareness - The ability to understand statistical concepts - The ability to analyse, interpret and evaluate statistical information - Communicating statistical information and understandings \|In this investigation students use the 5 step statistical cycle to design an investigation and use statistical displays and summary statistics to analyse CensusAtSchool data. The activity is designed to encompass all of the year 7 Data representation and interpretation content.\| - Spreadsheet software program - Pens and paper STEP 1: The Problem The first step when using the statistical cycle, is to decide on the topic of your investigation e.g. what is the ‘problem’ you will investigate? In this case your data must be numerical and compare the results of at least two distinct groups. For example: STEP 2: The Plan The second step in the cycle involves making the decisions about your data e.g. how big should your sample be? How will your sample be chosen? You also need to think about what you expect to find so that you are ready to talk about any unexpected results. \|What results do you expect to find? Write a sentence that predicts what you think the data will show you.\| \|Look at the CensusAtSchool questionnaire and write down which questions provide the data you need to complete your investigation. \| \|What sample size will you use? Explain your choice. \| STEP 3: The Data After defining your problem, and planning your investigation, the next step in the statistical investigation cycle is to organise the data so it is easy for you to interpret and for others to read. \|How did you collect and organise the data? \| HINT: The data comes as an Excel spread sheet. You can use the ‘Sort’ function in the data tab to order the data e.g. by year level, sex, height. This will make it easier to display the data. \|Did you use all the data or did you “clean it” to eliminate any obvious errors? Explain why you did/did not clean the data. If you did clean the data, how did you decide what data to ‘clean’?\| \|What level of accuracy is appropriate for this investigation? E.g. For very spread out data you may decide to arrange it so as to contain it in 6 - 10 groups. You may decide to round off your answers? Explain your decisions.\| \|How did you display the data? Explain your choice.\| STEP 4: The Analysis Once you have sourced the data to answer your investigation ‘problem’, the next step in the statistical cycle is to analyse what the data tell you. \|Produce and clearly display your data using summary statistics.\| HINT: Summary statistics are best displayed in a table. You will need to calculate the mean, median and range. You can do this in Excel by using the formulae "=average” and “=median” to calculate the mean and median. To calculate the mode use "=mode". You can choose to look at the mode or the modal range if your data are grouped. STEP 5: The Conclusion This is the final step of the statistical investigation cycle. At this stage of the cycle, you are using your summary statistics to sum up your findings about your investigation. This is also where you communicate your findings using appropriate statistical vocabulary. \|What is the answer to your original question? You will need to draw on your summary statistics from ‘Step 4’ to provide proof. \| \|What meaning can be taken from your results? Can your answers be generalised beyond your sample? How could your results be applied in real life? Where should they not be used, or, used with caution?\| Download the Activity This page last updated 12 November 2013
LISTA indexes more than 560 core journals, nearly 50 priority journals, and nearly 125 selective journals; plus books, research reports and proceedings. Subject coverage includes librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management and more. Coverage in the database extends back as far as the mid-1960s. Full-text articles from scholarly journals and literary magazines are combined with critical essays, work and topic overviews, full-text works, biographies, and more to provide a wealth of information on authors, their works, and literary movements. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography Contemporary Authors Contemporary Literary Criticism and related series. The national record of men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. The Dictionary offers concise, up-to-date biographies written by named, specialist authors. It is overseen by academic editors at Oxford University, UK, and published by Oxford University Press. The Oxford DNB now includes biographies of more than 58,326 men and women who died in or before the year 2008—plus 502 ‘Theme’ articles for reference and research. All material cataloged by OCLC member libraries including: books, manuscripts, websites & internet resources, maps, computer programs, musical scores, films & slides, newspapers, journals, magazines, sound recordings, articles, chapters, papers, videotapes. Over 179 million records representing materials from 1000 BCE to the present, many with online links to the fulltext. Updated daily.
A dramatic phone conversation. - The definition of dramatic is exciting or filled with emotion or energy. An example of dramatic is a teen talking about an exciting event from their school day. - Dramatic is defined as something that is like a play. An example of dramatic is a very emotional and acted-out reading of a poem. - Dramatic means something that is noticeable or sudden. - An example of dramatic is a change in the set up of a room. - An example of dramatic is a surprise win by a sports team. - of or connected with drama - having such characteristics of a drama as conflict or suspense - filled with action, emotion, or exciting qualities; vivid, striking, etc. - great, marked, strong, etc.: a dramatic increase in prices Origin of dramaticLate Latin dramaticus from Classical Greek dramatikos - Of or relating to drama or the theater. - Characterized by or expressive of the action or emotion associated with drama or the theater: a dramatic rescue. - Arresting or forceful in appearance or effect: a dramatic sunset. - Music Having a powerful, expressive singing voice: a dramatic tenor. Origin of dramaticLate Latin drāmaticus from Greek drāmatikos from drāma drāmat- drama ; see drama . (comparative more dramatic, superlative most dramatic) From Ancient Greek δραματικός (dramatikos), from δρᾶμα (drama, “drama, play”), from δράω (draō, “I do, accomplish”).
ALI YAVAR JUNG INST FOR HEARING HANDICAPPED ON-GOING PROJECTS of modified CROS hearing aid with indigenous technology for the benefit of persons with hearing 3. Know your hearing sensitivity online 4. Socio Economic Impact and Additional Cost Incurred in the Upbringing of Persons with Hearing Impairment in Deafness Gene Mutation in India (under Dept. of Bio-Technology, Govt. of India). 6. Early Identification and Intervention towards Inclusive Education of Children with Hearing Impairment (0-5 modified school text books for children with hearing impairment 8. A study of relationship between language development and academic performance in children with hearing 9. A Comparative study of stress and coping among parents of children with hearing impairment and normal 10. Preparation of Audio-Video CDs for Micro Teaching. 11. Development of Booklets and CD for Hindi Learning Package. 12. Gender differences in providing rehabilitation services to persons with hearing impairment 13. Follow up study of children 14. Standardization of Indian Adaptation of Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language- Pre sentence Level (GAEL-P) Test in Marathi". 15. Development of Software "Language Improvement Indicator" - An Educationally Relevant Written Language Assessment Tool to be used for Children with Hearing Impairment. 16. Development of Kit for Auditory Training for Speech titled "Home Auditory 17. Disabilityline for the Persons with Disabilities. 18. Brain Drain!... Is it affecting speech and hearing services in India. 19. Psycho-Social Problems of the Deaf 20. Cohort Study 21. Assessment of Etiological Factors for Conductive Hearing Loss in Municipal School Children
While some people blame their teeth for being more prone to cavities on genes, there usually remain other reasons for this tooth problem. Following are some of the factors that make you more likely to get cavities: If you have had cavities in the past, it makes sense why you are more likely to keep getting cavities until you make some changes for good. FREQUENT SUGAR CONSUMPTION: Sugar provides a great source of fermented carbohydrates to the bacteria, something they love and live for. Frequent sugar consumption results in these bacteria producing a surplus of cavity-causing acid that will eventually erode away the teeth. BAD FILLINGS AND/OR CROWNS: Poorly crowned or filled teeth facilitate the buildup of plaque and bacteria where you cannot reach during the brushing and flossing routine. Lack of saliva production in the mouth leads to it becoming dry, and this condition is medically known as xerostomia. A dry mouth encourages the buildup of bacteria and plaque, since food debris and acid are not properly washed away due to less saliva. These bacteria then feed on the food bits and sugars, converting them into acid plaque that leads to cavities. RADIATION TREATMENT AND CHEMOTHERAPY: Radiation treatment or chemotherapy in the neck or head area can decrease the salivary flow, leading to oral problems that amplify the risk of getting cavities. Although braces play a major role in straightening and beautifying your teeth, they can also simultaneously making them more prone to cavities. This is because braces make brushing harder and flossing nearly impossible. This improper oral hygiene routine eventually gives way to cavities. EXPOSED ROOT SURFACES: The root of the teeth gets exposed in case of receding gums, where the protective enamel coverage is absent. This leads to the dentin (which makes up the roots) dissolving at a higher PH in contrast to the enamel, which means that weak acids will eat away the roots and make the teeth more vulnerable to cavities. These are some of the reasons why you may have a higher risk of cavities.
Cotoneaster > Leaves > Curled or stunted leaves 1 of 2 - Patches of white, powdery or felt-like fungal patches on leaf surfaces - Leaves and shoots may be puckered or distorted - New leaves and shoots may be smaller than normal - Powdery white fungal growth may be present on ripened berries - Symptoms may develop over a single season, or over several years - More information on powdery mildew... 2 of 2 Woolly apple aphid - Feeding causes curled and stunted terminal leaves - Adults produce white waxy material and form cottony white colonies - Normally feed on new growth, but may be found feeding on new bark near wound sites - Produce large amounts of sticky honeydew that is colonized by sooty mold - More information on Woolly Apple Aphid...
Bombacaceae, the bombax or kapok family of flowering trees and shrubs, in the mallow order (Malvales), comprising 27 genera. It is allied to the mallow family (Malvaceae), to which the cotton plant belongs, and is characteristic of the tropics. Bombacaceae members’ flowers are often large and showy. The family includes: Adansonia digitata, the African baobab (q.v.); the genus Bombax with 8 species, including the red silk-cotton tree (B. ceiba); the genus Pseudobombax with 20 species, including the shaving-brush tree (P. ellipticum); and Ceiba, with 10 species, the fruits of which produce the kapok (q.v.) of commerce. Ochroma lagopus is the South American balsa (q.v.), noted for its very light wood, and the Malayan Durio zibethinus bears the noted durian (q.v.) fruit, remarkable for its distinctive odour and large size.
Valuation of ecosystem services is used to visualize and enhance understanding of human dependence on healthy ecosystems. Together with Anthesis Enveco and Belyazid Consulting & Communication, AquaBiota has identified, mapped and valued both marine and terrestrial ecosystem services in the coastal zone of Blekinge. The report’s main objective is to enhance understanding of those challenges and possibilities Blekinge needs to address for long-term sustainable development along the coast. This requires input from a variety of actors and trade-offs between different sectors and interests, including the values of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are valued based on their benefits to society, although the valuation process is more concerned with relative values than exact monetary assessments. In the report we discuss options for Blekinge to develop its coastal ecosystem services, and describe current threats. We also suggest measures to ensure and strengthen ecosystem services in Blekinge. Linc to report (in Swedish): Linus Hasselström, Jenny Wallström och Antonia Nyström Sandman 2017: Kartläggning av Blekingekustens ekosystemtjänster. Länsstyrelsen Blekinge län Rapport: 2017:23. In Swedish.
The objective: Ghent climate-robust by 2030 Climate change makes Ghent vulnerable to more and more intense heat waves, more extreme showers and longer droughts. That is also felt today. We must prepare our city for these change: keep them pleasant, liveable, healthy and safe for our residents, institutions and businesses. We have set an ambitious goal from the City: by 2030 we want to be climate-robust. One of the objectives is to make the underground of Ghent work like a sponge. A rain shower that occurs once every 20 years may not cause damage to buildings, roads or other urban infrastructure in Ghent, now and in the future. Water and greenery needs more space in the city Source measures are the most effective and most beneficial in the long term to intervene proactive on the consequences of climate change. This means that we must limit paving to the functional minimum, provide space for greenery and retain rainwater on site in winter as much as possible. are asking for more space for water and greenery at plot level, street level and neighbourhood le These measures are very drastic in a city where the competition for space is very high and many different societal challenges have to be tackled simultaneously. For example, we aim to pave the public domain by 15% less during the integral redevelopment. However, it is not easy for designers to balance the spatial questions linked to all kinds of societal challenges. We also set the bar high for new urban development projects. Keeping maximum precipitation in place requires at least 7% of the draining surface. Here too, this will require a creative design of the environment and the buildings in order to balance space for water and greenery. Ghent is working on the implementation of the vision memorandum 'Water in the City', which was drawn up together with De Vlaamse Waterweg (a Flemish agency responsible for rivers and canals. A number of thematic projects from 'Water in the City' contribute to climate adaptation, such as drawing up an integrated plan for the public domain with a vision on the integration of green and water elements that contribute to the sponge effect of the city and the drawing up of a rainwater plan, with a clear, coherent and future-oriented vision on (rain)water in the city. Ghent is also finalising a 'drought action plan' that will give guidance on how to act fast and effec1 in order to tackle drought issues related to climate change.
Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 56 / Number 2 / August 2009 / Pages 632-640 Laser Fusion-Fission Hybrid / Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 2) / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST18-8166 Molten salt with dissolved uranium is being considered for the Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion Fission Energy (LIFE) fission blanket as a backup in case a solid-fuel version cannot meet the performance objectives, for example because of radiation damage of the solid materials. Molten salt is not damaged by radiation and therefore could likely achieve the desired high burnup (>99%) of heavy atoms of 238U. A perceived disadvantage is the possibility that the circulating molten salt could lend itself to misuse (proliferation) by making separation of fissile material easier than for the solid-fuel case. The molten salt composition being considered is the eutectic mixture of 73 mol% LiF and 27 mol% UF4, whose melting point is 490°C. The use of 232Th as a fuel is also being studied. (232Th does not produce Pu under neutron irradiation.) The temperature of the molten salt would be ∼550°C at the inlet (60°C above the solidus temperature) and ∼650°C at the outlet. Mixtures of U and Th are being considered. To minimize corrosion of structural materials, the molten salt would also contain a small amount (∼1mol%) of UF3. The same beryllium neutron multiplier could be used as in the solid fuel case; alternatively, a liquid lithium or liquid lead multiplier could be used. Insuring that the solubility of Pu3+ in the melt is not exceeded is a design criterion. To mitigate corrosion of the steel, are fractory coating such as tungsten similar to the first wall facing the fusion source is suggested in the high-neutron-flux regions; and in low-neutron-flux regions, including the piping and heat exchangers, a nickel alloy, Hastelloy, would be used. These material choices parallel those made for the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) at ORNL. The nuclear performance is better than the solid fuel case. At the beginning of life, the tritium breeding ratio is unity and the plutonium plus 233U production rate is ∼0.6 atoms per 14.1 MeV neutron.
Frequently Asked Pediatric Dentistry Questions What is a Pediatric Dentist? A Pediatric Dentist specializes in caring for the oral health of children from infancy through the teen years. Two to three years of training beyond dental school prepares the Pediatric Dentist to care for behavior issues, fears and dental needs specific to childhood. They are trained to diagnose any abnormalities or growth issues related to the mouth and jaw that could possibly be corrected early on to avoid later problems. Besides the special training of the dentist, you will notice that the atmosphere in the Pediatric Dental office is well suited to making children feel comfortable and the vocabulary used to explain procedures, etc. is geared to kids (i.e. sleepy juice, sugar bugs, and Mr. Thirsty). Pediatric Dentists are also highly trained in caring for children with special needs. Why are baby (primary) teeth so important? It is a misconception that since baby teeth will fall out anyway, it is not important to take good care of them. This could not be further from the truth! Baby or primary teeth are important for proper chewing and eating as well as talking. Even though the front baby teeth only last for the first 6–7 years of age, the back teeth will not fall out until ages 10–13. Failure to care for your child’s primary teeth can lead to problems with their permanent teeth later on. Two very important purposes of the primary teeth are to hold space for and guide the permanent teeth into position and to permit the normal development of the jaw bones and muscles. When should I start brushing my baby’s teeth? As soon as your child’s first tooth erupts, you should begin daily brushing with water and a soft toothbrush made especially for little ones. A pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste can be used after your child is old enough to not swallow it. Even before and during early tooth eruption, it is a good idea to wipe your baby’s gums off after each feeding with a wet washcloth. When should my child visit the dentist for the first time? After your child’s first tooth erupts is a good time to think about your child’s first dental visit, but for sure by your child’s first birthday. A Pediatric Dentist will be able to evaluate your child’s mouth and teeth for proper development and give you information about oral hygiene for little ones. It is good for little children to experience the dental office in a positive, non-threatening way when they are young—before they might have any cavities or problems that might cause anxiety. What are other important ways to care for my child’s teeth? A great way to care for your child’s teeth, as well as overall health, is to make good food choices. That means a balanced diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetables, white milk, and other dairy foods. Limiting sugary foods will greatly help reduce the chance of cavities and other tooth related issues. If your child does drink juice and/or eat sugary snacks, be sure to brush their teeth or rinse their mouth with water afterward. What if my child has a toothache? Rinsing with warm, salty water and/or a dose of children’s pain reliever may give your child relief in the event of a toothache. If there is facial swelling along with tooth pain, ice packs or cold compresses may help reduce the inflammation. See your Pediatric Dentist as soon as possible if there is facial swelling, as this may be a sign of an infection. In either case, you will want your child to be seen by a dentist to make sure he/she does not have a cavity. What if my child chips a tooth? While a chipped or bumped tooth is not an emergency, you will want to take your child to see a dentist soon afterward because chipped teeth can have rough edges and it may be necessary for some sort of restoration to be done for comfort as well as appearance. The dentist can then also check to be sure that the tooth has not loosened from the impact. What if my child knocks a tooth out? Accidents happen. The important thing is to remain calm. If a tooth gets knocked out, the way you react can make a big difference. If the tooth is permanent, the roots may come out as well. If possible, find the tooth right away. Try to place the tooth back in the hole by holding the top part of the tooth (do not do this with a baby tooth as you could damage the permanent tooth below). Do not touch the roots. Place clean gauze or cloth over the injured tooth and have your child bite down. If this is not possible, place the tooth in milk or water and call Dr. Gonzo immediately. The shorter the period of time between the tooth being knocked out and reinsertion, the greater the chance of saving the tooth. Even if the tooth is a baby tooth, you will want your child to see Dr. Gonzo in the near future so that the space can be maintained for the future permanent tooth that will one day fill that spot. Call us at (920) 739-6808 with any dental emergencies, questions, or concerns. For more detailed answers or for answers to other questions please go to the website for the Academy of Pediatric Dentistry at www.aapd.org and look for Frequently Asked Questions and/or parent education brochures.
Extreme, catastrophic flood events like the one that swamped Louisiana last month are becoming more likely because of climate change, according to a hot-off-the-press analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The study found that the record rainfall responsible for last month’s epic floods—the worst natural disaster to hit the United States since superstorm Sandy—was made at least 40 percent more likely by global warming. The researchers arrived at that conclusion by applying a new but increasingly popular statistical approach called “weather attribution.” Details of the analysis, which is currently under peer review, can be found in the open-access journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. “We found human-caused, heat-trapping greenhouse gases can play a measurable role in events such as the August rains that resulted in such devastating floods, affecting so many people,” NOAA geophysicist Karin van der Wiel said in a statement. “While we concluded that 40 percent is the minimum increase in the chances of such rains, we found that the most likely impact of climate change is a near doubling of the odds of such a storm.” The no-name storm began around August 11th when a low-pressure air mass rumbled up the Gulf of Mexico, stalling out over the Louisiana coast for several days. As I explained at the time, a combination of high air and sea surface temperatures fed an incredible amount of moisture into this system—moisture that was then hauled inland and unleashed over neighborhoods from Baton Rouge to Livingston. Over several days, the storm dumped three times as much rainfall as Hurricane Katrina, with some locations receiving 20 inches of precipitation in just 48 hours. Rivers overflowed and flooding ensued. By August 17th, flood waters had claimed 13 lives, more than 30,000 people had been rescued, and over 60,000 homes suffered damage. For some, it’s easy to look at an event like this and pinpoint the fingerprints of climate change. After all, records show that the frequency of heavy downpours has increased along the Gulf Coast since the mid-20th century, which makes sense because a warmer atmosphere can hold and dump more water. And yet, the majority of meteorologists are still reticent to discuss climate change in their reporting, due to a combination of cultural and political factors, and the relative novelty of scientific research tying planet-wide changes to weather. That’s why the attribution studies now being done by NOAA and others are so critical. They are building a foundation that legitimizes the connection between extreme weather and climate change through statistics. In the new study, scientists at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and elsewhere examined the risk of devastating, three-day flood events along the central Gulf Coast from the early 20th century to the present. Observational data told the researchers that the frequency of extreme flooding had indeed increased in this part of the country. Using climate models, they were able to reproduce a similar uptick in flood frequency by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. That’s the attribution part. According to NOAA’s models, the odds of a Louisiana-like downpour drenching the central Gulf Coast have increased by at least 40 percent since 1900. It’s worth noting that changes in the frequency of heavy downpours are unlikely to be limited to the Gulf Coast. Climate models show that while some areas, notably the southwestern United States, are expected to become drier this century, others, including the midwest and Pacific Northwest, will likely see an uptick in the number of extreme rainfall days. The point of doing all this is not to arrive at some arcane statistical conclusion. It’s to help emergency responders, planners, and the public understand how weather risks are changing so that we, as a society, can be better prepared. The planet is changing whether we like it or not, and it’s time to adapt.
The spot is linked to the hippocampus, that is involved in storage. Alzheimer’s is certainly characterised by two elements: a build-up of amyloid-beta plaques in the mind, and a lack of neurons. CSIRO’s Preventative Wellness Flagship Theme Innovator, Dr Cassandra Szoeke, stated the puzzle for experts was that the elements of the brain that got shrunk because of neuron loss weren’t exactly like those showing elevated deposits of amyloid-beta. Using MRI scans to review Alzheimer’s disease-affected brain cells, the researchers discovered that shrinking of the hippocampus was connected with plaque deposits in the temporal inferior cortex. The outcomes indicate that the elevated accumulation of amyloid in the temporal inferior cortex disrupts connections with the hippocampus, evoking the neurons to die.For the entire future of life on the world perhaps. Here’s a few of what Jeffrey Smith says in this brand-new video: [GMO pollution causes] intense, insidious environmental degradation that may under no circumstances be able to end up being cleaned up. And similar to the oil spill, you can trace it back to authorities incompetence and collusion, and sector manipulation – – putting out technologies that are not safe a long time before the research is ready. What about the self-propagating genetic pollution? Once it gets out, it then spreads, and cross pollinates. It becomes a self-propagating pollution that could outlast the effects of global warming or nuclear waste materials. That is an impossible issue to clean up, and we are bequeathing to all upcoming generations the folly of the generation.
The Jervis Public Library Association was incorporated in 1894 by an act of the New York state legislature. The Association took its name from prominent American civil engineer John Bloomfield Jervis, who bequeathed funds, property, and his personal collection of books and papers for the purpose of founding a library facility for the citizens of his home town, Rome, NY. Although a downtown site for a new library building was debated, in the end it was decided that the Jervis homestead would make an ideal location for Rome's public library. Melvil Dewey, inventor of the famous Dewey Decimal System for classifying books, helped draft Jervis Library's bylaws. On July 15, 1895, Jervis Public Library was ready to open its doors. The community was filled with expectation. Gala opening ceremonies were held outside, amidst fine, warm weather. Addresses were given by prominent citizens; a chorus provided musical interludes. The ceremonies inaugurated what would become a major public information center in central New York. Well before the 10:00 a.m. opening the next day, a number of children had arrived to compete in a contest to see who would take out the first book. Thus began the history of Jervis Public Library. John B. Jervis, leading early American civil engineer and the library's founder, grew up in Rome (then called Fort Stanwix) in the early nineteenth century. He attended local public schools and was interested in higher education, but his family could not afford it. When the construction of the Erie Canal began in 1817, he was hired as an axeman. While working on this job he began an informal education as a civil engineer. By 1819 Jervis was resident engineer in charge of the canal's middle section. In four years he was superintendent of fifty miles of completed canal. In 1827 he became chief engineer on the Delaware and Hudson canal and railway system project. In both canal and railway engineering, Jervis was a supreme innovator. At a time when railroads were just beginning to appear in America, he drew plans for the "Stourbridge Lion," the first locomotive to run on this continent. He also invented the swiveling, four-wheel "bogie" truck, to keep the engine from jumping the track when rounding curves. Mr. Jervis was chief engineer of the Croton Aqueduct, the supplier of abundant fresh water to New York City and a major engineering feat of its time. He directed completion of the Croton Aqueduct Dam and the Harlem River High Bridge. Retiring to his home in Rome in 1866, he was active in organizing the Rome Iron Mill, of which he was a trustee until his death. John B. Jervis remained dedicated to intellectual pursuits, most prominently engineering and religion. Ten years after his death in 1885, his home became Rome's public library. His personal collection featuring rare early railroad, canal, and aqueduct documents is still housed within Jervis Public Library. When the library first opened, the collection was 8,500 volumes, plus many pamphlets, state and government publications, and other related materials. An annex was built in 1925 so the library could expand. In 1964, a modern library capable of housing 100,000 volumes was joined to the original Jervis house and annex. Further funds from endowment and the city were used in 1971 to enlarge the library's capacity to 150,000 volumes. In 1988 another addition, with elevator, was built to expand the library's main lobby and make accommodations for accessibility. The first librarian was Marjorie Elizabeth Beach, a former teacher, and a grandniece of John B. Jervis. In the early days, the library was open seven hours a day, Monday through Saturday, but the time open each day was divided into three intervals. The public areas of the library were furnished with polished oak bookcases and comfortable chairs. All patrons were asked to register their visits in a book provided. Both the card catalog and the adult book shelves were accessed by the librarian only. Children's books, however, were on open shelving. Members of the first Board of Trustees included Edward Comstock, Dr. W.J.P. Kingsley, W.D. Manro, and Dr. Thomas Macomb Flandreau. Mr. Comstock was the President of the first Board of Trustees. In 1881 and 1882 he had been Mayor of Rome. Dr. Kingsley was the Vice President of the first Board of Trustees. He was a medical doctor who in 1859 founded a hospital for the treatment of malignant growths. In Rome he also served as Mayor (from 1895 to 1899) and President of the Farmer's National Bank, which he helped organize. The first Secretary of the Board of Trustees was W.D. Manro, Superintendent of Schools in Rome. Dr. Thomas Macomb Flandreau, also a medical doctor, was not an officer of the first Board of Trustees, but was perhaps the most scholarly trustee. He spoke French and German fluently and wrote poetry. He also helped to found Rome Hospital. The second head librarian was Eugenie Stevens, who held this position from 1900 to 1921. She was one of several who helped Librarian Beach catalog the original collection and was promoted to the directorship from her position as Miss Beach's assistant. Miss Stevens experimented for a while with opening the library on Sundays. In Jervis Library's early years, funds were in short supply, and the library's growth was hampered by an austerity budget. A wave of improvements, however, hit the library during the early 1920's, including the building of the 1925 addition. At the forefront of many of these improvements was the library's energetic third librarian, Clara W. Bragg, who was in charge from 1922 to 1923. She was a dynamic, highly educated woman, who had studied literature and modern languages at Cornell University and had served as reference librarian at Columbia University. Under her direction, Jervis Library opened a branch in East Rome. From 1924 to 1958, Helen Salzman was the librarian. Coming to this position from several years' experience in other libraries, she had a very professional approach. She was constantly introducing improvements and innovations in areas ranging from instituting children's holiday story hours to devising a better system for reserving books. When the new addition to the library had been built in 1925, the old part of the library, in the Jervis house, was also remodeled and refurbished. In 1931, Henrietta Huntington Wright died and left to Jervis Library an estate, which, for the time, was considerable, and improved the library's funding. Miss Wright was a descendant of Benjamin Wright, John B. Jervis' supervisor during the construction of the Erie Canal. Fifth Director William A. Dillon, educated at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University, presided from 1958 until mid-1985, and spearheaded the transformation of the library into a major area cultural institution. Under Mr. Dillon, both the 1964 and 1971 additions were built to provide space for up to 150,000 volumes. Over the years the library's circulation rose continually. The depth of the library's collection was such that author Alex Haley (Roots; co-author The Autobiography of Malcolm X) completed various writing projects at Jervis and publicly praised the library. Director Dillon organized the library's collection of John B. Jervis papers and engineering drawings; acquired the Bright and Huntington Historic Papers which were microfilmed and made available to scholars; unearthed John B. Jervis' handwritten autobiography and guided it to publication as The Reminiscences of John B. Jervis: Engineer of the Old Croton, edited by Neal FitzSimons; and in the early 1980's began the library's automation. In 1990, Roman Dr. F. Daniel Larkin, noted scholar and historian, published Jervis' biography, John B. Jervis: An American Engineering Pioneer. Carole Fraser Fowler, educated at Colby and Douglas Colleges and Rutgers University, became Jervis' sixth Director in 1985 and was Director during the library's Centennial celebration. Her focuses until her retirement in 2005 included improving accessibility via the 1988 addition, and incorporating new technologies in order to access a wider range of information. Automated circulation of materials began in February 1986. Lisa M. Matte is the library's seventh director. She received her library degree from SUNY Albany in 1997, and joined Jervis Library as a reference librarian that year. In her tenure as librarian, Ms. Matte expanded the library's services to teens, forming a successful teen advisory group and creating the library's YAWeb website for teens. Her programs were recognized by the YALSA division of the American Library Association, and written about in a book about teen services in libraries. After a brief stint as Assistant Director, Ms. Matte became Director in 2005. She oversaw the project to upgrade the library's HVAC system in 2007, and seeks to expand the library's role as an information provider in the community. While Jervis Library remains committed to providing materials in traditional formats, computer technology and the Internet have revolutionized the library like nothing since the Dewey Decimal System. Computer automation has improved circulation and information services and increased the efficiency of record retention, communications, and office work. At a time when information is rapidly exceeding the bounds of print, access to the Internet is of critical importance to those the library serves. Jervis Library is proud to have earned Library Leader status, awarded by the NYS Education Department and Board of Regents to libraries that provide the highest levels of access to the Internet and electronic resources. Internet access computers are in constant use by children, teens, and adults. Jervis will continue to strive to meet the changing needs of its patrons by providing an increasing array of other technology-based services beyond the Internet, including word processing for all ages, computer printouts at a nominal fee, a collection of circulating computer software and multimedia titles, and a website through which many of the library’s unique resources may be accessed without the need to visit the library building. The library acknowledges its role in introducing and assisting people with the technology it provides through its professional librarians, who offer periodic computer orientation and Internet training classes, and who assist and guide people in using library computers one-on-one as time permits. As Jervis Library moves ahead in its second century, it is financially challenged by the increasing demands for electronic and telecommunications services while, at the same time, demand for traditional services shows little decline. Fortunately, thus far, the bulk of the library's hardware and software automation costs has been borne by grants, gifts, donations, and bequests. In addition to providing information, research resources, education, and creative use of leisure time, the library sponsors many special services, including adult lectures, author visits & book discussion series, and numerous teen and children's programs, activities and events. Jervis’ Youth Advisory Committee, a volunteer group of teens, helps the library respond to the needs of its young patrons. Through parallel development of both traditional services and technology, Jervis Library continuously seeks to expand its vistas and capabilities to meet the challenges of the next 100 years. This page updated 1/09. PAC
I can't help it. As a onetime English major and teacher of the same and as a writer, teacher, and sometime editor, I can't not notice errors in writing. And they're everywhere. Sometimes they're just typos--any errors you notice in this piece are typos, by the way--but usually they're the result of the writer's having heard a particular usage rather than having read it. I'm talking about homophones-- words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. A few days ago I read a piece in which someone said he called a contractor he was having a problem with and "raised cane." I immediately thought of someone hoeing sorghum or sugar cane, though I knew what the angry person meant to say was "raised Cain"--an expression that means caused a ruckus and implies that one is resurrecting the spirit of the biblical Cain--the first murderer. The person who wrote he'd raised cane probably wouldn't be fazed by a nit-picky old lady. And he'd probably spell fazed wrong--phased or phazed are two popular variations. Then there's the expression to give free reign. Sounds plausible, as if one were giving the right to reign over something. Except that the correct phrase is to give free rein -- as in holding the reins loosely so that a horse can go at its own pace. And speaking of horses, what happened to Whoa--the traditional command to stop a horse? It's also used for people, as in "Hold your horses" and as an expression of amazement, as in "Whoa, I didn't see that coming!" But more and more people are writing Woah, which, to me, should rhyme with Noah (like Cain, another biblical character.) Oh well, horses and biblical knowledge and correct usage are so yesterday. Kinda like me.
A Christmas Eve Contemplation – What We Don’t See by Christina Carson In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking: Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage. So goes the Bible in the traditional Christmas story. A far more mystical account of these men and their star-led journey is preserved in an eighth-century C.E. Syriac manuscript held in the Vatican Library. But since we live in an age where mystical experiences are too often regarded as lunatic babbling, we miss out on the possibility that the intelligence of the universe may be the sanest of all. Lucky for us some great magi of contemporary science imagined and created the Hubble telescope so that the utter awe the universe has to offer is not lost on us. For in 1996, a group of scientists having secured their perhaps, once in a lifetime chance to use the Hubble, a telescope that orbits beyond earth’s distorting atmosphere, took the risk of pointing it at an utterly empty bit of space near the big dipper, an area the size of a grain of sand held at arm’s length. They opened its magic window to the worlds beyond and for ten days collected the photons travelling toward us from outer space. The photons’ light was quite feeble, for as it turned out, they had been travelling for 13 billion years before ending up in Hubble’s detectors. But what they revealed, which to us on earth looked like no more than a black, empty spot in our sky, was the existence of 3,000 galaxies, each one containing hundreds of billions of stars. In 2004, after several years of refining and improving Hubble, the great telescope was again pointed toward another bit of empty sky this time near Orion. For 11 days, Hubble opened its astronomic arms to photons travelling toward earth. Even more light was gathered, and this particular spot of blackness in our sky was seen to contain 10,000 galaxies (the ultra-deep field), this light having left its source when our galaxy was only 500 million years old. The Syriac manuscript depicts the magi as a group of mystical monks perhaps living in China, descendants of Seth, the righteous third son of Adam. Their story was of a star that not only shone in the heavens, but descended to earth as a star-child that assisted them on their terribly long journey to Jerusalem where the star then reappeared as the luminous child of light we call Jesus. I accept both the Hubble and the magi’s experience as fantastic accounts our cosmos has gifted us with: an empty black space in our sky that actually contains 10,000 galaxies each consisting hundreds of billions of stars and a star-child, a being of light who ultimately offers us a view of our cosmos as an experience of Oneness that science has only now stumbled into as quantum reality. Rumi says in one of his many poetic attempts to inform us of a reality most know little about: When we have totally surrendered to that beauty, We shall be a mighty kindness. And is not a star-child at least as beautiful a notion as hundreds of billions of stars that are there in our sky we cannot see? Your heart will show you the star-child; Hubble will let you view the ultra-deep field. Both forms of intelligence are necessary to living successfully in this universe. And yet, Dostoevsky contends: Mankind will be saved by beauty. And is it not the heart that tends to notice beauty first? I welcome you to this group of ponderers. Subscribe if you dare. If you are already receiving this via email, but prefer to read it on line, click here.
Pittsburgh’s love of fireworks is well documented. Whether it is Light Up Night or the nation’s biggest fireworks day, the Fourth of July, the Steel City excels in lighting up the sky with pyrotechnics. According to KDKA, there are at least 20 firework displays that will explode across the Allegheny County sky Thursday night if the weather cooperates. But with the annual celebration coming on the heels of a few weeks of particularly bad news about Pittsburgh’s air quality, the question should be raised: Are fireworks making things worse for a city with some of the worst air quality in America? Albert Presto, an associate research professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s mechanical engineering department and an atmospheric pollution expert, says the answer is yes, but only in the short term. Fireworks do release harmful fine particulate matter, which has been linked to health problems like asthma and heart attacks, into the atmosphere when they burn. But the amount released by a fireworks show isn’t significant enough to be a cause for worry, Presto says. “The way a firework works, the reason it’s sparkling is that you’re burning something. There’s usually metal in the firework, and that’s what causes the colors, as the metal gets really hot,” says Presto. “So you get a little bit of particulate matter from shooting off fireworks, but it’s not a big concentration change.” A 2015 study in the journal Atmospheric Environment found that levels of particulate matter across the U.S. increased by an average of 42 percent on July 4. Out of 315 air quality monitoring sites studied, 10 recorded a level of particulate matter deemed “dangerous” by the EPA after Independence Day celebrations. An EPA statement issued in response to the study recommended sensitive groups sit upwind from fireworks. “Short-term exposure to fine particle pollution (hours to days) can pose health concerns, especially for groups of people more sensitive to PM2.5 [particulate matter] pollution,” the EPA wrote. “So we caution those people to enjoy fireworks from a distance, and from upwind, to reduce their exposure.” “You get a little bit of particulate matter from shooting off fireworks, but it’s not a big concentration change.” EPA data from the past two years shows that although most monitoring stations in Allegheny County recorded increases in particulate matter in the air around July 4 and 5, the change was a small one. The levels on those days stayed within the EPA’s 24-hour standard, meaning the air quality was not affected significantly. Compared to the December fire at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works plant, which likely contributed to numerous pollution spikes that exceeded EPA standards in Allegheny County, the impact of fireworks on Pittsburgh’s air quality appears small and brief. Long-term polluters like the Coke Works plant have a greater effect on health issues, like childhood asthma rates, according to a Duquesne University study. While Pittsburgh might avoid wide-scale pollution from fireworks, more densely populated areas aren’t so lucky. Celebratory fireworks set off in Delhi during Diwali festivities frequently leave the Indian city coated in thick, unhealthy smog. India’s supreme court banned firecracker sales ahead of the festival in 2017, but couldn’t prevent a night of fireworks that caused air pollution levels to rocket to 18 times the healthy limit. Still, Presto reiterates that no one in Pittsburgh really needs to worry about their respiratory health when they go to a fireworks show. “How long is a fireworks show?” Presto asks. “Half an hour, an hour? Even if it’s one hour out of every week, like on the Pittsburgh scale of fireworks-happiness, it’s not really going to push the needle that much.”
Today’s climate models predict a 50 percent increase in lightning strikes across the United States during this century as a result of warming temperatures associated with climate change. Reporting in the Nov. 14 issue of the journal Science, UC Berkeley climate scientist David Romps and his colleagues look at predictions of precipitation and cloud buoyancy in 11 different climate models and conclude that their combined effect will generate more frequent electrical discharges to the ground. “With warming, thunderstorms become more explosive,” said Romps, an assistant professor of earth and planetary science and a faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “This has to do with water vapor, which is the fuel for explosive deep convection in the atmosphere. Warming causes there to be more water vapor in the atmosphere, and if you have more fuel lying around, when you get ignition, it can go big time.” More lightning strikes mean more human injuries; estimates of people struck each year range from the hundreds to nearly a thousand, with scores of deaths. But another significant impact of increased lightning strikes would be more wildfires, since half of all fires — and often the hardest to fight — are ignited by lightning, Romps said. More lightning also would likely generate more nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, which exert a strong control on atmospheric chemistry. While some studies have shown changes in lightning associated with seasonal or year-to-year variations in temperature, there have been no reliable analyses to indicate what the future may hold. Romps and graduate student Jacob Seeley hypothesized that two atmospheric properties — precipitation and cloud buoyancy — together might be a predictor of lightning, and looked at observations during 2011 to see if there was a correlation. “Lightning is caused by charge separation within clouds, and to maximize charge separation, you have to loft more water vapor and heavy ice particles into the atmosphere,” he said. “We already know that the faster the updrafts, the more lightning, and the more precipitation, the more lightning.” Precipitation — the total amount of water hitting the ground in the form of rain, snow, hail or other forms — is basically a measure of how convective the atmosphere is, he said, and convection generates lightning. The ascent speeds of those convective clouds are determined by a factor called CAPE — convective available potential energy — which is measured by balloon-borne instruments, called radiosondes, released around the United States twice a day. “CAPE is a measure of how potentially explosive the atmosphere is, that is, how buoyant a parcel of air would be if you got it convecting, if you got it to punch through overlying air into the free troposphere,” Romps said. “We hypothesized that the product of precipitation and CAPE would predict lightning.” Using U.S. Weather Service data on precipitation, radiosonde measurements of CAPE and lightning-strike counts from the National Lightning Detection Network at the University of Albany, State University of New York (UAlbany), they concluded that 77 percent of the variations in lightning strikes could be predicted from knowing just these two parameters. “We were blown away by how incredibly well that worked to predict lightning strikes,” he said. They then looked at 11 different climate models that predict precipitation and CAPE through this century and are archived in the most recent Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). CMIP was established as a resource for climate scientists, providing a repository of output from global climate models that can be used for comparison and validation. “With CMIP5, we now have for the first time the CAPE and precipitation data to calculate these time series,” Romps said. On average, the models predicted an 11 percent increase in CAPE in the U.S. per degree Celsius rise in global average temperature by the end of the 21st century. Because the models predict little average precipitation increase nationwide over this period, the product of CAPE and precipitation gives about a 12 percent rise in cloud-to-ground lightning strikes per degree in the contiguous U.S., or a roughly 50 percent increase by 2100 if Earth sees the expected 4-degree Celsius increase (7 degrees Fahrenheit) in temperature. This assumes carbon dioxide emissions keep rising consistent with business as usual. Exactly why CAPE increases as the climate warms is still an area of active research, Romps said, though it is clear that it has to do with the fundamental physics of water. Warm air typically contains more water vapor than cold air; in fact, the amount of water vapor that air can “hold” increases exponentially with temperature. Since water vapor is the fuel for thunderstorms, lightning rates can depend very sensitively on temperature. In the future, Romps plans to look at the distribution of lightning-strike increases around the U.S. and also explore what lightning data can tell climatologists about atmospheric convection. Romps’ co-authors are Jacob Seeley, also of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley, and David Vollaro and John Molinari of the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at UAlbany. The work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research and Office of Biological and Environmental Research, and the National Science Foundation.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world. About one million patients are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, and more than half a million die from this disease. Detection methods for diagnosis of colorectal cancer: human fecal occult blood reaction test (FOB), large intestine double illumination test, large intestine endoscopy, etc. The clinical trial results obtained through the comprehensive detection of human fecal occult blood reaction can reduce the mortality caused by colorectal cancer. The traditional method for detecting fecal occult blood is the chemical method, is the hemoglobin in the peroxidase activity sensitive guaiac wood fat stool fob rapid test (Guaiac-FOB test). However, guaiac-fob test is non-specific to human hemoglobin and has low sensitivity to the clinical significance of colorectal cancer. In order to solve this problem, the method fob rapid test which adopts monoclonal antibody with specific reaction to human hemoglobin is used. When the digestive tract hemorrhages, the red blood cells in the blood are digested, decomposed and destroyed, and the feces contain bleeding that cannot be proved by the naked eye and microscope, which is called fecal occult blood. There are many diseases such as colorectal cancer, colitis, peptic ulcer disease early without symptoms, which only have fecal occult blood. Biochemtron fob rapid test adopts high specificity antibody antigen reaction and immunochromatography and test human hemoglobin in feces in double antibody sandwich method. The test results are got in 5 minutes. It has very high accuracy in detecting lower gastrointestinal bleeding.
Your body is transparentized in a virtual environment A Ph.D. candidate, Ryota Kondo, and Professor Michiteru Kitazaki at Toyohashi University of Technology, in cooperation with Professor Masahiko Inami at the University of Tokyo, Associate Professor Maki Sugimoto, and Associate Professor Kouta Minamizawa at Keio University have found that the visual-motor synchronicity of only the hands and feet can induce a sense of illusory ownership over an invisible body interpolated between virtual hands and feet. It can provide the illusory ownership over the invisible body at a distance, or enable the operation of one's own transparentized body in a virtual environment. Illusory body ownership can be induced by visual-tactile synchronicity such as the rubber hand illusion (passive method) and by visual-motor synchronicity such as the full-body illusion (active method). These methods enable us to communicate in cyberspace as well as in real environments. Virtual reality technology enables us to experience the illusory ownership of bodies of different shapes, sizes, genders, ages, etc. The illusory ownership of an invisible body in a first-person perspective has been realized with the passive method, and it reduces social anxiety to an audience (Guterstam, Abdulkarim & Ehrsson, Sci. Rep. 2015). However, it is not clear whether the ownership of an invisible and dynamic body can be obtained at a distance. Currently, researchers at Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, in collaboration with the researchers at the University of Tokyo and Keio University, have developed a new method to induce a sense of illusory ownership over an invisible body by focusing on the body action. They presented only the gloves and socks two meters in front of and away from the participants using a head-mounted display (Figure 1, left). Twenty naïve volunteers answered a questionnaire after a five-minute observation with free body actions. The motion of the gloves and socks were synchronized or asynchronized with the participant's action. The illusory body ownership was rated higher when the virtual gloves and socks moved synchronously with their own movements than the asynchronous condition. They felt as if their own had become increasingly transparent when the motion was synchronized as compared to when the motion was asynchronized. The experiments showed that the illusory ownership of the invisible body was not significantly different from the visible whole body (Figure 1, right), and that the proprioceptive self-location drifted toward the invisible body that was at a distance in front of the participants. Ryota Kondo, a graduate student of the Program of Leading Graduate School at Toyohashi University of Technology said, "I want to create experiences of illusory ownership of various bodies. A person may have a negative feeling with his/her body, and he/she may want to have a different body from his/her current body. Virtual reality technology offers us the opportunities to have the different bodies that we desire." Professor Michiteru Kitazaki, a perceptual psychologist and the leader of the research at Toyohashi University of Technology explained, "Human behaviors and mind would change when they have the illusory ownership of different bodies. Thus, we must investigate how our communication would differ in the future society if our body ownership and appearance could be significantly modified during the course of our daily lives." These findings suggest that we can own a distant invisible body only from our hands and feet. It is useful to show complex body skills to another person and in turn he/she can imitate them for learning because the invisible/transparentized body scarcely occludes the scene, and the body ownership may facilitate skill learning. Human communication is affected by body gestures and appearance. This study proposes the idea that our communication would change and might become body-appearance free in the future if we could have different bodies daily in cyberspace. Reference: Kondo, R., Sugimoto, M., Minamizawa, K., Hoshi, T., Inami, M. and Kitazaki, M. (2018). Illusory body ownership of an invisible body interpolated between virtual hands and feet via visual-motor synchronicity. Scientific Reports, 8. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-25951-2 (15th May 2018) Funding: This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (15H01701) and Grant-in-Aid for challenging Exploratory Research (16K12477) by JSPS, MEXT, Japan. Toyohashi University of Technology 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tempaku Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, 441-8580, JAPAN Inquiries: Committee for Public Relations E-mail: [email protected] Toyohashi University of Technology was founded in 1976 as a National University of Japan, and is a leading research institute in the fields of mechanical engineering, advanced electronics, information sciences, life sciences, and architecture. Website: http://www.tut.ac.jp/english/ Related Journal Article
“Never feel shame for trying and failing, for he who never failed is he who never tried.” – Og Mandino Art Foundations: Ellipses - 1.4 create, and solve 2-Point Perspective ELLIPSE drawings using 1.4.1 analysis (breaking up the subject matter to basic elements) Review with neighbors the RULES of THUMB and discuss the Differences in one and two point perspective. How did you BREAK THE RULES in the drawing of the ellipse? Advanced Drawing: Crit. 1 more and Hallway Drawing - 2.6 create multiple solutions to visual challenges that show understanding in relationships between composition and meaning of artwork (how do we know the importance of the space you are choosing?) What was the success in today’s drawing? What was the challenge? Back out tomorrow for ROUGH drawings POLISH the Thumbnails. AP Studio Art: WORK on Conc. #2 - 1.4 create and define, visual challenges (your concentrations) using 1.4.1 analysis (breaking up the artwork / subject matter to basic elements) - 3.3 describe the creation of images and ideas and explain why they are of value (ANSWER your AP Statement in the COMMENTS SECTION NOW!) What is your plan for the ENTIRE body of work? What is your plan for your second work (Due Monday).
Definition of Gather 1. Noun. Sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching. 2. Verb. Assemble or get together. "Pull your thoughts together" Specialized synonyms: Marshal, Mobilise, Mobilize, Summon, Rake, Glean, Harvest, Reap, Club, Hive, Salvage, Scavenge, Come Up, Muster, Muster Up, Rally, Summon, Round Up, Cull, Pick, Pluck, Nut, Snail, Bird-nest, Birdnest, Nest, Oyster, Sponge, Pearl, Clam, Shock, Heap Up, Pile Up, Stack Up Derivative terms: Collecting, Collection Also: Gather Up 3. Noun. The act of gathering something. Generic synonyms: Aggregation, Assembling, Collecting, Collection Specialized synonyms: Centralisation, Centralization, Harvest, Harvest Home, Harvesting 4. Verb. Collect in one place. "The crowds gather in the streets"; "Let's gather in the dining room" Specialized synonyms: Aggroup, Group, Meet, Congregate, Hive, Fort, Fort Up, Convene, Clump, Cluster, Constellate, Flock, Crowd, Crowd Together, Converge, Turn Out, Caucus, Club Related verbs: Come Across, Encounter, Meet, Run Across, Run Into, See Generic synonyms: Interact Derivative terms: Assemblage, Assemblage, Gathering, Gathering, Meeting, Meeting 5. Verb. Collect or gather. "The crowds gather in the streets"; "The work keeps piling up" Generic synonyms: Increase Specialized synonyms: Backlog, Accrete, Drift Derivative terms: Accumulation, Accumulative, Accumulative, Conglomeration, Conglomeration, Cumulation, Cumulative, Cumulus, Gathering 6. Verb. Conclude from evidence. "I gather you have not done your homework" 7. Verb. Draw together into folds or puckers. Generic synonyms: Run Up, Sew, Sew Together, Stitch Derivative terms: Gathering, Pucker, Tuck, Tucker 8. Verb. Get people together. "They want to gather the prisoners "; "Gather the close family members" Causes: Assemble, Foregather, Forgather, Meet Specialized synonyms: Make Derivative terms: Assemblage, Assemblage, Gathering, Gathering, Get Together 9. Verb. Draw and bring closer. "She gathered her shawl around her shoulders" 10. Verb. Look for (food) in nature. "Our ancestors gathered nuts in the Fall" 11. Verb. Increase or develop. "The car gathers speed" Definition of Gather 1. v. t. To bring together; to collect, as a number of separate things, into one place, or into one aggregate body; to assemble; to muster; to congregate. 2. v. i. To come together; to collect; to unite; to become assembled; to congregate. 3. n. A plait or fold in cloth, made by drawing a thread through it; a pucker. Definition of Gather 1. Verb. To collect; normally separate things. ¹ 2. Verb. To bring parts of a whole closer. ¹ 3. Verb. To infer or conclude; to know from a different source. ¹ 4. Verb. (intransitive medicine of a boil or sore) To be filled with pus ¹ 5. Verb. (glassblowing) To collect molten glass on the end of a tool. ¹ 6. Noun. A plait or fold in cloth, made by drawing a thread through it; a pucker. ¹ 7. Noun. The inclination forward of the axle journals to keep the wheels from working outward. ¹ 8. Noun. The soffit or under surface of the masonry required in gathering. See gather (transitive verb). ¹ 9. Noun. (context: glassblowing) A piece of molten glass colected on the end of a blowpipe. ¹ ¹ Source: wiktionary.com Definition of Gather 1. to bring together into one place or group [v -ED, -ING, -S] Medical Definition of Gather 1. 1. To come together; to collect; to unite; to become assembled; to congregate. "When small humors gather to a gout." (Pope) "Tears from the depth of some divine despair Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes." (Tennyson) 2. To grow larger by accretion; to increase. "Their snowball did not gather as it went." (Bacon) 3. To concentrate; to come to a head, as a sore, and generate pus; as, a boil has gathered. 4. To collect or bring things together. "Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strewed." (Matt. Xxv. 26) 1. To bring together; to collect, as a number of separate things, into one place, or into one aggregate body; to assemble; to muster; to congregate. "And Belgium's capital had gathered them Her beauty and her chivalry." (Byron) "When he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together." (Matt. Ii. 4) 2. To pick out and bring together from among what is of less value; to collect, as a harvest; to harvest; to cull; to pick off; to pluck. "A rose just gathered from the stalk." (Dryden) "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (Matt. Vii. 16) "Gather us from among the heathen." (Ps. Cvi. 47) 3. To accumulate by collecting and saving little by little; to amass; to gain; to heap up. "He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor." (Prov. Xxviii. 8) "To pay the creditor . . . He must gather up money by degrees." (Locke) 4. To bring closely together the parts or particles of; to contract; to compress; to bring together in folds or plaits, as a garment; also, to draw together, as a piece of cloth by a thread; to pucker; to plait; as, to gather a ruffle. "Gathering his flowing robe, he seemed to stand In act to speak, and graceful stretched his hand." (Pope) 5. To derive, or deduce, as an inference; to collect, as a conclusion, from circumstances that suggest, or arguments that prove; to infer; to conclude. "Let me say no more Gather the sequel by that went before." (Shak) 6. To gain; to win. "He gathers ground upon her in the chase." (Dryden) 7. To bring together, or nearer together, in masonry, as where the width of a fireplace is rapidly diminished to the width of the flue, or the like. 8. To haul in; to take up; as, to gather the slack of a rope. To be gathered to one's people, or to one's fathers to die. To gather breath, to recover normal breathing after being out of breath; to get breath; to rest. To gather one's self together, to collect and dispose one's powers for a great effort, as a beast crouches preparatory to a leap. To gather way, to begin to move; to move with increasing speed. Origin: OE. Gaderen, AS. Gaderian, gadrian, fr. Gador, geador, together, fr. Gaed fellowship; akin to E. Good, D. Gaderen to collect, G. Gatte husband, MHG. Gate, also companion, Goth. Gadiliggs a sister's son. See Good, and cf. Together. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) Click the following link to bring up a new window with an automated collection of images related to the term: Gather Images Lexicographical Neighbors of Gather Literary usage of Gather Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature: 1. The Complete Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott by Walter Scott (1900) "gather, gather, gather, etc. Our signal for fight, that from monarchs we drew, Ii ust be heard but by night in our vengeful haloo ! ..." 2. The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: Translated Out of by Robert M. Hartley, American Bible Society, Wightman family (1875) "44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. food treasure of his heart ..." 3. Sermons by Phillips Brooks (1896) "But he said, ' Nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.' "—MATTHEW xiii. 29. ..."
Ecosystem root respiration in sugar maple forests increases with temperature within populations but not across populations: Results of a range-wide study Common temperate tree species, such as sugar maple, have geographic ranges that encompass tremendous natural variation in climate. Understanding the local adaptations that occur in response to these climatic differences could improve our understanding of potential large-scale responses to climatic warming. Root respiration typically increases exponentially with temperature within a location and species, but there are little data regarding how this response may vary among populations and the mechanisms controlling population differences. Our objective was to determine how carbon allocated to sugar maple root respiration varies with local climate at sixteen sugar maple dominated sites in the central U.S. The sites span 10 degrees of latitude, across which mean annual temperature increases from 4 to 14 oC. Fine-root (<1 mm) biomass and respiration at ambient soil temperature were measured during June, July, and September, 2014. Ecosystem fine-root respiration was estimated as the product of specific fine-root respiration and biomass. Models often allow plant tissue respiration to increase exponentially with temperature, with a Q10 of 2. This would imply 85% greater specific respiration rates at the southern sites than at the northern sites in July, when soil temperatures increased from 11.3 to 21.0 oC from north to south. Within each of the locations, root respiration rates were greater for sampling dates with warmer soil temperature. Across sites, however, root respiration did not increase from cooler to warmer locations for any of the three sampling periods, and were actually slightly lower at the southernmost sites (P = 0.01) in July, despite soil temperatures nearly 10 oC warmer than northern sites. This was associated with decreases in fine root N concentration (P = 0.003) and metabolic capacity (P < 0.001) from north to south. Fine-root biomass also decreased (P < 0.001) from north to south, which contributed to lower ecosystem fine root-respiration at the warmer, southern sites (P < 0.001). It is not known if these differences among sites are a plastic response to environmental conditions that all sugar maple are capable of or if they are the result of genetically different ecotypes, tightly adapted to local climate, occurring at each site. If the former is true, climatic warming will have little impact on belowground C allocation across sugar maple’s range. If the latter is true, ecosystem root respiration would increase greatly at all locations, potentially altering ecosystem carbon balance and productivity.
Literally Loving Linked Lists LOL In this project, your team will implement a sentineled doubly-linked list. Recall that a linked list is composed of Node objects that are linked together. This means that we will need to create two classes in this implementation. One class will represent the Nodes of data and how they are linked together. The other class will represent the actual Linked List, defining methods for adding and removing elements, creating a string representation of the object, and obtaining its length. We have discussed a variety of methods for inserting and removing values in a linked list. This project will use index-based addressing. Recall from our studies of arrays that index zero identifies the location of the first datum. This approach also means that the maximum valid index is one less than the length of the sequence. We will replicate that indexing paradigm here. Note that index zero identifies the first Node object that contains data, and not the header. Neither the header nor the trailer has Your implementation should support the following methods, keeping in mind that the words index, head, and tail are used descriptively only and should not appear as attributes of either class: append_element(self, val) This method should increase the size of the list by one, adding the specified value in the new tail position. This is the only way to add a value as the tail. insert_element_at(self, val, index) If the provided index identifies a valid zero-based position within the list, then insert the specified value at that position, increasing the length by one. This method can be used to insert at the head of a non-empty list, but cannot append to a list. The provided index must be within the current bounds of the list. If the index is not valid, raise an IndexError exception. remove_element_at(self, index) If the provided index identifies a valid zero-based position within the list, then remove and return the value stored in a Node at that position. If the index is not valid, raise an get_element_at(self, index) If the provided index identifies a valid zero-based position within the list, then obtain the value from the Node at that position and return it. Do not unlink the Node object. If the index is not valid, raise an IndexError exception. rotate_left(self) Without constructing any new node objects and without returning anything, rotate the list left so that each node moves one position earlier than it was and the original head becomes the new tail. The length of the list should not change. If the list is empty, this method has no effect. __len__(self) Return the number of values currently stored in the list. __str__(self) Return a string representation of the values currently stored in the list. An empty list should appear as [ ] (note the single space). A list with one integer object should appear as [ 5 ] (note the spaces inside the brackets). A list with two integer objects should appear as [ 5, 7 ], and so on. Pay close attention to the format of this string, and remember that strings can be concatenated with the + operator. To convert other objects to strings, use str(other_object). As long as the class for the other object implements the __str__() method, this approach will work. __iter__(self) See "Iterators" below. __next__(self) See "Iterators" below. In lecture, we have silently ignored bad method calls (such as requesting the value of an index that is equal to or greater than the length of the list) by detecting that condition at the beginning of the method and returning. In practice, it is better to inform the programmer that her request was invalid, and allow her to handle the problem. The mechanisms for achieving this are called exceptions and try blocks. When you detect an error condition, instead of returning, raise the appropriate exception using the syntax When the programmer calls a method that could potentially generate an exception, she does so in what we call a try block. Suppose she calls a method that could raise a ValueError. Her code to invoke that method would have to look like this: my_object = Awesome_Class() asplode = random.randint(1,10) print("whew... made it.") print("on the other side.") Perhaps the dangerous_call(num) method raises a ValueError if the value of num is 5, and raises no exception otherwise. Because asplode is equally likely to be one of ten values (one through ten, inclusive) in the example above, she will get with 90% whew... made it. on the other side. or with 10% probability (when asplode is the one of ten possible values, the value 5, that is problematic) on the other side. Each method in your Linked List class that takes an index as a parameter should raise an IndexError (this type is built-in to Python) if the provided index is out of bounds. For our implementation, indices that are either too large or negative should be A common mistake when implementing exceptions is where to place the try/except sequence. If a method is dangerous, it should only raise an exception. The location in the code that called the dangerous method should have done so in a try block so that it can catch any exception that the method raises. Do not include a try/except sequence in the method itself. One thing that we have mentioned briefly during lecture that is relevant to this project is the concept of inner classes. We already know that the Linked List implementation will employ objects of a Node class, so these two classes will be working together. An important point, though, is that the end user of the Linked List doesn't actually see Nodes. Think back to arrays for a moment; when you use an array, you don't actually see the cells that store the data. You see and interact with the data themselves. The same will be true for Linked Lists. The person using your list implementation doesn't actually care about Nodes. All she cares about is that her data are stored in the list. Because of this, it is not necessary (or even desirable) for the Node class to be exposed to the world. It should only be used internally by the Linked List implementation methods. When a user inserts data into the list, she provides the data as an object of whatever type she is storing. If she is dealing with integers, she will insert the number 5, not a Node containing the number 5. The use of a Node object to encapsulate the value 5 is completely internal to the Linked List and is never exposed. To help provide this encapsulation, your solution should implement the Node class itself as a private member of the Linked List class. By marking the class private (with two leading underscores) and implementing it inside of the Linked List class, we indicate that it should only be used internally to Linked Lists. The concept is similar to private attributes, but instead of being declared as self.__attr_name inside of the constructor, the inner class is defined at the same level as the methods. This means that even if the Node attributes are public (and they must be because of how Python implements privacy), only the Linked List methods can reach them. This is a desirable Using the method get_element_at(index), we could visit every node in the list by looping through all of the valid indices. The problem with that approach is that instead of linear time performance, we have quadratic time. Notice that the get_element_at(index) method is linear. It must do a current-walk to reach position index, which is at the tail position in the worst case. Retrieving the first element will take 1 step; retrieving the second element will take 2 steps. You should recognize this pattern from our analysis of insertion sort. The sum of 𝑛 consecutive integers beginning at 1 is bounded by 𝑛 . Considering how frequently we use loops to visit every value in a sequence, quadratic performance is not desirable. To keep the time linear as expected, we employ a programming structure called an iterator. You have used iterators many times. Consider the following code segment: arr = [5,2,-4,1] for val in arr: The loop iterates through the values in the array. When Python encounters the loop, it initializes an index for the array. On every entrance of the loop, it assigns val the value contained at that index, then increments the index. When the index reaches the length of the array, the iteration terminates. You can replicate this behavior for any class you write by implementing two special methods: __iter__(self) and __next__(self). Analogous to the code segment above is the following version that uses a linked list object instead of an array: ll = Linked_List() for val in ll: Right before the for loop, the object ll should contain the elements 5, 2, -4, and 1. When Python encounters the for loop, it invokes the __iter__() method on the ll object (after the keyword in). This is Python’s way of telling the ll object to prepare to cycle through its elements. In your __iter__() method, you should initialize a current pointer in preparation for walking the list. Each time Python enters the indented for block, it assigns val whatever is returned by a hidden call to __next__(). In your __next__() method, you should decide whether there is another value to return. If so, advance to the node whose value should be returned and return that value. If not, raise a StopIteration exeption. Python will automatically handle the exception as a signal to stop calling your __next__() method. This terminates the for Below is the skeleton implementation that you will complete. The Python file attached to this assignment contains comments describing each method. def __init__(self, val): def append_element(self, val): def insert_element_at(self, val, index): def remove_element_at(self, index): def get_element_at(self, index): if __name__ == '__main__': Most importantly, notice that the Node class is defined within the Linked List class and is private to that class. This means that only the methods inside of the Linked List implementation have access to Nodes; they are not exposed to the user. It also means that to create a new node inside of an insert method, the syntax is new_node = Linked_List.__Node(my_val) Then, new_node is a Node object that can be linked in at the appropriate location. Because the Node class is implemented as a member of the Linked List class, it is accessible to the methods inside of the Linked List implementation. The attributes of the Node class should be public; python does not support transitivity of privacy in inner classes (though other languages do). This means that the Node class does not require any methods other than its constructor. In the main section of your Python file, provide some test cases to ensure that your Linked List implementation functions correctly. Though this is not an exhaustive list, some things to consider are: • Does appending to the list add an element at the new tail position and increment the size by one? • Does inserting an item at a valid index increase the size by one and correctly modify the list's structure? • Does inserting an item at an invalid index leave the list completely • Does removing an item at a valid index decrease the size by one and correctly modify the list's structure? • Does removing an item at an invalid index leave the list completely • Does length always return the number of values stored in the list (not including sentinel nodes)? • Is the string representation of your list correct for a variety of lengths? • Does a for loop like for val in my_list visit every value? An Application of LL: The Josephus Problem The story is slightly bloody. During the Jewish-Roman war, Josephus was among a band of 41 Jewish rebels trapped in a cave by the Romans. Preferring suicide to capture, the rebels decided to form a circle and, proceeding around it, to kill every third remaining person until no one was left. But Josephus, along with a friend, wanted none of this suicide nonsense; he quickly calculated where he and his friend should stand in the vicious circle. The end of the story is that both Josephus and his friend lived and Josephus later became a famous historian. In our variation, we start with n people numbered 1 to n around a circle, and we eliminate every second remaining person until only one survives. The problem is to determine the survivor’s number. We first try a small example. Let n = 10. Then the elimination order is 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 3, 7, 1, 9, so 5 survives. How to solve the problem? You may pause here and think about the possible algorithm and data structure by yourself. Well, you may have some idea that seems “not so easy,” and you may realize you could use either arrays or linked lists as the data structure. Here, we provide you one efficient algorithm to solve the problem using the linked list class that you implemented. The algorithm is smart and simple: rotate the list to the left by one position circularly, and then delete the first element; repeat it until there is only one element left in the list. Make sure you understand why. Once you have your Linked_List class implemented, use it to solve the Josephus problem, for which we have provided a skeleton file. In the main function of this implementation, fill in the #TODO section by creating a doubly linked list object called ll (2 Ls) with n elements named 1 to n. Then call the function Josephus() by passing the ll. In the function Josephus(), fill in the #TODO section by using the algorithm described above. Print the sequence of survivors after each death. Finally print the Below is a run of the code for n = 21 rebels. The sequence of survivors is shown after each death, but rotated a bit. Your implementation should give the output in the same format. Discuss about this algorithm's performance in your writeup. Input the total number of people: 21 Initial order: [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 ] [ 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1 ] [ 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1, 3 ] [ 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1, 3, 5 ] [ 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1, 3, 5, 7 ] [ 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 ] [ 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 ] [ 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 ] [ 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 ] [ 19, 20, 21, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 ] [ 21, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 ] [ 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 ] [ 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 3 ] [ 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 3, 7 ] [ 15, 17, 19, 21, 3, 7, 11 ] [ 19, 21, 3, 7, 11, 15 ] [ 3, 7, 11, 15, 19 ] [ 11, 15, 19, 3 ] [ 19, 3, 11 ] [ 11, 19 ] [ 11 ] The survivor is: 11 1. Linked_List.py: A file containing your completed Linked List class implementation. Though you are free to add additional methods as you deem necessary, you must not change the names (including spelling) or parameter lists of any methods in the skeleton file. The main section at the bottom of this file must contain your testing code. 2. Josephus.py: Your implementation of the Josephus problem that imports and uses your Linked_List class. Your implementation must use only the public methods defined in the Linked_List specification. 3. Writeup.pdf: A prose document that details why you performed the test cases that you did and explains why those tests are complete. You must also describe the performance characteristics of each of the methods append_element(...), insert_element_at(...), remove_element_at(...), and get_element_at(...).
Carefully planned restoration of the coffee agricultural landscape can increase farmers’ profits and forest cover over 40 years, according to a study published May 23 in the journal Open Access. Biology PLUS By Dr. Sofia Lopez-Cubelos at the University of Queensland in Australia and colleagues. Restoring patches of natural vegetation on farmland offers a trade-off for farmers: while lost farmland can reduce profitability, increases in ecosystem services such as pollination can improve crop yields. To investigate how conservation priorities can be balanced with economic needs, researchers developed a new planning framework for modeling the effects of forest restoration on agricultural profits, taking into account the beneficial impact of pollinators. They considered the best spatial arrangement of forest restoration to achieve one of two goals—restoring forests while also expanding agriculture, or just restoring forests—and applied that to a case study of coffee farming in Costa Rica. They divided the study area into a grid of more than 60,000 squares and estimated current coffee productivity, bee abundance, and profitability for each square. Calculating coffee profits five years later and 40 years into the future under a variety of restoration scenarios, they found that strategically allocating land to agriculture and forestry can increase economic returns, compared to the baseline at which the current landscape was preserved. Over a 5-year period, prioritizing restoration was more profitable than strategies that simultaneously expanded farmland. After 40 years, strategically balancing conservation with agricultural profits could increase forest cover by 20% while doubling profits for landowners, even when farmland is replaced by forest. The study is the first to look at how long-term changes in pollinator abundance affect the costs and benefits of forest restoration across agricultural landscapes. The results show that, with careful planning, pursuing conservation goals can improve economic outcomes for farmers, rather than being a burden, the authors say. López-Cubillos adds, “The abundance of bees and the pollination services they provide can increase through restoration. This study explored trade-offs between coffee profitability and forest restoration, finding that within five years profits increased by nearly 90% after restoration and forest area restored by 20%.” . Lopez-Cubelos S, McDonald-Maden E, Mayfield MM, Running RK. Optimum restoration of pollination services increases forest cover while doubling agricultural profits, PLoS Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002107 the quote: Strategic Habitat Restoration Can Make a Win-Win for Foresters and Farmers (2023, May 23) Retrieved May 23, 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2023-05-strategic-habitat-generate-win-win-forests. programming language This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.
Half of American families don't have an emergency plan in case of disaster, and among those with a plan, 30 percent lack basic emergency supplies, such as a flashlight or emergency food and water, according to a new survey by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. An emergency plan is a key to being prepared in an earthquake, hurricane or other disaster, but Americans apparently are not getting the message from government agencies and the insurance industry. Many are overly optimistic about the speed of emergency response, the survey found. More than half, 62 percent, expect that in a major disaster, first responders would arrive to help them within several hours, and almost a third think it would take an hour or less. Amercans' confidence in the government to protect them from a terrorist attack has rebounded to 60 percent after declining for five years after 9/11. But only a third say they think the health care system can respond effectively to a biological, chemical or nuclear attack, down from almost three-fifths after 9/11. And less than half of Americans say their community has an adequate response plan for a disaster that comes with no advance warning, such as an earthquake or a terrorist event. The survey is part of the center's American Preparedness Project, which has tracked U.S. attitudes on domestic preparedness and terrorism in the last 10 years. The most recent results are based on a national telephone survey of 1,000 people conducted in early August. About two-thirds of Americans think the United States is safer now than on Sept. 11, 2001, up from a little more than one-half three years ago when the question was first asked. But 72 percent are still worried about the possibility of another domestic terrorist attack, down only slightly from 76 perent in 2003, although significantly under the peak of 83 percent after the invasion of Iraq.
Wednesday, November 3, 2004 Today is the birthday of famous Arctic explorer, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who was born in 1879 to Icelandic immigrants living in Manitoba. When he was two, the family moved to the Icelandic community of Mountain, in northeastern North Dakota, where Vilhjalmur spent the remainder of his younger years. Stefansson was a rugged boy who loved the outdoors. His father died when Vilhjalmur was just a boy, and to ease his mother’s hardship, he lived with his sister and helped a brother with his cattle and horses. Vilhjalmur had only occasional access to education as a boy, but he managed to put himself through college at the University of Iowa. He had first attended UND, but he was kicked out for organizing a student protest. It was this “bull by the horns” attitude that would later define much of his life as an explorer. Stefansson was very interested in other cultures and, starting in 1906, spent several years exploring the Arctic and living with the native Inuit of Tuktoyyaktut. He later wrote articles for Scientific American and the Literary Digest, along with a book My Life With the Eskimo, in which he emphasized that the Arctic was not the desolate, windswept land it was believed to be. In 1908, Stefansson and Canadian zoologist Rudolph Anderson explored Herschel Island, Cape Parry, and the south side of Victoria Island. On this journey, they discovered a previously unknown group of Inuits who used copper tools. Stefansson was fascinated with the “Copper Inuit,” because many had European features, and several had blue eyes. He stayed with the tribe for four years and later put forth a theory that their lineage was mixed with early Norse explorers or from the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. Stefansson’s theory was not accepted by the scientific community, but it did give him a quite a bit of notoriety. Stefansson’s explorations were not without controversy. In one early expedition, he failed to stay in contact with his colleagues for many months. A later attempt to raise reindeer on Baffin Island failed, and his effort to create a colony on Wrangel Island in 1923 ended with several deaths. Stefansson’s greatest gift was perhaps his greatest problem, too – his independence. In 1913, he was appointed to head a Canadian scientific expedition that sailed from Seattle, WA, in an old seal-hunting ship named Karluk. Of the crew Stefansson signed on, only two had polar experience. In August, the ship got stuck in the ice north of Alaska. After a time, Stefansson and a small group struck out to hunt for food, but they never returned to the ship. The Karluk slowly drifted west with the ice, which eventually crushed the ship near Siberia. The ship’s captain rescued the survivors after traveling 700 miles by dogsled for help. Eleven men died. Meanwhile, Stefansson’s group drifted on ice floes, subsisting on polar bear and seals, and for the next five years, they explored Northern Canada. When Stefansson finally returned in 1918, he was accused of deserting the Karluk and its crew. Stefansson protested, saying the ship had drifted with the ice floes and was lost to them. It turned out to be his last expedition. Stefansson was the last explorer to discover new lands in the Arctic. He introduced to society the reality of the polar region, freeing it from myths and rumors. But perhaps his greatest contribution was his recognition of the unique beauty of the Inuit culture. Dakota Datebook written by Merry Helm
Pituitaritis is an inflammatory lesion of the pituitary gland, often having an autoimmune character. Among the clinical manifestations, cephalgia, visual impairment, and symptoms of hypopituitarism come to the fore. Diagnostics includes a study of hormone levels, an antibody test, an ophthalmological examination, a cerebral MRI, and, if possible, a histology of a biopsy sample. Conservative methods of treatment include the use of corticosteroids and cytostatic drugs, hormone replacement therapy. If they are ineffective, surgical resection or stereotactic surgery is indicated. E23 Hypofunction and other pituitary disorders The term “pituitaritis” unites all inflammatory diseases of the pituitary gland. A detailed description of the granulomatous form was made in 1917 by the German physician and pathologist Morris Simmonds. The description of the lymphocytic form was presented in 1962. The number of cases of pituitaritis recorded during the year does not exceed 1 in 7-9 million people. Pathology accounts for less than 1% of all pituitary diseases. According to various data, in 8-20% of cases it is observed against the background of autoimmune diseases. With lymphocytic pituitaritis, the incidence of women is 3 times higher than that of men. The etiological triggers of the primary form of the disease are not exactly known. It is assumed that the dysfunction of the immune system can be caused by harmful environmental influences: chemicals, increased insolation, viruses, bacterial toxins. The role of genetic factors cannot be excluded. According to researchers, hereditary predisposition is associated with alleles HLA DR4, HLA DR5, HLA DQ8, HLA DR53. Secondary pituitaritis develops as a result of damage to the pituitary region by various pathological processes. The etiofactors of pituitary inflammation are: - Cellaric formations. The most commonly observed cyst of the Ratke pocket, germinoma, adenoma, craniopharyngioma. Volumetric processes of the chiasmal-cellular zone, sprouting and /or squeezing the pituitary gland, provoke its inflammation. - Autoimmune pathology. Systemic diseases such as Wegener’s granulomatosis, sarcoidosis, Takayasu’s disease, histiocytosis, occur due to autoimmune disorders. The systematic nature of the process leads to the formation of antibodies against pituitary antigens. - Infectious diseases. Tuberculosis, viral diseases on the background of immunodeficiency, syphilis can lead to damage to pituitary cells. Pathogens are able to overcome the blood-brain barrier with the development of infectious inflammation of the pituitary tissues. - Immunomodulatory therapy. The use of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of malignant tumors in some cases provokes autoimmune processes, including pituitary gland damage. Pituitaritis occurs several months after the start of antitumor immunotherapy. The autoimmune mechanism is characteristic of primary forms, secondary lesions on the background of autoimmune diseases, the intake of immuno-oncological pharmaceuticals. At the same time, pathological changes in the immune system are accompanied by the synthesis of antibodies against the pituitary cells’ own antigens. Autoantibodies affect cellular structures, causing an inflammatory reaction. Neoplasms of the cellular region provoke inflammatory changes due to compression or tissue damage during the spread of the tumor process. Infectious agents, damaging cells, trigger a humoral immune mechanism that leads to the development of inflammation. Morphologically, the result of the inflammatory process is swelling, cellular infiltration and heterogeneity of pituitary tissues. Over time, an inflammatory lesion leads to a decrease in the number of hormone-producing cells, which is accompanied by a violation of certain endocrine functions or panhypopituitarism. In a number of patients, the phenomenon of hyperprolactinemia is observed, presumably due to antibody-mediated activation of prolactin synthesizing cells, damage to dopamine receptors with a decrease in its inhibitory effect. Etiopathogenetically, pituitaritis is divided into primary, occurring idiopathically, and secondary — occurring against the background of an existing underlying disease. There are also 2 morphological classifications: anatomical and histological. According to the first one , they distinguish: - Adenohypophysitis is a lesion of only the anterior lobe. It accounts for about 65% of all cases. - Infundibuloneirohypophysitis — inflammation spreads to the legs and neurohypophysis. It is observed in 10% of cases. - Panhypophysitis — inflammatory changes cover all parts of the pituitary gland. It occurs in 25% of patients. Microscopic examination makes it possible to identify various types of changes occurring in the pituitary gland, in connection with which a histological classification was developed. It is widely used to verify the diagnosis in patients who have undergone surgical treatment, and includes the following options: - Lymphocytic. It is diagnosed in 68% of patients with pituitary. Lymphocytes predominate in the cellular infiltrate. It is characterized by the appearance of symptoms during pregnancy or in the first months after childbirth. - Granulomatous. It ranks second in prevalence after lymphocytic. Along with lymphocytes, multinucleated giant cellular elements are found in inflammatory tissues. - Xanthomatous. It is about 3%. Typically, an increased content of lipids in the pituitary tissues, the formation of fatty inclusions. - IgG4 is associated. The inflammatory infiltrate contains a large number of IgG4-positive plasmocytes. In the later stages, fibrosis develops. - Necrotizing. It differs in the presence of necrosis sites. Difficult differentiation of necrotizing pituitaritis from secondary, caused by a cyst of the pituitary course. - Mixed. It is a variable combination of various histological forms. It is quite rare. The disease manifests with general cerebral symptoms in the form of cephalgic syndrome and visual function disorder associated with compression of the visual tracts by an enlarged pituitary gland. The headache is permanent, accompanied by nausea. More than 50% of patients report vomiting. Neuro-ophthalmological symptoms include decreased visual acuity, impaired color perception, narrowing or loss of visual fields. With secondary pituitaritis, manifestations of the underlying disease are observed. As the severity of inflammation fades and its transition to the chronic stage, symptoms of pituitary insufficiency begin. The nature of endocrine dysfunction depends on the etiology and form of pituitaritis. Adenohypophysitis and pangypophysitis occur with a deficiency of ACTH, thyrotropin, gonadotropins. Hypocorticism leads to weight loss, hyperpigmentation of the skin and mucous membranes, asthenia. Reduced production of thyrotropin leads to hypothyroidism, manifested by dry skin, bradycardia, memory impairment. Hypogonadism causes a decrease in libido, in women — menstrual disorders up to amenorrhea. In 23% of cases of adenohypophysitis, hyperprolactinemia is observed, accompanied by galactorrhea. An obligatory symptom of infundibuloneirohypophysitis is diabetes insipidus, manifested by insatiable thirst, polyuria. With pangypophysitis, pangypopituitarism is noted. A formidable complication of hypocorticism is acute adrenal insufficiency, which without timely medical care can lead to death. Polyuria in diabetes insipidus is complicated by dehydration, increased blood viscosity, and electrolyte imbalance. In the absence of treatment, severe dehydration threatens the development of collapse, heart failure. Progressive hypogonadism is complicated by infertility. When collecting anamnesis, attention is paid to the recent weight loss, the presence of concomitant pathology, the passage of antitumor immunotherapy. A general examination reveals dryness and hyperpigmentation of the skin. After consultation with a neurologist and an endocrinologist, patients are recommended: - Ophthalmological examination. Includes visual acuity assessment, ophthalmoscopy, perimetry. Examination of the visual fields diagnoses their narrowing. Ophthalmoscopy is performed to exclude other ophthalmological pathology. - Immunological studies. Antibodies to pituitary structures are detected using enzyme immunoassay, immunoblotting, and immunofluorescence. The presence of antibodies confirms autoimmune changes, but is not specific to the pituitary gland. - Hormonal studies. The study of pituitary and peripheral hormones diagnoses their partial or total decrease. The exception is prolactin, the level of which is increased in some patients. - MRI of the brain. In the phase of acute inflammation, an increase, heterogeneity of the structure, blurring of the contours of the pituitary gland, thickening of the funnel is visualized. When the process becomes chronic, fibrosis and a decrease in the pituitary gland are detected. - Histology of the biopsy. Histopathological verification of pituitary tissue samples remains the gold standard for pituitary diagnosis. However, the complexity and invasiveness of the procedure limit its use. Pituitaritis should be differentiated from pituitary tumors, Sheehan syndrome. MRI signs may be similar to neoplasms, the asymmetry of the lesion indicates in favor of the tumor. Unlike neoplasms, pituitaritis starts with adrenal insufficiency, followed by the addition of deficiency of other hormones. Like lymphocytic pituitaritis, Sheehan’s syndrome manifests in the postpartum period. However, it is characterized by a lack of lactation. The MRI images show swelling of the chiasm, hemorrhagic foci in the pituitary gland. Basic medical treatment is aimed at relieving the inflammatory process, compensating for the missing endocrine function. The rarity of the disease, the lack of a wide sample to obtain reliable clinical data leads to the lack of clear recommendations on the choice and dosage of the drugs used. Treatment is prescribed individually, includes 2 main components: - Immunosuppression. It is necessary for the relief of autoimmune mechanisms underlying pituitaritis. It is used during an acute inflammatory reaction. It is recommended to start treatment with glucocorticoids, with the ineffectiveness of which to proceed to the appointment of cytostatics. - Hormone therapy. It is of a substitutive nature. The selection of the drug and dose is carried out individually, in accordance with the level of hormones. First of all, correction of hypocorticism is necessary. Replacement therapy of hypogonadism is carried out in the chronic phase. The indication for surgery is a pronounced compression of the visual pathways and chiasm resistant to drug therapy, clinically manifested by visual disorders. Partial resection of the pituitary gland by transsphenoidal access is performed. Important attention is paid to the removal of inflammatory masses with gentle resection of viable areas. In the postoperative period, glucocorticoid therapy is recommended. The recurrence of pituitaritis, which is not amenable to conservative treatment, is an indication for stereotactic radiosurgery. Targeted radiation therapy is a modern minimally invasive intervention widely used in practical neurosurgery. After the destructive effects of radiation, replacement therapy may be required. Prognosis and prevention The positive effect of immunosuppressive therapy is observed in 40-50% of patients. In some cases, complete restoration of hormone-producing function is possible. Relapse was observed in 38% of patients after drug treatment. The recurrence rate after surgery is 11-25%. Due to the unclear etiology, prevention of primary pituitaritis is difficult. Prevention of secondary forms is based on the treatment of causal disease.
420003173730880009410065Microsoft Office User[company name]450000Microsoft Office User[company name]420003173730175001871345Extended EssayOriginal version translated into English from German450000Extended EssayOriginal version translated into English from German Global warming is a global concern and affects many levels which includes individuals to corporations. However, we must address the effects, challenges and solutions that Germany has created in its country, as a result of global warming. Germany has an important role in the EU policy. It has worked with many neighbouring countries to combat C02 emissions. Many examples are listed in this paper and it explains in detail what Germany is doing to reduce these emissions. Germany will have to make many changes in order to adapt to the new laws incorporated into the EU countries’ agenda. Many of these measures aim to reduce CO2 emissions and switch to cleaner alternatives, such as renewable energy, which will drastically affect Germany in many areas. Germany has set itself goals in the future, such as the decommissioning of all nuclear power plants by the year 2022 or a clean car industry with hybrid and electric vehicles that occupy the highway. This will be mentioned later. In addition, Germany has a permanent seat in the EU and must adhere to, reject and negotiate various techniques and strategies in order to minimize its contribution to global warming. In this article, I will address various topics related to Germany’s position on the various climate change mitigation strategies to combat global warming. The questions are the following: 1. How global warming affects Germany? 2. How does this climate policy relate to the European agenda ? A comparison between the current climate policy in Germany and what the EU currently demands. 3. What is Germany’s policy plan on climate change in the coming years? 4. Alternative energy sources for Germany, which should be implemented, expanded and monitored in the next few years These questions will be answered in detail and outline the opportunities that Germany has to make in order to keep its contribution to the climate protection act. Chapter 1 – How Global Warming Affects Germany Global warming is defined as the warming of the earth with the addition of increased human activity that enhances this process known as enhanced global warming. To fight global warming as a country, we need to take a country apart and see the mitigation that is taking place to reduce the emissions that heat the world. Also known as greenhouse gases. Germany set itself goals during the Paris Summit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 90 percent by 2050. This goal requires many changes. At both national and individual levels, people have to adapt to the effects of a warming earth. In order to achieve these goals, mitigation measures have already been taken. Germany has built a sea of ??solar panels on its territory for an alternative energy source. As statistics show, Germany can source 50% of its electricity from solar energy, which is, of course, on sunny days when there is no interference from clouds coming from the Gulf Stream. There are many downsides to global warming and, more specifically, to Germanys geographic positioning. An example of this may be the rise in sea level, which may negatively affect the shipbuilding industry as well as naval military bases. Due to rising sea levels, this will lead to an increase in storms near the North Sea. This will bring about a loss of biodiversity and a large agricultural area loss from these floods. Another crucial sector will also be affected. The Rhineland is one of the largest coal producers in Germany from its rich iron and coal deposits. In the course of global warming, acid rain has increased in the Rhineland due to the strong sulfuric acid emissions of coal-fired power plants. This leads to many disasters in the ecosystem, such as damaged forests, contaminated groundwater and destruction of infrastructure due to extreme weather conditions. Germany has presented plans to tackle these challenges. The plans include the “reduction of greenhouse gas emissions” resulting from the abolition of gasoline and diesel vehicles planned for 2030. Germany is the focus of politics in Europe. This has challenged Angela Merkel and her coalition to realize an energy transition in the country. This energy revolution will ultimately fight the rising temperatures of the world. In addition to the above-mentioned slowdown, Germany wants to phase out nuclear energy by 2022, which is an important part of the program. The term energy transition has a footprint in EU policy. The term focuses on “shifting from centralized to decentralized generation.” This means that local combined heat and power units can supply nearby cities instead of overproducing electricity, which lowers efficiency. This plan was published in 1980 by the ?ko-Institut. Chapter 2 – How does this climate policy relate to European? A comparison between the current climate policy in Germany and what the EU is currently calling for. First of all, we have to look at neighbouring countries like France, for example, how they are handling and advancing forward with their climate policy plan. France is a good example of a comparison because its policy is similar to Germanys. Its plan consists of five priority areas: improving the quality of life, CO2-neutral environment, setting the course for a green economy, adapting to global temperature increases, and finally international awareness of global warming. The same is true in France with emissions as in Germany. They have presented a plan to the UN with the words: “They will achieve 2030 emissions cuts by 55% and 75% by 2050, which will require major changes.” Germany has presented a similar plan, the biggest worry Germany has , is its fast-growing economy. These massive reductions in its carbon industries will lead to deficits in total GDP. Germany is the world’s fourth largest consumer in coal, which will drastically affect power plants with the “exit from fossil fuel consumption” and imports of natural gas where Germany is the world’s largest importer of natural gas. This will coincide with its GDP and evaluate other alternative options to minimize the risk of a recession. The EU body has set many goals for the future to limit the amount of artificial chemicals released into the air. A key objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% compared to 1990 levels. In addition, the EU has embarked on an “energy-efficient, low-carbon economy” that will bring many positive aspects, such as job creation and increased competitiveness with other countries, such as China or the US.
In the newer neighborhoods of Panama City, Panama, wide streets busy with traffic are flanked by sidewalks crowded with pedestrians. Many are on their way to work and even more are shopping in huge department stores that are filled with goods from all over the world. Panama City’s location on the Panama Canal has made it one of the world’s most important cities for trade. Despite the spotless, air-conditioned malls and man-made groves of skyscrapers springing up along the waterfront, this old city founded by the Spanish during the early days of their conquest still retains much of its colonial charm. Panama City, Panama has also managed to conserve much of its natural heritage and is probably the only capitol city with large tracts of tropical rainforest within its boundaries. From lookouts in Metropolitan Park, one can watch parrots flying over the canopy of lowland rainforests with the impressive modern skyline of Panama City as a visually stunning backdrop. A blend of the old, new, and the natural, Panama City, Panama is the most up and coming city in the Americas. History of Panama City, Panama Similar to many places in Panama, the area that encompasses Panama City was inhabited by indigenous peoples who lived in small villages near rivers and the coast before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1500s. Panama was one of the first places colonized by the Spanish in the Americas and the city of Panama was the first European settlement on the Pacific coast of the new world. Founded in 1519 by Pedro Arias de Avila, Panama City, Panama became a jumping off point for expeditions into South America, and an important stop on the Spanish trade route between this continent and Spain. Because so much treasure flowed through Panama City, though, it was a perfect target for pirates. Due to their frequent attacks, the city was relocated a short distance to the west to what is presently known as the neighborhood of Casco Viejo about 150 years after the Panama City was founded. Panama City continued to be an important stop along the trade route between Spain and South America until 1746 when the trade route through Panama was abandoned due to huge losses from pirate attacks. The city temporarily lost importance until a century later when the Panama railroad was built as a result of the California gold rush in the United States. It was actually safer and easier to travel by ship to Panama, cross the isthmus by train, and continue on to California than to risk hostile Indians when traveling overland in North America. Panama City, Panama became the official capital of the country in 1903 when Panamanians declared independence from Colombia. From this time on, because of the Panama Canal, Panama City, Panama has been one of the most important and strategic cities in the world. Culture in Panama City, Panama The culture of Panama City, Panama has been evolving for 500 years to form its own identity and includes influences from its Spanish colonial past, Afro-Caribbean peoples, indigenous tribes, the United States, immigrants from the Middle Eastern and China, and an ever growing community of ex-pats. Activities in Panama City, Panama This capital city of over a million inhabitants offers something for everybody who visit or reside in its colonial streets and modern byways. There are a number of museums and churches that are interesting to visit and due to its position at the Panama Canal, shopping for low-priced goods from around the world is always a popular activity as are banking and investing. Exploring the historic neighborhood of Casco Viejo is a must for anyone visiting Panama City as is a visit to the Panama Canal. Many visitors also check out the ruins of Old Panama. Visitors to Panama City, Panama who would like to see a sloth, toucans, parrots, monkeys, and other tropical animals will have a good chance at seeing such wildlife along trails in Metropolitan and Soberania Parks. Types of accommodations available in Panama City, Panama Befitting such a large and important capital city, there are dozens of hotels of all sorts to choose from in Panama City, Panama. Visitors to the city can stay at bed and breakfasts in Casco Viejo, in modern, large hotels near the airport and Allbrook Mall, and at a wide variety of smaller, mid-range hotels in the Cangreja and Exposicion neighborhoods. Tourism in Panama City, Panama Panama City, Panama is a place that most tourists to Panama include in their itineraries. Whether travelers stay a night or two because of its proximity to the airport, are on their way to other areas of the country, or because they hope to walk the old streets of Casco Viejo and see the canal, Panama City is visited by just about everyone who comes to this exciting country. Real estate in Panama City, Panama Panama City, Panama has been a very important center for commerce and trade literally for centuries. In recent times, with globalization and the explosion of China’s economy, this city and the all important Panama Canal have become even more valuable for trade. As long as there is a canal, Panama City will be one of the most strategic and important cities in the Americas. That said, real estate in and Panama City is highly valuable and is only going to be worth more as time goes on. National and global merchants, investors, ex-pats, and Panamanians all need to spend some or most of their time in Panama City, Panama. They need to stay somewhere so whoever owns property in this busy town should consider themselves to be extremely fortunate.
- Gassiness, bloating and swelling of the stomach - Abdominal stomach pain and cramping - Change in bowel movements from diarrhea to constipation - Urgency to go to the bathroom, incontinence, bladder problems - Low energy and feeling sick - Feeling of not completely emptying your bowels - Mucus in the stool “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well” - Virginia Woolf It is in this spirit that we present re:iimmune’s blog series “Whole Foods Spotlight” where we will focus in on a specific whole food, its nutritional benefits and provide you with a few links to some tasty recipes that may inspire you to add more of that particular food into your diet. After all, good health begins with good nutrition! This week we encourage you to incorporate quinoa into your meal plan. . .Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) originated in the areas around Lake Titicaca in South America. Around 3,000 to 5,000 BC Pre-Columbian peoples domesticated the plant and used the grains as a staple food of their diet. The Incas called quinoa the “mother grain” and considered it a sacred food. Technically, the plant is not a cereal grass like wheat, oats or barley but is a broadleaf plant and a member of the same family as spinach and beets. Sometimes it is referred to as a “pseudocereal” which is used to describe foods that are not grasses but can be ground into a flour or boiled and consumed much like rice. The entire plant is edible and what ends up looking like a grain on our plates is actually the seed. Quinoa plants are actually really beautiful and put on purple or reddish flowers before going to seed. Those little seeds are packed with nutritional benefits! It is one of the most protein-rich plant sources and unlike cereal grasses it’s gluten free. It is considered a complete protein because it contains all of the essential amino acids, including a high amount of lysine which is essential for tissue growth and repair. It’s a great source of fiber, containing nearly twice as much as those traditional grains and it’s also packed with magnesium, manganese and riboflavin. Quinoa is a great source of energy, keeps you fuller longer and yet is low in calories. This is a food that really earns it’s “superfood” title! Quinoa comes in many varieties and can be red, cream, pink, orange purple and even black in color. It cooks up quickly and has a somewhat nutty flavor. Because the outer coating of the seeds contains saponins which can give a bitter taste, it’s a good idea to rinse the seeds in a fine meshed strainer and rub them together under cold water prior to cooking. It should be stored in an airtight container and will last longer if kept in the refrigerator, with a shelf life of about 3 to 6 months. You can use quinoa in a variety of ways, and can be a fantastic substitute for rice, pastas and couscous if you are watching your carbohydrates. We’ve included some links below to yummy recipes to help you add more of this super delicious superfood into your meal planning. Cinnamon Maple Breakfast Quinoa Quinoa Enchilada Casserole Garlic Butter Shrimp, Quinoa and Asparagus Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Power Salad - Moderate your alcohol intake. It can damage the cells of the organ and leads to scarring called cirrhosis, which can be deadly. The National Institue on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism defines moderate intake as up to four alcholic drinks for men and three for women in any single day with a maximum of 14 weekly drinks for men and 7 drinks for women. - Exercise and maintain a healthy weight. Doing so will keep you from the risk of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease which also leads to cirrhosis. - Watch your intake of painkillers such as acetaminophen as it is damaging to the liver if taken too much. Spices, herbs, tinctures and essential oils have been used for millennia to season our food, heal our bodies and boost our spirits. In our Throwback Thursday (#TBT) series, we at re:iimmune will take you back in history to learn how these gifts from Mother Nature have been used. We'll focus on their use through the ages and beneficial purposes in regard to nutrition, natural health and household care. In honor of Valentine’s Day we are focusing on the rose!Fossil evidence dates the rose as 35 million years old and there are around 150 species spread through the world. The Chinese were most likely the first culture to begin garden cultivation of roses, some 5,000 years ago. Throughout time the rose has come to symbolize romantic love and you are bound to love some of the surprising health benefits of this sweet smelling queen of flowers. Dietary Benefits Rose hips, the flowers which have swollen to seed are commonly used in tea and have been used throughout the ages to aid in relieving bladder infections, menstrual cramps and diarrhea. They are an excellent source of Vitamin C, a natural antioxidant which can block some of the damage that can result from exposure to toxins and helps to support the immune system The flower petals are also edible and can be mixed into salads! The petals contain polyphenols which research shows help to prevent cardiovascular disease as well as osteoporosis. Skin and Hair Health Rosewater is a perfect choice for sensitive and irritated skin. Along with balancing out oily skin, softening, deep cleansing and toning the skin, rosewater also provides relief from irritation and itching. Those battling acne will want to reach for the rosewater as it contains antibacterial properties to dry up the acne, a natural antiseptic called phenyl ethanol and its a good moisturizer to boot! Rose essential oil is also useful in maintaining a healthy scalp and hair and many swear by it’s ability to prevent hair loss. Aromatherapy No wonder the rose has become such a symbol of romance and considered an aphrodisiac. The scent of rose essential oil is known to boost the libido and reduce symptoms of sexual dysfunction. The oil has also been used to treat depression, stress, anxiety and headaches. Ready to reap the rewards of the rose? Here are some links you might want to check out. . . Rose Petal Iced Tea Rosehip Jam Homemade Rosewater - Give us a little background on yourself and how did you come across re:iimmune? What issues were you aiming to address? Were you recovering from an illness, suffering from a chronic condition or adding it to your wellness routine to aid in staying healthy? - How long have you been using re:iimmune? What is your routine to incorporate it into your day? - What benefits have you noticed by regularly consuming re:iimmune? “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well” - Virginia Woolf It is in this spirit that we present re:iimmune’s new blog series “Whole Foods Spotlight” where we will focus in on a specific whole food, its nutritional benefits and provide you with a few links to some tasty recipes that may inspire you to add more of that particular food into your diet. After all, good health begins with good nutrition! Today it’s all about the juicy, sweet orange!The first wild ancestor of the sweet orange we are familiar with today probably evolved in Australia and New Guinea. These early citron fruits made it to the Asian continent and spread west toward Africa. Citrons have been found in Egyptian tomb paintings from 1000 BC. These fruits were not juicy and people mainly ate the rind of the fruit and used it for perfumes. Very early on it was used in India as a treatment for scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency). However, these citrons are not the ancestors of the modern orange. Either Chinese or Indian food scientists bred the pomelo and mandarin together sometime around 314 BC and developed both the bitter orange and the more familiar to Western culture, sweet orange. The word orange is derived from “naranga”, the word for orange trees in India. As oranges spread their way across the world throughout the centuries they have been prized for their sweet, juiciness and many health benefits. Immune Support and Digestive Health High Vitamin C content means oranges are a fantastic choice to drive away nasty germs and bugs and preventing colds, flu and ear infections. Vitamin C is also aids in the prevention of ulcers and the high fiber content of oranges ensure a healthy colon. Fiber also helps to reduce constipation and diarrhea. Vision Protection Loaded with carotenoids, oranges are a great choice in preventing night blindness and macular degeneration. Healthy Skin Sweet Orange Oil has been touted for its ability to stimulate collagen production, easing inflammation and improving the flow of blood to the skin and clearing clogged pores. Heart Health Oranges contain hesperidin which has been shown to lower both high blood pressure and cholesterol in animal studies. Most of this phytonutrient can be found in the peel and inner white pulp of the orange so it’s benefits are lost when the fruit is processed into juice. Vitamin C also helps to prevent arteriosclerosis which is hardening of the arteries. Hopefully reading this made you long for an orange as much as writing it did for me! I’m off to peel one now. Hope you enjoy the links below . . . Sliced Fennel, Orange and Almond Salad 20 Orange Essential Oil Uses Make Your Own Dried Orange Peel
New York City has long been considered one of the greatest cities in the world. The city was originally settled in 1624 when Dutch traders came to the area between what is now the Hudson and East Rivers and set up a colonial trading post. While the city was under Dutch control, it was known as New Amsterdam. The British gained control of the city in 1664 and named it New York after King Charles II’s brother who was known as the Duke of York. After the U.S. gained independence, New York served as the U.S. capital from 1785 to 1790. New York City has been the biggest city in the U.S. consistently since 1790. New York attracts visitors from all over the world and it is a main cultural hub in the U.S., known for its cultural diversity and entertainment. Major landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building are recognized by people around the globe. While there is plenty to celebrate about a great American city like New York City, it has had its share of disasters and tragedies over the years. As a leading provider of disaster restoration services in Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY, we feel it is important to revisit the major disasters New York City has experienced to learn from them and help make this city a safer place to live. In this blog series, we will highlight some of the biggest disasters in the history of New York City including what caused these disasters, their aftermath, and how the citizens of New York City overcame them. If you experience a natural disaster that has caused damage to your home or building, call ServiceMaster Restoration by Complete for disaster restoration services in Brooklyn and Staten Island, NY. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire occurred on March 25, 1911 and claimed the lives of 146 people. The women who worked in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory endured harsh conditions and long hours and the owners of the factory, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, showed a blatant disregard for the well-being of their workers. In September of 1909, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) went on strike and the workers of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory participated in the strike. The owners of the factory only gave into a few of their demands and had many of them arrested. When the fire occurred toward the end of the workday, the doors to the staircase leading to the street were locked and the old fire escapes collapsed as women tried to escape the building. As a result of this fire, the New York City Committee on Public Safety was formed and many new laws regulating working conditions were passed to shorten the workweek and create safer working conditions in factories. Learn more in our blog about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. September 11 Attacks The biggest disaster in the history of New York City shook the entire world and the reverberations are still felt to this day. On the morning of September 11, 2001, two hijacked commercial planes crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center just 17 minutes apart from each other. Less than 2 hours later, both towers came down, spreading debris throughout southern Manhattan. In New York City alone, the September 11 attacks resulted in more than 2600 deaths and countless injuries. It took more than 3 months to fully extinguish the fires caused by the attacks. The aftermath of 9/11 brought the passage of the PATRIOT Act and the Aviation and Transportation Security Act to try and safeguard the U.S. against future terrorist attacks. The War on Terror also began shortly after 9/11 when U.S. troops arrived in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. As of this writing, the U.S. still finds itself involved in the War in Afghanistan. Learn more in our blog about the 9/11 attacks. Hurricane Irene started on August 15, 2011 off the western coast of Africa and lasted until August 29. This storm hit the Bahamas and moved up to the northeast coast of the U.S., affecting 15 different states, causing $14.2 billion in damage and taking 58 lives. Hurricane Irene topped out at a category 3 storm when it hit the Bahamas and it made landfall in New Jersey and New York as a tropical storm. Throughout New Jersey and New York, Hurricane Irene caused rivers to flood, uprooted trees, knocked out power, and damaged homes. The storm caused $1 billion in damage in New Jersey and displaced 6,000 residents. In New York, the storm caused $296 million in damage, making it one of New York’s costliest storms. Learn more in our blog about Hurricane Irene. 1977 New York City Blackout The 1977 New York City blackout was a near complete blackout of the city that was caused by a series of lighting strikes on major power generators. The blackout began on the night of July 13, 1977 when the lightning strikes on the Con Ed power generators overloaded the system and caused it to completely lose power shortly after 9:30 pm. Darkness fell over the city immediately, disrupting public transportation, shutting down Wall Street, and stopping a baseball game at Shea Stadium. The blackout also triggered widespread looting and arson on the streets. Looters damaged more than 1600 stores and looted more than 100, and 45 stores were set on fire. Firefighters responded to more than 1,000 fires and crowds threw rocks and other debris at firefighters and police officers as they tried to maintain order. In all, more than 4,500 arrests were made. The power was restored throughout the next day on July 14 and by the evening, the entire city once again had power. The looting, arson, and vandalism caused an estimated $300 million in damage and many of the businesses that were damaged or looted never recovered. As a result of the blackout, the electrical system was improved with better monitoring equipment and backup generators to help prevent another major power failure. Learn more in our blog about the 1977 blackout. Hurricane Sandy started as a low-pressure system in the Caribbean Sea on October 22, 2012 and dissipated on November 2 after making its way through the Caribbean islands and up to the Mid- Atlantic and Northeast U.S. The storm caused $68.7 billion in damage and killed 233 people across nine different countries. Hurricane Sandy was a category 2 storm when it made landfall in New Jersey and New York. Major flooding occurred throughout the state of New Jersey when Hurricane Sandy made landfall, including the city of Hoboken and communities throughout Bergen County. New York City itself was hit hard as Lower Manhattan was flooded by the East River and areas in Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island were also affected by the damage and flooding. The storm also caused significant damage to the subway system in New York City. Hurricane Sandy resulted in 43 deaths and $36.8 billion in damage in New Jersey and 53 deaths and $42 billion in damage in the state of New York. Learn more in our blog about Hurricane Sandy. Happy Land Fire The Happy Land fire was a fire that occurred in a Bronx nightclub called Happy Land that resulted in the death of 87 people. The fire was caused by an arsonist and occurred on the 79th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. The Happy Land nightclub was ordered to be shut down in November of 1988 due to numerous building code violations including the lack of a sprinkler system, fire exits, and fire alarms. However, the club remained open and there is no record of the fire department following up on the violations. During the early morning hours of March 25, 1990, Julio Gonzalez got into an argument at the club with his former girlfriend, an employee of the club, and was ejected around 3 am. He returned to the club a short time later with a container of gasoline and started a fire at the bottom of a staircase that was the only way in or out of the club. The fire spread quickly up the stairs, killing most of the people in the club. The majority of the deaths were due to trampling and asphyxiation. Julio Gonzales was arrested the following day and was eventually found guilty of 87 counts of arson and 87 counts of murder. He spent the rest of his life in prison where he died in September 2016. The owners of the building were not found criminally responsible for the fire because they tried to have the club shut down and the club owner, Elias Colon, evicted before the fire. However, the building owner and landlord were found guilty of misdemeanor building code violations and settled a lawsuit filed by the families of the victims for $15.8 million in July 1995. The building was demolished the day after the fire and the location where the building stood was renamed The Plaza of Eighty-Seven in memory of the 87 victims. The PS General Slocum Disaster The PS General Slocum was a steamboat that served as a passenger ship from June 1891 until June 15, 1904 when it caught on fire and sank while bringing more than 1300 people to a Locust Grove in the Long Island. The tragic fire and sinking resulted in 1021 deaths which was the largest death toll of a disaster in the U.S. until 9/11 occurred. On the morning of June 15, 1904, over 1300 members of St. Mark’s Evangelical Church, mostly women and children, boarded General Slocum to be taken to a picnic retreat in Eatons Neck, Long Island. The ship headed up the East River by 9:30 am and a fire started in the Lamp Room shortly after the trip began. It is unknown what sparked the fire, but it spread quickly because the Lamp Room was full of straw, lamp oil, and oil rags. It took about 10 minutes for the captain and passengers on the ship to notice and react to the fire. The General Slocum was poorly equipped to handle a disaster such as a fire. The fire hoses on board were rotted, the lifeboats were inaccessible, and the life jackets were deteriorated. The captain continued to keep the ship on course despite the fire, claiming that he did not want to spread the fire to buildings on the shore of the river. However, staying on course fanned the fire and caused it to spread even faster. The ship sank off the shore of North Brother Island in the Bronx and caused 1,021 deaths as those aboard either drowned after jumping into the river or burned to death on the ship. For the next several days, bodies continued to wash ashore. A federal grand jury indicted several people in the aftermath of the disaster including Captain Van Schaick and several employees of the Knickerbocker Steamship Company that owned the ship. Captain Van Schaick was convicted for criminal negligence and the Knickerbocker Steamship Company was fined for failing to maintain safety equipment like fire hoses and extinguishers. New federal and state regulations were passed to ensure that passenger ships had functional safety equipment. Great Fire of 1776 The Great Fire of 1776 is one of three major fires that occurred in the city of New York. This fire began on September 20, 1776 when New York City was occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War. The fire burned through the night until the next morning in southern Manhattan, destroying nearly 25 percent of the city. British General William Howe began a military takeover of New York City in the summer of 1776, first gaining control of Staten Island and Long Island. General George Washington withdrew most of his troops from New York City upon realizing it was about to fall and asked the Second Continental Congress if the city should be burned to render it useless to the British. This idea was rejected to save the city from harm. British troops under Howe landed in Manhattan on September 15, 1776 and fought with what was left of the Continental Army. Once the British gained control of the city, they confiscated the buildings used by the Continental Army for their use. On the night of September 20, John Joseph Henry, an American prisoner being held by the British on the HMS Pearl, saw the fire begin at the Fighting Cocks Tavern. The fire spread very quickly through the tightly packed buildings, and the dry weather and strong winds only made it worse. An estimated 400 to 1,000 buildings were destroyed between Broadway and the Hudson River as the fire burned through the night. A combination of changing winds and actions taken by the British and New York citizens stopped the fire. After the fire, both the British and the Americans accused each other of starting the fire. However, no arsonist was ever found, and no charges were ever filed for arson. Because the British believed the fire was started by an Americans arsonist, they continued to occupy New York City under martial law. 1835 Great Fire of New York The 1835 Great Fire of New York caused significant damage at a time when the city was expanding and becoming an economic power. The fire began on the evening of December 16, 1835 and resulted in two deaths and $20 million in property damage which is equivalent to well over $500 million by today’s standards. New York City grew significantly in the beginning of the 19th century as its connection to the Erie Canal allowed it to receive raw materials from the Midwest. The city also established itself as a financial center as investment firms, real estate companies, and insurance companies formed and thrived. The population of New York grew significantly, and the city expanded to cover more territory to the north. However, as the city grew rapidly, the fire department was very slow to expand. The fire started in a warehouse on Merchant Street near Wall Street and gale force winds caused the fire to spread quickly. The fire department was not only understaffed, but also had difficulty stopping the fire because the East River and Hudson River, the main sources of water used for firefighting, were both frozen. They resorted to demolishing buildings in the fire’s path to deprive it of fuel and the U.S. Marines were called in to supply gunpowder needed to destroy the buildings. The fire was found to be caused by a burst gas pipe in the warehouse. Around 13 acres of the city were destroyed, including an estimated 530 to 700 buildings. The claims paid out to cover the damage put most of the insurance companies in New York City out of business. When the damaged areas were rebuilt, buildings were made of brick and stone to be less vulnerable to fire. The fire department expanded their ranks as a result of the fire and built a municipal water supply so they no longer had to rely on the rivers for water. Great New York City Fire of 1845 The Great New York City Fire of 1845 is the third major fire that affected New York City in a span of 70 years, and it occurred only ten years after the fire of 1835. This fire started in a factory that produced whale oil and candles and it spread across lower Manhattan, resulting in 30 deaths and $5 to $10 million in damage ($137 to $274 million by today’s standards). The fire started on July 19, 1845 around 2:30 am in the J.L. Van Doren Oil Merchant and Stearin Candle factory in Manhattan. It quickly spread to the surrounding buildings and by 3 am, the city alarm bell alerted the fire department. The fire burned for just over 10 hours, spreading through lower Manhattan and destroying 345 buildings in the area that is now the Financial District. When the fire reached a warehouse on Broad Street that was storing combustible saltpeter, the warehouse exploded, flattening the surrounding buildings. By 1 pm that afternoon, the fire department had subdued the fire thanks in part to the recently completed Croton Aqueduct. The fire of 1845 confirmed the importance of the building codes passed after the fire of 1835 to ban new construction of wood framed buildings. The fire slowed down when it reached areas of Manhattan that were built after 1835 using masonry and stone. The city of New York also created a reserve firefighters unit called the Exempt Fireman’s Company. Call ServiceMaster Restoration by Complete for Water and Fire Damage Restoration New York City has had an illustrious history and continues to be an economic and cultural hub in the U.S. and the world. The city has experienced it’s share of disasters and tragedies, but the people of New York have been resilient in the aftermath. While we hope that no further disasters befall the city of New York, we know that disasters do happen and they require a swift response. At ServiceMaster Restoration by Complete, our experts are ready to respond to disasters involving fires, flooding, and storms in Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY. We respond quickly with fire damage restoration to prevent serious damage to affected homes and buildings and we can respond to flooding and other related issues with expert water damage restoration. Do not hesitate to call us 24 hours a day at (718) 984-6660 for emergency disaster restoration services in Staten Island and Brooklyn, NY.
Type is a core visual element of Wikipedia's language. The choices around typography are carefully considered for: - Readability: Typefaces must be legible and readable at all sizes. Type as an element must help differentiate interface from article content. - Accessibility: Dyslexia and visual impairments must not get in the way of access. We must enable access for users with impairments. - Availability: All typefaces we use must be already available, or made available. Any selections must degrade gracefully across devices and platforms (OS X, Windows, Linux, Mobile Platforms) - Consistency: A consistent visual experience across desktop and mobile. Vector typeface specifications font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; Serif headings received a positive response on Wikipedia mobile. They are now consistent between desktop and mobile. - Body copy The 2014 Typography refresh initially set body copy (the main text of pages) to "Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif", but due to issues on non-Latin wikis, this has been reverted to "sans-serif" until a better solution is found. A Typography audit is available. It shows a lack of consistent type sizes and colors. MediaWiki's default Vector skin sets font-size for #bodyContent at 0.875em, this becomes 14px in Chromium and Firefox. Type size for navigation elements in the left are marginally reduced by 0.1-0.3 em to help them fade to the background in comparison to the article which is the foreground. Since the navigation areas are distinct, we expect that changes in the size will not hamper clicking on the links. We avoid justified type for paragraph blocks altogether. Justified type creates "rivers" and has a "gutter" side effect which can appear as a moire pattern. We will employ aligned text (left for left-to-right languages; right-aligned for right-to-left languages). Shift & emphasis In the User Interface and documentation, only one shift is required for emphasis. If a word or phrase is italicized it does not also need bolding. Further, use bold and italic as little as possible as they are tools for emphasis. If everything is emphasized, then nothing is emphasized. Multiple script support When looking for the appropriate text metrics such as font size or line height, different scripts should be taken into consideration. Scripts differ in the density of their glyphs (e.g., Chinese) and their height (e.g., Javanese, Burmese, Telugu). On the one hand, an appropriate font size will help to identify all the strokes of "dense" glyphs. On the other hand, an appropriate line height will avoid glyphs from different lines to clash. The default text metrics provided should result in legible text for as many scripts as possible, and making custom adjustments to some scripts only in exceptional cases. An initial test was done for several scripts using the current metrics proposed, resulted in legible text for scripts that had presented problems in the past. More adjustments are probably needed in the future, for which feedback from native readers of all different scripts we support is highly appreciated. Since the Typography refresh in 2014, the body font is color #252525. Text should always have sufficient contrast, to be accessible. Use http://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html to check that the text color and background color you are using, pass the WCAG2 AA compliance level. On a white background, this means grey text of anything lighter than #777777 is not allowed. The only exceptions should be for elements that do not actually need to be legible, such as the word "Search" when used as the placeholder text in a search field. If you are using non-monochrome colors, check for contrast using the snook.ca tool, and check for color-blindness accessibility using one of these tools listed below. Protanopia and deuteranopia are the most common forms of color blindness that you should test against (See w:en:Color blindness for details). - Toptal - webpage analysis (redirects from the old tool colorfilter.wickline.org) - Coblis - local file analysis (upload an image, and then simulate it in 8 types of color blindness) - Browser extensions for webpage analysis - Colorblinding - chrome - NoCoffee - chrome (also simulates additional vision problems) - NoCoffee - firefox (also simulates additional vision problems) - Standalone Applications To select a color palette that is accessible, you could refer to these tools: - https://colorbrewer2.org/ and select - https://davidmathlogic.com/colorblind/ and scroll down to - Template:Background color lists some colors that are especially suitable for text-background highlighting. - Grids are Good - SXSW Presentation - Thinking with Type: Grids - Setting Web Type to a Baseline Grid - Opera Browser Guidelines - Typography Is a Grid - Hyphen Press - On the Grid - Khoi Vinh (Design Lead @ NY Times) - Applying Mathematics to Web Design - Smashing Magazine Accessibility & legibility - Lighthouse International: Effective Color Contrast - Lighthouse International: Making Text Legible - Web Design for Dyslexic Users - Web Designing for Dyslexia - Line length
Beta Beta Beta Cell Featuring the most exciting research advances in biology worldwide. Eukaryon An undergraduate research journal at Lake Forest College that publishes life science scholarship. Nature Publish original and important research across a wide range of scientific fields. PNAS Publish cutting-edge research reports, commentaries, reviews, perspectives, colloquium papers, and actions of the Academy in biological, physical, and social sciences. Science The world’s leading journal of original scientific research, global news, and commentary. Biological Research Agencies HHMI Advancing biomedical research and science education NIH Supporting nation’s medical research. NSF Promoting the progress of science, advancing the national health, prosperity, and welfare. News and Commentary Science and Nature Facts on animals, prehistoric life, human body & mind, space, and many more hot topics. DNA and genetics and health from Cold Spring Harbor Lab The source for timely information about genes in your life. Grist Environmental news and commentary The Tree of Life A collaborative effort of biologists worldwide to present comprehensive view of the diversity of organisms on Earth, their evolutionary history (phylogeny), and characteristics. Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling the World New findings help scientists make sense of our senses. The Human Genome Project Research effort to sequence and map all of the genes of a human being. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) A national center for molecular and biotechnology information, including GenBank, PubMed, Nucleotide and Protein Sequences, Protein Structures, Complete Genomes, Taxonomy, and other databases. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Excellent zoological and botanical science collections explicitly for use in research and education benefiting science, society, and the University.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an evidence-based approach and its effectiveness has been supported by hundreds of clinical trials for many different disorders. CBT is recommended by National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidelines, which means that the use of CBT for the treatment of a range of difficulties is the standards set out by the government. More about CBT Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) looks at how your thoughts, feelings and behaviours impact each other and maintain difficulties. Using a fictious example: Joe has a fear of the dentist. When he considers going to the dentist he thinks “I won’t be able to cope with that, I will run out mid-way through. People will see how nervous I am and think I am being silly.” Joe feels afraid, and avoids talking about the dentist, thinking about the dentist and he also avoids going to the dentist. Joe’s phobia causes much distress and stops Joe from receiving dental treatment. The initial stages in CBT is to build a shared understanding of the problem in terms of thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Consequently, Joe and his therapist would consider the way Joe thinks, feels and what he does, or does not do in relation to his difficulties. This can be ‘mapped out’ in a diagram such as the one below. Joe's vicious cycle map The ‘three area model’ depicted in the diagram above,’ is a simple yet highly effective way of making sense of distress. CBT therapists have knowledge surrounding wide range of these models. The effectiveness of these models in relation to understanding distress, have been supported by scientific evidence. Nevertheless, CBT therapist are trained to help you understand your distress in a way that makes sense to you. This understanding provides a platform for you and your therapist to find ways for you to move forwards with your life. People are very complex and we can ALL engage in a range of ‘vicious cycles.’ Some cycles can be helpful, and some not so helpful. Therefore, during the initial stages of your treatment, you will be asked what you want to achieve from the sessions, what your goals are. Treatment goals are a central part of CBT and helpful for a range of reasons. Goals can ensure that you are getting want you want out of the sessions, and they can also help you and the therapist to focus on one specific area at a time, thus maximising the benefits to you. CBT is a ‘collaborative therapy.’ Your therapist will work with you to develop a new understanding of your distress, and new and more helpful, ways to move forward. New and more helpful thoughts and behaviours may be strengthened or tested out by experiments. Whatever treatment strategies are agreed, they will be agreed together between you and your therapist. CBT is ‘time-limited,’ usually lasting between 6 and 20 sessions. This however depends on what you feel is right for you. CBT aims for you to learn specific skills that you can use for the rest of your life For more information on CBT can be found by clicking on the following link which will take you to the NHS information page:
So you want to start creating your own games? Then you've come at the right place. This article will get you started on creating simple 2D games. Note: After you've read this article, I suggest you go for this course: https://www.udemy.com/gamedeveloper/?couponCode=ONLYforGAMEDEV Following this link you can buy my Game Maker: Studio course for just $12 (52% off) and learn making 2 games in just 2 hours. Game Maker: Studio What is that? Game Maker: Studio is a popular game development software used by many Indie Game Developers all over the world. It's easy; yet powerful. It has a free version which is capable of making good games for Windows. Further, the professional version can be bought for more features and can be extended by buying packages to be able to make games for different platforms such as Android, Mac, iOS, etc. There are mainly two ways of creating your game: Using the Drag&Drop actions, or by coding. In this article, we'll make our game using the coding language of Game Maker: Studio, which is called Game Maker Language and often abbreviated as GML. Don't worry, it's very easy. Let's proceed. Understanding the basics Before starting, understanding the basics is a must. Let's see how a game is created in GM:S. Sprites are the images created/imported in the software to be used for different things such as the character, a block, the wall, or the boss. A sprite can be a single image or a series of images (or sub-images) which results in an animated sprite. Sprites can be created using the sprite-editor in GM:S or can be imported from any file. Objects signify different elements of a game, such as a character, a block, a power-up, an enemy, or anything. So every different element, or simply object of a game needs a different object. Sprites can be assigned to objects. Further, you can add events, actions and code in the object which define its actions, and then can be placed in a room, which will be shown when you play your game. Note: If you understand this completely, then, good for you. If not, or if you're confused, don't worry - just keep reading. You'll get it eventually. Rooms can be defined as levels in your game. A room is a rectangular space - its size is defined by its width and height in number of pixels. (Example: A width of 1024 and a height of 768 pixels will result in a room of size 1024x768) After a room is created, objects can be put in the space of the room, and a level can be designed in this way. This way, many rooms, or levels, can be created. When you start your game, the first room is shown first. Our first game! So now that we're done with the basics, we'll start by creating a simple game. We'll be making a simple character who needs to collect coins to win, avoiding the enemies. Start Game Maker: Studio. You'll see a small window with many tabs. Open the New Tab, enter your project name and click on Create. You'll see an empty window with many folders in the left pane. That's where all of the Sprites, Objects, Rooms, Sounds and everything is sorted. Quite neat, isn't it? ;) In that left pane, the first folder will be Sprites. Right-click on it and select Create Sprite. You'll see sprite0 under the folder Sprites - that's your first sprite! A small window will open - that's the sprite manager. It shows your sprite with many options. It's empty for now, because you haven't created or imported any sprite. Name it spr_player, because it will be our player's sprite. Click on Load Sprite to load any image file for the player, or click on Edit Sprite to create your own. Creating your sprite Now that you've clicked on Edit Sprite, another window will open: This is where all of the subimages of your sprite are created. From the menus on the top, open the File menu and select New.... Enter the dimensions of the sprite in the window that opens. In our case, we'll use width: 32, height: 32. Hit enter, and in that window, a small sprite will be created, with the name image 0. Wow. You just created the first subimage of your sprite! Double-click on the sub-image you just created. Another window will open, and this one is the sprite editor. You'll see it's mostly like Paint. Now - use your creativity! Create your player, as you like. Remember: We're creating a Top-Down game, which means the player must be created as seen from the top. And, it must face right: or else it'll cause problems. Now, create! :D Done with the sprite? Click on the Green Tick on the top-left in the window. It'll close, and in the sub-image editor you'll see your player image. Again, click on the Green Tick. There's your sprite! Under 'Origin', click on 'center'. This is the point from where the sprite will rotate; and it must be the center. Now click OK to save the sprite. Now, in the same way, create these sprites: a wall block, a coin, and an enemy - and remember, they too must be from the top and the enemy also should be facing right. Don't forget to name them after "spr_"(Like spr_player, spr_coin). Use the size 32x32 for all of these sprites. Done with creating the sprites? Let's move on to creating our objects. Find the objects folder from the left pane, right-click on it and choose Create Object. Your object (object0) will be created and the object manager window will open. First of all, change the name from object0 to obj_player. Yes, obj_ will be used as the object name prefix. Prefixes: Name prefixes such as spr_ (for sprite names), obj_ (for object names), room_ (for room names) aren't compulsory but they're used so that it's easier to reference them in code. For example: A coin is a coin but while coding, you'll know what you want to reference and it will be easier: spr_coin for the sprite and obj_coin for the object. Now, under the place where you typed the name of the object will be a menu where you can select the sprite you want to use with the object. Click on it and select spr_player. Click on OK to save the object. Now, in the same way, create objects for the coin, the wall block and the enemy. Wow! Do you realise that you're creating your own game? You're not far away from getting it running. Just keep reading! Done with creating the objects, and assigning sprites to them? Good. Now let's start the next step. Double-click on obj_player. In object manager, you'll see two empty panes: the one on the left is the event pane, and the one on the left is the action pane. Events are the specific events which trigger the actions inside them. For example, actions inside the 'left arrow key' event will be executed when the left arrow key on the keyboard is pressed. The 'Create' event works when the object is created first, and that's the only time the actions inside the create event are executed. Actions inside the 'Step' event will be executed every step: or every frame. By default, there are 30 steps in a game, so it means actions inside the Step event will be executed 30 times a second. Woah! Similarly, there are many events. Room Speed, which tells how many steps there will be in the room, can be changed from the room settings. Default is 30. Now, right-click in the event pane and select "Add" or just click on "Add Event" below the pane. A small window will open, which contains all of the existing events. Click on Keyboard, and select Left Arrow Key. Similarly, add events for Right Arrow Key, Up Arrow Key and Down Arrow Key. Now we'll add the code for these events. Click on the Left Arrow Key Event. Now look at the action pane - in the rightmost pane, there are many events which can be dragged into the action pane. They're called Drag & Drop actions. We'll not use them; we'll use an action which is used to add code. See the many tabs on the right side? Open the control tab. From the actions there, choose the first action under the name "Code". (There will be total 3 actions under 'Code') Drag it into the action pane. A window will open - it's the text editor for entering the code. Enter this code in the window: Let me explain what this does. x is the horizontal property, so it defines the horizontal position of the object in the room in the number of pixels. Similarly, y is the vertical property - it defines the vertical position of the object. So, x=254 will change the horizontal position of the object to 254 pixels in the room. If x increases, the object will move right. If it decreases, it'll go left. If y increases, the object will go down, and if it decreases, it'll move up. What we're doing is telling the object to move left when Left Arrow Key is pressed - so we're decreasing its x property, by using x-=3 - which means subtract 3 from x. Now click on the Green Tick at the Top-Left. You'll see that your code action has been added in the action pane. You can open and edit the code any time just by double-clicking on the action. Now, in the same way, add codes for the other Arrow Key actions. Open the next event. Drag the Code action from the control tab of D&D (Drag and Drop) menu. Here are the codes for the arrow keys: (I suggest you first yourself guess what the code will be based on what I told you in the previous paragraph about reducing and increasing x and y to move) Right Arrow Key: Up Arrow Key: Down Arrow Key: Added the code? Press OK to save your object. Let's move on to creating the room. Find the Rooms folder in the left pane and... I think you know what to do. Right Click > Create Room. Your room, namely room0, will be created. We'll let this be the name. Another window opens - this one will be the room manager. You'll see an empty space along with a left pane and some options on the top - that empty space is your room, basically what you'll see when you start your game. In the left pane, there will be many tabs. Open the Settings tab, and change the room width and height to 800 and 600, respectively. Now, open the Objects tab. Before adding objects, change both x snap and y snap to 32, which are found on the top in the room manager window. Now, in the left pane, click on the empty pane under the tabs. A menu will open with all of your objects. Click on the wall object (obj_wall). You'll see its sprite there - it means that the object has been selected. Now, use your mouse to add the wall blocks in the room (that empty space on the right). Left-click to add one or hold Ctrl+Shift while Left-clicking to continuously add them. What you want to do here is create your level - design it. Add the wall blocks so that the player has to navigate through the level to find the coins. If you misplace any object, they can just be dragged and re-placed, or deleted using Right Click > Delete. Done with adding the wall blocks? Now select the coin object (obj_coin) from the left pane and add 10 coins in your level. After adding the coins, add a few enemies. Add them at a place where they can move up - where a wall block is not blocking their way. After adding the enemies, select obj_player and add it into the room. That's where our player will start, so choose a nice place. Now save the room using the same green tick you see in every window. Now let's add more code. We've just made the player move. Double-click open obj_coin. Click on Add Event and choose Collision and select obj_player. This is the event that triggers when the object (obj_coin) collides with the object you just selected (obj_player). Let's add code in it. Select the event, open the control tab, and drag the Code action into the Action Pane. Add this code: score+=1 will increase the score by one everytime the player gets the coin. instance_destroy() will delete the object instance of the coin. That's to show that the player had taken the coin. Click on the Green Tick. Press OK to save the object. Now, open obj_player. Add a collision event with obj_wall. Add Event > Collision > obj_wall Add this code in it: This code restricts the player from walking through the wall block. xprevious is the previous x property of the object. yprevious is the previous y property of the object. When the player collides with the wall, its position is immediately changed to its previous position (before the collision), stopping it there. Click on the green tick. Add another collision event, this one with obj_enemy. Add this code: This will restart the room whenever the player collides with the enemy. Click on the green tick. Add Step event. It executes 30 times a second. In its code, add: if x>xprevious image_angle=0 if xyprevious image_angle=270
National Security Council Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Financial, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia. National Security Council The National Security Council (NSC) is the U.S. president's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters; the council consists of senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. Since its inception under President harry truman, the function of the NSC has been to advise and assist the president on national security and foreign policies. The council also serves as the president's principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government agencies. The NSC was established by the National Security Act of 1947, as amended (50 U.S.C.A. § 402), and was placed in the Executive Office of the President by Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1949 (5 U.S.C.A. app.). The NSC was designed to provide the president with a foreign-policy instrument independent of the State Department. The NSC is chaired by the president. Its statutory members, in addition to the president, include the vice president and the secretaries of state and defense. The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the statutory military advisor to the council, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency is the statutory intelligence advisor. The secretary of the treasury, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, the assistant to the president for national security affairs, the assistant to the president for economic policy, and the chief of staff to the president are invited to all meetings. The attorney general and the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy attend meetings pertaining to their jurisdiction. Other officials are invited, as appropriate. The NSC began as a small office supporting the president, but its staff has grown over the years. It is headed by the assistant to the president for national security affairs, who is also referred to as the national security advisor. The NSC staff performs a variety of activities for the president and the national security advisor. The staff participates in presidential briefings, assists the president in responding to congressional inquiries, and prepares public remarks. The NSC staff serves as an initial point of contact for departments and agencies that want to bring a national security issue to the president's attention. The staff also participates in interagency working groups organized to assess policy issues in coordinated fashion. The issues concerning national security are wide ranging. Foreign and military relations with other countries have generally taken center stage, but international Terrorism, narcotics control, and world economic issues have been brought before the NSC. In most administrations, the national security advisor has played a key role in formulating foreign policy. For example, as national security advisor during the Nixon administration, henry kissinger was the de facto Secretary of State, developing policy on the Vietnam War, the opening of relations with communist China, and negotiating with Israel and the Arab nations for a peaceful solution to problems in the Middle East. The image of the NSC was tarnished in the 1980s during the Reagan administration. Two successive national security advisors, Robert C. McFarlane and Rear Admiral John M. Poindexter, and NSC staffer Lieutenant Colonel Oliver L. North participated in the Iran-Contra Affair. They violated a congressional ban on U.S. military aid to the Nicaraguan anticommunist Contra rebels by providing the rebels with funds obtained by the secret sale of military weapons to Iran. Under the administration of President george h.w. bush in the early 1990s, the NSC was reorganized to include a Principals Committee, Deputies Committee, and eight Policy Coordinating Committees. Under President bill clinton, NSC membership was expanded to include the secretary of the Treasury, the U.S representative to the United Nations, and the assistant to the president for Economic Policy as well as the president's chief of staff and his national security advisor. In 2001 President george w. bush appointed Dr. Condoleezza Rice to be his national security advisor. She was the first woman appointed to that position. The NSC has been involved in American foreign policy decisions that have ranged from sending troops to Panama in 1989 and to Iraq in 1991 and 2003, as well as dealing with such issues as international trafficking in illegal drugs, U.N. peacekeeping missions, strategic arms control policy, and global environmental affairs. National Security Council at the White House. Available online at <www.whitehouse.gov/nsc> (accessed July 30, 2003). U.S. Government Manual Website. Available online at <www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual> (accessed November 10, 2003).
Albert B. Graham (1868–1960) started the international 4-H Club movement in Springfield in 1902 by forming an "Agricultural Club" to teach boys and girls better farming and home management techniques. From that first club meeting with 30 young people, held in the basement of the Springfield Courthouse, Graham’s idea grew into a national phenomenon. Today about 7 million youth are involved in 4-H programs each year. Programs thrive in all 3,067 counties of the United States, District of Columbia, commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and five territories as part of the Cooperative Extension Service. The Cooperative Extension System is a partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture, state land-grant universities, and local county governments. More than 80 other countries also have 4-H programs. The Ohio State University learned about Graham's "out-of-school education program" and invited him to supervise agricultural clubs for boys and girls throughout the state as part of the University's Land Grant mission. He became superintendent of extension in Ohio in 1905 with goals that included: - To elevate the standard of living in rural communities. - To acquaint boys and girls with their environment and to interest them in making their own investigations. - To inspire young men and women to further their education in the science of agriculture or domestic science. - To cultivate a taste for the beauty of nature. - To educate adults in the elementary science of agriculture and in the most up-to-date farm practices. Graham kept those goals in organizing his agricultural clubs on a national basis, where they eventually became known as 4-H Clubs. Fun Facts About 4-H - The National 4-H emblem is a four-leaf clover, which represents the four-fold development of Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. Youth learn the importance of each and how they work together to produce a well rounded person. - The four leaf clover signifies "good luck" and "achievement." Like the clover, 4-H symbolizes a four-squared, well rounded life. If it is good luck to find a four leaf clover, it is far better luck to know and live each "H" on the clover. - The 4-H Pledge, adopted in 1927: "I pledge . . . My Head to clearer thinking, My Heart to greater loyalty, My Hands to larger service, My Health to better living, for my club, and my world." - 4-H Motto: "To Make The Best Better" - The 4-H Slogan: "Learn by Doing" - The 4-H Colors: Green and White 4-H continues that work in rural areas, but its focus goes beyond residents of agricultural areas. Membership is open to all youth aged 5-19, including residents of urban areas. Graham’s original objective at the turn of the 20th Century, however, remains the same in the 21st: "The development of youth as individuals and as responsible, productive members of the community in which they live." Graham, who was superintendent of the Springfield Township Schools, at that time, believed that agricultural production and rural life could be improved by applying scientific knowledge. Find out more...
Bioinformatics at Biosafe Ltd is optimized for the analysis of safety aspects of microbial genomes. Bioinformatics at Biosafe Ltd is focused on analyzing the safety aspects of microbial genomes on behalf of companies who develop microbial products into the food chain. They may be production organisms for amino acids, enzymes or vitamins, or live micro-organisms. Many of the products will be evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Whatever the purpose, safety means the absence of acquired antimicrobial resistance genes, genes for toxins and virulence factors. We occasionally also describe the genetic modifications in detail or search for secondary metabolite biosynthesis clusters. The genome is used for unequivocal taxonomic identification at the species level, which is essential in granting the QPS (qualified presumption of safety) status for a microorganism. Sometimes this analysis leads to the description of a new species. The use of whole genome sequence (WGS) – what and when? Whole genome refers to both chromosome(s) and plasmids. If it is unclear whether or not the microorganism carries plasmids this should be explored. The DNA extraction and sequencing method will be selected accordingly. According to The Guidance on microorganisms used as feed additives or as production organisms (EFSA FEEDAP Panel, 2018), WGS is required for bacteria and yeasts. For fungi, WGS should be used for identification if available. Proper taxonomic classification of a microbe is the basis of safety analysis. The most important level of classification is the species level, which is also the basis for assigning a microbe a Qualified Presumption of Safety status (QPS). EFSA maintains and develops a list of QPS microorganisms for food or feed use. Currently the list contains many bacteria and yeasts but excludes e.g. filamentous fungi. Whenever a new species is introduced by an application submitted to the Commission and forwarded to EFSA, the QPS working group can assess its safety and conclude on its possible inclusion in the QPS list. The assessment is based on taxonomic identification, body of knowledge, possible pathogenicity (or other safety concerns) and the use of the microorganism. The QPS concept is also applicable to genetically modified microorganisms used as production strains. Sometimes it is important to identify the species at the strain level – such as in the case of E. coli K-12. Although E. coli is not QPS, K-12 strains have a long history of safe use and are generally considered as safe, provided that genes of concern are not introduced in the genome. The increase of genome sequence information has brought a lot of confusion for taxonomic classification in some genera, such as Bacillus, Lactobacillus and Streptomyces. It has been proposed, for instance, that Bacillus subtilis subsp. inaquosorum should be recognized as a novel taxon distinct from Bacillus subtilis. Novel species can sometimes be particularly problematic for the interpretation of MIC values and may require extra scientific justifications. The most widely used means for taxonomic classification, 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, is often not sufficient for species identification. Biosafe uses multiple approaches to taxonomic classification purposes, such as average nucleotide identity (ANI), phylogenomics or housekeeping genes. Genome screening for antimicrobial resistance genes and genes for toxins and virulence factors The genome should be interrogated searched for genes conferring resistance to antimicrobials relevant for their use in humans and animals (Critically or Highly important antimicrobials, WHO). Biosafe Ltd uses several databases to screen the genomes in an in-house pipeline. This genome-based prediction is then assessed together with the results from phenotypic testing to draw final conclusions. Biosafe Ltd was among the first ones to apply whole genome sequencing (WGS) in the microbial safety assessment for the dossiers submitted to EFSA evaluations. We are constantly improving our analysis pipeline and the clarity of the reports. Our experience on dozens of genomes gives us a good perspective to interpret the results. For example, it is much easier to detect acquired antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes after examining many genomes of the same species. Almost all microbial genomes have matches to genes in the AMR databases, i.e. to genes that potentially contribute to AMR. Most of these are intrinsic genes, often efflux pumps, which do not necessarily confer resistance. In the case of production microorganisms, it is important that the acquired resistance genes are not transferred into the product. In case of viable microorganisms as products, the acquired functional AMR genes are considered a hazard. The presence of genes encoding virulence factors may trigger further phenotypic testing (cytotoxicity tests ). Genetically modified microorganisms (GMM) In the case of GMMs, WGS should be used to characterize the structure of the genetic modification. This is mandatory for bacteria and yeasts and recommended for filamentous fungi. Biosafe Ltd follows in detail the EFSA FEEDAP Panel guidance (2018) to characterize the GMM. To do this, we work in close collaboration with the customer, as a proper characterization requires knowledge of the strain history and genetic modifications. Importantly, the WGS is also used to explore if genes of concern were introduced into the genome. This information is necessary for the analysis of the presence of DNA from the production strain in the fermentation products. Biosafe Ltd also offers comprehensive sequencing services in collaboration with our sequencing partners. We sequence microbial genomes, plasmids or individual genes based on the particular needs. All sequencing projects are unique and designed in collaboration with the customers to answer their specific needs. The sequencing platform is also selected on a case-by-case basis. How do we work? We can help you during the planning of a WGS study, during genome analysis for EFSA, FSANZ or other regulatory purposes, or during the publication phase of a new microorganism. You are welcome to contact us to learn more.
Hypocaust of ancient public baths \|Coordinates: 40°10′N 22°29′E / 40.167°N 22.483°ECoordinates: 40°10′N 22°29′E / 40.167°N 22.483°E\| \|Administrative region\|\|Central Macedonia\| \|• Municipal unit\|\|172.743 km2 (66.696 sq mi)\| \|Elevation\|\|40 m (130 ft)\| \|• Municipal unit\|\|10,885\| \|• Municipal unit density\|\|63/km2 (160/sq mi)\| \|• Population\|\|1,424 (2011)\| \|• Area (km2)\|\|31.375\| \|Time zone\|\|EET (UTC+2)\| \|• Summer (DST)\|\|EEST (UTC+3)\| \|Postal code\|\|601 00\| Dion or Dio (Ancient Greek: Δίον, Greek: Δίο, Latin: Dium) is a village and a former municipality in the Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Dio-Olympos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located at the foot of Mount Olympus. The ancient city owes its name to the most important Macedonian sanctuary dedicated to Zeus (Dios, "of Zeus"), leader of the gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus; as recorded by Hesiod's Catalogue of Women, Thyia, daughter of Deucalion, bore Zeus two sons, Magnes and Makednos, eponym of Macedonians, who dwelt in Pieria at the foot of Mount Olympus. Hence from very ancient times, a large altar had been set up for the worship of Olympian Zeus and his daughters, the Muses, in a unique environment characterised by rich vegetation, towering trees, countless springs and a navigable river. For this reason Dion was the "sacred place" of the Ancient Macedonians. It was the place where the kings made splendid sacrifices to celebrate the new year of the Macedonian calendar at the end of September. In the Spring, purification rites of the army and victory feasts were held. The first mention of Dion in history comes from Thucydides, who reports that it was the first city reached by the Spartan general Brasidas after crossing from Thessaly into Macedon on his way through the realm of his ally Perdiccas II during his expedition against the Athenian colonies of Thrace in 424 BC. According to Diodorus Siculus, it was Archelaus I who, at the end of the 5th century BC when the Macedonian state acquired great power and emerged onto the stage of history, gave the city and its sanctuary their subsequent importance by instituting a nine-day festival of games that included athletic and dramatic competitions in honor of Zeus and the Muses, whose organisation was overseen by the Macedonian kings themselves. Many ancient authors speak of the sculptural bronze masterpiece by Lysippos made for Alexander depicting 25 mounted companions who fell at the Battle of the Granicus and later taken to Rome by Metellus. A city was built adjacent to the sacred sites that acquired monumental form during the reigns of Alexander the Great's successors and Cassander took a great interest in the city erecting strong walls and public buildings, so that in Hellenistic times Dion was renowned far and wide for its fortification and splendid monuments. Dion and its sanctuary was destroyed in 219BC by Aetolian invaders but was immediately rebuilt by Philip V. Many of the dedications from the sanctuary that had been destroyed were buried in pits, including royal inscriptions and treaties, and these have been discovered recently. It fell to the Romans in 169BC and the city was given a new lease of life in 32/31BC when Octavian founded the Colony of COLONIA JULIA AUGUSTA DIENSIS here. It experienced its second heyday during the reigns of 2nd- and 3rd-century AD Roman emperors who were fond of Alexander the Great. Dion's final important period was in the 4th and 5th centuries AD when it became the seat of a bishopric. It was abandoned following major earthquakes and floods. The site of ancient Dion was first identified by the English traveler William Martin Leake on December 2, 1806, in the ruins adjoining the village of Malathria. He published his discovery in the third volume of his Travels in Northern Greece in 1835. Léon Heuzey visited the site during his famous Macedonian archaeological mission of 1855 and again in 1861. Later, the epigraphist G. Oikonomos published the first series of inscriptions. Nevertheless, systematic archaeological exploration did not begin until 1928. From then until 1931, G. Sotiriadis carried out a series of surveys, uncovering a 4th-century BC Macedonian tomb and an early Christian basilica. Excavations were not resumed until 1960 under the direction of G. Bakalakis in the area of the theatre and the wall. Since 1973, Professor D. Pandermalis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has conducted archaeological research in the city. Dion is the site of a large temple dedicated to Zeus, as well as a series of temples to Demeter and to Isis (the Egyptian goddess was a favorite of Alexander). Excavation of the magnificent House of Dionysos revealed a mosaic of exceptionally fine quality. A rare and unusual find in the museum is a bronze "hydraulis" or hydraulic musical pipe organ found in a former workshop. In 2006, a statue of Hera was found built into the walls of the city. The statue, 2200 years old, had been used by the early Christians of Dion as filling for the city's defensive wall. In October 1992, the municipality Dio (Dimos Diou) was formed. At the 1997 Kapodistrias reform, it was expanded with the former communities Agios Spyridonas, Karitsa, Kondariotissa, Nea Efesos and Vrontou. The administrative center was in the village of Kondariotissa. At the 2011 local government reform Dio merged with the former municipalities East Olympos and Litochoro to form the new municipality Dio-Olympos. Dio became a municipal unit of the newly formed municipality, and the former municipal districts became communities. The community of Dion consists of the village of the same name and Platanakia. The municipal unit has an area of 172.743 km2, the community 31.375 km2. \|Year\|\|Community population\|\|Municipal unit population\| - View of the archeological site - Ruins at the archaeological site - Ancient column - Sanctuary of Isis - View of the villa of Dionysus containing the large Dionysus mosaic - Sanctuary of Demeter - The sacred spring with the sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos in the background - Sanctuary of Isis - Four-columned temple dedicated to Isis Lochia, Sanctuary of Isis - View of the Hellenistic theater - Baths of ancient Dion - Public toilets along the central road - Mosaic floor in the Great Baths complex - Detail of a mosaic floor, Great Baths complex - The hypocaust of the Great Baths complex - Shields dedicated by Alexander the Great on his victory over the Persians at the Granicus river - Large mosaic at the Archaeological Museum of Dion - Inscription from the Archaeological Museum of Dion reading "ΒΑΣΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ" [King Philip] - "Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός" (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. - Kallikratis law Greece Ministry of Interior (Greek) - Hesiod, Catalogue of Women fr. 7. - Diodorus Siculus: Bibliotheca historica - Name changes of settlements in Greece - Kantouris, Costas. Greek archaeologists find Hera statue. Associated Press. March 1, 2007. - EETAA local government changes - "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. - F. Papazoglou, Les villes de Macédoine romaine, Supplément 18 du BCH, Paris, 1988. - D. Pandermalis, Dion, the archaeological site and the museum, Athens, 1997. \|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dion (Greece).\| - Municipality of Dion website - Official website of the archaeological park of Dion - Archaeological site of Dion - Images from the archaeological site
This could be it. The Large Hadron Collider finally has enough data to explore every nook and cranny where the elusive Higgs boson could be hiding. LHC physicists will announce the results of their latest hunt on Tuesday at CERN in Switzerland. What if they find nothing? New Scientist takes a look at alternatives to the Higgs. What is the Higgs boson? It is the last undiscovered member of the standard model of particle physics, the leading theory describing how particles and forces interact. The mysterious particle is thought to give all other particles mass, but the standard model can't predict what the Higgs itself weighs. Where might the Higgs be hiding? The Higgs may be produced fleetingly when particles smash into each other at high speeds, and for years physicists have been looking for evidence of it at various particle colliders. They have gradually ruled out its existence at different masses, but there is still a narrow mass range, between 115 and 141 gigaelectronvolts, where the simplest version of the Higgs could take refuge. What will LHC physicists report next week? Rumour has it they have found hints of the Higgs at a mass of 125 gigaelectronvolts, about 133 times the mass of a proton. What is known for sure, though, is that researchers from the LHC's main detectors, ATLAS and CMS, will separately present the past year's worth of data from the proton collider. That represents more than 300 trillion high-speed particle collisions, more than twice the amount of data reported at a conference in August. That is still not enough data to be able to rule the Higgs definitively in or out, but it should be enough to show hints of the Higgs if it exists in the mass range that had previously not been scrutinised. What if there is still no sign of the Higgs? This time, if nothing materialises, physicists will really start giving up. "If we witness a lack of events in the full mass range, then clearly we will start disfavouring the presence of the standard model Higgs boson in LHC data," says CMS spokesperson Guido Tonelli. "To really exclude it we would need additional data. But if in this amount of data we don't see any indication that something is happening, the most likely hypothesis is that we have to look for another solution." Are there other solutions? "I think there are alternatives to the Higgs," says Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg of the University of Texas at Austin, who, together with Sheldon Glashow of Boston University and Abdus Salam of Imperial College London, wrote the standard model in the 1960s. Giving up on the Higgs boson opens the door for more exotic kinds of physics, including extra particles and extra forces. Do we need a Higgs boson to give things mass? No, says theorist Matt Strassler of Rutgers University in New Jersey. The Higgs boson is just a ripple in the so-called Higgs field, which is really what is thought to give all other particles mass. "The poor Higgs field labors in obscurity, protecting the universe from catastrophe but getting none of its deserved credit," Strassler writes in his blog. Physicists are only looking for the Higgs particle because it is the easiest way to access the field. If they don't see it, then it suggests the field is different from the one predicted by the standard model. Normally, particles in fields are like ripples in ponds – photons are ripples in the electromagnetic field, for example. But if the field is more like molasses than water, then the ripples die away too quickly for us to detect. That means matter might get its mass from a thick Higgs-like field that has no associated particle. To get such a goopy field, theorists need to add in more exotic possibilities – such as new particles or forces of nature. "You can't get the situation where there's no Higgs particle there unless you add something else," Strassler told New Scientist. What about more exotic possibilities? The existence of a new force, called technicolour, could also give particles mass without the need for a Higgs boson. Technicolour would act like a heavy-duty version of the strong nuclear force, which binds quarks together in the nuclei of atoms. The technicolour force would fill space with pairs of still more new particles, which would form a soup through which other particles would travel, gaining mass in the process. "That would be an outstanding alternative if the Higgs isn't there," Weinberg says. "In that case there would be a whole host of other particles, probably at higher energy, that the LHC might discover. But it wouldn't find the Higgs. There wouldn't be a Higgs, in the usual sense." Are there even more exotic ideas? The existence of a fourth dimension of space, beyond the three we experience, could explain why particles have different masses – a fact that is usually attributed to the Higgs boson. If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
The sixth extinction The planet is in the midst of drastic biodiversity loss that some experts think may be the next great species die-off. How did we get here and what can be done about it? - 4869 words - 20 minutes After more than a million years on Earth, the caribou is under threat of global extinction. The precipitous decline of the once mighty herds is a tragedy that is hard to watch — and even harder to reverse. Caribou make do. They use as little as possible, often what nobody else wants. They perfected this impulse over tens of thousands of years, chasing north after retreating ice sheets while most other hoofed animals stayed further south, or spreading themselves thinly across scraps of land in forests and valleys and on mountaintops. They even learned how to survive the privations of winter by subsisting on lichen. Platter-sized hooves — ersatz snowshoes — support them on the snow to reach it on high. Shovel-shaped antlers help some of them dig snow craters to find it down low. But getting to the lichen is only part of the survival trick. Caribou also need to squeeze every last bit of nutrition out of the protein-poor food, which means they had to figure out how to reuse their own urea, a chemical byproduct of metabolism, a little like us being able to drink the same cup of coffee twice to get every smidgen of caffeine out of it. The feat continues to impress evolutionary biologists. Suffice it to say that Rangifer tarandus is built for survival. Females even limit themselves to the birth of a single calf each year, the better to husband resources. Yet today, after more than a million years on Earth, the caribou, also known as the reindeer, is under threat of global extinction. In Canada, where the animal is such a national icon that it graces our quarter coin, the species is in ominous shape. Of a dozen ecologically distinct populations (called “designatable units” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), one is extinct, six are endangered, three are threatened and two are of special concern. It’s not just a bleak picture; it’s also getting worse. That’s despite huge efforts by conservationists and Indigenous Peoples, streams of scientific analysis, dozens of provincial and federal legal instruments designed to protect caribou, plus lots of money, brainpower and passion. It’s like watching a boulder roll down a hill. Only one designatable unit, the little white Peary caribou of the Arctic islands, has improved recently, going from endangered to threatened in the committee’s rating system. “I haven’t given up on caribou, but it’s hard to watch,” says Chris Johnson, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. He is co-chair of COSEWIC’s terrestrial mammal subcommittee. “We’ve been ringing the alarm for years.” Take, for example, the barren-ground caribou, one of the two main types (the other is woodland caribou). These are the vast Arctic herds that still make the longest land migration in North America, pounding their way across the tundra to get to their calving grounds in the North, where females give birth within a few days of each other. The mass trek and group maternity ward is a strategy to keep wolves at bay through the power of congregation. In the mid-1990s, Canada had about 1.8 million barren-ground caribou. By the time the committee assessed them in 2016, a solid million had vanished. “The magnitude of the decline is breathtaking and irrefutable,” says Johnson. “We’re just not finding caribou like we did back in the ’80s and ’90s.” Is it climate disruption, which fiddles with so many of the systems caribou rely on for their delicate dance of survival? Is it too much hunting? Too many wolves? All those roads, seismic lines, mines, oil and gas drilling? The clear-cutting? The general creep of human reach? Our insouciance? Our greed? More important, can it be stopped in time to keep caribou on the land? The answer is simply unclear. The worst prophecies are already coming to pass. Earlier this year, John Krebs, a provincial biologist who is director of resource management for the Kootenay boundary region in southeast B.C., bore witness to the bitter end of the South Purcell herd, one of the 14 remaining isolated populations in the endangered southern mountain designatable unit. Krebs had been watching the herd decline for nearly three decades, starting in the ’90s when he was a wildlife biologist working for the province’s electric utility. Back then, there were about 80 caribou tucked away in the forests of the South Purcell Mountain just north of the United States and west of Alberta. That was already considered too few for a healthy herd. Biologists radio-collared some to track their movements. Provincial policy-makers enacted a cascade of attempts to protect the herd’s core habitat, including restricting road building and snowmobiling. But the herd’s numbers dropped like a stone anyway, reaching perhaps a couple of dozen in the late 1990s. “It was surprising how quickly it happened,” says Krebs. “Sometimes we felt, did we miss the herd in our survey?” By 2012, the South Purcell herd was in such tough shape that Krebs and other biologists organized a transplant of animals from another herd to bolster numbers. It was an abject failure. Within a couple of years, all the transplants were dead. By 2019, the South Purcell caribou were down to just five animals. That’s when Krebs and his team took four of the remaining animals to a maternity pen near Revelstoke, B.C., in the hope that they would eventually have the chance to join a new herd further north. A single caribou remained in the South Purcell Mountains, an old bull who was far too big and ornery to move. “The viability of the herd has been gone for a while, but the last marker was this bull,” says Krebs. Krebs tracked him, following signals from the animal’s radio collar, encouraged that he kept going. This past April, Krebs got the sign that the collar had stopped moving. On the last day of that month, fearing the worst, he and a colleague did a three-hour bush-crash trek into the forest to find out what had happened. They found the bull caribou, dead and partly eaten. He had been jumped by two wolves and had made a final, messy dash through the forest before the wolves killed him. Later, a bear scavenged what was left. When the caribou are gone, what’s left is ‘cascading ecological grief.’ “This was not only an animal’s last stand, and last moments, but it was the last of the herd that’s been on that landscape for thousands of years and was in First Nation oral history,” says Krebs, hesitating as he searches for words to describe the depth of his emotions. “It was profound to me, and I took a moment to take it in, in the bush there.” The extirpation of the South Purcell herd was all the harder to understand because the area still has lots of prime caribou habitat, says Krebs. Time-honoured conservation approaches of saving landscape and limiting human activity just didn’t work to save the herd, or even its last bull. “I felt not that we betrayed him but that we failed,” says Krebs. “We failed to recognize all the interplay among the factors.” Watching one herd die out in real time is hard enough. But the South Purcell caribou are the seventh herd to disappear in southern Alberta and B.C. since 2003 alone, says Melanie Dickie, research co-ordinator at the caribou monitoring unit of the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, who is in the throes of PhD research on the species. She ticks off the names of the other six herds like a mantra of loss: Banff, Purcell Centre, Burnt Pine, South Selkirk, Maligne, George Mountain. “We’ve been talking about doing something for the species for longer than I’ve been working on them,” she says. it’s not just the southernmost caribou populations that are vanishing. Many are also in baffling decline across the planet’s northernmost reaches. Globally, numbers have crashed 40 per cent in just three caribou generations, from 4.8 million to 2.9 million, according to the assessment led by Canadian caribou biologist Anne Gunn for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of endangered species. The findings resulted in the species being listed as vulnerable to extinction in 2015, a first. Some of the declines are happening because of changes to the land. Human activities sever migration routes and destroy habitat. “Caribou are creatures of space,” Gunn tells me. “They need that landscape.” They’re also used to using those landscapes to get away, a prime evolutionary survival strategy. Now, human and other predators can get right to where they are, through roads and other conduits. But other mechanisms for the drops in population are not perfectly clear. Climate heating could ramp up disease and parasites. Insect harassment of caribou, already a dangerous plague to mothers trying to rear calves on the tundra, is increasing along with the warmth. Caribou have been known to plunge panicked into the Arctic Ocean to escape the bites of warble flies and nose botflies, or to run non-stop for hours in a frantic struggle to keep bugs at bay. Unregulated hunting in some parts of the world and slow government responses aren’t helping. And the trends are all going the wrong way, a signal that the declines could keep deepening, Gunn’s red list assessment concludes. Gunn witnessed the problem in microcosm during the three decades she worked as a government biologist in the Northwest Territories. She resigned in 2007 and is now a B.C.- based consultant. In 1986, the Bathurst herd, which once spanned the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and northern Saskatchewan and Alberta, numbered nearly half a million, abundant enough that Indigenous T?? cho hunters alone could depend on taking 14,000 animals a year for food food security. By 2018, the herd’s total population had crashed to about 8,000. Despite the trend, which scientists first described in 2003, sport and resident hunting of the Bathurst herd continued until 2010. By 2016, even the tiny Indigenous subsistence hunt of 300 animals had to be cancelled. There just weren’t enough caribou. “I’m glad I’m not a biologist up there,” says Gunn. “It would be a heartbreak to see an empty landscape.” Losing caribou is about a lot more than losing a species. Caribou are known as an “umbrella” species, which means that when they are present, so is living space for thousands of other creatures, says wildlife ecologist Robert Serrouya, director of the caribou monitoring unit at the University of Alberta. Watching the disappearance of caribou therefore also comes with the understanding that their loss is linked to the unravelling of a complex, interconnected web of other possible losses, big and small. What about lichens, and the 250-year-old trees they grow on? Mosses? Tiny insects? When one piece of the puzzle goes missing, the effects ripple across the ecosystem. The loss is ineffably personal as well as ecological. “There’s a spiritual connection to knowing we have something that’s history, that’s not changed and not modernized for thousands of years,” says Serrouya. And then there’s the bigger scientific picture. Caribou are not the only species on the brink. As they vanish, they serve as a reminder of the planet’s extraordinary ongoing pulse of extinction. A comprehensive report in 2019 by an international team of scientists with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, known as IPBES, found that a million species are in danger of going extinct, more than at any other time in human history. And the rate of extinctions is speeding up. But for Indigenous Peoples who have relied on caribou for generations, the loss is far more than personal or metaphoric or scientific. Caribou reach across culture, identity, spiritual practice, family traditions and psychological health, say the authors of a new Inuit-led study on the loss. “This is more than just about caribou as meat,” says Jamie Snook, executive director of the Torngat wildlife, plants and fisheries secretariat in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador and one of the report’s co-authors. “A lot of Inuit feel their time on the land is a determinant of well-being. It’s a protective factor for people.” Snook recalls watching years ago as hundreds of caribou cavorted around a pond right in front of his cabin on Cape Caribou River in Labrador. They were everywhere, wild and unrestrained. “It’s just so holistic to the patterns people have experienced over their lifetimes and generations. Once that all of a sudden disappears or is at risk, it really questions your identity,” he says. When the caribou are gone, what’s left is “cascading ecological grief,” says Ashlee Cunsolo, dean of the school of Arctic and Subarctic studies at the Labrador Institute of Memorial University and another of the study’s co-authors. “When you think about something as keystone as caribou, the tragedy is beyond comprehension,” she says. Cunsolo and Snook had a first-hand look at the depth of the mourning during their study. As part of it, their colleague David Borish, now a postdoctoral student at the Labrador Institute, interviewed 84 people in the Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut regions of Labrador. The work will be released this year as a documentary provisionally called Herd. People from the community agreed to tell their stories after the George River herd’s numbers plummeted and governments imposed a ban on hunting in 2013. The ban didn’t halt the decline. The migratory woodland herd, once among the largest in the world with a recorded peak of 780,000 animals in 1993, shrank to 8,900 in 2016, a drop of 99 per cent, before sliding even further to about 5,200 and recovering slightly this year to 8,300. The stories were harrowing. Not only have some young Labrador Inuit never tasted caribou meat, the staple food of their ancestors, but they also couldn’t distinguish a caribou from a moose. Older hunters grieved at not being able to teach young generations how to hunt and prepare skins and meat. They missed the conviviality of being out on the land tracking caribou, savouring the spiritual connection between hunter and prey. “They had deep cravings for this meat and for this experience,” Borish says. “It was much more than just physical craving. It was an emotional craving to interact with this source of culture and pride they had had for so long.” One man told Borish that the loss of caribou was hurting people all over, both body and mind, an acknowledgment of the psychological toll. Some wept during the interviews. They worry that the caribou are gone forever. So do Borish, Snook and Cunsolo. They fear that they have assembled final testimony about the Inuit relationship with caribou. “What if there are no more? What if in 20 years, that’s it, we’ve witnessed the decline of something so important?” asks Cunsolo. Can the caribou be saved? It’s like a three-dimensional puzzle whose pieces keep moving. And there are different answers for animals in different parts of the country. Consider the Arctic’s Bathurst herd. Gunn and her colleagues at the international caribou group called CARMA (for the CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network) cite a dizzying range of assaults over the years that may have played a role in the herd’s collapse. For one thing, the animals seem to have abandoned their former fall and winter ranges in the boreal forest, moving to the tundra instead. That means migration distances doubled, using extra energy. At the same time, mining exploration ramped up across the herd’s tundra home and five diamond mines opened. In the horrible hot summer of 2014, fire destroyed 11 per cent of their preferred winter range. The summers are warmer and droughts are more common, both characteristic of climate heating. These are ill omens for a creature so superbly adapted to the cold. It adds up to more deaths — calves, mothers and bulls — and fewer births. And while caribou numbers have their own mysterious and often vast fluctuations, the CARMA group found that the herd’s cyclical decline was exacerbated by too much hunting and wolf predation. The balance of births and deaths went badly out of whack. Repairing it requires killing wolves as well as restricting hunting for food, says Gunn. She is convinced that if communities near the Bathurst herd had begun killing wolves in 2010 when she recommended the practice, the herd would not have lost as many members and the food harvest would not have had to be reduced to zero. In fact, the wolf kill in that area began only last year. The practice is hotly controversial. The ?utsël K’é Dene First Nation opposes it, for example, saying it is inhumane. But caribou herds have thresholds, says Gunn. Once the herds become too sparse, the animals’ social network is fractured beyond repair. When the animals can’t learn from each other, they become yet more vulnerable. It’s a recipe for extirpation. Industrial activity likely plays a role in the fate of the Bathurst herd, too. To protect the caribou, roads need to be “permeable,” which means relying on convoys and interrupting traffic with daily road closures so the caribou can get across, says Gunn. But the George River herd in Labrador and Quebec foundered even though there’s been little industrial activity near its habitat, says Snook. “It’s some complex combination of factors,” he adds. Meanwhile, in southern Canada, the dire effects of industry are incontrovertible. The logging of old-growth forests, oil and gas exploration, seismic lines, mining and even wind-power installations all disrupt caribou. And those disturbances are increasing, despite myriad laws to protect the habitats of woodland caribou. During the dozen years ending in 2012, caribou lost twice as much forest cover as they gained throughout Alberta and B.C., according to a study by Serrouya, Dickie and others published in April. In the northern parts of the provinces, the loss came from forest fires; in the south, logging. And by 2018, those losses had intensified even more. The one bright spot was that land-use regulations hashed out by the B.C. government in the mid-1990s to preserve some caribou landscapes actually helped a bit, the study found. “It made things less worse,” says Serrouya. Still, the woodland caribou are North America’s biggest conservation challenge on land, says Serrouya. A pressing issue is that all that logging opens up terrific habitat for deer, moose and elk, the other common ungulate species. The more other ungulates there are, the more wolves. And here’s where the woodland caribou’s canny evolutionary strategy becomes a handicap. They evolved to protect themselves in the woodlands by living either alone or in small clusters, so tracking and hunting them wasn’t worth the energy for wolves. Now that wolves have such excellent access to moose, elk and deer in the same habitats where caribou are found, wolf numbers are up — and they encounter caribou more often even when they’re not specifically looking for them. It’s a numbers game. “Caribou are like the french fries on the side of a hamburger meal,” says Dickie. “Wolves make their living off other ungulates, but if one bumps into a caribou, it’s going to eat it, because it’s food.” “They are not just animals to us. They are our brothers and sisters, our friends and ancestors.” Not only that, but more roads and lengthy seismic lines, which are narrow but ubiquitous corridors used to transport equipment to test for oil and gas deposits, make it easier for wolves to move long distances swiftly. That also increases the likelihood of running into a caribou. “It’s kind of a double whammy there,” says Dickie. The ultimate rescue is to create conditions for woodland caribou herds that allow them to be self-sustaining in the wild without heroics from humans. That means letting the forest grow old again, as well as letting nature once more take over the seismic lines and roads that serve as a handy conveyor belt for wolves. Together, these measures would reduce habitat for moose and deer, which would lead to fewer wolves and more caribou in, say, 50 to 100 years. But right now, the situation is so precarious that taking only those long-term measures will condemn many of the most southerly herds. “We need to spend a lot of money and public will and energy on conserving and restoring habitat,” Dickie says, “but we can’t pretend that it will magically solve the problem. We need to do some more drastic measures to make sure these herds are around in the short term.” Maybe corralling pregnant females into maternal pens until they give birth and then releasing them back into the wild. Or perhaps creating a year-round captive breeding facility, although that’s still experimental. Or shooting wolves and culling other ungulates. But the two approaches — habitat restoration and emergency rescue tactics — have to work in tandem, or else you end up with the heartbreak of the Little Smoky herd in Alberta. To preserve its 80 or so caribou, sharpshooters take to the skies in helicopters each winter and shoot as many wolves as they can from the air, explains Mark Boyce, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Alberta. Then they drop strychnine poison onto the land to kill even more wolves. Each year, they kill between 100 and 120 wolves, along with the collateral damage of eagles, fishers, lynx, wolverines and the occasional bear. And they’ve been doing it for the better part of two decades, enough to keep the herd extant if not growing. But at the same time, the provincial government continues to approve oil and gas development in Little Smoky habitat. “It’s a bit of a farce,” says Boyce, adding: “It’s the sort of thing you’re just going to have to keep doing forever because we’ve got a large population of wolves on the broader landscape, and so you go, whack, 100 wolves, and within weeks, they’ve been backfilled with wolves from an adjacent population.” The most potent tool to protect the future of caribou would be for the federal government to issue an emergency order under the Species at Risk Act. That would allow federal rules to be applied to provincial lands, effectively halting logging and oil and gas development in caribou habitat. Is it merited? “From a caribou ecology perspective, it is long past that time,” says Dickie. But in 2018, when Catherine McKenna, then minister of Environment and Climate Change, recommended making an emergency order for the endangered southern mountain designatable unit (which then still included the South Purcell caribou), her federal colleagues balked, saying they preferred “a collaborative stewardship-based approach.” The 2021 federal budget, for example, proposed $2.3 billion over five years to help set up conservation measures for species at risk including caribou. “We strongly believe that a collaborative approach will provide the best outcomes for species at risk conservation in Canada,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada’s spokesperson Samantha Bayard in an emailed response for this story. Two sunny stories run alongside the portents of catastrophe. One is an illustration of the new approach the federal government advocates. In 2013, West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations in central B.C. near the Alberta border embarked on a mission to save their 16 remaining caribou by setting up a mountaintop maternity pen and guarding its occupants from wolves until they can be released back into the wild — with radio collars and tags for monitoring. Since then, the nations have also been mapping caribou habitat and working to restore it, and culling wolves. Caribou biologists often cite the nations’ actions as one of the continent’s lone caribou recovery success stories. By February 2020, the herd, now called Klinse-za, numbered more than 80, and the nations signed a 30-year partnership agreement with the provincial and federal governments resulting in two million acres of land in protected areas. The aim is to restore caribou habitat and help the herd become self-sustaining. It is the first agreement of its kind in Canada. “They are not just animals to us,” West Moberly Chief Roland Willson said at the time. “They are our brothers and sisters, our friends and ancestors. The caribou have been suffering for decades as their habitat is destroyed piece by piece. They need us now, all of us. This partnership agreement gives us hope. It means that help is on the way.” Up in the Arctic, the Porcupine herd has not had to recover. It is still thriving. It is the continent’s last great caribou herd, one of the legendary, migratory barren-ground populations. Every year, its 200,000 or so members race en masse across northern North America to the Arctic coastal plains to give birth. Part of the herd’s success is that its calving grounds in Yukon and Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are protected from development, at least for now. (Former U.S. President Donald Trump auctioned off oil and gas leases in the refuge during the final weeks of his tenure, and current U.S. President Joe Biden suspended them shortly after taking office. The leases have been a political football field for 40 years.) Part of it is the geography and climate of the herd’s vast habitat that somehow leads to fewer great long-term fluctuations in numbers. Part of it is that, except for the Dempster Highway — the road that stretches 740 kilometres from Dawson City, Yukon, to Inuvik, N.W.T. — there’s little to interrupt caribou migration. But it’s also how the herd is managed. “It’s certainly a model. It should be an inspiration,” says Catherine Gagnon, an independent caribou researcher and post-doctoral student at the University of Quebec, Rimouski. Since 1985, the herd has had the advice of the Porcupine Caribou Management Board, with representation from five Indigenous groups plus the federal and territorial governments. Joe Tetlichi, the board’s chair, says the board watched carefully as herds in other parts of Canada started faltering. George River. Bathurst. So, long before their own herd was in trouble, Tetlichi and his board launched a harvest summit to discuss the issues with the communities. Tenderly, over years, the communities hammered out a blueprint describing how they will alter their hunting practices if the herd’s numbers start to fall. It’s based on a fire risk chart: green, yellow, orange, red. Green means the herd’s numbers are strong and people can hunt however they want. Red means the herd’s down to 45,000 and the harvest has to stop. Today, the herd is green. “Partnership really is the key to our success,” says Tetlichi. “We don’t fight with other parties. We walk together.” And they want the caribou to survive. Even as he speaks, he is tuned into the ageless rhythms of the Porcupine herd. The females are pregnant already, and most of the herd is three-quarters of the way to the refuge, he says. They’ll arrive by the first week of June, as they always do, and they will give birth in the first few days of that month, as they always do. Tetlichi stops there, immersed in his imagination in the vision of all those caribou on the calving grounds, keeping the herd going. But that’s not the end of the story. Tradition says that by summer, with the new calves in tow, they’ll spread out further into the coastal plain and maybe head east, following the plants that sustain them until the autumn’s snowstorms arrive. And that’s when they make the great journey back south to their winter home, as they always do. This story is from the September/October 2021 Issue The planet is in the midst of drastic biodiversity loss that some experts think may be the next great species die-off. How did we get here and what can be done about it? Caribou numbers in Canada are dropping drastically — and quickly — leaving the iconic land mammal on the brink of extinction The uncertainty and change that's currently disrupting the region dominated the annual meeting's agenda An estimated annual $175-billion business, the illegal trade in wildlife is the world’s fourth-largest criminal enterprise. It stands to radically alter the animal kingdom.
Single-celled algae can cause significant water clarity issues as these individual microscopic organisms breed rapidly and exponentially, feeding off the nutrient in suspension and on the pond floor, turning the water into a pea-green soup. The most effective method of tackling single-celled algae is by introducing an Ultraviolet Clarifier (UVC). UV Clarifiers safely emit UV radiation and when algae in suspension is passed through the UV chamber, the single organisms are killed and clumped together. This flocculated algae is then usually passed through a filter to extract from the pond. UVCs require a pump to pass the pond water through and the pump is usually submersed on the pond floor or in certain cases, can be dry mounted externally. Pond Aerators will also help to reduce problematic water quality issues by aiding water circulation and introducing vital oxygen into the water column. This in turn will aid the growth of friendly aerobic bacteria which will help to break down the biomass on the pond floor. Surface debris skimmers are ideal for extracting leaf debris and foreign matter from the surface before this has the chance to sink and decompose. We also offer a range of specific water treatments to tackle issues such as murky water, string algae (blanket weed) bloom, invasive duckweed (Lemna Minor) bloom, in addition to offering water test kits to monitor the water quality parameters within the pond. Please feel free to email or call our team of experts to solve your water clarity issue.
Director of Business Development Every five years, Congress passes legislation that sets national agriculture, nutrition, conservation, and forestry policy, commonly referred to as the “Farm Bill.” Farm bills establish voluntary programs within USDA that seek to improve environmental quality and conservation. Several of these programs include incentives related to irrigation systems and water used for irrigation. These bills impact you as a grower or water manager and are often not well understood. As a result, many people miss opportunities available to them through the farm bill to improve their farms, ranches, and water management. This Friday, Michael Pippen will help us understand the farm bill and its impacts on farms, ranches, and water use. This will be an information session you don’t want to miss. In this session, you will learn: - History of the farm bill - What is included in the current farm bill and(how it is organized - Where/who to go to learn or communicate concerns about the bill
There are many things in this day and age that require a great deal of sophistication, precision, and detail. From cell phones to intricate medical equipment, science has advanced to an astonishing place. As wonderful as these accomplishments are, the ancient knowledge of Vedic Science encompasses a great deal more than even the latest cutting edge feats of scientific progress. Embracing technologies that are beyond modern comprehension, Vedic Science addresses all levels of life. Something so delicate easily slips through the fingers as it is passed from generation to generation. It is our purpose to revive the purity of Vedic knowledge given to us by the ancient Rishis. How are Vedic Science and Western Science Different? Western science began with the surface and worked its way deeper, attempting to fathom the depth. Initially, Western science began by throwing a rock off a tall building and measured how long it took to hit the ground, eventually leading to Newton’s laws. Western science looked a little deeper with Maxwell’s equations, eventually leading to the deeper level of quantum mechanics and modern physics. In contrast, Vedic science began with the depth, the seed of life and existence. That depth was found, not by looking outward as in Western science, but instead by looking inward. Everything in its essence is one with the source of all existence. So the ancient Rishis, by looking inward all the way to the depth of their being, cognized the fundamental laws of nature and how those laws emerged throughout all levels of life. Science is a study of nature. Western science has its language, Vedic science has its language. Though the languages are quite different, they both speak of the same thing, the nature of life and existence. How Does Cognition Relate to Vedic Science? What makes Vedic science stand out is the process of cognition. Vedic science is based upon the cognitions of the ancient Rishis. The process of cognition is very rare. Some say cognition is not even possible in this day and age because the atmosphere is too polluted. In ancient times when the atmosphere was very pure, ancient Rishis purified their physiology like a very fine instrument. Imagine a phonograph. The needle touches into the record which vibrates the needle according to the etchings on the record. Those vibrations are then amplified and sent out through the speakers of the phonograph for all to hear. The process of Vedic cognition is similar. The record is the Veda and the phonograph is the physiology of the Rishis. The Rishis touched into the Vedic level of existence and allowed it to well up through their vocal cords for all to hear. Those sounds were passed down through the generations. They are the sounds of nature, the vibrations that are the very source of all the laws of nature. This knowledge is called “Vedic Science.” What Does Vedic Science Include? The Veda has a structure that encompasses the depth and breadth of all existence—the relative, the Transcendental, and the junction between the two. Vedic Science includes the knowledge of those three levels as well as how they interact and view one another. It also addresses the actual mechanics of existence, including the manifestation of existence. The essence of that understanding is contained in the knowledge of Rishi, Devata, Chhandas. In this section of the website, we will discuss these aspects in greater detail. Words of Encouragement It takes some time to understand the structure of the Veda. What I am trying to do here is give the big picture. Likely, you will have to work with it and reflect on it. I will write more about it and talk more about it. Eventually, it will come into focus for you. Just be patient with the process, and if it doesn’t make sense at first, just be easy with that. It is wise to not get caught up in trying to remember the definition of words that are new to you. You do better to just understand the big picture conceptually. In time, after you get comfortable with the big picture, then you can start to reflect on the meaning of words, like Nyaya, Sankhya, etc. But there is no need for that until you are very comfortable with the big picture. Once you go through the basic steps, it all starts to become incredibly beautiful, so it is well worth doing. Furthermore, spending time with this is a very powerful tool for your evolution. It expands your consciousness and it aligns your awareness with that which lies beyond limitations of indoctrinated thought. At first, try to keep it as simple as possible. The progression goes from Rishi in its simplest form to the objective world and then back to Rishi in its full grandeur. Stick with me through this process and I will take you through the looking glass.
Newcastle is making a major contribution to Australia’s soil research efforts, with two soil-related Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) headquartered at the University of Newcastle. The CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE) addresses environmental contamination of all kinds, with a strong focus on soil pollution, and the CRC for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC) aims to improve the productivity of Australia’s agricultural land. This year’s World Soil Day (Wednesday 5 December), which is themed ‘Be the solution to soil pollution’, shines a light on the importance of the work being done in Newcastle and across the nation by some of Australia’s finest soil researchers. Chief Executive Officer of the Soil CRC, Dr Michael Crawford is excited that there is a worldwide focus on soil. “On World Soil Day we recognise the importance of soil in sustaining our agricultural systems and food production,” he says. “Soil – which holds three times as much carbon as the atmosphere – is also a crucial element in our efforts to mitigate or adapt to a changing climate.” CRC CARE Chief Executive Officer Professor Ravi Naidu notes the significance of World Soil Day 2018. “With one-third of our planet’s soil already degraded,” he says, “this year’s theme reflects the growing realisation that chemical contamination of our environment is one of humanity’s gravest challenges, which I truly believe is as great if not greater than climate change. “Soil pollution is particularly insidious,” says Prof Naidu, who is delivering the opening keynote address on Clean Soils: Humanity’s next great challenge at a special World Soil Day event in Seoul, South Korea. “It harms us when we eat food grown in contaminated soil and people working with soil – or children playing in it – can be exposed directly. It also disrupts the ecosystem services – the benefits that humans freely gain from the natural environment, such as water supply, erosion control and food production – upon which we rely for our quality of life.” Dr Crawford says the Soil CRC covers a broad range of areas of soil research but research in soil pollution is part of the solution for Australia’s agricultural industry. “One of our research projects is looking at herbicide residue in soil and the effect it has on crop productivity. This information is invaluable to farmers who need evidence-backed guidance to improve their soil and crop health.” Among its many soil-related projects, CRC CARE is using microbes (bioremediation) to clean up hydrocarbon-contaminated soils at mine sites and developing rapid, real-time on-site sensors for detecting and analysing soil contamination. A project to remediate acid sulfate soils dramatically restored the health of wetlands near Cairns and has been hailed as a model for similarly afflicted sites globally. CRC CARE (Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment) brings together industry, government, science and engineering to prevent, assess and clean up environmental contamination. The Soil CRC (Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils) brings together scientists, industry and farmers to find practical solutions for the nation’s underperforming agricultural soils. For media enquiries contact Communications Manager CRC CARE – 0429 779 228 Communications Manager Soil CRC – 0433 812 889

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