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The central paradox of A Tale of Two Cities is that its action involves one of the most important political events of modern European history—and perhaps of its entire history—the French Revolution, while the values of the novel are ultimately antipolitical. Politics and history, neither of which Charles Dickens renders with great faithfulness, loom as a necessity from which his characters must flee to save their souls. Throughout the novel, Dickens reminds his readers that all acts, whether magnanimous or petty, shrink to nothing when viewed in a cosmic context. Indeed, for him, the goal of politics—the finding of a just community—is an absurd one in this world. To paraphrase Sydney Carton’s famous last speech: It is a far better thing to die and join such a community in heaven—the existence of which Dickens cannot with certainty assert—than to engage with society. A Tale of Two Cities demonstrates that Dickens’s political will, wan in his previous novels, is finally exhausted.
In this regard and in one of the first substantial essays dealing with Dickens’s art and thought, published a year before A Tale of Two Cities was completed, Walter Bagehot said, Mr. Dickens has not infrequently spoken, and what is worse, he has taught a great number of parrot-like imitators to speak, in what really is, if they knew it, a tone of objection to the necessary constitution of human society.
Dickens’s strength, Bagehot agreed, appears in the quality of his moral cry, his protest against the injustices of society; yet, as he said, the novelist never indicates how these inequalities might be removed.
By the time of A Tale of Two Cities, distinguished by its outrage against the tyranny of both the governors and the governed, Dickens clearly indicates that society cannot be made to progress or even be substantially ameliorated. For him, the great grasp for freedom by the French people, for example, goes finally unsung, drowned out by the terrible cacophony of the guillotine. To Dickens’s unwillingness to accept the “necessary constitution of human society,” then, must be added his refusal to understand and accept the necessarily slow and painful processes of history.
In his early comic and satiric novels, such as Pickwick Papers (1836-1837), Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839), and Oliver Twist (1837-1839), Dickens’s simple stance of protest carried with it a zestful anger that was both invigorating and liberating; but as he grew more serious in his artistic intent, beginning with Dombey and Son, completed in 1848, and continuing through David Copperfield (1849-1850), Bleak House (1852-1853), Hard Times (1854), and Little Dorrit (1855-1857), for many readers his masterpiece, he lost his sense of the efficacy of the human will to deal with the complexities of a modern, industrial society. His gradual loss of faith was accompanied by a diminishing moral energy; his imagination seemed unable to create viable and pertinent responses to a civilization increasingly encroaching on individual freedom. Particularly in Little Dorrit, the novel published immediately before A Tale of Two Cities, readers are stunned as well as enervated by the hopelessness of the conclusion.
There is a significant scene in A Tale of Two Cities that appears at the conclusion of book 1 and is relevant to Dickens’s social despair. After Dr. Manette has been saved from the Bastille and is on the way from Paris to London, his rescuer, Mr. Jarvis Lorry, asks him, “I hope you care to be recalled to life?” Dr. Manette answers, “I can’t say.” In some ways, the question is never answered by the doctor, for at the novel’s conclusion his mind clouds permanently from the effects of his sufferings. If to be “recalled to life” means to be called back into civilization and history, then the novel implies that the doctor’s answer is “No.” The quality of life in society is actually no better, Dickens seems to claim, than perpetual imprisonment in the Bastille, and humans are caught up in an undertow of events that leaves them helpless; their imagination, intelligence, and will are useless when pitted against politics.
Indeed, the novelist goes further than this in his view of the ineptitude of human beings. If they consent to join in the machinations of society, Dickens asserts, they must inevitably expect to be corrupted. It is a tragic view, unrelieved by a belief in human dignity, or in the human ability to attain nobility through exertion of will. The readers of A Tale of Two Cities, left with Dickens’s vision of unmitigated tragedy, remain unconsoled in their own existence, which is inextricably bound up with the demands of history and politics.
The consolation that Dickens does offer takes the form of a vague promise of supernatural communion and a picture of human fellowship and love. The fellowship, composed of Dr. and Lucie Manette, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, and the minor characters of Mr. Lorry, Miss Pross, and Jerry Cruncher, provides a sanctuary within the confines of history. There affection, trust, and sacrifice stand opposed to the hate, treachery, and tyranny of the world. | <urn:uuid:38ebfc46-9435-404d-8cb3-92b30107b634> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.enotes.com/topics/tale-of-two-cities/critical-essays/critical-evaluation | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463165.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00098-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964209 | 1,129 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Nuclear Fusion Emitting Energy
Name: Jon P.
How does nuclear fusion result in excess energy?
This is best explained by Einstein's most famous equation, E = mc^2.
You are probably familiar with this, but let me go over it just in case
you are not. "E" represents energy, "m" is mass and "c" is the speed of
light. This equation shows the correlation between mass and energy, with
a simple constant. However, the constant is a very large number and it
gets even larger because it is squared. This means that even very tiny
amounts of mass can result in the release of enormous amounts of energy.
This equation relates to fusion very intimately. Fusion is the process
by which two deuterium atoms, (or one hydrogen and one tritium atom)
combine to form Helium. If you add up the mass of two deuterium atoms,
you will notice that Helium is very slightly lighter. Since the nucleus
of a Helium atom is very stable (due to its full valance shell), it results
in a lower energy needed to hold the nucleus together. I do not know the
exact mechanism of fusion, so I cannot get much more detailed than this.
Helium is much more stable than deuterium, so the amount of energy of
energy given off is pretty large. This results in a minor loss of mass
and can be seen by observing the actual masses of deuterium (2.013553 u)
versus Helium (4.002602 u). The mass difference is 0.0245 u, where u is
grams per mole of atoms. Avogadro's number (number of atom in a mole) is
6.022 x 10^23, which means that the actual mass change in one atom is so
very small--just 0.61% decrease in mass. But remember that the speed of
light squared is equal to 89875517873681764 meters per second. So for one
mole of gas the result is an enormous amount of energy (0.0245 x c^2).
Note that I have not done unit analysis, so if you want to solve some problems,
make sure that you are using mass, energy and c with proper units.
Dear Jon P.
I do not know what you mean by excess energy. However, I do know that energy
is conserved if you count all kinds of energy.
Since a helium nucleus is very strongly bound by the strong force, its mass is
considerably less that the mass of two (comparatively lightly bound) deuterium
nuclei. And since, as Einstein taught us (E = mc^2), mass is a form of energy,
some of the mass energy of the deuterons must be transformed into other forms of
energy (like heat).
The same thing happens when you burn coal where C and O2 combine to CO2 with a
reduction in mass. However, fusion produces about a million times greater
percentage reduction in mass, which explains the fearsome power of nuclear
weapons and the relatively tiny amount of uranium needed to fuel nuclear
Best, Dick Plano, Professor of Physics emeritus, Rutgers University
Energy from fusion and energy from fission are based on Einstein's
famous relationship between mass and energy: E=mc^2. Both fission and
fusion can transform mass into energy. A standard fusion reaction is
joining four hydrogen atoms into one helium atom. Two hydrogen atoms
(one proton and one electron) join into a heavy hydrogen atom (one
proton and neutron with one electron). The extra electron joins with
its proton to produce the neutron. This heavy hydrogen atom is called
deuterium. Two deuterium atoms then join into one helium atom. The
four hydrogen atoms we started with have greater mass than the one
helium atom we end with. The lost mass is released as radioactive
energy. Although very little mass is lost, multiplying the small mass
by the square of the speed of light results in a large amount of energy.
Fusion requires high temperature because hydrogen atoms must be
extremely close together before they will fuse together. A hydrogen
molecule's two atoms are not close enough together to fuse. If the
hydrogen is extremely hot, the atoms are moving fast enough to have the
nucleus of one crash into the nucleus of another. This can result in
fusion. A standard hydrogen bomb requires an atomic bomb as a trigger.
An ordinary chemical bomb would not provide a high enough temperature.
Dr. Ken Mellendorf
Illinois Central College
When two nuclei fuse, the sum of the masses of those nuclei is less than
the sum of the initial nuclei. That energy difference is converted into
energy according to Einstein's famous formula delta E = delta M x (c^2).
Because of the size of the quantity (c^2), a small mass loss creates a
large amount of energy that is given off by a variety of fusion processes.
Click here to return to the Physics Archives
Update: June 2012 | <urn:uuid:7df74acb-b6f9-4a49-9053-844dbcfac62e> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy05/phy05158.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936460576.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074100-00143-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907367 | 1,085 | 3.484375 | 3 |
April 7, 2002
Brookhaven Spotlights: News From the April 2002 American Chemical Society Meeting
Nanocatalysts and Atmospheric Chemistry
Brookhaven chemists have developed computer simulations describing the atomic-level mechanisms of chemical reactions involved in the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, and the role of chemicals a billionth of a meter in size in speeding up these reactions.
The reaction of hydroxyl radicals – a major cause of smog and
atmospheric pollution – with carbon monoxide to produce carbon dioxide is
poorly understood, despite being the primary mechanism for removal of
carbon monoxide from the atmosphere. When the hydroxyl radical (OH) and
carbon monoxide (CO) combine, they form a transient molecule, HOCO, that
later breaks into carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Having previously simulated the reaction of OH with CO, chemist James T. Muckerman and research associate Hua-Gen Yu have now simulated how light breaks the bonds between the atoms of the HOCO molecule. They found that when light excites a specific vibrational state of the OH bond, HOCO breaks into both hydroxyl radical and carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The most interesting result, Yu said, is that when light hits the OH bond, it is broken in only one-third of the cases, and the nearby CO bond is split the rest of the time. “This result may seem counter-intuitive,” he said, “but it is due to the fact that the bonds are coupled, and what affects one bond affects its neighbors as well.”
Muckerman said that the new calculation methods for many-atom systems
will be important in studying how nanocatalysts – chemicals the size of a
billionth of a meter – speed up chemical reactions. “Nobody really
understands how nanocatalysts work,” Muckerman said. “So we are now using
our simulations to investigate the role of these catalysts at the atomic
Helping to Fuel Efficient Electric Vehicles
Brookhaven scientists have developed a new method of creating catalysts that could allow the production of cheaper and more efficient fuel cells – highly efficient electrical energy sources that may one day replace cars’ internal combustion engines.
Like a regular battery, a fuel cell produces electricity as a result of chemical reactions. Unlike a battery, however, a fuel cell does not require charging, but instead produces energy by feeding hydrogen and oxygen onto metal-based plates called electrodes. The chemical energy is converted into electrical energy as the electrons flow between the electrodes.
To maximize the chemical reactions inside the fuel cell, both electrodes contain a catalyst, or “electrocatalyst.” One of the most efficient electrocatalysts is made of an alloy of platinum and ruthenium, but its efficiency is reduced by carbon monoxide deposits formed on the platinum as a by-product of the hydrogen-oxygen reaction. The new method developed by the Brookhaven team, led by chemist Radoslav Adzic, reduces the amount of platinum present in the catalyst, thus limiting carbon monoxide accumulation and improving fuel cell performance.
In the new method, platinum atoms are deposited on the surface of tiny
ruthenium crystalline particles. In contrast, typical platinum-ruthenium
alloy catalysts have platinum throughout. “Our method very likely makes
almost all of the platinum atoms available to react with the hydrogen,”
Lefty or Righty? PET Studies Highlight “Mirror Image” Drug Differences
New PET imaging studies at Brookhaven are helping scientists to understand how a drug’s “handedness” affects its performance in the human body, and may lead to the development of more effective pharmaceuticals.
Just like a person, drug molecules can be “lefties” or “righties,” a property determined by the spatial orientation of their atoms. Mirror images of each other, each version of a particular drug molecule contains the identical atoms and identical chemical and physical properties, but can have different effects in the human body. “Our body’s proteins can distinguish the difference between left- and right-handed molecules and react accordingly,” said chemist Yu-Shin Ding. “The results can be quite dramatic.”
Most drugs are mixtures of the lefty and righty versions of the same molecule. In the case of Ritalin, known also as methylphenidate, Ding and her research team found that the right-handed version is responsible for the therapeutic effects of the drug. As a result, if the right-handed version were to be isolated and produced as a pharmaceutical drug, patients may only have to take half of the current dose to get the same effect. This kind of selective production can also help reduce unwanted drug side effects – L-dopa, used to treat Parkinson’s disease, is one example of a left-handed molecule being used because the right-handed version has associated side effects.
Ding and her colleagues are currently studying a host of other drugs to
determine the “handedness” effect, including methadone; GVG, a drug that
has shown promise in the treatment of addiction; and BPA, a drug used for
the treatment of melanoma and brain tumors .
Mapping Human Enzyme Activity
New radiotracers developed by Brookhaven scientists are helping to map an important enzyme’s role in the human body, studies that may facilitate the development of new drugs and lead to a better understanding of brain and body chemistry.
Chemist Joanna Fowler and colleagues have developed radiotracers for mapping the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO), a molecular target of drugs used to treat depression and Parkinson’s disease. Using a medical imaging technique called positron emission tomography (PET), Fowler had previously discovered that smokers, who are less prone to Parkinson’s disease, have an average of 40 percent less MAO than nonsmokers. MAO breaks down dopamine, a brain chemical that is important in movement, motivation, and reward.
MAO has an equally important role in the body, where it breaks down potentially dangerous toxins in food. Until now, however, scientists have not been able to image the enzyme’s activity in organs other than the brain. Fowler and her team are now using these Brookhaven-developed radiotracers to look at MAO activity in other organs and determine how MAO levels are affected by smoking and interaction with various drugs. This work may help lead to the development of new drugs to treat or prevent Parkinson’s disease, and help identify other factors that influence MAO levels, including aging and smoking, and their possible implications in health and disease.
“This is important knowledge,” said Fowler, who will receive the ACS’s Glenn T. Seaborg award on Monday for this and other brain chemistry work. “We’re now able to look at the effect of various drugs on the enzyme directly in the body.” | <urn:uuid:a38e9cfa-d794-42f4-a72d-89cb1f5cd68f> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/2002/bnlpr040702.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462232.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00311-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933842 | 1,471 | 3.015625 | 3 |
When Titanic departed on its first and last voyage from Southampton, England on Wednesday, April 10, 1912, 18-year-old Jewish immigrant Leah Aks and her 10-month-old son, Philip were on board.
Passover had concluded the day before. On sailing day, Leah was pleased to find that the third class was not completely booked; she and Philip had a cabin all to themselves.
Leah was born in Warsaw, Poland. In London, she had met Sam Aks, a tailor who was also from Warsaw. They were married there.
“In London he was barely making a living,” wrote Valery Bazarov, historian for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, in a piece about the family for HIAS. “A cousin who lived in America visited him in London and told him that if he came to America he’d make money very quickly. So he came over, got a job and soon saved enough money to bring Mrs. Aks and the baby over.”
Sam settled in Norfolk, Va. and entered the scrap metal business. In Titanic: Women and Children First, author Judith B. Geller indicates that all the money Sam earned was used for Leah and “Filly’s” trip to join him. Their arrival in Norfolk would mark the first time Sam would meet his son.
Though Leah and Filly were booked onto an earlier ship, Bazarov explained that Leah’s mother convinced her to wait a week and travel on Titanic, considered the world’s safest liner.
Four days into their journey, after the ship struck an iceberg, Leah and Filly followed other third-class passengers to the bottom of the third-class staircase at the rear of the ship.
At 12:30 p.m., the crew permitted women and children in this group to make their way to the boat deck. When crew members saw that Leah and Filly couldn’t get through the crowd up the stairs, they carried the two. Leah and Filly made it to the boat deck, part of the first-class area of the ship. Madeline Astor, the young wife of millionaire John Jacob Astor, covered Filly’s head with her silk scarf.
According to Bazarov, a distraught man—who had been rebuffed by the crew when he attempted to get into a lifeboat—ran up to Leah and said, “I’ll show you women and children first!”
The man grabbed Filly and threw him overboard.
Leah searched the deck until someone urged or pushed her into lifeboat 13. She sat in the middle of the Atlantic with 63 others in number 13, a broken woman. Hours after Titanic went down and the cries for help from those dying in the water faded away, the liner Carpathia arrived at daybreak.
Leah searched the deck of Carpathia in vain for her baby. Despondent, she took to a mattress for two days. Titanic survivor Selena Cook urged Leah to come up on deck for air. When she did, she heard Filly’s cry.
Unknown to Leah, Filly had fallen into lifeboat number 11, right into another woman’s arms. In Geller’s account, the woman is presumed to have been Italian immigrant Argene del Carlo. Her husband was not permitted to follow the pregnant Argene into the lifeboat.
“Argene shared her warmth with Filly through the long night,” Geller writes. “Toward morning she began to believe that God had sent this child to her as a replacement for Sebastino (her husband) and a brother for the child she carried in her womb.”
On the deck of Carpathia, the woman who had cared for Filly since Titanic sank refused to give Leah the child.
Leah appealed to the Carpathia’s captain, Arthur Roston, now put in the role of King Solomon.
In an e-mail interview with The Observer, Gilbert Binder, the husband of Leah’s late granddaughter, Rebecca, described what happened next.
Binder said that Filly was returned to Leah because “she identified him as a Jewish baby and he was circumcised. The (other) woman was Catholic and Italian and her male child would not have been circumcised.”
After their arrival in New York, Leah and Filly were taken to HIAS’ shelter and remained there until Frank could come for them.
“Leah Aks gave birth to a baby girl nine months after arriving in this country and intended to name her Sara Carpathia,” in honor of the rescue ship, Binder explained. “The nuns at the hospital in Norfolk, Va. got confused and named the baby Sara Titanic Aks. I have a copy of her birth certificate.” Sara was Binder’s mother-in-law.
Leah lived until 1967; her son, Filly, until 1991.
Marshall Weiss is the editor and publisher of The Dayton Jewish Observer.
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JewishJournal.com reserves the right to use your comment in our weekly print publication. | <urn:uuid:8cbd5125-6d59-43ab-ac88-5ceba13f13cb> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.jewishjournal.com/lifestyle/article/the_story_of_titanic_survivors_leah_and_filly_aks_20120329 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463165.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00098-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978389 | 1,124 | 3.25 | 3 |
Developing Special Interests
One of the biggest advantages homeschooled teens have over their schooled peers is "time." Homeschooling takes less time than classroom-based learning. Even the most structured homeschooler rarely spends more than two to four hours a day studying. The rest of the time is spent pursuing interests and developing talents. Michelle Bolton is a case in point. She has been homeschooled since the second grade. Because she set her own schedule for schoolwork, practice, and lessons, she was able to enjoy flexibility not available to classroom-bound students. Michelle began playing the French horn when she was thirteen. By the time she was seventeen, she had received an invitation to play at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Her personal talents were allowed to thrive in the homeschooling environment because she had plenty of time to develop her specialty. Even when you add on time for chores, meals, and other daily requirements, homeschooled teens have four to ten hours a day that they can use any way they want.
Some teens use this time to enjoy traditional extracurricular activities like sports, drama club, or music. Others use their time to develop expertise in cooking, ancient history, costume design, chess, horses, sailing, family history, gardening, pottery, and a myriad of other activities. For example, a student who is a budding naturalist may begin by using field guides to help her catalogue the plants, insects, and animals in her own backyard. Sasha Earnheart-Gold, a homeschooler, established a nonprofit group that trains farmers in Bolivia and Mexico to propagate and care for apple trees. His organization received grants and awards that helped fund twelve hundred seedlings being planted and then flown to farmers around the world to feed them and to trade on the world market. Sasha finished high-school-level home education at thirteen, and during one of his work-study-abroad tours he was inspired by someone he met and conceived his company, Apple Tree International. Sasha is currently at Dartmouth and one of his dreams is to travel the globe, sampling apples that his students-farmers in some of the most impoverished regions in the world-have planted.
A teen interested in music might listen to music on her own, participate in a jazz choir at the local community college, take an Internet-based music theory class, and play piano at her church for free and at local restaurants for tips.
For those homeschoolers whose passions include competitive sports, both advantages and disadvantages exist. The student who is serious about an individual sport will probably improve more as a homeschooler than as a school student because he has more time to practice and has the freedom to train with the best coaches in his area, not just the ones at their local high school.
Homeschoolers who want to play on public school sports teams, however, face some hurdles. Some states allow homeschoolers to participate in their sports programs and some do not. If you want your homeschooler to play on a public school team, you will have to plan ahead and find out what the requirements are for your area. The best way to do this is to contact the school and see what its homeschooling policy is. Be advised, however, that spots on these teams can be very competitive and feelings can run very strongly against the homeschooled student. If your child is allowed to participate on a team, he will most likely be required to meet the school's academic requirements. One homeschooler in Wisconsin decided to go to school for the first time in order to be on the school's gymnastics team. After one year, however, she decided to return home because she missed her family and wanted to resume her piano lessons and ballet lessons that she had had to give up because of her school schedule. This family was able to work out a compromise with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, wherein the girl participated not as a homeschooler, but as a transfer student. According to their agreement, the student was required to start taking classes on campus one week before the first meet and to take twenty hours of electives. She did not mind this so much because she was able to take art class, driver's education, and study hall. She remained a transfer student for the length of the gymnastics season, but then returned home after that for full-time homeschooling.
Some homeschoolers choose not to play on public school teams because they do not want their child to have to meet the school's academic requirements. Other homeschoolers choose not to participate because they are afraid that if the state is allowed to regulate a homeschooler's academic requirements because of sports, it is just a matter of time before the state tries to establish all homeschooling requirements.
Some homeschooling families have gotten around the public school sports issue by building up their own homeschooling teams. One family in Pennsylvania started their own basketball league. The first year they had only seven people aged eleven to seventeen. By the team's third year, they had enough players for three teams-one for the seven-to-ten-year-olds, one for the ten-to-thirteen-year-olds, and one for high school-age students. They played small Christian schools and other homeschooling teams in their area.
If you have a child who is gifted in and passionate about sports, plan ahead and be creative. There is no reason that your child cannot receive a first-rate homeschool education and still develop her athletic talents to the fullest.
|Excerpted from: Homeschooling for Success: How Parents can Create a Superior Education for Their Child by Rebecca Kochenderfer and Elizabeth Kanna| | <urn:uuid:2d36922a-cc90-4dbe-b979-8ba860f1849b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/hobbies-and-interests/30060.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462555.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00028-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983057 | 1,168 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Pass on insights, knowledge and skills.
Whether it's some advice for a friend on helping them look for a new job, or guidance for a child embarking on their first day at school, many of us regularly use our knowledge and experience to help and guide others.
But this type of help and guidance isn't just useful for our friends and family – by mentoring in the workplace, you can help people increase their effectiveness, advance their careers, and create a more productive organization. Being a mentor can also be very rewarding.
In this article, we'll look at the benefits of mentoring, and the skills you need to be a good mentor. We'll also look at setting up and managing an effective mentoring relationship.
Mentoring is a relationship between two people – the "mentor" and the "mentee." As a mentor, you pass on valuable skills, knowledge and insights to your mentee to help them develop their career.
Mentoring can help the mentee feel more confident and self-supporting. Mentees can also develop a clearer sense of what they want in their careers and their personal lives. They will develop greater self-awareness and see the world, and themselves, as others do.
For an organization, mentoring is a good way of efficiently transferring valuable competencies from one person to another. This expands the organization's skills base, helps to build strong teams, and can form part of a well planned Succession Planning strategy. Many apprenticeship schemes are based on the principles of mentoring.
There are two main types of mentoring:
This article focuses mostly on developmental mentoring.
To be a good mentor, you need similar skills to those used in coaching , with one big difference – you must have experience relevant to the mentee's situation. This can be technical experience, management experience, or simply life experience.
To be an effective mentor, you need to:
Remember, mentoring is about transferring information, competence, and experience to mentees, so that they can make good use of this, and build their confidence accordingly. As a mentor, you are there to encourage, nurture, and provide support, because you've already "walked the path" of the mentee.
Also remember that mentoring is about structured development – you don't have to tell the mentee everything you know about a subject, at every opportunity.
Heron's Six Categories of Intervention provides a useful framework for analyzing how you can help people more effectively.
Below are some guidelines for setting up and running a successful mentoring arrangement:
A mentoring relationship is one of mutual trust and respect. So meet regularly, and lead by example. The mentoring conversation may be informal, but treat the overall arrangement with formality and professionalism.
If possible, conduct mentoring meetings away from the mentee's normal working environment. A change of environment helps remove the conversation from everyday perspectives.
If you're not honest, a mentoring meeting will probably be a waste of time for both of you. Discuss current top issues or concerns. Sometimes an honest exchange leads to the mentor and mentee deciding that they don't really like or respect each other. It's better to know up front and build from this sort of understanding, rather than have it hurt the relationship.
Use the mentoring session to exchange views and give the mentee guidance, and don't just give the mentee immediate answers to a problem. A simple answer to a problem is rarely as valuable as understanding how to approach such problems in the future.
Establish some rules or a charter for the mentoring arrangement, with desired outcomes. This could be a set agenda for points to cover, or some performance goals for the mentee to pursue outside of their regular appraisal structure. (One of the key reasons that mentoring can fail is that there's a fundamental misunderstanding about what's expected from the mentor and mentee.)
Most mentoring arrangements work best when they're outside of the day-to-day line management relationship between people. That doesn't mean that you can't mentor the people in your team, but it's often best to have a mentoring relationship that crosses reporting lines.
In a small organization, you may not have this option. If this is the case, make sure everyone knows when you're acting as a mentor, rather than as a manager.
Mentoring is a great way to progress a person's professional and personal development, and help create a more productive organization. It can also be very rewarding – for the mentor and the mentee.
Treat the mentoring relationship with the respect it deserves. Focus the relationship on the mentee's needs, and use the powerful skills of smart questioning, active listening, and value-added feedback to achieve the best outcomes from your mentoring.
To keep the mentoring relationship on track, set regular mentor meetings, be honest and open, and don't look for quick fixes. Mentoring is a long-term commitment.
This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free newsletter, or join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career!
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There is an old aphorism which claims that two things in life are certain: death and taxes. To this, Rabbi Kook would add a third certainty — t’shuva.
Before we begin to explore the multi- faceted world of t’shuva, as it applies to the individual and to existence as a whole, it is important to know that the return to the Source is inevitable. Just as the body has a built-in mechanism for self-healing, so does mankind. T’shuva is promised, and t’shuva will come. The world will return to its Maker.
“The world must come to a state of complete t’shuva. The world is not static; rather it progresses and develops, and the true, complete development must inevitably bring absolute health, both physical and spiritual, and this will bring the light of the life of t’shuva with it” (Orot Ha’Tshuva, 5:3).
Webster’s Dictionary defines determinism as: “a doctrine which postulates that acts of the will, occurrences in nature, or social or psychological phenomena are determined by antecedent causes.” In Rabbi Kook’s era, the theory of determinism was the talk of the town. Darwin theorized that the world was deterministically guided by a course of evolution. Marx declared that communism was deterministic in nature. The Americans claimed that capitalism, not communism, was destined to conquer the world. Zionists said that the Jewish people were deterministically driven to have their own state. Freud insisted that man was deterministically motivated by the events of his past.
As if observing the world from the top of a mountain peak, Rabbi Kook wrote that behind all of these social, political, and scientific movements was the movement of movements, the determinism of determinisms — t’shuva. At the root of them all, the inner force of t’shuva was constantly pushing the world forward to make it a better place. When the t’shuva force hits a political thinker like Marx, the “Communist Manifesto” is born. When it hits Herzl, it results in a book, “The Jewish State.” When it hits a deep, spiritual thinker like Rabbi Kook, it becomes “Orot HaT’shuva.” T’shuva can take many forms, depending on the person, and the extent to which he has purified himself. However, one thing is common to all, whether it be the drive to build a utopian society; to abolish poverty and disease; to prevent aging and death; to produce healthier foods; to ban nuclear weapons; to protect the environment; and to guarantee equal rights for all minority groups — all of these things are driven by the phenomenon of t’shuva.
The comforting words of Rabbi Kook as he passed by the Valley of Hinom in Jerusalem (see yesterday’s blog) come to assure us that the world is indeed becoming a better place. After all, people no longer sacrifice their children to the gods. There is a deterministic trend in the world toward improvement and progress. While parts of mankind are still gripped by primitive superstitions and customs, world civilization has come a long way since the days of Ghengis Khan. The Dark Ages gave way to the Renaissance with its focus on art and literature. With the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, mankind took another leap forward. Once man lived in fear of forces he could not control, now he felt that his intelligence and reason could lead him to master the world. In modern times, the Fall of the Bastille and the Age of Emancipation, have brought great benefit to mankind. Generally, the world is a healthier place than it was just a few decades ago. This world development is all a part of t’shuva.
One might argue that while the world constantly develops in cultural and material spheres, spiritual t’shuva is destined to remain a dream. Individuals, yes, there are always a few oddballs that latch onto religion, but the world? “In G-d we trust” may be written on the dollar, but the dollar is worshipped far more. Not only that, violence and murder are rampant all over the world. And in the matter of sexual purity, man today is not much more elevated than the average Viking of the past. Nonetheless, Rabbi Kook has hope.
“T’shuva is ever-present in the heart. Even at the moment of transgression itself, t’shuva is hidden in the soul, and it sends out its rays which afterward are revealed when remorse calls out for t’shuva. In the depths of life, t’shuva exists, since t’shuva preceded the world, and before sin occurred, the remedy of t’shuva had already been prepared. Therefore, nothing is more certain in the world than t’shuva, and in the end, everything will return to its perfected state” (Ibid, 6:2).
Rabbi Kook continues by saying that the certainty of t’shuva is all the more guaranteed regarding the nation of Israel, whose t’shuva is promised, both in the Torah and in the words of our Prophets. Israel stands waiting to return to its original holy yearning for God, to express in life the true nature of its soul, in every facet of its nationhood and being, “in spite of all the iron curtains which are blocking the manifestation of this mighty inner essence.”
About the Author: Tzvi Fishman was awarded the Israel Ministry of Education Prize for Creativity and Jewish Culture for his novel "Tevye in the Promised Land." For the past several years, he has written a popular and controversial blog at Arutz 7. A wide selection of his books are available at Amazon. The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of The Jewish Press
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A New Chapter in the History of Arab Literature
Just a few days ago you found what is probably the earliest manuscript of "101 Nights". Can you tell us how this discovery came about?
Claudia Ott: In March this year, I was lucky enough to be invited as a musician to play at the opening of the "Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum" exhibition at the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin. After the first rush was over and I had a little time to wander through the exhibition, a manuscript in a glass cabinet with art objects from Andalusia caught my eye. It was some distance away from the other manuscript treasures on show, such as the "Blue Koran" with its gold script on a lapis lazuli background.
It was written in red ink and in a very old Maghreb style of writing. It read: "kitâb fîhi hadîth mi'at layla wa-layla" – the book with the story of one hundred and one nights – I could hardly believe my eyes. Luckily, through my job as musician, I had got to know the exhibition curator, Benoît Junod, and got his permission, when the exhibition was over, to take a look at the colophon and other details of the manuscript's production.
What is it that is so important about this discovery?
Claudia Ott: The colophon provides a date for the manuscript of 632, which is equivalent to 1234 or 1235 by our calendar. The colophon, however, does not belong directly to "101 Nights", but to a geography book that is bound into the same volume, and which is probably written by the same person. The ending to "101 Nights" itself is missing, which makes the whole thing more intriguing and tantalizing.
The text takes us only as far as the 85th night. So the manuscript fragment actually does not have a colophon of its own. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture has announced that it is going to carry out a scientific examination of the paper and binding. If it turns out that the same writer was responsible for both books then it will prove that this manuscript of "101 Nights" is more than 500 years older than the currently oldest extant manuscript. The writing style indicates that the manuscript came from the Maghreb region of North Africa, or from Andalusia. This manuscript could be exactly the key that scholars have long hoped to find.
Now that it has been identified, what will happen to the manuscript?
Claudia Ott: Several top international scholars are now working on the manuscript and trying to establish its age. I, too, have been busy, consulting colleagues, looking for advice. With such an important discovery it is important that every aspect is thoroughly discussed; there are still a great many questions that need answering. And – well, as translator, I can tell you that the stories in "One Hundred and One Nights" really are something rather special. I couldn't wait to get started on the translation, the very same day – actually, night, to be more precise.
You spent several years working on a translation of the oldest surviving manuscript of "The Thousand and One Nights", the so-called Galland Manuscript, published by Muhsin Mahdi in 1450. In what ways are "The Hundred and One Nights" and "The Thousand and One Nights" related to one another?
Claudia Ott: Both works tell stories that belong to a long tradition that takes us from Indian literary motifs, via Persian translations, and into Arabic literature. Even though the framing narratives are quite different, there are similarities. In both collections we meet the vizier's daughter Scherezade, for example, who succeeds in saving her own life and the lives of many other women, by telling stories. There are even some stories common to both collections – the story of The Ebony Horse, for example, or The King's Son and the Seven Viziers.
However, there are divergent opinions on the relationship between the two books. There is already a critical edition of the "101 Nights" based on much more recent manuscripts from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, whose publisher, Mahmud Tarshuna, claims that "101 Nights" is the substantially older and more original text. His argument uses motifs from the framing narrative to claim that the "101 Nights" is closer to the Sanskrit and Pali texts of their old Indian literary sources than "1001 Nights" is.
But we also have some very old sources for "1001 Nights". In Chicago in 1949, a double sheet of paper was discovered in a pile of papyrus that had been brought back from Egypt. It bore the title "Thousand Nights" ("alf layla" in Arabic) and the beginning of a description of one night. The double sheet is a palimpsest dated 879. Its origins are evidently not Egyptian, where papyrus was still preferred to paper at that time, but Syrian.
It must have been brought back to Cairo from Antioch as war booty in 878. If we add on the years when the book must have been lying around, before its page was taken for use as scrap paper, then we are talking about a date of around 800 by our calendar. That makes it the oldest fragment of "The Thousand and One Nights" ever discovered.
This also fits with what the Arabic sources tell us. Contemporary booksellers reports make it clear that a complete version, with 1000 Nights, must already have existed in the 9th century. Over the centuries several fragments of the work have been found, each of which have probably looked rather different from one another. The 1001st night was probably added in the early 12th century. In a notebook, discovered by chance in the Geniza in a synagogue in Cairo, there is the first known mention of the complete title on a lending note from around 1150: "Alf layla wa-layla" – "The Thousand and One Nights".
So I am convinced that "101Nights" and "1001 Nights" are part of a parallel tradition. "The Hundred and One Nights" and "The Thousand and One Nights" were contemporaneous with one another, the one probably better known in the west, the other in the east of the Arabian world. But all of this is something that requires further investigation. A magnificent chapter in Arab literary history has just been reopened.
Interview: Loay Mudhoon
© Qantara.de 2010
Translated from the German by Ron Walker
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What’s new in research and treatment of basal and squamous cell skin cancers?
Research into the causes, prevention, and treatment of basal and squamous cell skin cancer is under way in many medical centers throughout the world.
Basic skin cancer research
Scientists have made a great deal of progress in recent years in learning how ultraviolet (UV) light damages the DNA inside normal skin cells, and how this might cause them to become cancerous. Researchers are working to apply this new information to strategies for preventing and treating skin cancers.
Most skin cancers can be prevented. The best way to reduce the number of skin cancers and the pain and loss of life from this disease is to educate the public about skin cancer risk factors, prevention, and detection. It is important for health care professionals and skin cancer survivors to remind others about the dangers of excess UV exposure (both from the sun and from man-made sources such as tanning beds) and about how easily they can protect their skin from UV radiation.
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) sponsors annual free skin cancer screenings throughout the country. Many local American Cancer Society offices work closely with AAD to provide volunteers for registration, coordination, and education efforts related to these free screenings. Look for information in your area about these screenings or call the American Academy of Dermatology for more information. Their phone number and website are listed in the “Additional resources for basal and squamous cell skin cancers” section of this document.
Preventing genital skin cancers
Squamous cell cancers that start in the genital region account for almost half of the deaths from this type of skin cancer. Many of these cancers may be related to infection with certain types of human papilloma virus (HPV), which can be spread through sexual contact. Limiting the number of sexual partners a person has and using safer sex practices such as wearing condoms may therefore help lower the risk of some of these cancers.
In recent years, vaccines have been developed to help protect against infection from some types of HPV. The main intent of the vaccines has been to reduce the risk of cervical cancer, but they may also lower the risk of other cancers that might be related to HPV, including some squamous cell skin cancers.
Chemoprevention is the use of drugs to reduce cancer risk. This is likely to be more useful for people at high risk of skin cancers, such as those with certain congenital conditions (such as basal cell nevus syndrome), a history of skin cancer, or those who have received organ transplants, rather than for people at average risk of skin cancer.
Some of the most widely studied drugs so far are the retinoids, which are drugs related to vitamin A. They have shown some promise in reducing the risk of squamous cell cancers, but they can have side effects, including possibly causing birth defects. For this reason they are not widely used at this time, except in some people at very high risk. Further studies of retinoids are under way.
Other drugs are being looked at to reduce the risk of basal cell skin cancers in people at high risk. Targeted drugs called hedgehog pathway inhibitors, which affect the activity of genes such as PTCH and SMO, may help some people with basal cell nevus syndrome. The drug vismodegib (Erivedge), taken daily as a pill, has been shown to lower the number of new basal cell cancers and shrink existing tumors in people with this syndrome. The drug does have some side effects, including taste loss and muscle cramps, which can make it hard for some people to take every day. Further research on this and similar drugs is under way.
Current local treatments work well for the vast majority of basal and squamous cell skin cancers. Still, even some small cancers can be hard to treat if they’re in certain areas. Newer forms of non-surgical treatment such as new topical drugs, photodynamic therapy, and laser surgery may help reduce scarring and other possible side effects of treatment. Studies are now under way to determine the best way to use these treatments, and to try to improve on their effectiveness.
Treating advanced disease
Most basal and squamous cell skin cancers are found and treated at a fairly early stage, but some may spread to other parts of the body. These cancers can often be hard to treat with current therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy.
Several studies are testing newer targeted drugs for advanced squamous cell cancers. Cells from these cancers often have too much of a protein called EGFR on their surfaces, which may help them grow. Drugs that target this protein, such as erlotinib (Tarceva), gefitinib (Iressa), and cetuximab (Erbitux) are now being tested in clinical trials. A drug that targets different cell proteins, known as dasatinib (Sprycel), is also being studied for advanced skin cancers.
It’s very rare for basal cell cancers to reach an advanced stage, but when they do, these cancers can be hard to treat. Vismodegib, a drug that targets the hedgehog signaling pathway in cells, may help some people (see “Targeted therapy for basal and squamous cell skin cancers”). Other drugs that target this pathway are now being studied as well.
Last Medical Review: 10/21/2013
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Getting HIV-Positive People Into Care -- and Keeping Them There
Table of Contents
If HIV-positive people do get diagnosed, a dismaying fraction gets no care for months or even years. Among 48,413 US residents diagnosed with HIV in 2005 and 2006 in 37 states with name-based reporting, CDC statisticians estimated that only 55% had a CD4 count within 4 to 6 months of diagnosis, and only 64% had their CD4s tallied 19 to 24 months after testing positive (Figure 1).1 Among 38,070 people diagnosed in those states in 2005 and 2006, 31% had neither a CD4 count nor a viral load test within 12 months of diagnosis.
Proportions of people late to care were evenly distributed among people infected during gay sex (30.9%), while injecting drugs (27.7%), either during gay sex or while injecting drugs (28.1%), and during heterosexual sex (32.8%).1 In the same analysis, a bigger portion of African Americans got to care late (35.0%) than did Hispanics (29.2%) or whites (26.4%).
Although recent reports offer some data indicating sluggish entry into care after HIV diagnosis, researchers who study this issue say such data are, at best, approximations. Michael Mugavero and colleagues from the University of Alabama at Birmingham point to a simple reason for the sketchy quality of these findings: "the activities of testing and linkage [to care] are often uncoupled."2 That uncoupling also helps explain why linkage remains so poor in the United States and elsewhere.
Research on entry to HIV care suggests the ponderous scope of the problem, while outlining a web of patient- and practice-related factors that contributes to dismal linkage numbers. A study that melded national prescription data with CDC HIV prevalence estimates reckoned that 314,000 of 1,135,000 people diagnosed with HIV in 2008 (28%) were not getting care for their infection.3 The number of infected people not in care far outstripped the estimated 227,000 US residents with undiagnosed HIV infection.
Massing statistics from 28 entry-to-care studies that collected data from May 2005 through 2009, CDC investigators figured 72% of HIV-diagnosed people in the United States began care within 4 months of diagnosis,4 a much higher proportion than the CDC's own calculation of the proportion of people with a CD4 count measured 4 to 6 months after diagnosis -- or even 2 years after diagnosis (Figure 1).1 The metaanalysis determined that a higher proportion of people who tested positive in an emergency department than in a community center entered care (76% versus 67%).
Longitudinal study of 1266 people diagnosed with HIV between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006 and followed through June 15, 2007 in Philadelphia charted a median 8-month time to entering care, with a range from 1 to 26 months.5 Interviews of 1038 HIV-positive people in public hospitals in Miami or Atlanta found that 1 in 5 had not started care for their infection although they knew they had HIV for more than 5 years.6 Two in 5 of these people had not seen an HIV clinician for more than 6 months. A study of 1928 people diagnosed with HIV in 2003 in New York City found that 369 (19%) did not have a viral load test or CD4 count within 3 months of diagnosis and 331 (17%) never had a recorded viral load or CD4 count through the end of 2006.7
Entry to care is a particular concern for HIV-positive prisoners who may or may not be taking antiretrovirals when released. A retrospective study of 1750 HIV-positive inmates released from Texas prisons from January 2004 through December 2007 found that only 28% had enrolled in an HIV clinic within 90 days.8
Even after HIV-positive people begin care, they report unmet medical and dental needs, according to an analysis of the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), the first nationally representative study of people in care for HIV.9 Extrapolating from a 2864-person sample of people in care in January 1996, researchers figured that 58,000 of 230,900 HIV-positive people (25%) had unmet medical or dental needs, including 11,600 (5%) who had both unmet medical and dental needs. Low income, lack of insurance, and Medicaid insurance without dental benefits made unmet needs more likely.
Discussion of Sexual Risk Behavior in HIV Care Is Infrequent and Appears Ineffectual: A Mixed Methods Study
This article was provided by The Center for AIDS. It is a part of the publication Research Initiative/Treatment Action!. Visit CFA's website to find out more about their activities and publications.
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The meaning of the word ‘asynchronous’ is ‘not at the same time’. In the context of learning, it is used when a learner completes a learning initiative on his own time and schedule – without the intervention of an instructor. As technology advanced, the modes of delivery of Asynchronous Learning have evolved from one-to-one communication i.e. via telegraph and telephones to one to many through radio or television broadcasts to the current trend of many-to-many through networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
In corporate learning, the success of Asynchronous Learning has been tremendous. The prime reason for this is that Asynchronous Learning has been able to bring learning to a large audience across vast geographies – as per their convenience. Also corporate learners are mature and are inclined to learning more in order to succeed in their career. So they do not always need an instructor to keep them motivated. They also like to be self-directed and learn at their own pace. In addition there are some other benefits of Asynchronous Learning which have proven it to be increasingly popular for organizational trainings.
- Asynchronous Trainings have successfully eradicated bias in a learner-group
As the global community of corporate workers grows, it also becomes increasingly diverse. This diversity in terms of age, gender or culture can often bring in a bias among peers in a learner group. In an asynchronous learning environment, these biases are worked away as each learner is responsible for his or her own learning. This does not however mean that the avenues of collaboration have been closed down. Asynchronous learning offers multiple opportunities of collaboration through discussion boards, emails or blogs. Through these channels the learners share their learning and experiences to gain collaborative knowledge. The diversity in age or culture then adds on to the experiences and knowledge that each learner brings in. For instance in a group of learners of diverse age, the older ones can bring their wealth of practical knowledge while the younger ones can teach them a thing or two about adaptability. Collaborative efforts in such scenarios are undoubtedly fruitful.
- Asynchronous Trainings have been able to deliver customized learning
Instead of bulk delivery of the same content across numerous students, with asynchronous learning, it has been possible to create a customized learning path for every learner. Contrary to early delivery mechanism which used the e-mail to deliver asynchronous learning content to the learner, the delivery of asynchronous learning is now through modern delivery platforms such as Learning Management Systems. These systems can identify a learner and their learning requirements. LMSs are synched with Human Resource data and are able to map learning gaps for each learner. Using this data, they can assign suitable courses available within the catalog of the LMS for each individual learner. This is however just one example of customized learning. The need for customized content is ever-increasing. With advanced technology and incessant R&D, customized learning is becoming more and more advanced and asynchronous learning is proving to be a very suitable mode.
- Asynchronous Learning has provided the opportunity of fruitful data mining
Another benefit of the asynchronous learning platforms such as a LMS is that learner assessments can be made richer and more useful. With a traditional classroom delivery, the learner can only be assessed on the papers that he submits. But inside a LMS, there are multiple ways to assess a learner and provide well-rounded data to provide better assessments. For instance, the learner can judged basis the various interactivities built inside the asynchronous learning material. This can be substantially cemented by data on timely completion of assignments, completion of referred courses, fruitful participation in discussion boards and so on. These insights can be utilized to chart better learning for the learners – something that would be quite impossible in a synchronous learning environment.
- Asynchronous Trainings have given up rigidity to include Synchronous learning events
Asynchronous Trainings have given up complying with strict definitions of the word which did not include any real-time communication between peers or the instructor. Asynchronous training sessions now include synchronous events such as webinars (where an instructor or subject-matter expert gives a real-time lecture, which is followed by an interactive question-answer session) or live web chats (where peers can chat among each other or with the direction of the instructor). Though as per the tenets of asynchronous learning, these sessions are often recorded. This allows learners to refer to them later on and benefits learners who cannot attend the sessions in real-time.
- Asynchronous Learning through Mobile Devices
The increase popularity and availability of mobile devices has opened up the arena of mobile learning. It has also created the opportunity of making asynchronous learning available to learners anytime and anywhere. The content for mobile delivery of learning has been suitably altered to suit the particularities of the platform. In addition to crisp textual content, video and audio has been exhaustively utilized to create impactful asynchronous learning content. Short videos (containing minimum text but a lot of graphics, images and animation) make a huge impact on all kinds of learners and align very well to the strengths of the mobile medium. Podcasts are also popular–where an audio delivery ensures that the learner can just listen and learn.
In conclusion, asynchronous learning has been suitably supported by modern learning environments and newer mediums of delivery that has made it the success it is today in corporate learning. With advancements in technology and suitably revised strategies to suit the changing needs of the learners, it is sure to continue as a rising trend in the years to come. For our experiences in successful asynchronous learning write to firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:c2005b98-c9d5-464f-9fda-eb2917dcd4b9> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.gc-solutions.net/blog/the-growing-popularity-of-asynchronous-learning-a-corporate-learning-perspective/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936459277.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074059-00139-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959597 | 1,146 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Interfacing LED and push button switch to 8051
This article is all about how to interface push button switches to an 8051 microcontroller. Push button switches are widely used in embedded system projects and the knowledge about interfacing them to 8051 is very essential in designing such projects. A typical push button switch has two active terminals that are normally open and these two terminals get internally shorted when the push button is depressed. Images of a typical pushbutton switch is shown below.
The circuit diagram for interfacing push button switch to 8051 is shown above. AT89S51 is the microcontroller used here. The circuit is so designed that when push button S1 is depressed the LED D1 goes ON and remains ON until push button switch S2 is depressed and this cycle can be repeated. Resistor R3, capacitor C3 and push button S3 forms the reset circuitry for the microcontroller. Capacitor C1, C2 and crystal X1 belongs to the clock circuitry. R1 and R2 are pull up resistors for the push buttons. R4 is the current limiting resistor for LED.
MOV P0,#83H // Initializing push button switches and initializing LED in OFF state.
READSW: MOV A,P0 // Moving the port value to Accumulator.
RRC A // Checking the vale of Port 0 to know if switch 1 is ON or not
JC NXT // If switch 1 is OFF then jump to NXT to check if switch 2 is ON
CLR P0.7 // Turn ON LED because Switch 1 is ON
SJMP READSW // Read switch status again.
NXT: RRC A // Checking the value of Port 0 to know if switch 2 is ON or not
JC READSW // Jumping to READSW to check status of switch 1 again (provided switch 2 is OFF)
SETB P0.7 // Turning OFF LED because Switch 2 is ON
SJMP READSW // Jumping to READSW to read status of switch 1 again.
The first instruction – MOV P0 #83H - is to turn LED off (Hex 83 in binary = 10000011) and to initialize switches 1 and 2. Switch 1 is connected to port 0.0 and switch 2 is connected to port 0.1. Also note that LED is connected to port 0.7.
Note:- Po.0 = 1 means switch 1 is OFF and Po.1 = 1 means switch 2 is OFF. P0.0 = o means switch 1 is ON and p0.1 = o means switch 2 is ON. LED turns ON when P0.7 = 0 and turns OFF when P0.7 = 1
The program has two labels – READSW and NXT. It’s all about reading switch values – that is P0.0 and P0.1. We are using RRC instruction to read switch values. The values of port 0 is moved to accumulator. Since port 0 and 1 are used to interface switches 1 and 2, we can get the values of both port bits in LSB”s 0 and 1 of accumulator by using MOV A,P0 instruction. RRC – means – rotate right through carry. You can learn more about this instruction here – 8051 programming tutorial 1 . What RRC do is simple – it will move value of port 0.0 to the carry bit. Now we can check the carry bit using instruction JC – which means “jump if carry is set” . If carry is SET – then it means port0.0 =1 and this means switch 1 is OFF. If switch 1 is OFF then we have to check status of switch 2 and that is why we jump to label NXT.
In the mean time if switch 1 is pressed – then value of port 0.0 will be equal to zero. This will get moved to accumulator and hence an RRC will result in carry bit = o. If carry bit = 0 then result of executing JC instruction is negative and it will not jump. The next instruction will get executed – that is CLR P0.7. This clears port 0.7 to zero and hence LED will turn ON. Once turned On- LED will be kept On until switch 2 is pressed.
The status of switch 2 is checked in NXT label. When NXT is executed, we are using RRC for the second time consecutively. This means, the carry bit now holds the value of P0.1 – which is status of switch 2. If carry bit = 1 then switch 2 is OFF. This means LED should not be turned OFF. If carry bit = 0 then LED should be turned OFF (The instruction SETB P0.7 turns LED OFF)
Toggling 2 LED with a pushbutton using interrupt.
This circuit demonstrates how to toggle two LEDs with a single push button using the external interrupts. Interrupt is an asynchronous signal (either hardware or software) which indicates the processor to make a change in current execution. When the processor receives a valid interrupt signal it saves the current state and then goes to execute a set of predefined steps called interrupt service routine (ISR). After executing ISR, the processor goes back to the point where it deviated and continues from there. To learn more about interrupts check this link. External interrupt handling in 8051.
In the circuit shown above D1, D2 (the LEDs to be toggled) are connected to P1.0 and P1.1 respectively. R2 and R4 limits the current through the LEDs. The push button switch S2 is connected to the INT0 pin where R1 is a pull up resistor and C4 is the debouncing capacitor. C3, R3 and S3 forms the reset circuitry. Capacitors C2, C2 and crystal X1 are related to the clock circuitry. When powered ON LED D1 will be OFF and and LED D2 will be ON. Whenever push button switch S2 is pressed it creates an interrupt and the software makes the status of P1.o and P1.1 to toggle which gets reflected in the LEDs.
ORG 000H // starting address
SJMP LABEL //jumps to the LABEL
ORG 003H // starting address for the ISR(INT0)
ACALL ISR // calls the ISR (interrupt service routine)
RETI // returns from the interrupt
LABEL: MOV A,#10000000B // sets the initial stage of the LEDs (D1 OFF & D2 ON)
MAIN: // main function that sets the interrupt parameters
SETB IP.0 // sets highest priority for the interrupt INT0
SETB TCON.0 // interrupt generated by a falling edge signal at INT0 (pin12)
SETB IE.0 // enables the external interrupt
SETB IE.7 // enables the global interrupt control
SJMP MAIN // jumps back to the MAIN subroutine
ISR: // interrupt service routine
CPL A // complements the current value in accumulator A
MOV P1,A // moves the current accumulator value to port 1
RET // jumps to RETI
If you come across any doubts/errors while implementing this circuit, please feel free to ask in our comments section. | <urn:uuid:182a5cb2-f1b9-4f13-a730-b577b64e3740> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.circuitstoday.com/interfacing-led-using-push-button-switch-to-8051 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461359.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00178-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.854099 | 1,520 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The Bhikkhus Rules
A Guide for Laypeople
The Buddha allowed several ways of showing respect to others for the beauty and good of the community (of both monks and lay people). These include:
vandanaa — bowing or showing reverence with the five points, i.e., the forehead, two forearms, and the two knees
Vandanaa Thai style.
Note that the male and female movements start and finish slightly differently.
u.t.thaana — standing up to welcome
anjalii — joining the palms together in respect
saamiicikamma, any other ways of showing respect that are beautiful and good. (See EV,II,p.78)
Another ancient way of showing respect is circumambulation or walking around the object of veneration three times in a clockwise direction — so that ones right shoulder is towards, for example, the cetiya, bodhi tree or pagoda.
In many parts of Asia it is considered extremely rude to point ones feet at anyone or any religious object [see End Note 122]. An example, is found in the Confession Rule 51 (Paac. 51) where a highly gifted bhikkhu is made drunk and in his stupor turns and points his feet at the Buddha.
Bhikkhus use these ways of etiquette to show respect to those who have been bhikkhus for longer than themselves, irrespective of their actual age. A younger bhikkhu may call another bhikkhu, "Bhante," ("Venerable Sir" or "Reverend Sir"), and, similarly, a lay person may use this as a general form of address to bhikkhus. Each country will have its own way of addressing older, more senior bhikkhus appropriate to their age and experience. (See below.)
"...there is the custom of bowing to the shrine or teacher. This is done when first entering their presence or when taking leave. Done gracefully at the appropriate time, this is a beautiful gesture that honors the person who does it; at an inappropriate time, done compulsively, it appears foolish. Another common gesture of respect is to place the hands so that the palms are touching, the fingers pointing upwards, and the hands held immediately in front of the chest. The gesture of raising the hands to the slightly lowered forehead is called anjalii. This is a pleasant means of greeting, bidding farewell, saluting the end of a Dhamma talk, concluding an offering." (from: A Lay Buddhists Guide to the Monks Code of Conduct)
"To bow correctly, bring the forehead all the way to the floor; have elbows near the knees which should be about three inches apart. Bow slowly, being mindful of the body. As nearly as possible, the buttocks should be kept on the heels,... (from: Advice for Guests at Bodhinyanarama Monastery)2.
In NE Thailand, the people will more often squat down to welcome with respect.3.
The cetiya (or stupa, chedi, sometimes pagoda) is one of the most ancient objects used as a focus of recollection and devotion towards the Lord Buddha. Buddha ruupas (statues of the Buddha) came later through, probably, Bactrian Greek influence. Thus there are several traditions and practices:
"It is a tradition of bhikkhus that whoever enters the area around a cetiya, which is a place for the recollection of the Master, should behave in a respectful manner, neither opening his umbrella nor putting on sandals nor wearing the [robe] covering both shoulders. They should not speak loudly there or sit with their legs spread apart with their feet pointing (at the cetiya), thus not showing respect for that place. They must not stool or urinate, spit upon the terraces of the cetiya (or) before an image of the Exalted Buddha, their good behavior thus showing respect for the Master." (EV,II,p.82)
Sanskrit renditions of the Paa.timokkha Rule contain extra Sekhiya Training rules often concerned with ways of showing respect. For example, Rules 60 to 85 are all concerned with Buddha Stupas:
Rule 63: "Not to wear leather shoes into a Buddha Stupa is a rule I will observe; Rule 77: Not to carry a Buddha image into a privy is a rule I will observe; Rule 84: Not to sit with my feet stuck out in front of a Buddha Stupa is a rule I will observe." (Shaikshas from the Pratimoksha Precepts)
Also one of the Sanskrit Sekhiya Rules (Muulasarvaastivaadin Saika) disallows "sitting on a seat stretching out the feet in a public place." (Buddhist Monastic Discipline p.99)5.
"In Asian society old age is highly respected. The Buddha adapted this tradition for the Sangha by recognizing seniority according to ones age in the Sangha counted from the day (and time) of receiving the Upasampada. This is of course simply a practical conventional hierarchy and not an absolute hierarchical structure. In the functioning of the Sangha this would be offset by the principle of consensus democracy where every bhikkhu, regardless of seniority, has a voice, and by the power of wisdom (not to be confused with conviction) exhibited by the more highly realized members." (HS ch.22)
"The theme of a hierarchy of respect first came up for serious consideration in regard to obtaining lodgings. One time the Buddha set out from Savatthi with a large following of bhikkhus. The bhikkhus who were pupils of the group of six bhikkhus went ahead and appropriated all the [lodgings] and sleeping places for their preceptors, teachers and for themselves. Venerable Sariputta, coming along behind, was unable to find a suitable lodging and sat down at the foot of a tree. The Buddha found him there and, finding the reason, asked the assembled bhikkhus:
Bhikkhus, who is worthy of the principle seat, the best water, the best alms food?"Some bhikkhus said that one gone forth from a noble family was most worthy of these things; some said one gone forth from a brahmana family... a merchant family... one versed in the suttas — a Vinaya expert... a teacher of Dhamma... one having the first jhana... the second... the third... the fourth jhana;... a stream enterer... a once returner... a non returner... an arahant... one with the Three fold Knowledge... one with the six Psychic Powers. The Buddha then related the story of a partridge, a monkey and a bull elephant who were friends and agreed to respect and heed the advice of the eldest. The Buddha concluded by saying:"Well then, bhikkhus, if breathing animals can live mutually respectful, deferential and courteous, so do you, bhikkhus, shine forth so that you, gone forth in this well taught Dhamma Vinaya, live likewise mutually respectful, deferential and courteous." (HS ch.22)
Article published on | <urn:uuid:cf89e9cc-867f-4610-9953-716393272541> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/the-bhikkhus-rules/d/doc1788.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462141.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00288-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940458 | 1,526 | 2.9375 | 3 |
What are the various tools and methods for finding and validating the origins of words and phrases? Where can one go to find information and common mechanisms of word and phrase formation.
Standards of Evidence
By far, the most common methodological error I find that amateur word sleuths make regards standards of evidence. Someone comes up with a hypothesis that sounds plausible, but fails to back it up with any evidence. Explanations for words or phrases like the whole nine yards are interesting, but without actual evidence to support them they cannot be considered correct.
The gold standard for etymological evidence is a citation of usage. You must find a written instance of the word being used that is both earlier than any other known usage and that supports the hypothesis. If for instance you want to prove that the whole nine yards is a reference to the length of a formal Scottish kilt, you need to find someone using the phrase prior to the mid-1960s in reference to kilts, or since all the early known uses are American, at least from a Scottish source.
Of course this provides a bias toward written works and against oral traditions, but this is unavoidable even if we include letters, diaries, and other unpublished works. Oral traditions simply don’t survive intact. Even words and phrases that arose within living memory need written documentation because memory is malleable and subject to change.
The best research tools are those that include citations of usage. Dictionaries like the Oxford English Dictionary, The Historical Dictionary of American Slang, and the Dictionary of American Regional English all include verifiable examples of usage through the decades and centuries.
Types of Tools
The most common and useful etymological tool is a standard dictionary. Most good dictionaries include etymological information about the entries. Usually, this can be found at the beginning of the entry, immediately following the pronunciation and part of speech classification. The exact format and abbreviations used will vary from dictionary to dictionary. For example:
IN-FAN-TRY \’inf&n-trE, -ri\ n -ES [MF & OIt; MF infanterie, fr. OIt infanteria, fr. infante infant, boy, footman, foot soldier (fr. L infant-, infans infant) + -eria -ry—more at INFANT] 1a: soldiers trained, armed, and equipped to fight on foot b: a branch of the army composed of such soldiers c: an infantry regiment (the 8th Infantry ) d: MOONLIGHT BLUE 2: [influenced in meaning by 1infant] a body of children
So, in this entry (taken from Merriam Webster’s Third New International Dictionary), we first find the entry, the word infantry, which is followed by the pronunciation, the classification of the part of speech—in this case a noun, the plural form, and then the etymology. The etymology is then followed by the definitions, in this case there are two main senses, with the first sense having four sub-categories. The order of the components of the entry and the abbreviations used will vary from dictionary to dictionary. Look in the front of the dictionary to find the style and abbreviations used by that particular set of editors.
So, we can see that infantry comes into English from the Middle French infanterie, which in turn comes from the Old Italian infanteria. This Old Italian military term comes from the word infante, which can mean a foot soldier in addition to the sense of a baby. This Old Italian word derives from the Latin root infant- or infans. Finally the dictionary tells us that there is more information to be found under the entry for infant.
An etymological dictionary is simply one that focuses on the etymological portion of the entry. It will include more details on the origins, such as the dates when various word forms appeared in the language or extended notes on the origins. This is usually done at the sacrifice of other information. Pronunciations, plural and other forms, and sometimes even definitions are left out.
Slang, Jargon,& Dialectical Dictionaries
These are dictionaries that focus on certain subsets of the language. Their advantage is that they include words and phrases that cannot be found in standard dictionaries because they are not widely used. The chief disadvantage is that they are not comprehensive. A slang dictionary focuses on non-standard words and phrases. A jargon dictionary, often called a technical dictionary by title, concentrates on words used in certain professional or technical fields, such as the sciences or engineering. A regional or dialectical dictionary attempts to capture the language used in one particular region or in one dialect.
Often these dictionaries omit etymological information, concentrating on the definition.
Popular Press Books
Popular press books are simply those that are created for the general reader. The quality of research and the information presented varies widely. Some are complete trash, containing wildly inaccurate information. Others are of superb quality. They tend to focus on slang or “interesting” words and phrases and are rarely useful for most ordinary words (but that is what we have dictionaries for).
The chief drawback of popular press books is that they rarely contain source information. This makes them nearly useless as research tools. It is also difficult to quickly gauge the quality of popular press books. They may have the veneer of sound scholarship, but be filled with inaccuracies that only come to light after extended checking against other sources.
One good way to gauge the quality of a book while you are standing in the bookstore or library is to have a standard set of words to check. Ones I often use are posh, wog, and the whole nine yards. Using these known words and phrases, you can quickly evaluate the accuracy, quantity, and presentation of the information.
Copyright 1997-2015, by David Wilton | <urn:uuid:2fce7846-5fa8-4f12-9e5f-2d2bc88963b6> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/more/177/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461612.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00201-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933244 | 1,227 | 3.609375 | 4 |
Children who have hemophilia are at increased risk for bleeding episodes if they participate in vigorous physical activity, but the risk is modest and may not outweigh the potential benefits of exercise, Australian researchers suggested.
The odds ratios for a bleed were 2.7 (95% CI 1.7 to 4.8, P<0.001) for a boy playing a sport with some contact such as basketball and 3.7 (95% CI 2.3 to 7.3, P<0.001) for a high-contact sport such as wrestling, according to Carolyn R. Broderick, MBBS, of the University of Sydney, and colleagues.
Those odds ratios suggest that "for most children, the absolute increase in risk associated with physical activity is low," the researchers observed in the Oct. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Moreover, for a child who typically experiences five bleeding episodes during a 1-year period, only one of the bleeds would be expected to result from weekly participation in those activities, they calculated.
Before the introduction of prophylactic clotting factors, children with hemophilia were discouraged from participating in vigorous sports because of the likelihood of bleeding into joints.
However, that caution may no longer be needed with the availability of effective treatments, the researchers suggested.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Marilyn J. Manco-Johnson, MD, of the University of Colorado in Aurora noted that participation in sports can be psychologically very helpful for young patients.
"Participation in a popular sport can be important to reduce the sense of isolation experienced by many boys with hemophilia," she wrote.
With the goal of quantifying the risks associated with exercise so that patients and caregivers can make informed decisions about participation, Broderick's group enrolled 104 boys with moderate or severe hemophilia A or B, following them for a year.
In a study with a case-crossover design in which patients served as their own controls, patients or parents were asked to contact the researchers in the event of a bleed, at which time they were interviewed about recent activities.
The 8-hour period immediately preceding the onset of symptoms was considered the window of interest, while the corresponding time periods in the 2 days before the event represented control periods.
Physical activities with no expected collisions between participants such as swimming were classified as category 1.
Category 2 activities such as basketball were those with the possibility of rough contact between players, while category 3 were those such as wrestling with certain contact.
Clotting factor levels, a potential confounder, were estimated and adjusted for using a pharmacokinetic model.
Mean age of the study participants was 9.5, and more than 80% had hemophilia A and severe involvement as determined by blood levels of clotting factor.
A total of 86% were on a regular prophylactic schedule of clotting factor.
During 1 year of follow-up, patients with moderate disease had a median of five episodes, while those classified as severe had three.
A total of 336 bleeds were included in the analysis, with the knee, ankle, and elbow being the most common sites.
During 31% of the bleed windows of interest there had been participation in a category 2 activity, as there had been during 25% and 21% of the first and second control windows.
During 7% of the bleed windows there had been a category 3 activity, as there had been in 3% and 5% of the two control windows.
The odds ratio for the blood level of clotting factor was 0.980 (95% CI 0.965 to 0.992), which meant that for every 1% increase in the level of clotting factor, the incidence rate was decreased by 2%, the researchers explained.
That ratio then was used to calculate the amount of clotting factor that would be needed for risk reduction, which was estimated at 22 IU/kg of factor VIII to cut the bleeding risk by half.
In addition, physical activity was more likely during the hour before the bleed, which suggested that timing of prophylactic infusions of clotting factor could be adjusted according to sports participation, according to Manco-Johnson.
In her editorial, she observed that the finding that participation in contact sports did not worsen hemophilia outcomes "may seem counterintuitive and inconsistent with conventional wisdom."
"However, the study by Broderick et al. suggests that a factor level below a critical threshold is a more important determinant of bleeding risk than modest exposure to vigorous activity," she wrote.
Guidelines on sports participation for children with hemophilia are needed, she argued.
"These recommendations should include educating parents and athletes about potential short and long complications related to sports participation, risk reduction measures with prophylaxis regimens, conditioning and strengthening programs, and the healthful contributions of sports participation toward physical, social, and emotional development as well as the prevention of obesity," she stated.
Limitations of the study included the possibility of recall bias, patients' self-report of bleeding events, and a lack of information on subclinical bleeds.
The study was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.
Several of the authors have received competitive research grants from the Bayer Hemophilia Awards Program, as well as fees and grants from Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Baxter Health Care, Pfizer, and CSL-Behring.
- Reviewed by Dori F. Zaleznik, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner
Journal of the American Medical AssociationSource Reference: Broderick C, et al "Association between physical activity and risk of bleeding in children with hemophilia" JAMA 2012; 308: 1452-1459.
Journal of the American Medical AssociationSource Reference: Manco-Johnson M "Collision sports and risk of bleeding in children with hemophilia" JAMA 2012; 308: 1480-1481. | <urn:uuid:15639d2f-0f78-4356-9cd0-10d1c9fb3caf> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/Hemophilia/35226 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463411.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00141-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970806 | 1,250 | 2.84375 | 3 |
It is important that you put your best voice forward. Remember that your voice is part of your appearance. Effective verbal communication depends not only on what you say, but also on how you sound.
When you speak, you make sound in your larynx (voice box) with your vocal folds. Your vocal folds are soft tissue folds that consist of muscle, ligament and mucous membrane.
Certainly, when you exercise, run, or play sports, a healthy warm up is a good way to prepare, improve your performance, and prevent injury to yourself. The same holds true when you use your voice. A short vocal warm up improves the quality of the sounds you make and helps prevent vocal injury, keeping you in good voice and making your voice production feel better. Many people use warm ups everyday. You should use vocal warm ups before vocally intensive activities like public speaking or singing, classroom teaching, or exuberant social events.
There are many ways to warm up your voice, and listed below are several examples to get you started.
Warm Up #1
Breath Relaxation: Releases tension often associated in the breathing mechanism that can interfere with effective voice production. Ordinarily, if there is tension when breathing, that tension radiates to the voice box muscles. Take a normal breath and then exhale. Make sure your shoulders and chest are low and relaxed. Repeat many times making sure that your breaths are focused low in the abdomen and that there is not associated chest, neck, or shoulder tension while breathing. You can place one hand on your abdomen to remind you to keep the focus low and away from the chest and shoulders. Hold an “s” sound like in hiss when you exhale.
Warm Up #2
Jaw Release: Reduces tension in the mouth and jaw area during speaking and singing. Place the heels of each hand directly below the cheek bone. Pushing in and down from the cheeks to the jaw, massage the facial muscles. Allow your jaw to passively open as you move the hands down the face. Repeat several times.
Warm Up #3
Lip Trills: Release lip tension and connects breathing and speaking. Releases tension in the vocal folds. Place your lips loosely together release the air in a steady stream to create a trill or raspberry sound. First try it on an “h” sounds. Then repeat on a “b” sound. Hold the sound steady and keep the air moving past the lips. Next try to repeat the b-trill gliding gently up and down the scales. Don’t push beyond what it comfortable at the top or bottom of the scale.
Warm Up #4
Tongue Trill: Relaxes the tongue and engages breathing and voice. Place your tongue behind your upper teeth. Exhale and trill your tongue with a “r” sound. Hold the sound steady and keep the breath connected. Now try to vary the pitch up and down the scale while trilling. Again, don’t push beyond what is comfortable at the top or bottom of your scale.
Warm Up #5
Two Octave Scales: Provides maximum stretch on the vocal folds. Start in a low pitch and gently glide up the scale on a “me” sound. Don’t push the top or bottom of your range but do try to increase the range gently each time you do the scales. Now reverse and glide down the scale from the top to the bottom on an “e” sound. You can try this on the “oo” sound also.
Warm Up #6
Sirens/Kazoo Buzz: Improves the resonant focus of the sound and continues work with maximal stretch on the vocal folds. The mouth postures are easily made by pretending you are sucking in spaghetti with an inhalation. On exhalation make the “woo” sound. It will be a buzz like sound. Hold the sound steady for 2-3 attempts. Now use the woo sound to go up and down the scales.
Warm Up #7
Humming: Highlights anterior frontal vibrations in your lips, teeth and facial bones. Begin with lips gently closed with jaw released. Take an easy breath in and exhale while saying “hum”. Begin with the nasal sound /m/ and gently glide from a high to a low pitch as if you were sighing. Don’t forget your vocal cool down after extensive vocal use. Gently humming feeling the focus of the sound on the lips is an excellent way to cool down the voice. You should hum gentle glides on the sound “m” feeling a tickling vibration in the lip/nose are.
Warm Up #8
Cool Down: Don’t forget your vocal cool down after extensive vocal use. Gently humming feeling the focus of the sound on the lips is an excellent way to cool down the voice. You should hum gentle glides on the sound “m” feeling a tickling vibration in the lip/nose are. | <urn:uuid:402fcb64-8178-45d2-a911-6b99a02540c2> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.entnet.org/content/vocal-warmup-put-your-best-voice-forward | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463318.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00119-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.913638 | 1,050 | 3.75 | 4 |
Particle Sciences - Technical Brief: 2010: Volume 5
Dissolution testing is a requirement for all solid oral dosage forms and is used in all phases of development for product release and stability testing1. It is a key analytical test used for detecting physical changes in an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and in the formulated product.
At early stages of development, in vitro dissolution testing guides the optimization of drug release from formulations. Over the past 50 years, dissolution testing has also been employed as a quality control (QC) procedure, in R&D to detect the influence of critical manufacturing variables and in comparative studies for in vitro-in vivo correlation (IVIVC).2
The FDA guidance on dissolution testing for immediate release solid oral dosage forms1 includes the use of the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) guidelines for biorelevant dissolution tests, which is based upon API solubility and permeability.3 According to the BCS guidelines, in vitro dissolution testing may be a useful tool to forecast the in vivo performance of drug products and potentially reduce the number of bioavailability/bioequivalence studies required. The FDA guidance on scale-up and post-approval changes (SUPAC) for immediate release oral dosage forms recommends the use of in vitro dissolution to justify post-approval changes.4
Despite being readily-entrained in pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, the basics of the dissolution test are often misunderstood. The test must be rugged and reproducible and highlight or discriminate significant changes in product performance.
The specific dissolution technique employed is determined by the dosage form characteristics and the intended route of administration. For solid dosage forms, industry standard dissolution testing methodologies are the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) Apparatus 1 (basket) and the USP Apparatus 2 (paddle) (see Figure 1). Immediate-release, modified-release and extended release tablets are usually tested in classical dissolution baths with USP 2 paddles. Floating capsules and tablets generally use USP 1 baskets. Other dissolution techniques and equipment include USP 3 (reciprocating cylinders), USP 4 (flow-through-cell), USP 5 (paddle-over-disk), USP 6 (cylinder) and USP 7 (reciprocating holders).5
The development of a dissolution procedure involves selecting the dissolution media, apparatus type and hydrodynamics (agitation rate) appropriate for the product. This overview article will focus on the most commonplace (USP 1 and 2) dissolution apparatus and present an overview of typical method parameters that should be considered during dissolution development.
For most dosage forms to be efficacious, the API(s) must be absorbed into the systemic circulation so that it can be transported to its site of activity. This process contributes to the bioavailability of the drug substance and involves two steps: dissolution and absorption (or permeability). Understanding the multi-step dissolution process is essential to proper in vitro method development. Dissolution is the process of extracting the API out of the dosage form solid-state matrix into solution within the gastrointestinal tract. Absorption is the process of transporting the drug substance from the gastrointestinal lumen into the systemic circulation.
Dissolution testing is an in vitro method that characterizes how an API is extracted out of a solid dosage form. It can indicate the efficiency of in vivo dissolution but does not provide any information on drug substance absorption. Pharmacokinetic data supplements and provides additional information regarding API absorption rate.
Selection of the appropriate in vitro conditions (media and hydrodynamics) that simulate the in vivo conditions can lead to the generation of successful IVIVC or at the very least, in vitro-in vivo relations (IVIVR).3 Conditions that are optimal for QC purposes may not be applicable for establishing IVIVC so it may be necessary to use two dissolution tests to meet different objectives such as development needs or regulatory demands.
A logical, systematic approach taking into consideration both scientific and regulatory principles, should be followed when developing a dissolution method. Table 1 lists common parameters and conditions that are evaluated during method development.6
A robust dissolution method must be free of artifacts, yield low-to-moderate variability, have good profile shape and must be challenged to pick up critical quality attributes. Once the medium and apparatus are selected, the method should be further optimized for parameters such as agitation rate, ionic strength, and surfactant concentration, if applicable. The final method should discriminate between formulations yet possess sufficient reproducibility and robustness. In terms of statistics, a relative standard deviation of <20% at early time points and <10% at later time points is common.
Typically, the percent dissolved API (up to 100%) vs. time is plotted. Dissolution profiles of dosage forms with known formulation, manufacturing or bioavailability differences can aid in identifying a discriminatory set of media/hydrodynamic conditions. Figure 2 illustrates a dissolution plot at 50 rpm (tablet with increased release variability due to a method artifact known as coning), 75 rpm (tablet showing proper release), and a mis-manufactured tablet at 75 rpm (showing slower and improper/incomplete release).
Review of API properties (BCS-classification, pKa, stability, solubility as a function of pH/surfactant concentration, particle size, and polymorphism) that are likely to affect the in vitro dissolution behavior should be evaluated as part of method development.
The key properties of the dosage unit, including dosage form type (tablet, capsule), expected number of potencies and desired release mechanism plus specific formulation information such as excipients, lubricants, disintegrants, moisture content, surface coating and known stability issues (cross-linking, friability) are all important factors to consider. Manufacturing variables such as lubrication blend time, compression force, excipient/API addition order, drying parameters and coating parameters are also critical to understanding API release differences between formulations.
The first step is to screen formulations with aqueous-based media in the range of pH 1.2 to 6.8 at the USP recommended ionic strength.5 For APIs that exhibit low solubilities in aqueous media throughout the pH range, the addition of surfactants is recommended. A medium resulting in a gradual increase of released drug up to 100% is preferred because it is more likely to detect differences in formulation or processing parameters.
It is imperative to visually observe the behavior of the dosage form throughout the dissolution testing run. Of primary concern is coning, which results in a cone-shaped mass of disintegrated, insoluble solids at the bottom of the Apparatus 2 vessel.
At set time points, aliquots of filtered medium are removed and analyzed for API content by HPLC or UV-Vis. During development, HPLC is most commonly used. It has the advantage of being able to separate the API from potential interferences from the formulation matrix or dissolution medium and can detect API degradation. Furthermore, large variations in sample concentration can often be accommodated by adjusting injection volume.
Designing an appropriate dissolution method takes into account many API, formulation, and analytical methodology parameters. In vitro dissolution testing plays a prominent role in assuring product performance and quality. Effort should be made to investigate bio-relevant dissolution testing that mechanistically resembles in vivo conditions. Properly designed dissolution tests will accelerate drug development, hasten validation of post-approval changes and possibly reduce unnecessary human studies.
Particle Sciences is a leading integrated provider of formulation and analytic services and both standard and nanotechnology approaches to drug development and delivery.
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4 March 2014
Massive decline in food crop diversity threatens global food security
by Will Parker
A detailed new study into global food supplies confirms for the first time what experts have long suspected: human diets around the world have grown ever more similar and the trend shows no signs of slowing, with major consequences for human nutrition and food supply reliability.
"More people are consuming more calories, protein and fat, and they rely increasingly on a short list of major food crops, like wheat, maize and soybean, along with meat and dairy products, for most of their food," said study lead author Colin Khoury, a scientist working within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Consortium. "These foods are critical for combating world hunger, but relying on a global diet of such limited diversity obligates us to bolster the nutritional quality of the major crops, as consumption of other nutritious grains and vegetables declines."
Appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new research suggests that our growing reliance on a handful of food crops may also accelerate the worldwide rise in obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
Khoury says that the crops now predominant in diets around the world include several that were already quite important a half-century ago - such as wheat, rice, maize and potato. But the emerging "standard global food supply" described in the study also consists of energy-dense foods that have risen to global fame more recently, like soybean, sunflower oil, and palm oil. Wheat is a major staple in 98 percent of countries and rice in 91 percent; soybean has become significant to 74 percent of countries.
In contrast, many crops of considerable regional importance - including cereals like sorghum, millets and rye, as well as root crops such as sweet potato, cassava and yam - have lost significant ground. Many other locally significant grain and vegetable crops have suffered the same fate. For example, a nutritious tuber crop known as Oca, once grown widely in the Andean highlands, has declined significantly in this region both in cultivation and consumption.
"Another danger of a more homogeneous global food basket is that it makes agriculture more vulnerable to major threats like drought, insect pests and diseases, which are likely to become worse in many parts of the world as a result of climate change," explained co-researcher Luigi Guarino. "As the global population rises and the pressure increases on our global food system, so does our dependence on the global crops and production systems that feed us. The price of failure of any of these crops will become very high."
As Khoury and Guarino examined current trends in food consumption, they documented a curious paradox: as the human diet has become less diverse at the global level over the last 50 years, many countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, have actually widened their menu of major staple crops, while changing to more globalized diets.
"In East and Southeast Asia, several major foods - like wheat and potato - have gained importance alongside longstanding staples, like rice," Khoury noted. "But this expansion of major staple foods has come at the expense of the many diverse minor foods that used to figure importantly in people's diets."
The dietary changes documented in the study are driven by powerful social and economic forces. Rising incomes in developing countries have enabled more consumers to include larger quantities of animal products, oils and sugars in their diets. Moreover, urbanization in these countries has encouraged greater consumption of processed and fast foods. Related developments, including trade liberalization, improved commodity transport, multinational food industries, and food safety standardization have further reinforced these trends.
"Countries experiencing rapid dietary change are also quickly seeing rises in the associated diseases of overabundance," says Khoury. "But hopeful trends are also apparent, as in Northern Europe, where evidence suggests that consumers are tending to buy more cereals and vegetables and less meat, oil and sugar."
The researchers single out five actions that are needed to foster diversity in food production and consumption and thus improve nutrition and food security:
- Actively promote the adoption of a wider range of varieties of the major crops worldwide to boost genetic diversity and thus reduce the vulnerability of the global food system in the face of challenges that include climate change, rising food demand, and increased water and land scarcity. This action is especially important for certain crops, like banana, for which production is dominated by a very few, widely grown commercial varieties.
- Support the conservation and use of diverse plant genetic resources - including farmers' traditional varieties and wild species related to crops - which are critical for broadening the genetic diversity of the major crops.
- Enhance the nutritional quality of the major crops on which people depend - for example, through crop breeding to improve the content of micronutrients like iron and zinc - and make supplementary vitamins and other nutrient sources more widely available.
- Promote alternative crops that can boost the resilience of farming and make human diets healthier; specifically, identifying and conserving nutritious locally grown "neglected and underutilized" crops.
- Foster public awareness of the need for healthier diets, based on better decisions about what and how much we eat as well as the forms in which we consume food.
The new study, relying on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, encompassed more than 50 crops and over 150 countries (accounting for 98 percent of the world's population) for the period 1961-2009. "International agencies have hammered away in recent years with the message that agriculture must produce more food for over 9 billion people by 2050," said co-researcher Andy Jarvis. "Just as important is the message that we need a more diverse global food system. This is the best way, not only to combat hunger, malnutrition, and over-nutrition, but also to protect global food supplies."
Discuss this article in our forum
Organic farming "a luxury we can't afford," concludes UK report
Evergreen agriculture emerges as Africa's key to food security
Biodiversity now a public health issue
Crop pests relentless in their march polewards | <urn:uuid:cb890283-d02f-42da-9e90-2b085ddfe74d> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20140204052301.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463165.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00097-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953782 | 1,256 | 2.859375 | 3 |
To improve efficiency of wind power, scientists at the University of Minnesota's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory think small scale.
In the long wind tunnel at the University of Minnesota's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, miniature wind turbines stand waiting for the lab's scientists to turn on the flow of air. The dozen or so turbines, just several inches tall, are arranged in patterns similar to the layouts of the real 300-foot-tall wind energy turbines that populate wind farms across Minnesota's southern tier.
While the small turbines look like toys, they are really a critical part of a $1 million collaboration between the laboratory and two Minnesota companies -- WindLogics and Barr Engineering -- to improve efficiency at wind farms.
Wind turbines, with blades typically about 300 feet long, create wakes that disrupt the flow of air to other turbines.
Understanding the effects of this wake turbulence is critical because even a slight decrease in the power output of a turbine can cost a lot of money.
"If you look at a 1 percent reduction in output from a 100-megawatt wind farm, you are talking about the loss of $100,000," said Fotis Sotiropoulos, director of the St. Anthony Falls lab.
The goal of the collaboration, said U of M scientist Fernando Porte-Agél, is to develop high-resolution computer models that, by providing good information on wind fields and turbulence, "can guide the design of wind projects so we can know where to put the turbines."
Loss of efficiency isn't just an occasional problem. On wind farms across the country, "the output of turbines is a few percentage points below what the models predict they should be," said John Wachtler, an environmental engineer at Barr Engineering in Minneapolis.
"Nobody is sure why, and when you spend $3 or $4 million for a turbine you don't want to see a 3 or 4 percent decrease in output from what you expected," he said. "One possibility [for the lower power output] is that we're not able to model short bursts and other changes in the wind on the turbines."
Wind energy is of growing economic importance in Minnesota. The state gets more of its energy from wind -- on a percentage basis -- than any other state in the country. It ranks fourth for total output -- 1,725 megawatts of wind energy -- behind Texas, Iowa and California.
The power generated by wind farms along Buffalo Ridge in southwestern Minnesota has outstripped the ability of the grid to carry the power, so the newer farms are being constructed in the southeast part of the state, Wachtler said.
To develop a realistic computer model of the wind patterns that will affect not only a particular wind farm, but an individual turbine in the middle of that farm, researchers are doing "multiscale modeling," Porte-Agél said.
They start with existing models that see the atmosphere on a very large scale. Then, using data from that model, they move to models that see wind patterns and atmospheric turbulence on an ever-smaller scale, until they wind up with an accurate prediction for the exact site where a wind turbine will be placed.
At least, that is the goal. "The models that industry uses now are rather coarse," Sotiropoulos said. "So nobody really knows the effect of atmospheric turbulence on a wind turbine."
To make a useful model, he said, "we want to go from a regional scale, which is on the order of kilometers, to a local scale, which is on the order of 100 meters, down to 1 meter.
The current models are good at the kilometer scale, he said, "approximate" at the wind farm scale, and essentially nonexistent at the 1-meter scale that would be critical in deciding exactly how to place turbines.
After including atmospheric data, which is notoriously complex, modelers must include local topography. Is the wind farm on flat prairie or it near hills or a valley? Is the surrounding land smooth, or is it rough? Is there a forest nearby?
Once the models are refined enough to look at what is happening on a wind farm, then understanding the effect on a turbine of turbulence being created by other turbines is critical. "When you are extracting energy from the wind, you have to slow the wind down and it creates wake turbulence and that has an impact on the turbines downwind," said Bob Conzemius, a senior scientist at the WindLogics research center in Grand Rapids, Minn.
Which is why the "toy" turbines are arrayed in the wind tunnel. By testing different turbine layouts, scientists can observe which patterns result in the least interference.
"We don't understand how the wakes interact, and this will help with that," Conzemius said.
The data from the wind tunnel will be fed into the models and then compared with very precise measurements being taken at a wind farm near Prairie Island. By combining data from the existing models with data from the wind tunnel and testing it against what is happening on the real wind farm, scientists hope to find out what can be done to make wind farms as efficient as they should be.
This story is provided by the Inside Science News Service. Dawson is editor of the Washington, D.C.-based news service, which is supported by the not-for-profit American Institute of Physics, a publisher of scientific journals. He was a reporter at the Star Tribune for 20 years and a science writer for 13 of those years. His e-mail is email@example.com.To see an interactive guide to Minnesota's wind power, go to www.startribune.com/business/28251514.html | <urn:uuid:6c35fac4-64bf-4ccf-94eb-8668af1abc29> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.startribune.com/business/44082432.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463956.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00202-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93764 | 1,172 | 3.34375 | 3 |
By Peter Ford Staff
The Christian Science Monitor
2008-11-22 12:51 AM
The finding sends a clear signal to officials at next month's climate change meeting in Poznan, Poland, scheduled to lay the groundwork for a 2009 international treaty to limit greenhouse-gas emissions.
"Governments have left a lot on the table in terms of public readiness to take action," says Steven Kull, head of the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, which conducted the 21-nation poll.
"I was struck by the consistency and strength of support" for greater reliance on solar and wind power to generate electricity, he adds. "People think of this as an investment and a transition. They are optimistic."
From Buenos Aires to Nairobi to Beijing, only 40 percent of respondents said they thought more coal, oil, and nuclear power plants were needed.
Seventy-seven percent said their governments should put more emphasis on solar and wind energy systems, and 69 percent said utility companies should be obliged to use more renewable energy sources "even if this increases the cost of energy in the short run."
Fifty-eight percent also said they were ready to pay higher prices for goods if the money was used to help businesses use energy more sparingly.
In the long run, two-thirds of respondents felt a major shift to alternative sources of energy would save money rather than hurt the economy.
Behind these figures, says Dr. Kull, lie fears of climate change and worries about the reliability and cost of oil. "That has caused people to look to alternatives," he says.
"Energy security and climate change loom large" in many parts of the world, adds Antony Froggatt, an energy specialist at the Chatham House think tank in London. "Renewables and energy efficiency simultaneously address both concerns."
At the same time, the poll also seems to suggest that increasing numbers of people believe that a shift away from fossil fuel toward renewable energy sources offers practical and immediate economic benefits.
Barack Obama's victory in the recent U.S. presidential elections was a signal of this trend, argues Keith Schneider, spokesman for the Apollo Alliance of businesses, unions, and environmentalists in the U.S., which advocates rapid development of "clean technology."
'Drill baby, drill'?
Obama's plan to invest US$150 billion over 10 years in "clean technology" is designed to create 5 million new jobs in the sector, the president-elect has said.
"Obama made clean energy one of his three basic visions," says Schneider. "'Drill, baby, drill' sounded good, but Obama won the election. People understand that this is an investment in their futures."
Speaking to a bipartisan group of governors by video on Tuesday, Obama said that despite the weakening economy, he had no intention of softening or delaying his aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
"Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all," Obama said. "Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response."
In the short term, Kull predicts, the financial crisis and the global recession it has spawned "will probably have some dampening effect" on public enthusiasm for a quick shift to renewable energy sources, given the initial investment costs of such a move.
Dallas Kachan, managing director of the Cleantech Group, which promotes "green" business investment, notes that public concern about climate change was more noticeable a year ago "before rising gas prices made people look more at their pocket book than at the polar icecaps."
Investors stand by "clean tech." But the poll numbers "show a fairly large wellspring of support for significant change - even if people are not ready to go as far as they were six months ago," says Kull. And investor interest in "clean technology" is still growing strongly, Kachan points out; Venture capitalists invested US$6.6 billion in the sector worldwide in the first nine months of this year, up 10 percent from the total for the whole of 2007, he says.
Indeed, with advocates holding out the promise of growth and jobs in renewable energy - making and installing new technology - "a lot of people are saying that the current situation offers an opportunity we cannot miss to create a 'green New Deal,'" says Froggatt. "Renewable energy and energy efficiency can be a fundamental part of revitalizing our economies."
"The way Barack Obama made alternative energy a major part of his jobs program was quite popular," Kull points out. "I see no reason why that would not be the case in other countries. When that is aligned with long-term concerns about climate change it would have a lot of appeal."
Other governments, too, are reluctant to pay the price that shifting to new technologies will demand, and persuading them to do so more quickly will not be easy, Kull warns.
"The short-term costs are always a problem and organized economic interests are invested in the status quo," he says. "Support for change is very widespread, but it is not very well organized." | <urn:uuid:d961ad35-f186-42ad-9ee6-612db2e54fd2> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=794409&lang=eng_news | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461216.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00156-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964285 | 1,057 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Home Broadband Adoption 2009
Barriers to Broadband Adoption
Demographic differences in broadband adoption
As we did in our 2008 report on home broadband adoption, this report assesses barriers to broadband adoption through questions to dial-up users and non-internet users about why they either do not have broadband or lack internet access.
At a very broad level, there are clear demographic differences between broadband, dial-up, and non-internet users, as the following table demonstrates.
Relative to broadband users, dial-up users are older, have lower incomes, have lower levels of educational attainment, are more likely to be African American, and more likely to live in rural areas. For non-internet users, these same factors are also relevant, but in much more pronounced ways. A notable demographic difference in comparing dial-up with non-users is gender: dial-up users are more likely to be male and non-users more likely to be female.
Several of the factors common to non-broadband use are related. Those with lower levels of education have, on average, lower incomes, as do rural Americans, senior citizens, and African Americans. Two questions that arise are whether these different effects are independent of one another and, if they are, which ones are more strongly related to broadband adoption.
It turns out that a number of demographic or socio-economic factors are positively correlated with home broadband adoption, while others are negatively correlated, and that these relationships are independent of one another. The following shows those factors that are positively and negatively correlated with home broadband adoption.9They are listed in order of magnitude, that is, having a high income is a stronger predictor of having broadband than being a parent and not having graduated from high school is more strongly associated with not having broadband than living in rural America.
These relationships help reveal patterns in broadband adoption, but they are not ironclad determinants of whether a person has broadband or not. They do, however, indicate what elements are more (or less) important, at the level of demographic and socio-economic analysis, in thinking about broadband adoption. The report turns now to how attitudes about the internet also shape the broadband subscription decision.
How many dial-up users want broadband?
When asked whether they would like to switch to a faster home broadband connection at home, more dial-up users say they are not interested than those who say they do.
Since this question was first asked in 2002, about 40% of dial-up users have said they would like to switch and the number has not changed much as dial-up use has fallen to a fraction of its 2002 levels. With the pool of dial-up users diminishing, this steady figure over time means that some dial-up users are changing their preferences. That is, assuming that over time most dial-up users who switched to broadband were people who at one point said they were interested in switching, many remaining dial-up users who said they didn’t want to switch a few years ago now say they do.
Due to the small number of cases for dial-up users, reporting specifics about what subgroups of dial-up users say when asked whether they would like to switch to broadband is not appropriate. However, multivariate analysis shows that two groups are most likely to say that they would like to switch from dial-up to broadband: parents with minor children and rural dial-up users.10
What would it take to get dial-up users to switch?
When explicitly asked what would move them from the dial-up to broadband column, dial-up users haven’t changed much in their perspectives on this question since 2008. Although a plurality cite price as the reason, some two-thirds of dial-up users cite a range of other things that would have to change to get them to switch. Some reasons cited are fairly precise, such as availability of service, while others are vague, such as simply not wanting to switch or not being able to identify something specific.
What keeps non-internet users offline?
Some one-fifth of adults (21%) do not use the internet, and the April 2009 survey asked these people a series of questions about why they don’t use the internet, whether they might have people close to them who use it, and whether they have been an online user in the past.
The only statistically significant difference in 2009 in comparison with 2007 is in the share of non-internet users saying they are not interested in getting online, with non-users in 2009 a third less likely than in 2007 to say they are not interested in getting online.
For both non-internet and dial-up users, there are small increases in those saying they can’t get service where they live. For dial-up users, 17% say they cannot obtain service where they live, an increase from 14% in 2008 that is not statistically significant. For non-users, 16% cited “can’t get access” in 2009, an uptick from 12% in 2007 that is significant at the 90% confidence level. Overall, this translates into 17% of non-internet or dial-up users who cite lack of availability as a reason they do without either internet service or broadband.
As was done in January’s Pew Internet commentary, the following consolidates the findings for dial-up and non-internet users into a single table.11
The April 2009 data show that half of dial-up and non-users cite some reason relating to the relevance of the internet, about the same share that was reported earlier this year based on 2007 data.
The demographic profiles of members of each of these four groups are shown below. Those citing availability and price as barriers are somewhat younger and poorer than those citing other reasons, and more likely to be female as well.
Some “not online” Americans weren’t always that way and some live with online users
As the Pew Internet Project first documented in a 2003 report, the internet population is often in some state of flux, with some people losing access and counting themselves as non-users, as others come online to expand the overall online population.12 In our April 2009 survey, some 21% of non-internet users said they had once been users of the internet or email, but had stopped using the internet for some reason.
As to whether they would like to get back online, only 11% of non-internet users would like to start using the internet – either for first time or once again after they have lost access.
Some non-users, however, have internet users in their household. Among the 21% of non-internet users, 13% say that someone in their home uses the internet. About half (46%) of this group identify a spouse or partner as the online user in the home, while just over one-third (38%) point to a child.
As noted earlier in the report, 72% of adults have internet access at home, with another 7% having online access from elsewhere, mostly work only (4%) or some other place that is neither home nor work (3%). When non-users with an internet user in the household added to the mix, 75% of Americans live in a home with internet access.
- These findings are based on a logistic regression that models the decision to adopt broadband (among all respondents) as a function of the variables listed in the table as well as gender and whether the respondent is Hispanic; neither variable was significantly correlated with having broadband. ↩
- The split form survey design in which half of respondents were asked questions pertaining to broadband means that 92 dial-up-using respondents answered the question on whether they would like to switch to broadband. Holding other demographic factors constant, parents with minor children at home and rural users were significantly more likely to say they would like to switch to broadband. ↩
- John B. Horrigan, “Stimulating Broadband: If Obama builds it, will they log on?” January 21, 2008. Available online at: http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Broadband%20Barriers.pdf ↩
- Amanda Lenhart et.al., “The Ever-Shifting Internet Population: A new look at Internet access and the digital divide.” Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 16, 2003, available online at: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2003/The-EverShifting-Internet-Population-A-new-look-at-Internet-access-and-the-digital-divide.aspx. ↩ | <urn:uuid:09ce8c08-0675-4595-9929-8c84a01f61b8> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.pewinternet.org/2009/06/17/barriers-to-broadband-adoption/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461848.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00222-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958395 | 1,780 | 2.859375 | 3 |
This week's TWD recipe inspired me to try some variations.
Since I studied science in college, and have a number of scientists and engineers in my ancestry, I decided to do some science experiments with these sablés. What would happen if I varied just one ingredient? Such as the type of flour, or sugar, or egg?
First experiment: type of flour. What happens if you use flour with a different protein content? I made one half-batch with unbleached all-purpose flour and one with unbleached pastry flour, measuring the flour by weight. Both were lemon-flavored and shaped into logs.
The ones with the yellow dot on top were the pastry flour ones. (The dot was made with egg, water and food coloring beaten together).
Results: unfortunately I underbaked the all-purpose flour batch a bit. This made comparing the two more difficult. Drat. Next time, I must remember to bake some of each batch at once. Because of the underbaking, the all-purpose flour ones were a bit doughy in the center. But by tasting just around the edges, I could make a pretty good comparison. The pastry flour ones were just a tiny bit more tender, the all-purpose flour ones were just a tad more chewy. But the difference was very slight and both were good. I also noticed that the pastry flour ones spread a bit more. This might be because lower-protein flour absorbs a bit less water, making the dough slightly more moist.
Second experiment: type of egg. I made two half-batches, one using an egg yolk (19 grams), one using one-half a whole egg (25 grams). Both were lime-flavored and used my standard "pastry and tender cookie" mixture of half all-purpose flour and half pastry flour. (I used the zest of one small lime for each half-batch.)
Results: The ones with the green dot were the whole-egg batch. There was a definite visual difference here -- the whole-egg ones were a stickier dough, spread more, and had a more open texture. The little rectangles were actually the same size and shape before baking. Part of this difference might have been because of the extra 6 grams of liquid egg; some was probably due to the difference in fat and emulsifier content. (Egg yolks have more fat and more natural emulsifiers.) Taste tests showed the whole-egg cookies were more crisp and light, while the egg-yolk ones were more smooth, rich and suave, but still "sandy". The taste difference was small but the texture difference was quite noticeable.
Third experiment: type of sugar. I made one half-batch with the mixture of granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar that Dorie recommends, and another using an equal weight of all superfine sugar. These were unflavored. Both batches were made with blended all-purpose/pastry flour, and with 20 grams of whole egg.
Results: Well, I forgot to label the rolls! I guess I was running out of energy at that point. So I don't know if the green cookies or the red cookies have the original sugar mixture. Sigh. Reducing the whole egg to 20 grams did solve the problem of the really sticky dough, but both batches still spread more and had a more crisp, open texture than the egg yolk ones. But the good news was, I couldn't tell any difference between the red and green ones. The textures were the same.
1) Unbleached all-purpose flour vs. unbleached pastry-flour -- the difference is barely noticeable.
2) Egg yolks vs. whole eggs -- the difference is noticeable. Just egg yolks give a cookie that spreads less with a more firm, even, but still "sandy" texture. The egg whites in the whole egg make for a crisper, more open-textured dough that spreads more. These things are always a matter of taste, and I liked them both. I have a feeling the egg yolk ones are more authentic, but personally I liked the crisp texture of the whole-egg ones. Just be sure to use the same amount of egg by weight or volume - about 38-40 grams for a whole recipe.
3) I couldn't tell the difference between the mixed-sugar batch and the superfine sugar batch. So, take your pick. It's easy to make your own superfine sugar by grinding regular sugar in a food processor. It would be interesting to compare a batch with all granulated sugar and all confectioners' sugar -- I'm sure that would make a difference.
And hey, what about comparing different regular butter to cultured butter to high-fat Euro-style butter? These cookies are so simple that they really reveal the differences in ingredients.
Other thoughts -- I would like these a just bit less sweet. I'm going to reduce the total amount of sugar down to about half the weight of the butter -- say, 100-110 grams for a whole batch. That's just a matter of my personal preference. I've made shortbread this way and the sweetness level was just right for my taste.
Also, the lemon and lime flavors were pretty subtle. I might increase the amount of zest next time -- I like my citrus cookies zingy! | <urn:uuid:da96e7e6-83d9-436a-9666-a406ac2aa28a> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://bungalowbarbara.blogspot.com/2009/12/twd-follow-up-sable-science-experiments.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463104.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00075-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971624 | 1,109 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The 'Saved Tide' feature is undergoing maintenance! Thank you
Saltwater tide tables
Saltwater Tide predictions for the United States Coast. This system will allow you to obtain tidal predictions for tidal stations around the entire United States coastal waters. Once your state is selected - click a red tide marker on the map to get your tide charts. You may then select predictions for 1 day or for up to 90 days. Save the chosen tidal location for easy access later.
YOU CAN SAVE YOUR TIDES OR PRINT THEM IN A PRINTER FRIENDLY FORMAT
Tides and Currents - NOAA
Alabama / Alaska / California / Caribbean Islands / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Louisiana / Maryland / Mississippi / North-Carolina / Oregon / Pacific-Islands / Panama-Canal / Pennsylvania / South-Carolina / Texas / Virginia / Washington / Washington-DC
What are Tides? What Causes Tides?
There are some extreme cases: the Bay of Fundy, on the east coast of Canada, features the largest well-documented tidal ranges in the world, 16 metres (53 feet), because of the shape of the bay. Southampton in the United Kingdom has a double high tide caused by the flow of water around the Isle of Wight, and Weymouth, Dorset has a double low tide because of the Isle of Portland. Ungava Bay in Nunavut, north eastern Canada, is believed by some experts to have higher tidal ranges than the Bay of Fundy (about 17 metres or 56 feet), but it is free of pack ice for only about four months every year, whereas the Bay of Fundy rarely freezes even in the winter. There are only very slight tides in the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea due to their narrow connections with the Atlantic Ocean. Extremely small tides also occur for the same reason in the Gulf of Mexico and Sea of Japan. On the southern coast of Australia, because the coast is extremely straight (partly due to the tiny quantities of runoff flowing from rivers), tidal ranges are equally small.
What are the different types of Tides?
When the sun and moon are aligned, there are exceptionally strong gravitational forces, causing very high and very low tides which are called spring tides, though they have nothing to do with the season. When the sun and moon are not aligned, the gravitational forces cancel each other out, and the tides are not as dramatically high and low. These are called neap tides. Spring Tides When the moon is full or new, the gravitational pull of the moon and sun are combined. At these times, the high tides are very high and the low tides are very low. This is known as a spring high tide. Spring tides are especially strong tides (they do not have anything to do with the season Spring). They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both contribute to the tides. Spring tides occur during the full moon and the new moon. Neap Tides During the moons quarter phases the sun and moon work at right angles, causing the bulges to cancel each other. The result is a smaller difference between high and low tides and is known as a neap tide. Neap tides are especially weak tides. They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another (with respect to the Earth). Neap tides occur during quarter moons
Gravity is one major force that creates tides. In 1687, Sir Isaac Newton explained that ocean tides result from the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon on the oceans of the earth. Newton s law of universal gravitation states that the gravitational attraction between two bodies is directly proportional to their masses, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the bodies. Therefore, the greater the mass of the objects and the closer they are to each other, the greater the gravitational attraction between them. Tidal forces are based on the gravitational attractive force. With regard to tidal forces on the Earth, the distance between two objects usually is more critical than their masses. Tidal generating forces vary inversely as the cube of the distance from the tide generating object. Gravitational attractive forces only vary inversely to the square of the distance between the objects. The effect of distance on tidal forces is seen in the relationship between the sun, the moon, and the Earths waters. Our sun is 27 million times larger than our moon. Based on its mass, the sun's gravitational attraction to the Earth is more than 177 times greater than that of the moon to the Earth. If tidal forces were based solely on comparative masses, the sun should have a tide-generating force that is 27 million times greater than that of the moon. However, the sun is 390 times further from the Earth than is the moon. Thus, its tide-generating force is reduced by 3903, or about 59 million times less than the moon. Because of these conditions, the suns tide-generating force is about half that of the moon.
Most coastal areas, with some exceptions, experience two high tides and two low tides every lunar day. Almost everyone is familiar with the concept of a 24-hour solar day, which is the time that it takes for a specific site on the Earth to rotate from an exact point under the sun to the same point under the sun. Similarly, a lunar day is the time it takes for a specific site on the Earth to rotate from an exact point under the moon to the same point under the moon. Unlike a solar day, however, a lunar day is 24 hours and 50 minutes. The lunar day is 50 minutes longer than a solar day because the moon revolves around the Earth in the same direction that the Earth rotates around its axis. So, it takes the Earth an extra 50 minutes to catch up to the moon. Because the Earth rotates through two tidal bulges every lunar day, coastal areas experience two high and two low tides every 24 hours and 50 minutes. High tides occur 12 hours and 25 minutes apart. It takes six hours and 12.5 minutes for the water at the shore to go from high to low, or from low to high.
FRESH WATER True tides, changes in water level caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon, do occur in a semi-diurnal pattern on the Great Lakes. The investigations of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey indicate that the spring tide, the largest tides caused by the combined forces of the sun and moon, is less than 2 inches (5cm) in height. These minor variations are masked by the greater fluctuations in lake levels produced by wind and barometric pressure changes. Consequently, the Great Lakes are considered to be essentially non-tidal. The moons lunar force is nine million times weaker than the force of Earth's gravity at the Earth's surface. If the Earth's surfaces were completely submerged by an ocean of unvarying depth and if the Earth were to face the Moon at all times, there would be tides two feet high. In addition to rivers, lakes are also affected by the lunar tide action. These are effects usually easier to detail. Lake high tides are opposite the Moon when the Moon is below the horizon. If the Moon is up, the water of the lake follows the Moon around the shore. Low tide goes along the opposing shore. Lake Michigan, for example, has a tidal difference of 1 and 3/4 inches.What causes tides? | <urn:uuid:1d3c2ea5-8f7a-44d2-8fdb-acbfdbe849c4> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.noreast.com/saltwater-tide-tables.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461216.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00156-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93847 | 1,529 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Secularism is not about belief in God.
Secularism was invented by people who believe in God.
They invented secularism to end centuries of religious violence. This violence routinely saw the slaughter of whole people -men, women, and children - for the crime of belonging to the wrong church. The Thirty Years War saw whole regions of Europe entirely depopulated as each side sought to kill everybody belonging to the wrong church.
In some cases, everybody in a town was killed simply because "the wrong religious faction" had a strong presence in that town. "Kill them all. God will know his own," was the rationalization for these mass murders.
Tired of the slaughter, the survivors finally said, "Enough! Henceforth, religion will not justify violence. From now on, no religion will impose its religious practices on others, nor will they interfere with the peaceful practices of others."
In one country, it took the form, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
And that brought peace.
Secularism is not about belief in God.
It is about giving peace a chance.
It did not bring perfect peace. Religious leaders chaffed under the restriction and, from time to time, religious differences turned violent. Because it began as a peace treaty among the most powerful religious factions who ultimately gave up on their efforts to exterminate each other, those factions often did not apply its principles to weaker groups. Jews, the heathens of the New World and Africa, atheists, all were fair game. In a sense, it was much like two schoolyard bullies saying, "Let's stop fighting each other and attack everybody else instead!"
Woe be to everybody else.
However, as a moral principle, it came to be universalized and applied even to weaker groups - slowly, over time.
It is a work in progress.
However, religious leaders - particularly those who want power for themselves - chafe against the bindings of secularism. It is a limit on how much power they can accumulate. They have a strong interest in returning to the days when the church controlled the state, and the state controlled the people.
However, this means getting rid of secularism.
To do this, they need to tarnish it - to discredit it - convince the people to do away with it.
If you went to any competent public relations firm and said that you want to tear down - attack - denigrate - discredit some person, organization, practice, or institution, they will tell you to associate it with something people already hate. Get the word out - through newsletters, through advertisements, through radio and television commentators, through blogs and through speeches to your congregation - that this institution you want them to hate is related to something they already hate.
What can we tie secularism to in order to get people to hate secularism and release religion from these bindings?
A person with a feeling for these types of things will already sense the public animosity towards atheism and be ready to hitch secularism to this most unpopular mule. A professional public relations firm will likely be able to back up this intuition with data gained through focus groups and surveys, but that is not necessary.
It is important to remember that, in public relations, truth does not matter. You get the effect you want by people believing that a certain relationship exists - regardless of whether or not it is true.
Secularism has nothing to do with belief in God. However, there is a political faction in the world that has a strong incentive to make people think that secularism has to do with belief in God - or with belief that there is no God. These are people who wish to be free of the bindings that secularism imposes, so that church can once again control the state and, through the state, control the people.
As it turns out, atheists have done a wonderful job of contributing to this project of linking atheism with secularism in the public mind. Many atheist organizations use "secularism" in their title. They speak of atheism and secularism as almost as if they are synonymous. The anti-secularist looks at this and smiles.
This does not imply that atheists are wrong to feed this association between atheism and secularism in the public mind. Far from it. I have just spent three weeks defending secularism. I certainly am happy to be associated with it - in spite of the fact that it was invented by theists. I am not one who has ever said that theists can do nothing right.
However, I think that the public defense of secularism - defending secularism in the press and in the public square, on blogs and in speeches, requires telling people what is going on.
Secularism was not forced on religious people by the all-powerful atheist community. It was invented and adopted by religious people to end centuries of religious violence. However, there are now powerful religious factions who want to discredit secularism so that they can once again create a nation where religious institutions control the government, and the government controls the people. To discredit secularism they like to link secularism to something the people hate - atheism. Just for good measure, they like to promote a strong dislike for atheism at the same time, branding them anti-American, immoral, and a threat to civilization."
If they succeed, there will come a time when the debate will shift. Instead of debating WHETHER the church should control the state - once the bindings of secularism have been removed and church again has permission to control the state - the next question to come up will be WHICH religious leaders get to control the state.
If history is any guide at all, we can expect this to be a very . . . unpleasant . . . debate.
Unless, of course, the answer to the first question of whether the church should control the state remains a resounding, "NO!" | <urn:uuid:7d75b209-81b4-400c-819c-47e2669dd6a5> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://atheistethicist.blogspot.com/2012/04/secularism-and-belief-in-god.html?showComment=1335002565261 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462141.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00288-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974674 | 1,218 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The vast majority of strokes are caused by problems such as atrial fibrillation, hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure. But there are many less common causes of stroke as well. Following is a list of some of the rarer causes of stroke:
NONINFLAMMATORY BLOOD VESSEL DISORDERS
Fibromuscular Dysplasia – a disease that causes abnormal cell development in the artery wall. As a result, areas of narrowing, aneurysms or dissections may occur. If narrowing or a tear causes a decrease in blood flow through the artery, symptoms may result. Renal (kidney) and carotid arteries are most commonly affected. (For more information see our Update on FMD, or visit the Fibromuscular Dysplasia Society of America.)
Vasospasm after Subarachnoid Hemorrhage – With vasospasm a blood vessel spasms or contracts causing less blood flow . Cerebral (brain) vasospasm may happen after an operation for a bleed that occurs between the brain and the thin tissue covering the brain (subarachnoid hemorrhage). This type of vasospasm increases the risk of an ischemic stroke. Vasospasm typically occurs 4-10 days after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndromes – A condition in which the arteries of the brain develop vasospasm (a blood vessel spasms causing less blood flow) without a clear cause, such as hemorrhage or trauma. It includes several connected disorders linked with problems of brain blood vessel dilation and constriction, leading to constriction of medium and large arteries, such as the circle of Willis. This can cause sudden-onset, debilitating headaches.
Radiation-induced Vasculopathy – Radiation treatment for cancers of the head and neck may lead to delayed toxicity to the nervous system. Brain cells may die as a result, but damage to blood vessels is thought to be how that develops.
Moyamoya Disease – A rare disease of the carotid arteries in which they progressively narrow and potentially close, resulting in either ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. A network of blood vessels form within the brain's blood circulation in order to compensate for the lack of blood flow, but the new vessels cannot manage the amount of blood flow handled by the closed down artery. (For more information, see Stroke Connection Winter 2014.)
Fabry Disease – A rare X-linked genetic disease that causes lipid deposits in the inner lining of blood vessels and results in progressive disease of the blood vessels of the brain, heart, skin and kidneys.
INFLAMMATORY BLOOD VESSEL DISORDERS
Isolated Angiitis of the Central Nervous System – A rare form of inflammatory blood vessels disease that affects only the brain and spinal cord; no other blood vessels appear to be affected. Symptoms may include headache, seizure, stroke and degenerative brain disease.
Temporal (Giant Cell) Arteritis – A systemic inflammatory disorder of the blood vessels, most commonly involving large and medium arteries of the head, usually the branches of the external carotid artery. The most serious complication of GCA is permanent blindness. It is twice as common in women, but still rare.
Cerebral Vasculitis related to Infection – There are a number of infectious diseases that cause inflammation of cerebral blood vessels, including meningovascular syphilis, tuberculous meningitis, other bacterial meningitis, fungal meningoencephalitides, neurocysticercosis, varicella-zoster virus encephalitis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus. Generally treating the underlying cause reduces the cerebrovascular inflammation and risk of stroke.
Cerebral Vasculitis related to Toxins – Toxins involved in inflammation of the cerebral blood vessels include cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and inhaled volatile solvents (glue sniffing). No specific therapy has been shown to improve the problem with the blood vessels, but the drug(s) should definitely be stopped immediately.
Cerebral Vasculitis related to Neoplasms – Diseases of the arteries may rarely complicate the course of systemic tumors. Meningitis (serious inflammation of the meninges – the thin, membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord) caused by cancer or lymphoma may affect the small and middle-sized intracranial arteries.
Ischemic stroke may be associated with a number of hereditary and acquired blood clotting disorders, including abnormalities of red cell or platelet function, coagulation factors or endogenous fibrinolysis. All of these affect how the blood clots or does not clot as it should. According to Dr. Kasner, these disorders are uncommon, but are over-represented among young stroke patients and should be considered when no alternative stroke cause is identified.
PROTHROMBOTIC (CLOTTING) DISORDERS
Disorders of the Coagulation System – Certain gene mutations (changes in the gene) may cause blood to clot more easily, but they are not typically the cause of ischemic strokes. Clotting tendencies are also found in association with oral contraceptives, systemic inflammatory disorders and malignancies.
Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome – Antiphospholipid antibodies are associated with immune-mediated illnesses, syphilis, and stroke. It is thought to result from a hypercoagulable disorder – meaning the person has increased risk for developing blood clots. The mechanism by which they cause clots is uncertain, but they appear to interfere with naturally occurring anticoagulants, protein and platelet stability.
Sickle Cell Disease – A group of inherited blood disorders characterized by chronic anemia, painful events and various complications, including stroke, due to associated tissue and organ damage. Sickle cell disease causes a progressive nonatherosclerotic large vessel narrowing that may develop into a pattern that looks like moyamoya disease. Blood thickens during a sickle crisis and reduces blood flow to tissue or may block blood flow to the brain. Anemia that often accompanies the disorder can cause arteries to dilate and increase cerebral blood flow, which may in turn increase the risk of intracerebral hemorrhage. For more information visit Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.
Migraine-Related Stroke – There is evidence that patients with migraine, particularly migraine with aura, have an increased risk of stroke. The mechanism for this is unclear, although migraine is associated with abnormalities of platelet, coagulation and blood vessel inner lining function, and that may contribute to an increased risk of stroke.
Cerebral Venous Thrombosis – CVT is a rare cause of stroke. In children it is related to infection, such as sinusitis, tonsillitis or pharyngitis, and requires early administration of appropriate antibiotics. In adults, most cases are related to contraceptives, severe dehydration, malignancy, myeloproliferative disorders (conditions that cause blood cells to grow abnormally in the bone marrow), hypercoagulable states (increasing the risk for developing blood clots) and inflammatory bowel disease. The systemic disorder must be treated in order to maximally treat the CVT and prevent recurrent events. Many adult cases are related to pregnancy and are treated after the delivery of the child. The cause remains unknown in about 20 percent of cases.
Regarding migraine with aura and CVT from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Feb 2014 Guidelines for the prevention of stroke in women: A statement for healthcare professionals:
- Stroke from central venous and sinus thrombosis (CVT) is remarkably more common in women, and has been related to hormonal factors (contraceptive use, pregnancy) and thrombophilia. The guidelines provide recommendations for screening, testing for prothrombotic conditions, and anticoagulation for women with CVT and a history of CVT.
- Migraine with aura is associated with an increased risk for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in women, especially in women under the age of 55 years. Data are insufficient to recommend specific strategies to treat migraine while lowering stroke risk. However, since an association exists between migraine frequency and stroke risk, guidelines support treatments to reduce migraine frequency. Quitting smoking is strongly recommended for women with migraine headaches with aura. | <urn:uuid:cd790f7d-efe4-44cd-806e-8bb275b8bc4c> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/StrokeConnectionMagazine/ReadSCNow/Uncommon-Causes-of-Stroke_UCM_461424_Article.jsp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463444.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00164-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.91266 | 1,761 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Wildlife forensic science
Wildlife forensic science is science that is applied to legal questions involving wildlife.
Wildlife forensic laboratories and organizations
With the initiative of the Society for Wildlife Forensic Science (SWFS), the Scientific Working Group for Wildlife Forensic Sciences (SWGWILD) was formed in 2011.
Scope of wildlife forensics
While animals and plants are the victims in the crimes of illegal wildlife trade and animal abuse, society also pays a heavy price when those crimes are used to fund illegal drugs, weapons and terrorism. Links between human trafficking, public corruption and illegal fishing have also been reported. The continued development and integration of wildlife forensic science as a field will be critical for successful management of the many significant social and conservation issues related to the illegal wildlife trade and wildlife law enforcement.
- "Wildlife Forensics Laboratory". Law enforcement division. California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- "About SWGWILD". Society for Wildlife Forensic Science. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 2009. Trafficking and extortion of Burmese migrants in Malaysia and Southern Thailand: a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. Washington, DC
- Tobe, Shanan S.; Linacre, A. (13 December 2007). "A multiplex assay to identify 18 European mammal species from mixtures using the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene". ELECTROPHORESIS 29 (2): 340–347. doi:10.1002/elps.200700706.
- Linacre, A.; Tobe, Shanan S. (13 January 2011). "An overview to the investigative approach to species testing in wildlife forensic science". Investigative Genetics 2 (2). doi:10.1186/2041-2223-2-2.
- Tobe, Shanan S.; Linacre, A. (September 2010). "DNA typing in wildlife crime: recent developments in species identification". Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology 6 (3): 195–206. doi:10.1007/s12024-010-9168-7.
- Alacs, E. A.; Georges, A.; FitzSimmons, N. N.; Robertson, J. (16 December 2009). "DNA detective: a review of molecular approaches to wildlife forensics". Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology 6 (3): 180–194. doi:10.1007/s12024-009-9131-7.
- Espinoza, Edgard O., and Mary-Jacque Mann. 2000. Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes, 3rd edition. Ivory Identification Incorporated, Richmond, VA
- Ogden, Rob. "Fisheries forensics: the use of DNA tools for improving compliance, traceability and enforcement in the fishing industry". Fish and Fisheries 9 (4): 462–472. doi:10.1111/j.1467-2979.2008.00305.x.
- Ogden, Rob; Nick Dawnay; Ross McEwing. "Wildlife DNA forensics – bridging the gap between conservation genetics and law enforcement". Endangered Species Research 9: 179–195. doi:10.3354/esr001144.
- Trail, Pepper W. (18 September 2006). "Avian Mortality at Oil Pits in the United States: A Review of the Problem and Efforts for Its Solution". Environmental Management 38 (4): 532–544. doi:10.1007/s00267-005-0201-7.
- U.S. Department of State (8 November 2007). "The coalition against wildlife trafficking: working together to end the illegal trade in wildlife". Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- Warchol, A. (2004). "The transnational illegal wildlife trade". Criminal Justice Studies (s) 17: 57–73. doi:10.1080/08884310420001679334.
- Yates, Bonnie C.; Espinoza, Edgard O.; Baker, Barry W. (13 June 2010). "Forensic species identification of elephant (Elephantidae) and giraffe (Giraffidae) tail hair using light microscopy". Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology 6 (3): 165–171. doi:10.1007/s12024-010-9169-6.
- Zimmerman, M. (2003). "The black market for wildlife: combating transnational organized crime in the illegal wildlife trade". Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 36: 1657–1689.
- Baker, Barry (1 November 2008). "A brief overview of forensic herpetology". Applied Herpetology 5 (4): 307–318. doi:10.1163/157075408786532048.
- Cooper, John E. Cooper, Margaret E. (2007). Introduction to veterinary and comparative forensic medicine ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Pub. ISBN 9780470752944.
- Linacre, Adrian. Tobe, Shanan S. (2013). Wildlife DNA Analysis: Applications in Forensic Science. Oxford, UK: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470665954.
- Wallace, edited by Jane E. Huffman, John R. (2012). Wildlife forensics methods and applications. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781119953142.
- Leakey, Laurel A. Neme ; foreword by Richard (2009). Animal investigators : how the world's first wildlife forensics lab is solving crimes and saving endangered species (1st Scribner hardcover ed.). New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-1416550563.
- Welch, Craig (2010). Shell games rogues, smugglers, and the hunt for nature's bounty (1st ed.). New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0061987980. | <urn:uuid:512cebd3-f424-477e-abea-f87001e6b3c8> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_Forensic_Science | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463165.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00098-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.659292 | 1,233 | 2.8125 | 3 |
How to Make a Persian Outer CaftanResearch by Charles Mellor, may be reproduced if properly credited.
This diagram is based upon an extant garment shown in 'Lost Treasures Persia'. The garment is shown from the back, laid out flat. Front details are conjectural, based upon garments painted in miniature painting of that period and locale. This particular caftan is dated at last quarter of sixteenth century, though this type of garment was in style from about 1300 to 1620.
The original garment is composed of "dragonslayer" brocade, which shows a scene of a Persian man/warrior slaying a Chinese style dragon in a landscape setting. The picture is in black & white and the color is described as light blue. The brocade seems to be quite detailed with a repeat of approximately 18 inches vertical. As is typical for brocades from this period in Persia, the motif is repeated with colors alternated or varied and also with the scene reversed from left to right on alternate repeats. As is also typical for brocades of this period, it is most unlike anything made nowadays. This particular type is really more like you photocopied a painting and then pasted multiple copies together edge-to-edge, and then covered up the edges with overlapping leaves from the trees in the scene. No attempt is made to match the patterns on the back of the garment. Based on extant Turkish garments I have seen, I would guess that the patterns might have matched at center front, but probably not anywhere else. There are even places were tiny slivers of fabric were pieced together, most likely as an economy because this fabric would have been very expensive. In this pattern I have only shown the seams that I believe are "functional" rather than economical.
Both men and women wore this style of garment as an outer covering. At this length it almost sweeps the floor on me, but comes up to mid calf if belted. I have seen paintings of both men and women wearing this type of garment in every length from hip length to floor length. Women more typically would wear it long, but the split seems to be about 80 - 20, with both sexes wearing longer garments for formal or indoor activities and shorter garments for outdoors or on horseback.
This type of garment is usually worn over other layers of a similar cut of garment, perhaps of a lighter weight. Another garment worn under this is the "Mongol" or crossover coat. Some people believe that women never wore the Mongol coat, but the pictures clearly show that they did. Pants similar to the Turkish "salwar" were always worn by both sexes under all the other layers. I have seen very few paintings were a short garment is worn over a longer one (not counting a short coat over long pants), but I have seen many pictures with longer coats worn over another coat that is short enough to tuck into the pants. It is very hard to guess what the most inner layer of garments would have looked like. There are paintings that show men wearing knee-length white pants that seem to be cut about the same as salwar. It is hard to tell from the picture, but they are made out of fabric that is either crinkled like gauze or has a fine vertical stripe. In some paintings the women are wearing what seems to be a gauzy undershirt with sleeves about 10" longer than their fingertips that sometimes fall down over their hands. I saw one painting with a man wearing an undershirt of crinkled gauze/stripes that seemed to fasten at the side of the neck like a Cossack shirt.
I can't tell from the photo of garment what the weight of the fabric would be, but based on paintings of the period, a very drapey, softer fabric was most common. I have seen no evidence in paintings that the super-starched Turkish look was ever used in Persia. Based on paintings, other appropriate fabrics would be: brocades with small, over-all geometric patterns, brocades with small over-all patterns of Chinese motifs (most typically cloud-scroll patterns), brocades with arabesque patterns, brocades with foliate or acanthus in either over-all or serpentine runners, solids with gold embroidery or stamping randomly applied or applied to hem and wrist, Turkish style brocades, Venetian style brocades, cut velvet in Turkish patterns. Even though everybody thinks stripes are typical of Middle Eastern design, stripes are never shown for use in garments in Persian art, except for peasant/labourer class clothing. Based on paintings, this particular type of garment is frequently lined with fur or silk shag in improbable colours. The garment in the photo seems to be lined with a lightweight broadcloth of yellowish green with a repeat pattern. It is possible that garments of this type may have been lined with Ikat silks in period (as they were in the 19th - 20th cent) but this is entirely conjectural. I know they had that fabric, but I have seen no pictorial evidence to support it's use in lining.
These garments most typically buttoned from neck to waist, though they were not always worn buttoned and sometimes show no evidence of any fastening in the paintings. As far as I can tell from all the evidence I have seen, buttonholes were not used. Instead, loops or tabs were used. Buttons were often grouped in clusters of two, and from the evidence I have seen were most typically either toggle or ball buttons. Sometimes horizontal stripes of braid where used to accent the closings. Based on the paintings, it is either appropriate or even essential for the garment to gap at the closing and show the next layer of fabric underneath. It is hard to tell for sure, but some of the paintings seem to show the women wearing several layers of these buttoned at the neck and belted at the waist and open to show a vertical sliver of skin on their torso. Some people believe this was for nursing or in the harem. I have examined several paintings showing this with a magnifying glass in person, and I cannot say whether they are showing skin or undertunic. | <urn:uuid:1f0ad909-607f-491b-8199-0831f15001ed> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://sca.berkeley.edu/garment_pattern/persian_outer_caftan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463411.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00141-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976956 | 1,267 | 3.09375 | 3 |
Pork is the most consumed meat in the world, averaging about 40% of global meat consumption.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is projecting global pork consumption to increase 23 million metric tons per year by 2010, and global pork exports to increase by 1.34 million metric tons per year. (One metric ton = 2,204.6 lb.)
If a U.S. pork carcass averages roughly 122.5 lb. (primal and subprimal cuts), it will take 18 head to equal a metric ton. Therefore, the projected growth in global exports will require the equivalent of 24 million more hogs per year by 2010.
Competition to fill this demand will be intense. Specifically, Brazil, Canada, and Denmark seem very well positioned to challenge the United States for global market share.
|Pigs born alive/sow/year||1||4||1||3|
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|Ranked such that 1 = most competitive, 4 = least competitive|
Canada, now the world's second largest pork exporter, stands second only to the European Union (EU) countries. Denmark leads all EU countries in pork exports.
Canada and Brazil are aggressively targeting exports. Between 1994 and 2001, Canadians increased export volume by 144%, while Brazilians increased volume by a whopping 891%. U.S. and EU exports increased by 194% and 43%, respectively, for the period.
While growth in domestic demand is critical to the economic well-being of the U.S. pork industry, production needs only increase about 1%, conservatively, to meet the domestic needs of our growing population. Therefore, if the U.S. pork industry is to grow, it will be reliant on exports.
The growth in pork exports over the past 15 years has boosted producers' gross income by $3.1 billion. In other words, exports have contributed an average of nearly $210 million each year, or $2.27/market hog.
A key factor is increased utilization of the whole hog. While the average export price for U.S. pork variety meats remained in the narrow range of $0.41 to $0.49/lb. during the decade ending in 2002, the average revenue per head increased from $0.97 to $1.62.
Market Share Challenges
Food safety, animal disease and environmental constraints remain key competitive issues in the global market.
We've seen how foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks have eroded market share for Denmark, Taiwan, Korea and the United Kingdom. Likewise, FMD still precludes Brazil from exporting to some markets.
Similarly, the Netherlands still hasn't regained full market access after the 1997 outbreak of hog cholera.
Pseudorabies and the lack of trichinae testing on every hog still lock the U.S. out of some markets.
Pork production in Denmark and the Netherlands, particularly, and to a lesser extent the U.S. and Canada, is now also hampered by environmental constraints.
Other competitiveness issues include cost of production, animal welfare requirements, the application/regulation of new technologies, government subsidies, customer service, product quality, transportation costs and logistics.
If U. S. producers are to gain a share of the growing global demand for pork, it is important to understand how we stack up against our major competitors in key areas.
To shed some light on global competitiveness issues, a checkoff-funded evaluation was conducted on a number of competitive attributes of four major pork-producing countries — Brazil, Canada, Denmark and the U.S. (see Table 1).
The evaluation showed that, while the U.S. pork industry has a significant competitive advantage in some areas, the advantages could quickly erode if advances are made in other countries.
It is important to understand that, while these rankings are subjective, they reflect the consensus opinion of a broad cross section of industry representatives who reviewed the study results during a February 2003 competitiveness workshop.
Rearranging the Rankings
While the U.S. has continuously set new export records, the playing field is starting to change. Export growth can no longer be taken for granted.
Brazil, for example, has a number of competitive advantages that position them to be significant competitors in the future. While their very low cost of production is currently overshadowed by their FMD status, a change in that status would open doors to major importers such as the U.S. or Japan. Brazil's low feed and labor costs and a lack of environmental regulations would make them highly competitive, driving significant increases in production.
Brazil has declared their intent to become the world's largest pork exporter. The same companies that made Brazil the world's second largest poultry exporter also own the pork industry.
Canada is determined to be a major player in the export market. They have a relatively low cost of production and a good reputation for safety and quality. Moreover, their high animal health status gives them access to markets that the U.S. cannot supply.
For Canada, no market is too small. They push hard to gain access to markets like Australia or Cuba, then supply products to meet the customer's needs, even in the relatively small markets.
Country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) in the U.S. will create added impetus for the Canadians to grow their export market share, providing an outlet for pigs that otherwise would have been finished and processed in the U.S.
Denmark seems to be facing an uphill battle in terms of cost of production, environmental constraints and the ability to ship chilled product around the world. However, they have a fully integrated, producer-owned industry with an excellent reputation for quality and service and the ability to react rapidly to problems.
Denmark also has access to a huge internal market in the EU, plus they can turn to government subsidies when times are tough. The Danes continue to demonstrate that quality, service and working together can overcome a relatively high cost of production.
The U.S. is blessed with a significant pork infrastructure that has a low cost of production, good animal health status, unrivalled food safety system and aggressive export sector. But exports still represent only 8% of U.S. production, so the domestic market continues to drive many production and processing practices.
The U.S. position on exports is yet to be determined. We can fight head-to-head with other countries, or we can find a unique positioning based on our strengths.
Understanding World Markets
U.S. producers need to be aware that pork is easily moved around the world. And there are many countries besides Denmark, Canada and Brazil that would like to increase their share of the world market.
The U.S. currently produces between 97 and 100 million pigs per year. Is this the optimum, profitable level for our industry, or would 105 -110 million pigs provide more opportunities? If growth is the goal, how long should we take to achieve the higher numbers without severely impacting market prices?
In the end, the answers to these questions are intertwined. Growing consumption around the world provides opportunities for industry growth. Improved competitiveness provides opportunities to grow export demand. Greater demand drives increased production.
Still, the U.S. can no longer be all things to all customers. We need to decide where we want to play.
Positioning for Exports
The competitiveness workshop demonstrated that global competitors are creating their own positioning, working from their strengths to grow exports.
It is imperative that U.S. producers establish the global market share they want to achieve, then design the strategies and tactics to achieve it. Strategies such as animal health status, cost of production, sow productivity, environmental constraints, market access, pork quality and customer service must be considered.
We must address the areas where we rank third or fourth in the chart, while maintaining our number 1 and 2 rankings, if we are to remain the competitive force that increased export volume an average of 14.5% per year since 1991. | <urn:uuid:0106c783-50df-4cf4-a7b1-ec548d74a75f> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://nationalhogfarmer.com/mag/farming_targeting_exports | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462232.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00310-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942817 | 1,751 | 2.734375 | 3 |
SACRED BOOKS AND EARLY LITERATURE
HOW FROM RELIGION THE HEBREW THOUGHT BRED MYSTERY, PHILOSOPHY, AND POETRY
THE Hebrew writings after the fifth century of our present era include no such transcendently important religious works as the Bible and the Talmud. Yet the Hebraic race had lost neither their wonderful genius for religious thought, nor their strong instinct for formalism, for the embodiment of religion in a mass of minute rules. Hebrew tradition was still to give to the world two remarkable works bearing upon religion. Neither of these is a single book; each, like the Bible itself, is a collection of many works, brief books carrying the complete thought of many generations. One of these collections is commonly called the "Midrash," and the other the "Kabbalah."
To appreciate these two earnest and strange and mystic labors of medieval thinkers, we must realize that from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (A.D. 70) there was no longer a Hebrew nation living in its own land. There was only a mournful race, wide-scattered over all the world. At first the chief remaining center of Hebrew thought and teaching was in Babylon, the foster-home from which sprang the main bulk of the Talmud. But after, the fifth century A.D. the lands of Babylonia were plunged also into destruction; and more than ever the Jews became hapless wanderers. They were welcomed, indeed, in some lands, because their habits of peace and industry and obedience
made them profitable servitors; but more often they were met with savage persecution. Hence to the medieval Jew the usual conditions of life were strangely reversed. The people among whom he dwelt were not his "neighbors," but were strangers and enemies; while his true "neighbors," those who would feel with him and help and value him, dwelt in all the widest distances of the world.
Because of this scattered life of the medieval Jews, their literary men were much more apt to write in the language of the land wherein they dwelt than in the very ancient Hebrew, which was known only to their very learned brethren, or in the common Jewish speech, or Aramaic, which had long supplanted the older Hebrew, even in Jerusalem itself. From the time of Jerusalem's fall, when Josephus, that wise and crafty Hebrew general, wrote his "Wars of the Jews" not in his native tongue but in Latin, so that the Roman conquerors could read it, down to the day when the poet Heine penned his passionate Jewish laments in German, writers of Hebrew birth and spirit have enriched the literature of every language in the world. Only when the thinker had something to say directly to other Jews, something personal or dealing with their religion, would he probably write in Hebrew or Aramaic. Hence the later Hebraic books are almost wholly religious, or, to employ the usual word, "rabbinical."
To this class belongs the medieval Midrash. The word "Midrash" means "explanation," and so in a sense all Hebraic religious works since the Bible are included in the Midrash. But the name is generally limited to the commentaries, which always remained mere human "explanations," and were never accepted, as was the Talmud, as being inspired, and hence as forming part of the official and unalterable religion. The medieval Midrash thus includes a considerable bulk of writings, some of which may be as old as the fifth century A.D., but the fullest and best of which date from the ninth to the thirteenth century. They furnish
us, like the Talmud, with a further mass of homely or poetic details about all the older Biblical characters, and of subtle analysis of Bible doctrines. Some of the statements are undoubtedly based on very ancient tradition. Many Hebrews look upon the Midrash as the mere putting into writing of facts always known to their race, and they hence accept its teachings as equally valuable with those of the Talmud.
With the Kabbalah we turn to another field, to what is perhaps the latest, and certainly the most mysterious, product of Hebrew religious thought. When the chief books of the Kabbalah were presented to the European world in the fourteenth century they created so profound an interest that their appearance may well be noted as forming one of the most important events of the Renaissance. They were said to be as holy as the Bible, and as old, or even older; and many learned men accepted them at this valuation. A leading Italian scholar, Pico di Mirandola, urged upon Pope Sixtus (A.D. 1490) that the doctrines of the Kabbalah should be accepted as part of the Christian doctrine. Indeed, many Jews found in these so-called sacred Hebrew books such a similarity to Christian teaching that they became converted to the Christian faith.
Soon, however, eager scholars began to search the books of the Kabbalah for what these could tell of magic, rather than of religion. Doubts were cast upon the genuineness of their proclaimed antiquity; and their teachings were relegated to that borderland of fantasy and mystery which pervades their highly spiritual religious ideal. To some critics of to-day, the books of the Kabbalah are merely mechanical riddles and mathematical word-games, to others they are dark and brooding pits of evil; to some they are petty frauds, to others they are still the most ancient, deep, and holy books of all the world. To every one of us they must have some living interest as the subtlest and most mysterious product of a subtle and mysterious age.
The Midrash reviews the past, the Kabbalah explores eternity. The present volume, therefore, is given first to the most noted books of the Midrash, with their harvest of added details for the Bible story, and then to those of the Kabbalah, with their searching of unknown deeps.
THE SPANISH HEBREWS
Beyond these come the Hebrew writings held less sacred, though only perhaps because they are less ancient, or at least have never been invested with a claim or pretense to remote antiquity. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries of our era the gorgeous Arabic, or Moorish, civilization of Spain was the center of the world's intellectual activity; and as the Moors were tolerant toward the Jews, we find among them great Hebrew philosophers who wrote in Arabic. We find also some who used the ancient Hebrew, or whose Arabic works were by their admiring brethren translated promptly into Hebrew. The more worldly or Arabian of these writers we must look for in our Arab volume; but we give here the most noted works of the distinctly Hebraic style. First among these in point of time comes the religious poetry. There is a considerable bulk of medieval Hebraic verse of this sort, much of it rising to a high level of poetic vision and an even higher level of philosophical thought. We begin here with the hymns of Avicebron, who was a noted Arabic teacher and philosopher of the eleventh century, but had not forgotten his Jewish faith and people. Our book then turns to Jehudah hal-Levi, commonly called Judah Halevi, the most renowned of Hebrew religious poets. His "Ode to Zion" is usually accounted the high-water mark of such poetry; and his proudly boastful prose work, "The Book Cusari," is equally typical of his day and of his people.
From the poets we turn to the prose philosophers. Chief of these, from the Hebraic viewpoint, were Ibn Ezra of the twelfth century and Maimonides of the thirteenth. Ibn Ezra has been made known to English readers by Browning's great poem, which takes him for its philosophic interpreter of the worth of life. Maimonides, more accurately to be
called Moses ben Maimon, was so famed among his own people for his work in codifying and expounding their faith, that even to-day they speak of their religious teaching as extending "from Moses to Moses." That is, the teaching began with Moses of the Bible and receiving the Law upon Mount Sinai, and it was finally fixed, closed, and established beyond any further change, by Moses, ben Maimon.
Having thus traced the whole outline of Jewish religious development, our book closes with the most notable Hebrew medieval work not touching on religion--that is, so far as anything Hebraic could reach outside of the tremendous all-pervading religious faith. This is the book of the travels of Benjamin of Tudela, the most noted of Jewish travelers. Doubtless other Jews in other ages have seen even more of the world than he, but from no other have we preserved so full and thoughtful a record of what he saw. Even Benjamin of Tudela is more Jew than traveler. He notes chiefly how many Jews he finds in each new place, how many "neighbors," that is, for him, mid how they stand with regard to upholding the ancient faith. His work is thus well fitted to form the closing picture of medieval Hebrew literature and life. | <urn:uuid:cb9e3ec2-2b73-4434-85b3-6b6d22770933> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://sacred-texts.com/jud/mhl/mhl02.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465456.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00208-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982609 | 1,910 | 3.65625 | 4 |
(Tribune Media Services) -- A century and a half ago, Athens was a humble, forgotten city of about 8,000 people. Today, one out of every three Greeks packs into this city of about 4 million.
To avoid the Parthenon crowds, go in the early evening when the marble turns golden as the sun sets.
Athens has been famous for its sprawl, noise and pollution. My advice has long been to see the big sights, then get out. But visiting it recently to research a new guidebook, I've seen a dramatic change. The city has made a concerted effort to curb pollution, clean up and pedestrianize the streets, spiff up the museums, build a new airport and invest in one of Europe's better public-transit systems.
Even with its new look, the Greek capital still has its "big three" sights: the stunning Acropolis, the Ancient Agora just below and the remarkable National Archaeological Museum. But coming in June is the opening of a fourth big sight -- one that will stoke a battle over Greece losing her marbles more than 200 years ago (more on that later).
To many, the most important ancient site in the Western world is the Acropolis, rising gleaming like a beacon above the gray concrete drudgery of modern Athens. This is where the Greeks built the mighty Parthenon -- the most famous temple on the planet, and an enduring symbol of ancient Athens' glorious Golden Age from nearly 2,500 years ago.
The major monuments of the Acropolis survive in remarkably good condition. While the Persians, Ottomans, and British were cruel to the site in the past, the greatest dangers it faces now are acid rain and pollution. Ongoing restoration means that you might see some scaffolding -- but even that can't take away from its greatness. I like to come late in the day, as the sun goes down, when the white Parthenon stone gleams a creamy golden brown.
While the Acropolis was the city's ceremonial showpiece, it was the Ancient Agora that was the real heart of classical Athens. For some 800 years, it was the hub of all commercial, political, and social life and home to many of the city's religious rites.
Little survives in the Agora from the classical period. Other than one very well-preserved temple and a rebuilt portico, it's a field of humble ruins nestled in the shadow of the Acropolis. But that makes it a quiet, uncrowded spot to wander and get a feel for the ancients. Romantics can't help but get goose bumps as they kick around the same pebbles that once stuck in Socrates' sandals, with the floodlit Parthenon forever floating ethereally overhead.
North of the city center is the world's best collection of ancient Greek art, the National Archaeological Museum. It takes you from 7000 B.C. to A.D. 500 on a beautifully displayed and well-described sweep through Greek history, from prehistoric and Mycenaean artifacts through the evolution of classical Greek statuary.
This museum now has a worthy competitor -- the New Acropolis Museum, slated to open in June. It's a world-class space, custom-built to showcase the Parthenon sculptures, along with truckloads of other artifacts, all complemented by modern exhibits. And the state-of-the-art building itself is worth a look, as the boldest symbol yet of the post-Olympics vision for Athens.
The new museum also serves as a sort of 21st-century Trojan horse, intended to lure the famous Elgin Marbles (the Parthenon sculptures) away from London's British Museum. In the early 19th century, the British ambassador to the Ottomans, Lord Elgin, got permission to strip marble panels from the Parthenon and take them to England.
For years, the Greeks have asked for the marbles back, and for years, the Brits have responded with claims that Greece can't give them a suitable home. And yet, now that this state-of-the-art facility is ready and waiting, it still seems unlikely that the marbles will be returned anytime soon.
Britain is reluctant to give in, for fear of setting a precedent ... and getting "me, too" notices from Italy, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and all the other nations who'd like the missing pieces of their cultural heritage back. But even without the Elgin Marbles, this new museum will be worth the wait, capturing the timeless splendor of ancient Athens in an ultra-modern building.
Athens is more than a showcase for its past. Take some time to smell the souvlaki, whether by wandering through the touristy Plaka district, browsing through the Monastiraki flea market, or exploring the Psyrri neighborhood, the cutting-edge place to go for nightlife and dining. The narrow winding streets can be confusing, but you can't get too lost with a monument the size of the Acropolis looming overhead to keep you oriented.
And after you visit Athens, get out -- to the wild, mountainous landscape of Greece's Peloponnese, covered in my next column.
Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. E-mail him at email@example.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, Wash. 98020.
Copyright 2009 RICK STEVES, DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
All About Travel and Tourism | <urn:uuid:5cbf13e1-8a96-433c-ae53-ececa77f1d4a> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/05/11/athens.greece.travel/index.html?iref=mpstoryview | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936464193.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074104-00205-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943248 | 1,166 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Three-dimensional printers – once available to a small circle of high-tech firms and professionals – are now available to the general public. The ability to produce a prototype quickly and with minimal investment is a boon for the creative sector.
“A glass of water with ice!” Almost immediately, Star Trek’s hero Captain Kirk holds his order in his hands. The replicators aboard the Starship Enterprise could produce anything – even edible items – as long as the chemical composition was stored in the spaceship’s computers.
Pure science fiction? Sure, figuring out how to reconstruct water and ice based on data should keep scientists busy for a few decades. Producing the glass, however, is no longer a problem. All that’s needed is a 3D printer – for example, the Replicator 2X, named in honour of its interstellar television predecessor.
Normal mortals should think twice about printing glasses, however. Admittedly, so-called selective laser sintering (see box) can produce objects out of glass or metal. But it might be better to get started with a 3D printer that prints with resin.
Prototypes in the blink of an eye
"In traditional industry you begin with a block of material, which you modify,” says Lucien Hirschi, director of Zedax in La Neuveville, canton Bern.
Hirschi, who founded his company in 2005, was one of the first people in Switzerland to acknowledge the enormous potential of three-dimensional printing. Or, to be exact, “stereolithography for rapid prototyping”, as the additive manufacturing process is called in his lab.
On the day of our meeting, the young entrepreneur has just received the data for the prototypes of a well-known luxury watch brand. He starts the program for 3D modelling, makes a few changes in the design, and starts the printing program.
It seems like a game. But in reality it’s more complicated. “Often, people forget that the first step is the programming. If you don’t have a three-dimensional design of the object to be printed, you have to scan the original. That takes a lot of time. It’s often easier to invent something from scratch on the computer,” he says.
The printing process has started. The spray nozzles pass quickly over a plate, each time leaving a layer of resin 16 microns (a thousandth of a millimetre) thick. After a few minutes they begin to print some watch glass and the watch model we saw on the computer screen.
After 37 minutes, the display shows that the resin prototype is almost finished. Now the supporting gel has to be removed and the object has to be sanded with another machine. The resin copies have become the 3D model.
Total freedom of shape
With printers of the newest generation it’s even possible to mix different resins. There are around 50 types on the market, which allows experimentation with characteristics such as colour and hardness.
In addition to the fact that there is total freedom to design shapes of all kinds, one of the main advantages of this new technology is its speed. “We can deliver a prototype within a maximum of three days,” says Hirschi.
Most of his clients are from the watchmaking industry. “If the managers of a company have to decide between five variations of a new model, it’s much easier if they can hold a prototype in their hands, rather than look at a plan. It shortens the decision-making process,” he says.
The production of a prototype is also less expensive than with the normal method. A plastic model of watch glass costs between CHF100 ($107) and CHF150 ($160).
Is it possible to create more than just a “simple” prototype? “I just had clients who ordered special elements which then became components of a machine. It would have been too expensive to mass produce them, because only a few companies need these parts. They’re essentially individual items. This technique is not for mass production.”
More evolution than revolution
This opinion is shared by Gaëtan Bussy, co-founder with Jérôme Mizeret of Fab Lab in Neuchâtel, where “almost anything can be produced”, as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote in 2001, when it was one of the first institutes to open a lab of this kind.
“3D printers won’t replace current industry models – they’ll transform them,” Bussy says. He believes “evolution” would be a more accurate term than “revolution”, the term used by US President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address in February.
“It’s still impossible to print some kinds of materials,” he adds. “But it’s also true that these technologies make production of extremely complicated objects possible, and they can change our way of thinking.”
For example, storage is to a certain degree unnecessary in 3D printing, and there are simple objects which anyone can produce at home.
Bussy gives the example of a person who needed something to fix a projection screen onto a wall, but couldn’t find what she needed in a shop. She created a small plastic part to do the job. “It’s sort of Handwork 2.0,” he says.
"Twenty years ago you went to a printing centre if you wanted to print a document. Today everyone has a printer at home and the printing centres have had to specialise. The 3D printer market will probably develop in the same way.”
Currently there are various types of rapid prototyping. 3D printers for the general public function according to the principle of Fused Deposition Modelling, a technology invented at the end of the 1980s.
These machines, which can print small objects, melt the production material, a polymeric thermoplastic, and print it according to a 3D model onto a working surface in three dimensions.
With stereolithography the data that define an object are divided into small slices and sent to the printer layer by layer. The object is created in a plastic bath. A laser beam polymerises only the parts that are supposed to be solid. At the end of the process, the object is allowed to harden.
Selective laser sintering uses a high-power laser to combine small particles of a resin in a fusion process. This also takes place layer by layer until the solid object is produced. A variety of resins (thermoplasts, metal, sand) can be used. This method can also be used for complicated metal objects which can’t be produced by traditional processes.
This democratisation has been going on for a few years already, ever since the patent for Fused Deposition Modelling, another method of 3D printing, ran out.
Today it’s possible to buy a 3D printer for CHF500. Naturally, the quality is very basic in comparison with professional machines, which cost tens of thousands of francs. But it’s enough to stimulate the creativity of hobby craftworkers – so-called “makers” – and budding digital entrepreneurs.
François Pellet and his wife Anne-Sylvie stumbled on the technology accidentally.
"My wife produces chocolate and wants to work independently. I’m a surveyor and try to help her where I can. For her project she wanted to produce wooden moulds for chocolate bars. We knew exactly what form we wanted. We asked a variety of carpenters, but no one could deliver the precision we needed.”
After some online research, the couple came across Fab Lab, where anyone can use the available material for a modest price.
"I came in with a vector-based design on a USB stick. First we wanted to use the 3D printer. Then we discovered that a laser cutter would work better. The result was perfect. It would have been possible with the 3D printer as well, but the plastic model wouldn’t have been sturdy enough to withstand the daily wear and tear,” Pellet says.
The visit to Fab Lab tickled the Pellets’ imagination. Their dream is to produce even more original chocolate moulds in the coming months.
"We have to run some tests, but technically it appears to be doable. I create the design in 3D, then we create the negative of the model with the 3D printer, and pour the chocolate into that.”
Captain Kirk would probably be green with envy: even he wasn’t able to ask his replicator for a chocolate model of the Enterprise.
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In 1993, when Roy Grinker’s daughter, Isabel, was two years old she did not talk or gesture, flapped her hands and arms, and did not make eye contact. At 32 months, she had mastered about 70 words, which she spoke clearly, but all were nouns and the list did not include ‘mommy’ or ‘daddy’. She didn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and pulled someone to the refrigerator when she was hungry. Nowadays it’s hard to imagine a paediatrician would fail to recognise classic symptoms of autism, but for the Grinkers the process of getting a diagnosis was protracted and painful. At best they met with ignorance, and at worst with professionals who were imbued with the ideas of Bruno Bettelheim and attributed Isabel’s problems to the fact that her mother went out to work. Once a diagnosis was obtained, the Grinkers still had to fight for appropriate educational provision. They came up against people who had no experience of autism and were unwilling or unable to engage with Isabel. Gradually, though, the battle was won. Isabel, whose high nonverbal ability was eventually recognised, was able to attend a mainstream school with support. Now in her teens, she still has major problems with communication and social interaction, and her parents accept she will not able to live independently. She has, however, found a niche in her community where she has friends, can enjoy her interests in music and animals, and is accepted for who she is.
Grinker’s book is more than a parent’s first-hand account of his daughter’s autism: it is also influenced by the fact that he is a cultural anthropologist, with a special interest in attitudes to health and disability in different parts of the world. He uses his professional insights to comment on two related issues: the rise in autism diagnosis in the USA, and attitudes to autism in other cultures, particularly France, Korea, South Africa and India.
The debate is over the reason for the increase: is it due to some environmental factor that causes autism, or can it be explained simply in terms of changes in diagnostic criteria and related factors? Grinker comes down solidly in favour of the latter explanation, and a substantial part of the book is devoted to tracing the history of autism diagnosis and related socio-cultural factors. A major turning point was the publication in 1987 of the third revision of the diagnostic and statistical manual of the American Psychiatric Association, DSM-III-R. Grinker cites a study of 194 children suspected of autism which found that whereas 51% met criteria on DSM-III, 91% met criteria on DSM-III-R. He also reports a typographic error that was made in the publication of DSM-IV in 1994 that led to the ‘autism spectrum’ disorder of PDDNOS being defined on the basis of a child having impairments in social interaction or verbal/nonverbal communication skills, when it should have required impairment in both domains.
Grinker tackles a question often asked by those who think the autism epidemic is genuine: if it’s just due to a change in diagnostic practices, where were all the undiagnosed autistic children in the past? Surely we would have noticed them? On the basis of a follow-up of a small sample of UK children with severe language impairments, our group found cases who would now be regarded as unambiguously autistic, but who were diagnosed as language-impaired when they were seen in the 1980s, prior to DSM-IIIR. So are we just engaging in 'diagnostic substitution', whereby the same child who is now regarded as autistic was previously given a different label? If so, we'd expect to see that as autism diagnosis goes up, language disorder diagnosis goes down. This would be consistent with an analysis of doctor's records in the UK, which found that the proportion of children with diagnoses such as speech/language disorder went down over the same period as autism diagnoses went up. In the IDEA data, however, I found no evidence for such a process: over the 1997-2006 time period, there's actually a slight increase in diagnoses of speech/language diagnoses. Grinker, however, suggests that, in the US, children with autism would, in the past, often have been diagnosed with mental retardation. Consistent with this, the IDEA data do show a corresponding decrease in diagnosis of mental retardation over the same time period as autism diagnoses increase (see Figure 1).
Another point stressed by Grinker is that a diagnosis of autism has consequences for the child’s access to services. A diagnosis may get your child Medicaid waivers so that they can receive a host of interventions at reduced cost. Grinker describes how he lost hundreds of dollars because a speech pathologist who worked with Isabel submitted the bills under the diagnosis of “Mixed Receptive-Expressive Language Disorder”. When the diagnosis was changed to autism, the bills were automatically reimbursed. There is therefore considerable pressure on paediatricians to give a diagnosis of autism rather than some other condition.
The implications of an autism diagnosis for intervention is very different in some other countries. In France, where the legacy of psychoanalysis has been long-lasting, autism is seen as a psychodynamic disorder and there is little educational provision for affected children. In India, the diagnosis is seldom made, even if doctors recognise autism, because there seems no point: there are no facilities for affected children. Grinker has particular interest in South Korea, his wife’s birthplace, where the stigma attached to disability is so great that children with autism will be hidden away, because otherwise their siblings’ marriage prospects will be blighted. Education is seen as the route to success in Korea, and it is normal for children to spend hours after school being coached; a child who struggles at school or who does not conform to expected standards of behaviour brings shame to the family.
Grinker’s book shows that the impact of labels is immense, even if they are worryingly arbitrary. It seems crazy, for instance, that a child with educational difficulties will get insurance cover for interventions, or special help at school on the basis of a diagnosis of autism, whereas a child with equally serious needs who is diagnosed with mental retardation or receptive language disorder gets nothing. But on the positive side, he notes how the growing awareness and acceptance of autism has brought huge benefits to children and their families. Just as in Korea, it used to be common for people in the US to be baffled or even frightened by autism, and for schools to shun children with any kind of disability. The landscape has changed massively over the past twenty years. Grinker notes how Isabel’s schoolmates look out for her, and how her presence in a mainstream classroom has beneficial effects on all pupils. Cultural stereotypes are being challenged, so much so that it is no longer regarded as amazing if a university student tells you they have autism.
This brings Grinker to a final point: which kinds of cultural setting are most supportive for people with autism? He presents some fascinating data showing that rural communities are usually far more positive than urban ones for people with all kinds of disability. In a small community, everyone will know the person with a disability, and see them as an individual. In the context of neurodevelopmental disorders in general, I’ve long been advocating that we need an educational system that doesn’t just try to ‘fix’ children, but rather identifies activities they enjoy and can do well, as a basis for finding them a niche in society. This view is cogently expressed by Grincher “… in order to help people with autism we don’t always need to fully mainstream them, or pretend that they are not different, and we don’t need to simply reduce stigma. Rather, we need to provide roles in our communities for pepole with autism, some of which they may, in fact, be able to perform better than anyone else…” (p. 342).
Bishop, D., Whitehouse, A., Watt, H., & Line, E. (2008). Autism and diagnostic substitution: evidence from a study of adults with a history of developmental language disorder Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 50 (5), 341-345 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2008.02057.x | <urn:uuid:0e5fc973-ab65-4350-a641-296c0963d5c3> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://deevybee.blogspot.com/2011/05/autism-diagnosis-in-cultural-context.html?showComment=1306504008498 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462555.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00028-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972774 | 1,738 | 2.796875 | 3 |
"Fully functioned, body-worn computers for hands-free, feet-free operation with speech activation, command, and control." No, that's not from some show on the SciFi channel. That's Jay Yass, vice president of Sales forXybernaut Corporation (Fairfax, VA), paraphrasing the definition of wearable computers from Dr. Steven Mann, formerly of the MIT Media Lab, now at the University of Toronto. Mann is the student a few years back who viewed the world—his entire world—through the computer and peripherals he wore on his back, around his waist, on his wrists, around his head.
Mann's work on wearable computers was quite revolutionary. Still is. But now, you too can outfit yourself with a wearable. You can even order it off the Internet.
What's a wearable?
An FAQ on the MIT Wearable Computing Web Page admits that its definition of a wearable computer is fuzzy. "It's a computer that is always with you, is comfortable, and easy to keep and use, and is as unobtrusive as clothing."
"Unobtrusive" may be pushing it. Even a water bottle attached to your belt during a day hike is noticeable after a while. And head-sets are not quite as comfortable as hats.
Be that as it may, MIT's FAQ also lists the following characteristics for wearable computers:
• Portable while operational. Wearables can be used while you move around.
• Hands-free use. Wearables interact with the user through speech recognition systems, voice output, heads-up display, keyboards, dials, and joysticks.
• Sensors. Wearables sense the world through wireless communications, global positioning systems, cameras, microphones, and other technologies.
• "Attention-getting." Wearables provide information to the user even when not actively being used. For example, it will announce when email has arrived, who it's from, and upon user request, display that email or read it aloud. In real time.
• Always on. Wearables are "always on and working, sensing, and acting."
This is all possible now because "miniaturization, conservation of power, thermal dissipation, speech recognition, and alternate input/output devices, including miniaturized displays, make up the key enabling technologies," says Yass, and wearables are at the confluence of those technologies.
Where's a wearable?
Xybernaut has three simple questions that at once explain how wearables are used and justified:
• Would your workers benefit from having instant access manuals, databases, schematics, troubleshooting information, computer and video training, and other information?
• Would they benefit from the ability to send and receive information, audio and video, and electronically complete checklists, forms, reports, work orders, and inventory reports?
• Would it help if they could get all this information hands free by inputting data via voice recognition commands directly from their location while they continue to work?
"We've put legs on the laptop, freed up your arms, and enabled everybody to be a complete member of the enterprise, just like any desk jockey," says Yass. At minimum, wearables enable live videoconferencing from anywhere to anywhere—shop floor to the design center, test track to engineering, design center to marketing, and vice versa—thereby continuing the trend to decentralize engineering, design, manufacturing, and marketing, continues Yass.
For example, one automotive OEM is piloting wearables in a quality control/design application. The engineers walk around the car, even competitors' cars, and voice their concerns, opinions, and evaluations about the craftsmanship, design, and features in what they see. A camera records the user's view. The wearable replaces the manual clipboard-and-pen approach of years ago, as well as the more recent approach of carrying a laptop computer, speaking into a microphone attached to that computer, and handling a camera. When the wearable is connected to a wireless network, the home office can watch and comment on what's going on at the same time.
But factories are not the only places wearing wearables. Last summer, DaimlerChrysler added Xybernaut Mobile Assistant (MA) IV to a "smart" urban car available in Europe. The wearable can be docked in the car as an integrated communications center and general purpose computer for two distinct users of the car. Drivers can get dynamic roadway directions, traffic and weather reports, commuting and entertainment information, and roadway assistance; passengers can access PC games, television, DVD movies, the Internet, email, and business applications. And both can remove and use the same wearable when walking around. (Think truly mobile office: sales people transmitting new-sales information to headquarters while driving to their next appointment.)
How much is a wearable?
A wearable is a real computer for users that do not want a compromise from their desktop, says Yass. "Real" computer means a full Wintel system (though it can run Unix and Linux). For about $5,000, you can wear a complete MA IV system that weighs in at about 5.5 lb. The system includes a CPU module, display (head-mounted VGA color monitor or wrist-mounted flat panel), an operating system from Microsoft, microphone and ViaVoice from IBM, belts, hot-swappable battery, and battery charger. Add a USB video camera to record what life passes by your eyes, strap a full-function QWERTY keyboard to your wrist (which must make two-handed touch typing tricky), include wireless connectivity, and you'll become a true extension of your desktop computer. All of this, about 16 lb., goes for under $10,000.
A competitive wearable from ViA, Inc. (Northfield, MN; www.flexipc.com) comes with a 180-MHz processor, up to 64 MB DRAM, up to 3.2 GB hard drive, battery, and pen tablet display for about $2,600; with the voice package, it costs $3,257. ViA calls its device a wearable PC because "it comes with a belt and is light enough not to pull down your pants."
Next on tap: The fashion side of wearable computers still needs some work. | <urn:uuid:54d347ea-35b9-417d-95e0-aebc2596035b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/for-when-you're-on-the-go-wear-your-computer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463104.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00076-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945118 | 1,305 | 2.890625 | 3 |
IT IS a fair bet that many readers of this newspaper gained their first understanding of capitalism from playing Monopoly. A number will have also started thinking about the elements of geopolitics over the board of Risk; a murder-mystery game, Clue, teaches deduction; Careers (now renamed the Game of Life), teaches important truths about priorities and rewards. Just how the inventive George Parker and his brothers developed these marvels is the subject of Philip Orbanes's new book.
The chance to pit wits and luck against chance, topology and imagination that is now offered by computer games used to be provided by dice, counters and a well-designed board. Parker products were sold as entertainment, but are educative and unforgettable too. The young player of Monopoly learns about asset values, cash flow and returns on investment. The Risk player must grapple with the fickleness of allies. All the games build a good understanding of probability. When you learn that the chance of shaking a double six is just one in 36, whereas a seven is the single most likely outcome, you are well on the way to making numbers your friend and ally for life.
Perhaps deepest of all are the lessons taught by Careers, in which players decide at the start of the game what combination of money, fame and pure happiness they will seek. Different careers bring different dividends and risks. Business is said to bring much money but little happiness. Politics brings fame, but misery; Hollywood may bring the lot, but is the most risky. Make priorities, stick to them, move quickly. Those are not bad rules for modern life. Although the categories are crude, and the details may seem off-puttingly quaint (boss's wife likes you, get a pay rise), the game teaches something about the utilitarian calculus at an age when philosophy and economics rarely feature on the timetable: different kinds of good fortune are not easily interchangeable. Happiness, when bought with money, often comes at a high price.
Parker Brothers' games also reflect the American world view of the 20th century. Life is a ruthless struggle in which there are many losers, but it takes place within a framework of unbendable and fair-minded rules. And when the game is over, you can just start over again, hoping to do better next time. Young children are often too nice to understand this, and, when playing Monopoly, will tax adults' patience by refusing to bankrupt other players, or by suggesting a cash injection all round from the central bank.
The Parkers' own story began in 1883, as America was just beginning to develop a middle class with time for leisure pursuits. At 16, George Parker invented a game to amuse his brothers on a wet afternoon. Banking, as it was called, unveiled his talent for game design. His brothers urged him to have some copies printed; all but two were sold, at a profit of $100. He set up a company. As it grew, he set his own 12 rules for success in business. They could come straight from a modern business book: know your goal, find winning moves, play by the rules, choose moves with the greatest potential, and so on.
The poverty-struck years of the Great Depression proved just the right time to launch the company's most successful game: one based on making lots of money. Monopoly was not invented by George Parker. When he played a trial version submitted by the inventor, Charles Darrow, he thought it was too complicated, too technical and it took too long to play. A rejection letter that was sent early in 1934 cited “52 fundamental errors”. A few months later, Parker had eaten his words. He bought the game from Darrow, and rewrote the rules in his trademark crystalline English. Within two years 2m sets of Monopoly had been sold. Parker, characteristically, publicly displayed his scornful letter to Darrow as a lesson in humility.
As with many family companies, the early genius eventually evaporated. The company still launched successful games, including Clue (or Cluedo, as it is called in Britain) in 1947, Careers in 1956 and the blockbuster Risk in 1959. But America's post-war boom disguised grave weaknesses in the company's management. This book, written by a company insider and games expert, is a slender, affectionate retrospective look at the firm's glory years, combined with a mournful account of its decline, including some well-aimed digs at those responsible. After a series of undignified and painful reverses, it is now a mere brand belonging to another games giant, Hasbro.
George Parker, always on the lookout for “pep”—his word for the new products with buzz—might be less sentimental. In his day, he ruthlessly ditched under-performing parts of his empire. Were Parker in charge today, his company would probably have moved firmly and successfully into computer games, which would no doubt be accompanied by instruction manuals of exquisite clarity. | <urn:uuid:8f75609b-9204-4913-89bf-9303dd69aec6> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.economist.com/node/2227280 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463411.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00141-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978067 | 1,025 | 2.640625 | 3 |
The Diabetic Misconception
Being young and thin is not a free pass from diabetes
By David Himmel
There’s an assumption that diabetes is only for the old and overweight. It’s not true. Today, the young and thin are being diagnosed with more convoluted versions of the disease.
November is American Diabetes Month. Designed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to bring about awareness and put a stop to the disease, now is as good a time as any to understand how you can potentially avoid the disease that could have you in its sights.
“Diabetes is very complex,” says Dr. Ilene Yohay, an endocrinologist at St. James Hospital and with Horizon Healthcare Associates in Olympia Fields and Flossmoor, respectively. “It’s never black and white. Diabetes is grey.”
Only 5 percent of the population has Type 1 diabetes, according to the ADA. Type 1 is found mostly in children and young adults. Those with Type 1 are unable to produce insulin, which is the hormone needed to turn sugars and starches into energy.
Perhaps because of the early onset and diagnosis, Type 1 can easily be managed with insulin therapy, and those with it can live long and healthy lives. The other types are trickier.
Type 2 diabetes lets the body produce insulin, but the cells are unable to process it into the needed energy. Because having Type 2 is often a result of obesity, inactivity and age, this type increases the risks of heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and circulatory issues in the limbs that could lead to amputation.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, an estimated 10 percent diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes have latent autoimmune diabetes of adults or LADA. It’s a tricky diagnosis because those with LADA often display signs of both types 1 and 2. Hence it’s other name, Type 1.5. Early stages of the disease will act more like Type 2, but as it progresses, even with proper treatment, it can show Type 1 symptoms. Many of those diagnosed with Type 1.5 are thin, even while displaying symptoms found in obese patients. This makes the misdiagnosis all the more common and explains Yohay’s grey area.
Meanwhile, doctors are finding more cases of Type 2 in children.
“Classic Type 2 is still the disease of the sedentary, overweight, middle-aged nonwhite,” Yohay says. But because diabetes is affected by genetics, and there has been an increase of obese children in recent decades, the disease associated with sedentary, heavy people is manifesting at a younger age because all the variables are there.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Dr. Sean Cahill, a specialist in internal medicine and pediatrics who sees both adults and children as a member of the Central DuPage Physician Group in Naperville, says he is seeing more and more youngsters with Type 2 diabetes. “In general, I make it a point with most of my patients—especially overweight patients with Type 2 diabetes—to tell them that it is a disease that patients can control because they can avoid taking medicine by losing weight, exercising and watching what they eat. The earlier you catch Type 2 diabetes, the better chance you have of breaking bad eating habits and getting kids up off the couch and outside riding their bikes and playing sports and burning calories.”
To Yohay’s point, diabetes is rarely cut and dried, and neither are its treatments. “If current therapy isn’t working, you’ll have to reevaluate what you’re dealing with,” she says.
Because of the variance of diabetes, new therapies are being developed and implemented. One of the latest treatments being used is a hormone injection known as a GLP inhibitor. This is an ideal treatment when insulin is not needed such as with types 1.5 or 2 patients.
Overall, there’s plenty that people can do to stave off a diabetic onset. Healthy diets, regular activity and exercise can help keep types 1.5 and 2 away, regardless of age, weight or genetics. The biggest mistake we make when dealing with diabetes is thinking that it can’t happen to us. And that’s exactly the kind of sedentary thinking that diabetes feeds on.
Nancy Maes contributed to this report.Email This Post
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Texas Biomed Staff
Associate Scientist | Virology and Immunology and SNPRC
Gauduin’s laboratory is investigating the early events of SIV transmission in macaque using a recombinant SIV tagged with a “green fluorescent protein” as a sensitive tool to monitor infected cells in vivo. This construct allows the team to identify: 1) the initial infected cells, their phenotype and function; 2) the mechanisms involved, time course and routes of viral spread from the site of initial infection to lymphoid organs and blood; and 3) the generation of early SIV-specific immune response from the mucosal site of infection. This is critical for the development of effective vaccines.
Maternal transmission of HIV-1 accounts for most cases of pediatric HIV-1 infection. Gauduin’s group is investigating the early virus-specific T cell responses in neonates orally infected with a pathogenic or non-pathogenic strain of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), an HIV laboratory surrogate. She has shown that newborn monkeys infected with a less pathogenic SIV can control infection even in the absence of antiviral treatment, which suggests that treatment may be quite successful in "rescuing" or preserving the infant’s immune response. The laboratory is now focusing on defining the mechanisms involved in oral SIV transmission to develop effective strategies to successfully block SIV transmission.
One key obstacle to an effective AIDS vaccine has been the inability to deliver antigen for a sufficient period of time leading to weak and transient protection. Because HIV transmission occurs predominantly across mucosal surfaces, the ideal vaccine strategy would be to target HIV at mucosal entry sites of transmission to prevent infection. Gauduin proposes to develop a novel genetic vaccine strategy that delivers viral proteins. A promoter will drive antigen expression and stem cells will continuously yield new (daughter) antigenproducing cells without being eliminated by the immune response.
TB is the leading cause of death among people with HIV, and pregnant women living with active TB and HIV are at far greater risk of maternal mortality than those without HIV infection Gauduin has established an experimental acute M. tuberculosis infection in the newborn primate model to produce progressive and/ or active but asymptomatic infections that mimic the clinical and pathologic effects of pediatric tuberculosis. The ultimate goal is to optimize neonatal primate model for TB/HIV co-infection to study immunopathogenesis of TB/SIV interactions, the impact of treatment and treatment interruption on the evolution of tuberculosis.
- Gregory Bonello, Ph.D Staff Scientist
- Mary Salas, M.S.
Senior Research Associate
- Robert White, M.S. Senior Research Associate
- Magdalena Cepeda, B.S. Research Assistant
- Jessica Folwarczny, B.S. Graduate Student
- Peter Lentz, B.S. Graduate Student
- Philippe Blancou, Ph.D. Visiting Scientist (France)
Doctoral Degree: Ph.D. Microbiology (1996)
New York University School of Medicine New York, NY
Gauduin M-C. Role of neutralizing antibodies to the envelope glycoprotein of human immunodeficiency virus in protective immunity (Animal model: Hu-PBL-SCID mouse) [Dissertation]. New York University - School of Medicine and the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, New York, NY 1996; 215 pp. Supervisor: Dr. Richard A. Koup.
1993, M.S. Basic Medical Sciences, New York University School of Medicine New York, NY; 1989, M.S. summa cum laude, Immunology, University of Paris VII - La Sorbonne
Gauduin M-C. Suppression of in vitro lymphocyte function by a synthetic peptide, CKS-17: Modulation of suppression by muramyl dipeptide. [Dissertation] University of Paris VII - La Sorbonne, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, France; and the H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida. 1989; 99 pp. Supervisors: Drs. L. Chedid and F. Aubibert.
1996-1999: Research Fellow in Medicine, Harvard Medical School and the New England Regional Primate Research Center, Department of Immunology, Southborough, MA
1999-2006: Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, New England Primate Research Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)- Infectious Disease Unit, Boston, MA
1. Nonhuman Primate Models for the Study of Infectious Diseases
2. Mechanisms of HIV Transmission and Immunopathogenesis
3. Mucosal Immunity and AIDS Vaccine Development
4. Pediatric AIDS: Innate and Adaptive Immunity
5. Mechanisms of HIV/TB co-infection in Pediatric AIDS
Awards and Honors
1989 M.S., summa cum laude, University of Paris VII - La Sorbonne
1992-1995 Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Student Intern Awards-4 years
1998-2000 Pediatric AIDS Foundation Scholar Award 1998
2000-2003 Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Basic Grant Award 2000
2006 Founder’s Council Equipment Award, San Antonio TX
2007 Foundation Forum Research Award, San Antonio TX
2008 Founder’s Council Equipment Award, San Antonio TX
2008 Martin Goland Research Award, SIGMA XI, San Antonio TX
2009 The Steves Award - Foundation Forum, San Antonio TX
High cell-free virus load and robust autologous adaptive immune responses in breast milk of SIV-infected African green monkeys
Wilks AB, Perry JR, Ehlinger EP, Zahn RC, White B, Gauduin MC, Carville A, Seaman MS, Schmitz JE, Permar AR
J Virol 85: 9517-26, 2011
PubMed ID: 21734053
Vaccine protection by live, attenuated simian immunodeficiency virus in the absence of high-titer antibody responses and high-frequency cellular immune responses measurable in the periphery.
Mansfield K, Lang SM, Gauduin M-C, Sanford HB, Lifson JD, Johnson RP, Desrosiers RC.
J Virol 82 (8): 4135-4148, 2008
PubMed ID: 18272584
Dr. Gauduin’ s research is currently supported by the Division of AIDS (DAIDS), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) | <urn:uuid:9f9fd757-a7fa-4cba-a41f-7ba58ea3b17c> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.txbiomed.org/departments/virology/virology-staff-bio/?u=126 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462700.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00024-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.821022 | 1,371 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Content Area: Social Studies
Unit: Cardinal Directions
Theme: Compass Rose
Total Time: 30-40 minutes
- How do we use maps in our everyday life as a tool?
- Students will demonstrate the ability to use the compass rose to indicate directions.
- Students will be able to create and use map symbols.
- Students will be able to create a map of a familiar area.
- Students will demonstrate how to use a map legend.
Common Core Standards:
- Speaking and Listening Standards
- Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to clarify comprehension, gather additional information, or deepen understanding of a topic or issue.
- Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.
- Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
- Seek to understand and communicate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds.
2. Writing Standards
- Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement.
- With guidance and support from adults and peers, focus on a topic and strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing.
- Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
- Evaluation: Do you think it's a good thing to know how to use a compass? Why or why not?
- Synthesis: Design a map from someone who is lost to follow.
- Analysis: What are some of the problems of getting lost?
- Application: Would this information be useful if you were ever lost? Why or why not?
- Comprehension: Cut or draw pictures to show the four cardinal directions and where they're located in relation to each other.
- Knowledge: How many cardinal directions are there?
- Class set of compasses
- Sketching of an unlabeled school floor plan (on Smart Board)
- Construction paper, white
- Colored Markers, Crayons, Colored Pencils
- Using students' prior knowledge, create a list of reasons for using maps and cardinal directions.
- Using a KWL chart, decipher what the students know about a compass, maps and the cardinal directions. For example, do they know how many cardinal directions there are or the names of them? Do they know how to use a compass or do they want to learn how to?
Main Learning Activities:
- Model how to use a map title, legend and compass rose using the sketched map of the school's floor plan on the Smart Board.
- Create a legend box, title, and compass rose for the floor plan, asking for students to input their suggestions.
- Ask a volunteer to identify a destination, then ask a different student to raise their hand to provide an insight into which direction you would have to travel to reach that destination. Repeat this step several times to engage more children.
- Have the students work in a small group to create and label their own map of the classroom, lunchroom, gym, or other aspect of the school.
- Discuss how students may use their own mental map without realizing it everyday to go to the lunchroom, gym or other parts of the school.
- Remind students of the idea that we use our own mental map almost everyday to walk home from school, a friends house or a different part of school.
- Have students write a few sentences about what they learned from creating their map and whether they feel it would be beneficial or not.
Lesson Extension: Day 2 (optional)
- Students use a map with a legend to find their very own hidden treasure within the classroom or school.
- Students are given a clue that leads them to the next clue which will eventually lead them to a desired destination or treasure.
- Students discuss with their family members about a time they used directions to reach a destination or were lost and needed directions.
- Students record their family members' experiences and brainstorm possible solutions for what to do if you're lost.
- Have students create a map of their house with directions leading to their bedroom. If parents are uncomfortable with this, students may create a fictional house and create directions based on that house.
Supporting All Learners:
- Visual: For visual learners, the pictures of the school's floor plan will be valuable and creating their own map will help them learn.
- Aural: To remember the cardinal directions, the students could create a song or share a song they may know of.
- Verbal: Talking about the cardinal directions and having the words on the Smart Board alongside pictures may appeal to verbal learners.
- Physical: Moving around while creating a map and following a legend to reach the end destination will benefit physical learners.
- Logical: Using reasoning and logic to figure out the clues to reach an end destination may be useful for logical learners.
- Social: Creating a map in small groups allows students to participate in social activity.
- Solitary: Following a legend allows the students to work alone to find the destination or treasure rather than in a group or a pair.
- Writing and Reading Levels: By having students work in groups, they will be able to help each other read and write throughout the creation of the map.
- Students should writing a paragraph regarding what they learned and if they feel the new information will be helpful to them. Students should explain why it will be useful or why it will not be.
- Assess prior knowledge when students volunteer their information for the KWL.
- Informally assess by moving throughout the classroom and groups to listen and observe students while they're working together to create their maps.
- Assessment of the assignment would either be completed or not completed. To receive completed, students must have a map of their house with step by step directions leading to their bedroom. The directions must include cardinal directions. | <urn:uuid:0045a92e-a33c-477d-9b06-fe2dc0107dbb> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://cardinaldirections.weebly.com/lesson-plan.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463956.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00201-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926144 | 1,228 | 4.09375 | 4 |
Politics not only make for strange bedfellows, sometimes they create bizarre, confounding, incomprehensible bedfellows.
It would be difficult to identify two historical figures from the 20th century who were more diametrically opposed to one another than the gentle, saintly hero of Indian independence, Mohandas K. Gandhi, and Benito Mussolini, the brutal Fascist dictator of Italy.
Yet, the “Mahatma” and “Il Duce” formed a mutual admiration society during the 1920s and 1930s.
According to a book entitled “Subhash Chandra Bose in Nazi Germany,” author Romain Hayes wrote that in late 1931, Gandhi accepted an invitation to visit Mussolini in Rome while the Mahatma was touring Europe.
Reportedly, the two men -- the vain Italian Fascist and the modest, unassuming Indian ascetic -- got along extremely well and admired each other.
Hayes wrote that, among other things, Gandhi reviewed a black-shirted Fascist youth honor guard during his visit.
“Mussolini hailed Gandhi as a 'genius and a saint,' admiring ... [Gandhi's] ability to challenge the British Empire,” Hayes wrote.
Regarding his visit with Il Duce, Gandhi wrote in a letter to a friend: Mussolini is a riddle to me. Many of his reforms attract me. He seems to have done much for the peasant class. I admit an iron hand is there. But as violence is the basis of Western society, Mussolini's reforms deserve an impartial study.”
Obviously, Gandhi's enthusiasm for Mussolini was tempered by the dictator's questionable tactics.
Nonetheless, Gandhi's missive continued: “[Mussolini's] care of the poor, his opposition to super-urbanization, his efforts to bring about coordination between capital and labor, seem to me to demand special attention ... My own fundamental objection is that these reforms are compulsory. But it is the same in all democratic institutions. What strikes me is that behind Mussolini's implacability is a desire to serve his people. Even behind his emphatic speeches there is a nucleus of sincerity and of passionate love for his people. It seems to me that the majority of the Italian people love the iron government of Mussolini.
Gandhi also hailed Mussolini “one of the great statesmen of our time.”
As odd as it seems, the Mahatma's affection for Mussolini was echoed by many unlikely sources.
In the mid-1920s, Winston Churchill, who met Mussolini and was impressed by his sense of apparent order and efficiency in Fascist Italy, once gushed: “If I had been Italian, I am sure I would have been with you from the beginning.”
George Bernard Shaw, the famed Irish playwright and Socialist (and avowed enemy of Churchill) once declared: “Socialists should be delighted to find at last a Socialist [Mussolini] who speaks and thinks as responsible rulers do.”
While Gandhi's relationship with Mussolini may seem strange and indefensible on the surface, if one considers the global political climate between the two World Wars, perhaps such linkages are not so unusual.
Following the devastation of World War I, extremist ideologies appealed to millions of people around the world who faced economic recession, starvation, joblessness, privation and sectarian violence, among other seemingly insurmountable societal ills.
At that time, Fascism, Nazism and Communism were simply political “philosophies” which sought to find drastic solutions to overwhelming social problems.
Long before the horrors of the Nazi death camps and the mass exterminations perpetrated by Joseph Stalin and Chairman Mao Tse-Tung were exposed, many people of goodwill and with good intentions embraced these “extremist” ideologies.
From an Indian Nationalist perspective, Mussolini's Italy and Adolph Hitler's Nazi Germany were viewed not only as bulwarks against British imperialism, but they were widely admired for creating strong, economically robust nations out of the wreckage of WWI and its resultant devastation.
Tarak Nath Das, an Indian revolutionary, wrote glowingly of Fascist Italy in 1931: “Italy, under the leadership of Signor Mussolini, is roused to its very depths of national consciousness. It feels that it has a mission of introducing a higher type of civilization. It had the urge of becoming a great power again ... Italy must be great through her national power, achieved through the authority of an 'ethical State' supported by national co-operation and solidarity.”
Das added: “Every Italian citizen must think first of his duty towards his self-development, [his concern for the] welfare of the state and society ... and [he must] make his or her supreme effort to attain the ideal. Class harmony must take the place of the ideal of class-war. So-called democracy must give way to the rule of the aristocracy of intellect. ... Some superficial and prejudiced observers of new Italy have spoken of 'Fascist tyranny' and condemned the Fascist regime. To me it is clear that the Fascist government or a particular official might have made some mistakes on particular occasions; but Fascism stands for liberty with responsibility and it is opposed to all forms of license. It gives precedence to Duty and Strength, as one finds in the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.
By the time Mussolini invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in the mid-1930s, Gandhi (as well as Churchill, Shaw and other former admirers), completely disavowed Il Duce. Thereafter, Mussolini's prestige declined and completely evaporated in India.
However, Hitler and Nazism are an entirely different matter.
To this day, many right-wing Hindu Nationalists in India admire Der Fuhrer, and his infamous tract “Mein Kampf” remains widely popular, especially among the young.
Strange bedfellows indeed. | <urn:uuid:6e49ba7b-2197-46e2-a5eb-2e4434f980b1> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.ibtimes.com/mussolini-gandhi-strange-bedfellows-214200 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462555.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00028-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97206 | 1,244 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Near Philadelphia, there's a bubbling, hissing plant that just might help solve the world's energy woes -- and help clean up pollution as well. At this test facility, Changing World Technologies Inc. (CWT) is flash-cooking solid waste, everything from sewage and old tires to pulverized electronics and industrial refuse, and turning it into valuable products.
The technology is simple. Ground-up waste is mixed with water, then heated under pressure. When the pressure is suddenly lowered, the water rapidly vaporizes into steam, releasing a wave of energy that snaps molecular bonds in the stew. Carbon molecules then float up, while heavier minerals settle. Further refining turns the carbon into oil or chemicals, and the mineral solids emerge purified, ready to be recycled.
In the past, similar attempts to reclaim organic waste were too costly because they didn't optimize the energy cycle, says Brian S. Appel, chairman and CEO of CWT. But the new method is 85% efficient, he says, because it reuses the steam and natural gas generated in the cooking process. And the proof is in the first commercial plant, built in Carthage, Mo., for ConAgra (CAG) Foods Inc. Launched in April, it's designed to turn tons of turkey offal into oil and fertilizer.
Appel figures that if America's annual output of 12 billion tons of solid waste were pressure-cooked, it would yield 5 billion barrels of oil for $10 to $15 each -- more than enough to replace the 4 billion barrels now imported each year. Technology for cutting air pollution from cars and trucks has made great strides. Now, scientists may be closing in on another form of pollution caused by all those vehicles: highway noise.
Purdue University has built a giant contraption, resembling a 12-foot-diameter doughnut, for measuring the sounds created by tires rolling on actual road surfaces. Current laboratory tire testers don't use real pavement because small rollers turning under the tire spin so fast that any pavement on them quickly disintegrates. Of course, engineers can listen to tires being towed over highways or test tracks, but that also has drawbacks, including sounds from other traffic and wind gusts. Purdue's $250,000 machine lets researchers eavesdrop, under lab-controlled conditions, on tires rolling over different surfaces at varying speeds. The rubber-meets-the-road sounds are now recorded with five microphones, but the researchers plan to boost data collection by embedding sensors in the pavement.
So far, results indicate that tire design and construction have little effect on noise, says Robert J. Bernhard, a mechanical engineering professor. Rather, he says, the porosity of the road surface is the key. If these findings hold up in further experiments, engineers will know where to focus to quiet our roadways. About this time last year, a scientific furor erupted over a hypothetical kind of nuclear fusion that might be achieved cheaply, not in some giant facility. Two teams from Oak Ridge National Laboratory ripped into each other in the same issue of Science: One announced it had found evidence of so-called sonofusion, the other denounced those findings. Now the battle is heating up again.
Sonofusion is the notion that fusion reactions could be triggered by a form of sonoluminescence, or blowing bubbles in a liquid with strong bursts of sound energy. The resulting tiny bubbles implode with great speed and force, generating extremely high temperatures. (This form of "table top" fusion contrasts starkly with the cold fusion theories that sparked controversy a decade ago.) Some researchers believe the bubble temperatures may be as high as the sun's nuclear furnace -- and might lead to backyard sources of almost limitless power.
At an Acoustical Society of America meeting in Nashville, both Oak Ridge teams reexamined the dispute -- without resolving it. But sono expert Seth J. Putterman at the University of California at Los Angeles boosted the outlook for sonofusion. He reported peak temperatures of 1 million C. in collapsing bubbles. While that's a 10-fold jump, another 10-times increase would be needed to sustain fusion. And D. Felipe Gaitan, chief scientist at Impulse Devices Inc. in Grass Valley, Calif., said his company is now building a much more powerful system, and it might produce solid evidence of fusion by yearend. Doctors are testing many cancer drugs that prevent tumors from spreading. But researchers from Seattle's Dendreon (DNDN) Corp. report they have developed a vaccine that, at least in mice, prevents cancer from developing in the first place. At a recent conference, Dendreon scientists said they have isolated abnormal peptides -- small bits of proteins produced by cells -- and these seem to be closely associated with subsequent tumor development. Antibody-stimulating vaccines derived from the peptides were given to 10 mice, which were then injected with breast-cancer cells. All of the vaccinated mice have remained tumor-free, while all 10 mice in a control set died of cancer within 35 days. Dendreon has applied for a patent on the technology. | <urn:uuid:ffcec27b-6886-4619-94eb-336d9b7dc414> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2003-05-18/pressure-cooking-the-garbage-into-real-goodies | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936459277.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074059-00140-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950471 | 1,048 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Science in the News
HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancers Increasing in the U.S.
January 18, 2013
A new national report on cancer incidence trends 1 presents data of relevance for dentists and the public. First, the report provides encouraging long-term data on declining death rates for several common cancer types, but it also presents significant data on the increasing incidence rates of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers of the oropharynx, including the base of the tongue and tonsils. The report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, was widely publicized online and was prepared as part of an annual collaboration by the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries.
The new publication is titled the “Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2009.” Among the Annual Report’s primary findings on HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer:
- From 2005 to 2009, incidence rates were four times higher among men than women (8.2 versus 1.8 cases per 100,000 persons, respectively), with the highest incidence rates found in white and black men (8.5 and 7.9 cases per 100,000 persons).
- Incidence rates of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer increased among white men (3.9%) and women (1.7%) over the same time period.
- Of the 13,446 new HPV-associated cancer cases among men in 2009, 78.2% were HPV-associated cancers of the oropharynx.
- Although cervical cancer remains the primary HPV-associated cancer among women, comprising 53.4% of U.S. cancer cases in 2009, 11.6% of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers also occurred in women.
Exposure to human papillomavirus occurs commonly through sexual contact, and oncogenic HPV types have been increasingly shown to be associated with squamous cell cancers of the oropharynx. Over 90 percent of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers are associated with HPV-16 and HPV-18, two oncogenic HPV types that are commonly associated with cervical cancer and other anogenital cancers.2 HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers typically develop near the base of the tongue and in the tonsils. Based on the available data, it has been estimated that the incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers could surpass the number of HPV-associated cervical cancers in the U.S. by 2020.3
To reduce the incidence of cancer and other complications associated with HPV, the CDC recommends HPV vaccination for pre-teen girls and boys, and for women and men up to age 26 who have not been vaccinated previously. Regarding HPV vaccination, the Annual Report indicates that “no data are available on [their] efficacy for prevention of HPV-associated cancers or lesions of the oropharynx. Because HPV 16 is responsible for the majority of HPV-associated cancers, the vaccines likely protect against these outcomes.”
The new Annual Report adds to a growing body of evidence on the increasing incidence of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer, particularly among men, who accounted for over 10,500 new cases of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer in 2009. HPV-related cancers have also been found to be more common in persons with a higher lifetime number of sex partners (vaginal and oral).2 Dentists should be aware of the increasing incidence of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer in these patient populations. Adult patients should also be provided with hard-tissue and soft-tissue examinations, including lymph node examination, following completion of the patient’s health history and risk assessment.
For more information, clinicians are encouraged to consult the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs’ Statement on Human Papillomavirus and Squamous Cell Cancers of the Oropharynx,4 which was updated in November 2012 and presents an overview of initially suggestive symptoms of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer, including persistent sore throat, pain and dysphagia.
1. Jemal A, Simard EP, Dorell C, Noone AM, Markowitz LE, Kohler B, Eheman C, Saraiya M, Bandi P, Saslow D, Cronin KA, Watson M, Schiffman M, Henley SJ, Schymura MJ, Anderson RN, Yankey D, and Edwards BK. Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2009, Featuring the Burden and Trends in HPV-Associated Cancers and HPV Vaccination Coverage Levels. Journal of the National Cancer Institute; Published online Jan. 7, 2013.
2. Cleveland JL, Junger ML, Saraiya M, et al. The connection between human papillomavirus and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas. Implications for dentistry. J Am Dent Ass 2011;142(8):915-924.
3. Chaturvedi AK, Engels EA, Pfeiffer RM, et al. Human papillomavirus and rising oropharyngeal cancer incidence in the United States. J Clin Oncol 2011; 29: 4294–4230.
4. ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. Statement on Human Papillomavirus and Squamous Cell Cancers of the Oropharynx (adopted November 2012). Accessed January 14, 2013. | <urn:uuid:d42a8695-3e5c-4f7b-9610-5257f05b26f0> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/hpv-associated-oropharyngeal-cancers-increasing-in-us | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463679.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00207-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903575 | 1,154 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Thanks to Angel Lamuno for sending me to a dry and boring lecture by Dr. Israel Kirzner from Feburary 1988. It got me thinking again about competition and how confusing it can be.
The lecture was in part about how the word “competition” is used by economists with directly opposing meaning from that of the layman and how that leads to confusion about the role of free markets.
I won’t dwell on that, but instead I want to explain how this word can also be contradictory in meaning when applied in everyday usage in business analysis. Nowhere is this more evident than when we argue whether Apple competes with X or Y or Z.
Does Apple compete with Android or Google or Samsung? How could Apple compete with Google and yet cause it to be the default search engine in Safari thus enriching their competitors? How could Apple compete with Samsung and yet select their semiconductors for the heart of its most important and profitable product? And how could the people across the table from Apple agree to terms on these deals while being sued by them?
Some have tried to characterize this situation as “coopetition” or the co-habitation of conflicting strategies for a balanced optimum. I find this characterization uncomfortable and unsatisfying. The balance sought will be very fragile and change daily and no optimization is practically possible. It seems contrived.
Rather, I think about these situations as examples of asymmetric competition. This is competition where companies are rivals but they have different definitions of the basis of competition. In a way, they are like gladiators who have weapons which cannot be brought to bear or wielded effectively to counter the opponent’s.
Consider the following question: does the iPhone compete with the Galaxy SIII? Well, obviously it does. The products have similar attributes. If we define competition as rivalry in a market for similar products then, by default, they compete.
But what about non-consumption? What if there aren’t enough of either product to go around and people cannot actually face a purchase decision where both products are in front of them at the same time, under identical terms and conditions, waiting for a purchase to be made.
It gets worse. What if there are network effects related to each product such as brand loyalty, platform switching costs, media and data tied to either one that make them impossible to switch? What if advertising spending is skewing the buyer’s knowledge of competing products?
If a product is unavailable, invisible or requires burdensome switching, does it really compete? When these exceptions are raised, you’ll hear people say that Apple (or Samsung) don’t compete with X or Y. They compete with themselves or with products outside the category. There may be many ways of rationalizing that what appear to be similar products don’t compete because of “differentiation” or “positioning”.
In fact, jobs-to-be-done theory suggests that the only successful competition is against non-consumption, especially if you’re an entrant. Non-consumption is easy to beat (because the alternative is no solution to the job) while an entrenched incumbent is very difficult to beat, and it’s often inefficient to even try even if you have the resources. This is what I describe in talks as the “David vs. Goliath” approach vis-à-vis the “Charge of the Light Brigade” approach.
So the theory that competition exists on the de-facto basis of a similar feature set fails a whole series of tests in the real world. Consumers decide based on complex criteria and businesses actually conspire to make the choices as complex as possible reducing the decision to a single option.
But I want to step back and think about the situation from the competitors’ point of view. In other words, how should management think about competition? Is it possible to develop a competitive strategy or should one even bother with competitive response?
Let’s take a basic question: Does Apple think of Samsung as a competitor? When did it begin to think about it as such? What can it do to win?
Let me answer this by asking another hypothetical question. Assume it’s 2008 and Apple is in the process of planning its product roadmap. Whom would they decide to count as competitors? Android devices have not yet shipped and the gorilla in the space is the BlackBerry with Symbian still overhanging the market with a huge volume lead. Should they then build products to compete with RIM and Nokia?
Assume further that their decision will define how developers will build apps and content makers will target your product. They have to account for the time scales that developers think about and they have to match hardware innovation to the rate of OS innovation and API innovation and toolchain innovation, etc.
So did Apple consider Samsung a competitor in 2008? A time when Samsung did not actually make smartphones? It seems hard to believe they did. Now you may answer that things have changed since 2008 and they have. But the decisions made in 2008 regarding the platform remain in place today.
Furthermore if you happen to look at the dozens of hardware designs that are making the rounds today (as evidence for a trial with Samsung) you’ll see familiar designs first penned in 2004 or 2006. You quickly realize that the product design process is lengthy and largely isolated from the froth of main street (or mall) sales fistfights.
Few people appreciate the disconnect between the design process and competition. This because few people have spent time in an organization building mass market consumer phones. The time scales are staggering. If your product is a platform product you make decisions six years in advance. If you are a “fast follower” you can make decisions six months in advance. This is maddening, asymmetric competition.
One competitor sees one basis of competition and another sees it completely differently or sees a completely different basis. They are competing with each other but more as a guerrilla fighter competes with a nuclear missile.
Which brings me to another discipline. In military circles asymmetry has been noted as a valid form of warfare for some time. At least since 1975. It was in use long before it was recognized or studied, (e.g. in the American Revolution.) But the situation now exists where it’s taken for granted that modern conflicts are almost always asymmetric. Drones vs. insurgents and citizens vs. armor and, the most sinister of all, unarmed-but-tightly-integrated-through-communication protest against established regimes. The impact of this realization is affecting governments around the world.
So it’s time to elevate our thinking about business competition along the same lines. Yes, Apple competes with Samsung but it does so asymmetrically (as it does against Google and dozens of others). It’s a multi-dimensional rivalry and one which requires a different form of analysis. It is something which I do instinctively but it’s not something that is easily explained. Disruption theory helps. It turns out that asymmetric competition is the only form of competition that matters in a rapidly disrupting industry.
It is also why this site is called Asymco. | <urn:uuid:bbc4f97a-0b26-4c3e-86d7-912b9f814b6f> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.asymco.com/2012/07/31/asymmetric-competition/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463028.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00071-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960206 | 1,490 | 2.71875 | 3 |
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One of the two chief tribes of the Goths, a Germanic people. Their traditions relate that the Goths originally lived on both sides of the Baltic Sea, in Scandinavia and on the Continent. Their oldest habitations recorded in history were situated on the right bank of the Vistula. They left these, all or in part, about the middle of the second century, and settled near the Black Sea, between the Don and Danube. Thence they emerged frequently to attack and pillage the cities of Greece and Asia Minor, and fought continuously with the Romans and the neighbouring Germanic tribes. The emperor Decius fell in battle with them in 251. Crossing the Danube into Thracia in 269 they were defeated by Claudius; Aurelian drove them back across the Danube and gave them Dacia. We now find the Ostrogoths east of the River Dniester, and the Visigoths to the west. During the reign of Constantine they again attempted to cross the Danube but were repulsed. During the years 350-75 the Goths were united under the leadership of Ermanaric, the Ostrogoth. In 375 they were conquered by the Huns. Some escaped into the Crimea, where they retained their language up to the sixteenth century; the mass of the people, however, remained in their own lands and paid tribute to the Huns; but were otherwise fairly independent and elected their own kings. When the empire of the Huns collapsed after the death of Attila (453), the Ostrogoths regained independence. Their old lands between Don and Danube, however, they had to surrender to the Huns, while they obtained Pannonia from the Romans. Theodoric, the Amaling, who was their king from 474 or 475, fought with the Byzantine emperor Zeno at various times, although he obtained peaceful relations during most of his reign. He endeavoured to secure permanent domiciles for his people. In 488 he started for Italy, aided and abetted by Zeno. Theodoric defeated Odoacer, who reigned as king in Italy, and founded in 493 the great Ostrogothic Empire, which included Italy, Sicily, Dalmatia, Upper Rhaetia, and later on Provence, with the capital Ravenna, and which stood under Byzantine suzerainty. Theodoric dreamed of an amalgamation of the Teutons and the Romans, of a Germanic state, in which the Ostrogoths were to dominate. He succeeded in establishing law and order in his lands; Roman art and literature flourished. He was tolerant towards the Catholic Church and did not interfere in dogmatic matters. He remained as neutral as possible towards the pope, though he exercised a preponderant influence in the affairs of the papacy. He and his people were Arians and Theodoric considered himself as protector and chief representative of the sect. His successor did not possess the necessary vigour and ability to continue this work. His daughter Amalasvintha succeeded him in 526, first as regent for her son Athalaric, and after the latter's death, in 534, as queen. She was assassinated by her cousin Theodahad, the rightful heir to the throne. The Byzantine emperor Justinian now made himself her avenger and declared war upon the Ostrogoths. His general Belisarius captured Naples in 536. In place of the incompetent Theodahad the Goths chose Witiches as king, but he also proved to be an incapable general. Belisarius succeeded in entering Ravenna in 539 and in taking Witiches prisoner. After his recall in 540, the Goths reconquered Italy under their new king Totila. In 544 Belisarius appeared once more and the war was continued with varying success. In 551 Narses became commander-in-chief in place of Belisarius, and in the following year he defeated Totila at Taginae in the Apennines. Totila was killed in the battle. The survivors of the Ostrogoths chose Teja as their king, but were practically annihilated in the battle near Mount Vesuvius in 553, after a desperate struggle in which Teja was killed. Their last fortress fell in 555, after which the Ostrogoths disappear. The few survivors mingled with other peoples and nations; some were romanized in Italy, and others wandered north where they disappeared among the various Germanic tribes. Italy became a Byzantine province.
BRADLEY, The Goths (London, 1898); DAHN, Die Könige der Germanen, II-IV (Würzburg, 1861-66); MANSO, Geschichte des ostgotischen Reichs in Italien (Breslau, 1824); HODGKIN, Italy and her invaders, III, IV (London, 1885); HARTMANN, Das italienische Königreich (Gotha, 1897); WIETERSHEIM, Geschichte der Völkerwanderung, I, II (Leipzig, 1880, 81).
APA citation. (1911). Ostrogoths. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11347d.htm
MLA citation. "Ostrogoths." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11347d.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Michael Waggoner.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads. | <urn:uuid:4a31589d-1d06-4dc1-82d7-3f7ba228bec4> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11347d.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463679.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00207-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967822 | 1,327 | 3.5625 | 4 |
An algebraic lattice is a lattice which is
An algebraic lattice is a complete lattice (equivalently, a suplattice, or in different words a poset with the property of having arbitrary colimits but with the structure of directed colimits/directed joins) in which every element is the supremum of the compact elements below it (an element is compact if, for every subset of the lattice, is less than or equal to the supremum of just in case is less than or equal to the supremum of some finite subset of ).
Here is an alternative formulation:
As this last formulation suggests, algebraic lattices typically arise as subobject lattices for objects in locally finitely presentable categories. As an example, for any (finitary) Lawvere theory , the subobject lattice of an object in - is an algebraic lattice (this class of examples explains the origin of the term “algebraic lattice”, which is due to Garrett Birkhoff). In fact, all algebraic lattices arise this way (see Theorem 2 below).
It is trivial that every finite lattice is algebraic.
The morphisms most commonly considered between algebraic lattices are the finitary functors? between them, which is to say, the Scott-continuous functions between them; i.e., those functions which preserve directed joins (hence the parenthetical remarks above).
The resulting category AlgLat is cartesian closed and is dually equivalent to the category whose objects are meet semilattices (construed as categories with finite limits enriched over truth values) and whose morphisms are meet-preserving profunctors between them (using the convention that a -enriched profunctor from to is a functor ; of course, with an opposite convention, one could similarly state a covariant equivalence).
There is a full embedding
to take to . This gives a topological embedding of in .
On similar grounds, if is the forgetful functor, then the 2-image of the projection functor is the category of topological spaces . In more nuts-and-bolts terms, an object gives a space with underlying set and open sets those of the form , where ranges over the Scott topology on . Notice that if is a morphism in , then is continuous with respect to these topologies. Therefore the projection factors through the faithful forgetful functor . Thus, working in the factorization system (eso+full, faithful) on , we have a faithful functor - filling in as the diagonal
But notice also that is eso and full. It is eso because any topology on can be reconstituted from the triple . We claim it is full as well. For, every continuous map between topological spaces induces a continuous map between their reflections , and since algebraic lattices like (being continuous lattices) are injective objects in the category of spaces, we are able to complete to a diagram
where the rightmost vertical arrow is Scott-continuous (and the horizontal composites are of the form ). Finally, since is eso and full, it follows that - is eso, full, and faithful, and therefore an equivalence of categories.
This connection is explored in more depth with the category of equilogical spaces, which can be seen either as a category of (set-theoretic) partial equivalence relations over , or equivalently of (set-theoretic) total equivalence relations on topological spaces.
One of our definitions of algebraic lattice is: a poset which is locally finitely presentable when viewed as a category. The completeness of means that right adjoints are representable, given by , and we are particularly interested in those representable functors that preserve filtered colimits. These correspond precisely to finitely presentable objects , which in lattice theory are usually called compact elements. These compact elements are closed under finite joins.
By Gabriel-Ulmer duality, is determined from the join-semilattice of compact elements by . Since the elements of are subterminal, we can also write where .
If is a locally finitely presentable category and is an object of , then
The lattice of subobjects ,
the lattice of quotient objects (equivalence classes of epis sourced at ) ,
the lattice of congruences (internal equivalence relations) on
are all algebraic lattices.
This is due to Porst. Of course if is the category of algebras of an Lawvere theory, then the lattice of quotient objects of an algebra is isomorphic to its congruence lattice, as such is an exact category.
The following result is due to Grätzer and Schmidt:
Every algebraic lattice is isomorphic to the congruence lattice of some model of some finitary algebraic theory.
In particular, since every finite lattice is algebraic, every finite lattice arises this way. Remarkably, it is not known at this time whether every finite lattice arises as the congruence lattice of a finite algebra . It has been conjectured that this is in fact false: see this MO discussion.
Another problem which had long remained open is the congruence lattice problem: is every distributive algebraic lattice the congruence lattice (or lattice of quotient objects) of some lattice ? The answer is negative, as shown by Wehrung in 2007: see this Wikipedia article.
This appears as (Caramello, remark 4.3).
|(n,r)-categories…||satisfying Giraud's axioms||inclusion of left exaxt localizations||generated under colimits from small objects||localization of free cocompletion||generated under filtered colimits from small objects|
|(0,1)-category theory||(0,1)-toposes||algebraic lattices||Porst’s theorem||subobject lattices in accessible reflective subcategories of presheaf categories|
|category theory||toposes||locally presentable categories||Adámek-Rosický’s theorem||accessible reflective subcategories of presheaf categories||accessible categories|
|model category theory||model toposes||combinatorial model categories||Dugger’s theorem||left Bousfield localization of global model structures on simplicial presheaves|
|(∞,1)-topos theory||(∞,1)-toposes||locally presentable (∞,1)-categories|| |
|accessible reflective sub-(∞,1)-categories of (∞,1)-presheaf (∞,1)-categories||accessible (∞,1)-categories|
Olivia Caramello, A topos-theoretic approach to Stone-type dualities (arXiv:1103.3493)
The relation to locally finitely presentable categories is discussed in
That every algebraic lattice is a congruence lattice is proved in | <urn:uuid:d883ea26-027a-47b4-bc90-fe6743b4bd74> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/algebraic+lattice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462839.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00058-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9182 | 1,504 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Behind the Buzz
What’s really in those energy drinks?
Sherah, a busy fitness instructor and 36-year-old mother of two children, frequently pops open an energy drink before leading one of her intense, early morning classes. She downs another one in the afternoon, when the morning’s adrenaline rush wears off and her energy flags.
She likes how the drinks boost her energy, but don’t give her the jitters like coffee does. But lately, some new symptoms have her considering cutting back.
“I was starting to get heart palpitations if I drank too many,” she says, adding that a history of heart problems run in her family. “My doctor told me to stop drinking them, and I know they aren’t good for me.”
Energy drinks consumed before exercising may be harmful, says John P. Higgins, MD, an associate professor of medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School and Director of Exercise Physiology at the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. Higgins recently published a journal article on energy drinks.
“Energy drinks create an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, which puts extra stress on the heart and makes it work harder,” he says. “At the same time, the high levels of caffeine may reduce the ability of the coronary arteries to open fully and increase the necessary blood flow that brings the heart more oxygen and nutrients.”
Sherah’s not alone in her quest for extra energy, judging from the popularity of energy drinks. According to Beverage Digest, sales for energy drinks increased by nearly 17 percent last year. Since Red Bull made its debut in 1997, more than 500 varieties of energy drinks have been introduced, and more are popping up every day.
“We live in a 24-hour society,” says dietitian Laura Moore, explaining the surging popularity of energy drinks. Moore, Director of the Dietetic Internship Program at The University of Texas School of Public Health, says the drinks were originally intended for athletes, but now are widely marketed to students and active individuals between the ages of 21 and 35. “Energy drinks are used by many to stay awake and increase alertness for studying, working and maintaining often impossible schedules.”
There’s no doubt that energy drinks do their job. But is staying alert and awake around the clock a good thing? And what exactly are we drinking in the first place?
Mostly caffeine and sugar
We’re guzzling caffeine and sugar mostly, Moore says, and lots of it. On average, energy drinks contain about 80 milligrams of caffeine per eight-ounce serving. In comparison, an eight-ounce cup of coffee contains an average of 100 milligrams of caffeine, and soft drinks have about 45 milligrams of caffeine. However, cans of energy drinks often contain more than one serving and caffeine content varies widely—with some brands containing three times the caffeine as others.
Add a heap of sugar to the mix and you get a bonus sugar rush from energy drinks—and potentially hundreds of extra calories you don’t need, Moore says. One energy drink on the market has a whopping 148 calories in an eight-ounce serving.
In moderation, caffeine is not harmful and recent studies show it may actually have some health benefits. For example, small doses of caffeine help boost performance and endurance in athletes. But caffeine affects everyone differently, so some people are more sensitive to it than others. Moore says children and teenagers should avoid energy drinks altogether.
The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends adults consume less than 300 milligrams of caffeine daily. Drink or eat more caffeine than that and you may feel anxious, irritable, jittery and get a headache or an upset stomach. According to Higgins, excessive caffeine intake may lead to vomiting, palpitations (fast or irregular heartbeat known as tachycardia, arrhythmia), seizures and even death. He adds that people with significant underlying medical conditions, including heart disease and hypertension, should consult with their health care provider prior to consuming energy drinks.
Besides caffeine and sugar, energy drinks contain a variety of herbal ingredients and stimulants, which, depending on the drink, claim to boost your mood, mental state and even your libido. Common additives include the amino acid taurine, the herbal stimulant guarana (which itself contains high levels of caffeine), B vitamins and ginseng. The word is still out on whether these additives do what they promise. According to the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the science behind taurine and the B vitamins as energy sources is limited by the role these compounds play in the body, which is to help it use the energy from the foods we eat.
“The negative effects of excess caffeine have been proven, while the positive effects of many of the other additives such as taurine remain unproven, as well as the combined effect of these ingredients in energy beverages,” says Higgins. “In addition, women, nonsmokers and those who don't drink caffeine regularly appear to be more sensitive to caffeine and its side effects.”
More information is needed
While the label on an energy drink may list ingredients, “you really don’t know what you are getting,” Moore says. “The mixture of stimulants and other ingredients is unknown.” Energy drinks are classified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as nutritional supplements, instead of food (like cola), which makes regulation difficult.
“For example, cola drinks have a maximum amount of caffeine that can be added since they are regulated by the FDA. Because energy drinks are not ‘cola’ and are not defined, there is nothing regulating caffeine and other additives in energy drinks,” Moore says.
As their popularity has grown, energy drinks have come under increased scrutiny. The FDA is investigating reports of five deaths that may be associated with the Monster energy drink. Monster is also being sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl with a heart condition who died after drinking two cans of Monster in a 24-hour period.
Also, New York’s attorney general is investigating whether the energy drink industry is deceiving consumers with claims about the ingredients and health value of its products. In particular, investigators are looking at whether companies are overselling the health benefits of added ingredients, while downplaying the role of caffeine in its products. They are also looking at whether adding guarana violates laws that ban putting more than one source of caffeine in a beverage without listing the total amount on the label.
A little energy goes a long way
Despite the lack of regulation, energy drinks likely will continue to be popular as long as there are cramming students, late night partiers and athletes looking for an edge. But that edge only goes so far, Moore warns.
“Energy drinks are counterproductive to most athletes, because they carry a high sugar load and can cause dehydration,” she says. “In some cases, the excessive caffeine found in energy drinks today can lead to serious impairment in performance.”
Combining energy drinks with alcohol is dangerous, Moore adds, because the caffeine masks the effects of alcohol. Caffeine doesn’t sober people up. It just makes them wide awake. So, partiers slamming down Red Bull cocktails are still getting drunk, but do not “feel it.” That’s an appealing state of mind for the late-night crowd, but it also increases the risk for driving drunk and indulging in risky behaviors.
Higgins adds that the combination of energy drinks and alcohol might also increase significant arrhythmia in patients with underlying heart disease. “We have seen cases where young college students develop a rapid heart arrhythmia after consuming several energy drinks combined with vodka [in a single session],” he says.
So what’s the alternative?
A busy professional herself, Moore understands the appeal of energy drinks, but advises a more balanced approach to staying awake and alert.
“Exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest, and eating healthy–choosing a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat proteins and dairy–will naturally increase your energy level,” Moore says.
“And when exercising under one hour, avoid exercising in the hottest part of the day, and keep well hydrated with water before, during and after exercise,” Higgins adds. “For exercise over an hour, take plenty of breaks and hydrate with water or sports drinks to prevent dehydration.”
Madeline Estep contributed to this story.comments powered by Disqus
This site is intended to provide general information only and is not intended to substitute for or be used as medical advice regarding any individual or treatment for any specific disease or condition. If you have questions regarding your or anyone else’s health, medical care, or the diagnosis or treatment of a specific disease or condition, please consult with your personal health care provider. | <urn:uuid:fe6a4398-8103-4c58-80b6-188afa2f46fb> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.uthealthleader.org/index/article.htm?id=2e74b4a3-5725-4f72-ba02-60a174b24962 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936464840.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074104-00209-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942391 | 1,891 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Louisiana has a unique system of laws intended to prevent a person from disinheriting his or her children. These laws, which are derived from the Louisiana Constitution, place restrictions on a person’s ability to leave his or her property to someone other than their children in certain circumstances.
What is a Forced Heir?
Louisiana defines “forced heir” to include:
- A child of the decedent who is under age 24 at the time of the decedent’s death; and
- A child of the decedent of any age who is permanently incapacitated.
Grandchildren of the decedent can also be considered forced heirs if their parent (the decedent’s child) died before the decedent and, at the time of the decedent’s death, would have been under age 24 or permanently incapacitated.
In this context, the incapacity of a child is determined under the same standard used for guardianships (called interdictions in Louisiana). Regardless of whether the child was under an actual interdiction at the time of the decedent’s death, he will be a forced heir if his or her permanent mental state is such that an interdiction would be proper.
What are the Rights of a Forced Heir?
Forced heirs are entitled to a certain portion of a decedent’s estate. This portion is often referred to as the “forced portion” or “legitime.”
To determine the amount due to the forced heirs (the legitime), the decedent’s estate must first be divided into two shares: the forced portion and the disposable portion. The forced portion is the share that goes to the forced heirs. The disposable person is otherwise distributed through intestacy or in accordance with the decedent’s Last Will and Testament.
What is the Forced Portion?
The following steps can help you calculate the disposable portion of a decedent’s estate.
- Determine the value of the decedent’s entire estate. Insurance policies and retirement benefits are not included in this amount.
- Subtract all debts of the decedent’s estate.
- Add back in the value of any lifetime transfers made within three years of the decedent’s death.
This will give you the starting value of the decedent’s estate for purposes of dividing it between the forced portion and disposable portion. (Note: This methodology is different from the one used to calculate the Federal estate tax.)
If the decedent has only one forced heir, that heir will be entitled to 25 percent of the estate. Everything else will pass to the disposable portion. If the decedent has more than one forced heir, the forced heirs will receive half of the estate and the disposable portion will receive the other half.
These rules are, however, subject to one limitation: each forced heir can receive no more than he or she would receive if the decedent died intestate. This could occur if there are five or more children, in which case each child would be entitled to 20 percent of the decedent’s property. Since this amount is smaller than the 25 percent forced portion, each heir will receive only 20 percent.
Any portion that does not pass to the forced portion will fall into the disposable portion. The disposable portion is then distributed in accordance with Louisiana’s intestate succession laws (if there was no Last Will and Testament) or the decedent’s will (if there was a Last Will and Testament).
Any life insurance proceeds or qualified retirement benefits paid to the forced heirs will count toward satisfaction of the forced portion. Any unsatisfied amounts will be paid from the assets of the decedent’s estate. The decedent may provide in his or her Last Will and Testament that certain assets will be used to satisfy the legitime. Alternatively, the decedent may delegate that authority to the executor of the estate.
Collation of Prior Gifts by Forced Heirs
Louisiana law provides a procedure for refund to the estate for any gifts made by the decedent prior to his or her death. This refund may be actual (return of the actual gift) or fictitious (bookkeeping entry of a credit representing the amount of the gift).
This process, known as collation, is built on the assumption that the decedent intended to benefit each of his or her descendants equally. Anything that the decedent left to an heir before his or her death is treated as an advancement of that heir’s inheritance and is taken into account in distributing the rest of the decedent’s assets.
Unlike other heirs, the decedent’s children who are forced heirs may demand collation. This right only extends to gifts made within three years of death. Gifts made more than three years before the decedent’s death are not subject to collation.
Three Ways to Restrict Forced Heirship
There are three ways that a forced heir’s rights may be legally restricted: usufruct, legitime trust, and survivorship requirements.
A decedent is free to give his surviving spouse a usufruct (similar to a common law life estate) over his or her property. This usufruct can extend to the forced portion of the decedent’s estate. The usufruct can include community property, separate property, or both. It doesn’t matter whether the forced heir is a child of the surviving spouse.
The decedent may leave the forced portion to a type of trust referred to as a legitime trust. For this type of trust to be valid, the trust must meet the following conditions:
- All net income from the trust must be distributed to the forced heir for his or her health, education, support, or maintenance, taking into account the other resources available to the forced heir;
- The forced heir’s beneficial interest in the trust must be free of all charges and conditions other than the ordinary restraints on alienation, permissible usufruct rights of a surviving spouse, placement in a class trust, or provisions applicable to the interests of a principal beneficiary;
- The term of the trust cannot exceed the life of the forced heir (except to the extent that the interest is subject to the surviving spouse’s income interest or usufruct); and
- All principal must be distributed to the forced heir upon termination of the trust.
If a trust provision violates these requirements, it must be reformed to comply with them.
The decedent may condition a distribution to a forced her by providing that the forced heir must survive the decedent by a period of up to six months, but only if the forced heir dies without heirs or descendants. This is a common provision in estate planning for tax and other purposes.
What Happens if a Forced Heir Renounces His or Her Legitime?
If a forced heir renounces his or her legitime, it passes to the disposable portion of the decedent’s estate. It does not augment the forced portion, meaning that none of the other forced heirs will receive a greater share. | <urn:uuid:7bacb121-e9a7-4c43-9a69-db226b769954> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.mylouisianasuccession.com/forced-heirship/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463165.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00097-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948723 | 1,504 | 2.609375 | 3 |
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article
Florida State Hospital is a hospital and mental institution in Chattahoochee, Florida. Established in 1876, it was until 1947 Florida's only state mental institution. It currently has a capacity of 1,042 patients. The hospital's current Administration Building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The facility's property previously served as a military arsenal during the Seminole Wars and the American Civil War, and later became the site of Florida's first state prison. It was subsequently refurbished as a mental hospital, originally known as Florida State Hospital for the Insane, which opened in 1876. It gained notoriety over the course of its long history. It was sued in O'Connor v. Donaldson, a case that went to the US Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital had illegally confined one of its patients. The decision contributed to the deinstitutionalization movement, which resulted in changes to state laws and the closure of many public mental institutions in the country. The hospital today treats patients with severe mental disabilities who have been civilly or forensically committed to the institution.
The hospital campus was originally the site of the Apalachicola Arsenal, built in the 1830s and named after the nearby Apalachicola River. The hospital's current Administration Building was adapted from the original Officers' Quarters of the Arsenal and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Arsenal facility served as a supply depot during the Seminole Wars. The first engagement of the American Civil War in Florida took place here on January 6, 1861 when a Confederate militia unit from Quincy overcame Union soldiers at the Arsenal.
In 1868, Florida Governor Harrison Reed converted the arsenal property at Chattahoochee into Florida's first penitentiary. Florida's first recorded inmate was Calvin Williams, incarcerated in Chattahoochee in November 1868 for the crime of larceny and sentenced to one year. By 1869 there were 42 inmates and 14 guards. In 1871, the prison was put under civilian jurisdiction. Malachi Martin was appointed as warden, gaining a reputation for cruelty and corruption. He used prison labor for his personal benefit to build houses and tend his personal vineyards, amassing a huge fortune. The book The American Siberia, written in 1891, portrayed the Chattahoochee prison as a place of relentless barbarity. After the prisoners were relocated in 1876 to a prison at Raiford, Florida, the facility was adapted as a state hospital.
In 1876 the prison was refurbished and established by the Reconstruction era legislature as the Florida State Hospital for the Insane, the state's first mental institution. It was an effort by the legislature to establish some public welfare institutions to assist residents in the state.
The hospital was sued in O'Connor v. Donaldson (1975), a case that reached the United States Supreme Court. Kenneth Donaldson, a patient held there, sued the hospital and staff for confining him for fifteen years against his will. The court ruled that he had been illegally held.
The decision, as interpreted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), means that it is unconstitutional to commit for treatment persons who are not imminently a danger to themselves or others and who are capable to a minimal degree of surviving on their own. This interpretation has hampered efforts to implement changes in commitment laws throughout the United States, as most states insist the person meet the "imminent danger" standard, accepting the ACLU's interpretation of the O'Connor v. Donaldson case. The ruling contributed to the deinstitutionalization movement in the United States, resulting in the shutting down of many large, public psychiatric hospitals. Although activists generally envisioned an extensive network of community homes and services to support the mentally ill in less institutional settings, these have not been well developed. Many families and people in need have been left without adequate support.
Many former mental patients and people currently suffering from mental illness have ended up on the streets. They are believed to constitute a large portion of the homeless and the mentally ill are known to comprise a large proportion of people who are in jail. Trying to self-medicate to control mood and emotion, they often develop problems with drug and alcohol abuse.
The hospital treats individuals with severe and persistent major mental illnesses. Two categories of patients are treated at the hospital; those civilly committed under Statute 394, who represent a small portion of the hospital's residents; and those forensically committed under Statute 916. The Civil portion of the hospital houses adult and elderly individuals who have been civilly committed to the hospital, and forensic residents who have been "stepped down" to the civil unit. The civil units are also known as Forensic Transition units.
Florida State Hospital also maintains a forensic wing for the Florida Department of Corrections to care for inmates who have been adjudicated through the criminal justice system to be incompetent to proceed to trial, or not guilty by reason of insanity. The current maximum housing capacity is 491 residents in civil units and 646 residents in forensic units.
The goal of the hospital's efforts is recovery. The hospital works to restore competency to residents adjudicated incompetent to proceed to trial. Residents receive competency training in both forensic and civil units. The amount of time needed to restore competency varies from a month or two, to up to five years. However, by statute, a patient cannot be committed for more than five years as incompetent to proceed . Upon five years of commitment that patient will be returned to court to have his/her charges dropped or commuted in some way. For residents adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity, the hospital works to assist the resident in transitioning back into community living by learning appropriate activities for daily living, and social cues. Hospital staff ensure the resident is no longer at risk of reoffending before recommending to the judge that the patient is ready for a conditional release to the community. Unlike patients committed as "Incompetent to Proceed," those committed as "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" have no time limit on their commitment. They can remain committed by their presiding judge until their recovery is complete.
One of the tasks of the forensic psychologists in the forensic wing is to evaluate an inmate's competency to be executed, as common law holds that the insane cannot be executed. This is a result of Ford v. Wainwright (1986). A Florida inmate on death row appealed his case to the United States Supreme Court, declaring he was not competent to be executed. The court ruled that a forensic professional must make that evaluation and, if the inmate is found incompetent, provide treatment to aid in his gaining competency so the execution can take place. Providing treatment to an individual to enable that person to become competent to be executed puts mental health professionals in an ethical dilemma.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Florida State Hospital.| | <urn:uuid:fd8d1aee-c643-4143-8c3d-9e14f26510bb> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://blekko.com/wiki/Florida_State_Hospital?source=672620ff | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462839.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00058-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971998 | 1,408 | 2.875 | 3 |
The section of the Arkansas
River between 11th and 91st Street in Tulsa provides
sandbars and barren beaches of gravel and sand used by the
Interior Least Tern as
nesting habitat. The terns arrive mid-May and depart in late
August - early September. The Least Terns may be seen on the
sandbars in the river in summer months. They have returned
each year since 1981 when there were 16 scrapes and 32 young
hatched. Monitoring of nesting sites is conducted by
volunteers with the Tulsa Audubon Society who also work
closely with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to limit
public access to the nesting areas.
The Terns nest on the river on Zink Island at 15th Street.
Good observation points are at 15th St., 31st St. and south
of 81st St.
Pianalto, 1927 - 1996, was one of the first people to discover
the Terns utilizing the river, and spent many years observing
and protecting them.
arthritis, Fred, who had special permission, would drive his
pickup along the bike trail and set up his scope to watch
over the birds. Over the years he became a fixture at
Riverparks, and became one of Tulsa Audubon's greatest
ambassadors to the Public. Thousands of people learned about
the Terns and other wildlife along the river from Fred.
Click here for a tribute to Fred
River Parks extends from 11 St. South to
St. South between Riverside Drive and the Arkansas River on the east bank,
and along the west bank from 21 St. to 41 St. S. There are parking areas
provided on the east side at Galveston St., 31 St., 41 St., and 51 St.
Parking west of the river is located at 21 St. A jogging and bicycle
path begins at 11 St. and follows the river to 56 St. S. For additional
information visit the
River Parks web site.
Walk the river bank south of 11 St. There
are large cottonwood, elm, oak, willow, and mulberry trees with heavy
underbrush along the river. In winter White-crowned and White-throated
sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos are numerous. The Purple Finch and
American Goldfinch are also common. The Clay-colored Sparrow has been
found during spring migration, a time when many warblers gather here
including Parula, Yellow, Orange-crowned, Black-and-white, Blackpoll,
Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, and Wilson's. Ducks can be observed on the
rocky reefs in the river in winter and spring and shorebirds are regular
visitors in migration.
The man-made Zink Island, in Zink Lake,
the impoundment formed by the low water Zink Dam, is used by the
endangered Interior Least Tern for nesting.
island may be observed from the River Parks area near 15th Street, which
features a bench dedicated to the late
Fred Pianalto, a Tulsa Audubon member who first publicized the Least
Terns on the River and was known as the "Birdman of Riverparks".
At 19 St. park on the west side of
Riverside Drive and walk south. Bell's Vireo has nested here in the
underbrush. Thrushes are here in migration and the Bobwhite is a
The parking area at 31 St. is located on
the east side of Riverside Drive. A pedestrian bridge allows access to
the west bank of the river as well as the east bank. A jogging and
bicycle path also goes east along the abandoned railroad right-of-way.
(See Midland Valley Trail)
The 41 St. parking is on the west side of
Riverside Drive south of the 41 St. intersection. Bald Eagles are often seen along the river,
and in 2007 one was nesting on the west bank directly across form the 41
St. parking lot.
White Pelicans stop over in migration; Cormorants may number in the
hundreds; and Osprey are occasionally seen. In the large trees in summer
are Northern and Orchard orioles, Eastern and Western kingbirds, Summer
Tanagers, Painted and Indigo buntings, and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers.
Warblers, Catbirds, and thrushes frequent the mulberry trees and the
shrubbery along the bank. This is also a likely place to look for the
Caspian, Black, and Forster's terns in late spring and early fall.
There is a good trail south to 61 St. The
best birding along this five-mile mile trail is found during the morning
Click anywhere on map or here for an
interactive map from the River Parks web site | <urn:uuid:ca8ddc7d-7793-4259-88d0-bc1bd40ef602> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.tulsaaudubon.org/guides/river-parks.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463411.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00141-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950288 | 1,040 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Australia’s long isolation from other continents has helped evolution
to create some of the most
unique creatures in the world. We have
mammals that lay eggs, carry their young in the pouch
and don’t walk, but bounce across the countryside. If you like animals,
won’t disappoint you. Here is some information on
kangaroos, koalas and many other Australian animals (that are more interesting for
not every Australian animal is covered!).
Kangaroo. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to
Animals of Australia - Mammals
animals - the only mammals in the world that lay eggs - are
found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. There used to be more of them
but nowadays only two species remain. PNG has echidnas while Australia
has both of the two species - the duck billed platypus
that lives in
freshwater streams and billabongs; and the hedgehog-looking ant eater echidna,
which is a land animal.
Platypus is found along the eastern coast of Australia, while echidna
is one of the very few species that has adapted to every habitat on
this huge continent, from snowy mountains to dry deserts and steamy
Platypus. Poster by AllPosters. Click
on thumbnail to buy
The second group of Australian mammals are marsupial
animals – so
classified because they carry their young in the pouch (although there
are a few exceptions). While there are some marsupials in PNG and even
South America, Australia has got the world's largest variety of them.
Koala. Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy
Although the third group of mammals - placental
animals - doesn't originate in Australia, we do have
arrived air ways while dugongs,
and sea lions arrived water ways, and are all Australian
animals. Dingoes were introduced so long ago that
they, too, are most often considered natives.
But then there are the introduced
placentals such as foxes,
rabbits, deer, buffalo, and feral cats, horses, donkeys, pigs, camels
and goats, which are not natives and which all in different ways cause
harm to our ecosystems. Some were wild animals that were released to
the nature out of stupidity, others - ferals - originate from domestic
animals that were brought to Australia as pets or livestock but went
back to the wild. It's impossible to get rid of introduced animals
because without natural enemies they thrive well in their new
Dingo. Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy
Animals of Australia - Birds
Mammals are not the only interesting group of Australian animals.
Australian birds also amaze with their colours, size, sounds and
smartness. The most sizeable ones are the flightless emu
The largest flying birds are jabirus
while the heaviest ones are pelicans.
The most colourful ones are parrots,
and the smartest ones are cockatoos
- both quite common birds everywhere in Australia – from the streets of
cities to the
most remote outback. The most distinctive sounds are made by
kookaburras - Australia's largest kingfishers.
And Australia's owls
of prey are also large and impressive.
Emu. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy
Animals of Australia - Frogs and Reptiles
Our most famous reptiles are of
but we have also got some beautiful geckos,
lizards, dragons, monitors
and goannas. We have got turtles
living in freshwater creeks, swamps and billabongs as well as in the
ocean. And we have some interesting frogs
as well as the introduced cane toad.
Crocodile. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy
Animals of Australia - Insects and Spiders
are not as deadly as they are made to sound, and our insects
are harmless. Some of them grow impressively large, particularly in the
tropics. Cockroaches the size of your thumb, stick insects the size of
your hand, and some of the northern moths
larger than small
Cairns Birdwing. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail
Animals of Australia - Fish and Coral Reef
Like elsewhere in the world we have plenty of fish, including sharks,
even whale sharks,
and we also
have dangerous jellyfish
in northern Australia. But the most colourful fish is found in coral
reef, and Australia has got plenty of it.
Coral reef fish. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail
Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral
reef, which contains 1500 species of coral fish, 4000 types
clams and snails, and countless other marine
species. And it is not the only coral reef in Australia.
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This site uses
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find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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does that mean? | <urn:uuid:274a3a81-8f55-4e7c-88c5-301baaa75599> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.gondwananet.com/australia-facts-australian-animals.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463679.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00206-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931585 | 1,216 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Top Tips For Healthy Cholesterol
Posted Apr. 21, 2012, 2:25 am
Dr. Mao Shing Ni / Mirror Columnist
Due to today’s diet and lifestyle, many people can find themselves with high or elevated cholesterol levels. Although there are no outward symptoms of elevated cholesterol, over time it can clog up your arteries and its impact can be devastating over time, leading to very serious health problems.
Lowering your cholesterol starts with the foods you eat - and the foods you choose not to eat. Be sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In fact, both Western and Chinese medicine alike recognize the importance of diet when battling high cholesterol, and eating improper foods such as animal fat, simple sugar, and processed foods, can trigger the digestive system to build up the amount of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) - also known as “bad” cholesterol - in the blood. This can then lead to life-threatening illnesses such as heart attacks, strokes, and, of course, clogged and hardened arteries.
Cholesterol, however, is a tricky condition. A person with high amounts of LDL cholesterol in their blood may have inherited the condition from a genetic predisposition, in which case, it may seem as if changing your diet won’t help. Happily for your health, this isn’t true. Some patients with very high cholesterol have great success in improving their health by simply changing their diet and lifestyle. Keep in mind that these changes to your diet do not have to be massive, sweeping, all-or-nothing overhauls. If you have high cholesterol, start simple!
Try incorporating the following five foods into your diet. High in fiber and low in cholesterol, they will not only help to lower your LDL cholesterol levels, but can also benefit your body’s overall health.
1. Apples: A study was conducted recently in Finland to determine whether or not eating apples can lower cholesterol. The results of this study determined that eating three apples a day for three months can help you drop your cholesterol level by twenty points. This is a result of the high amount of pectin found in apples, which is a source of dietary fiber that will draw LDL out of your system. Also, quercetin, an antioxidant, helps to inhibit the amount of LDL in the bloodstream. As autumn is a time for apples, be sure to take advantage of all of the tasty varieties that the season offers.
2. Spinach: Spinach, along with other green leafy vegetables, contains a carotenoid known as lutein. Lutein has been associated with the prevention of cholesterol buildup in the blood. With a little help from one or two helpings of fresh spinach, you’ll be on your way to lower cholesterol levels in no time!
3. Oats: There are few things as satisfying as a warm bowl of oatmeal in the morning. Whole grain oats, like whole wheat, are a high-fiber grain. While whole wheat is helpful in lowering cholesterol, oats contain more soluble fiber and therefore are more likely to reduce the levels of LDL cholesterol in your system. When eating foods containing oats, however, be sure to always eat whole grain oats, because the oats found in processed foods like granola bars often don’t contain soluble fiber.
4. Homemade orange marmalade: Who would guess that this delicious fruity spread would also be good for lowering LDL cholesterol? Orange marmalade includes orange rind - which contains compounds known as polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs). PMFs are found in the pigment of orange peel and are responsible for lowering cholesterol, yet they don’t reduce the level of good cholesterol. You can use orange rind in your cooking, as well.
5. Green tea: Green tea is beneficial for many conditions and ailments, and high levels of LDL cholesterol are no exception. Drink one cup of green tea daily and you may find that your high LDL cholesterol levels will say their final farewell. If you do not like green tea, you can also try an herbal tea such as Internal Cleanse, which contains chrysanthemum, hawthorn, cassia, lotus, and mulberry, which all help to support healthy cholesterol levels.
Remember, lowering your cholesterol starts with the foods you eat - and the foods you choose not to eat. Be sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Eating the right foods can help you on the way to a long, healthy life.
As always, talk to your physician before beginning a new health regime.
Dr. Mao Shing Ni, best known as Dr. Mao is a bestselling author, doctor of Oriental Medicine and board certified anti-aging expert. He has appeared regularly on “Dr. Oz,” “The Doctors,” and “EXTRA.” Dr. Mao practices acupuncture, nutrition, and Chinese medicine with his associates at the Tao of Wellness in Santa Monica and Newport Beach. Dr. Mao and his brother, Dr. Daoshing Ni founded Tao of Wellness more than 25 years ago in addition to also founding Yo San University in Marina del Rey. To subscribe to his tip-filled newsletter please visit www.taoofwellness.com. To make an appointment for evaluation and treatment please call 310.917.2200 or you can email Dr. Mao at email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:24620914-c9e7-4ec3-9f61-d0966ae34859> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.smmirror.com/articles/Health/Top-Tips-For-Healthy-Cholesterol/34503 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463460.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00185-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953258 | 1,134 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Good legal writers follow accepted rules of usage and style. But they also know that punctuation and grammar blunders can destroy any goodwill they’ve created with their readers.
One mark of novice legal writing is the haphazard use of three related punctuation marks: the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash.
It’s easy, though, to learn the basic rules that govern these marks. And if you learn to use them correctly, they will add clarity — even beauty — to your legal writing.
The hyphen is the smallest of the three marks, and has several uses:
- Phrasal adjectives. A hyphen is generally required between two or more words that jointly modify the word that follows. These multiple-word modifiers are called phrasal adjectives or compound modifiers. So health-care professional needs a hyphen between health and care because the words jointly modify the noun professional. There are exceptions to the phrasal-adjective rule, which you can find here.
- Compound words. Hyphens are needed to form some compound words. Common examples are (a) numbers and fractions such as thirty-one and one-third; (b) nouns such as sister-in-law; and (c) titles and proper names such as ex-President and anti-American. In some cases, it will be unclear whether a compound word needs a hyphen because time has gradually fused the two words (e.g., decision-maker v. decisionmaker). If you’re unsure whether a compound word needs a hyphen, consult an up-to-date dictionary or usage manual.
- Words that are spelled alike but have different meanings. Examples of these words are re-cover/recover and pre-judicial/prejudicial. Depending on the meaning, a hyphen might or might not be needed.
- Compound words beginning with the prefixes self-, ex-, quasi-, and all-. Examples of these words are self-confidence, ex-wife, quasi-tort, and all-powerful. But as Richard Wydick notes in Plain English for Lawyers, hyphens usually aren’t needed when the prefix is anti-, co-, de-, inter-, intra-, multi-, non-, para-, pro-, re-, semi-, or super-. Again, consult an up-to-date dictionary as the final arbiter.
- Words that fall on the end of a line. Some word-processing programs can automatically hyphenate words at the end of a line. If you don’t select automatic hyphenation, however, the program will automatically move the whole word to the next line. If you use automatic hyphenation, make sure that the program inserts hyphens between syllables.
The En Dash
An en dash is larger than a hyphen and about one-half the size of an em dash. In Typography for Lawyers, Matthew Butterick points out that writers can use en dashes to “indicate a range of values” or to show “a connection or contrast between pairs of words.”
- Range of values. The en dash replaces the connector to in ranges in dates, paragraphs, and pages. Instead of writing 1933 to 1940, pages 31 to 45, and paragraphs 10 to 15, insert en dashes to make these ranges 1933–1940, pages 31–45, and paragraphs 10–15. In legal memoranda, en dashes indicate that a citation spans multiple pages in the source material. For example, an en dash — not a hyphen — is needed in this pinpoint case citation: Unites States v. Brown, 123 F.3d 456, 465–70 (2013).
- Connecting or contrasting pairs of words. Butterick also points out that en dashes are needed to connect pairs of words such as conservative–liberal split, Arizona–Nevada reciprocity, and Sarbanes–Oxley Act.
The Em Dash
The em dash is the largest of the three marks — it’s approximately the width of a capital M. The em dash is also the most versatile but underused of the three marks in legal writing. It’s a shame that the em dash has fallen into disrepute among lawyers, because an adroitly placed em dash can make even ponderous legal writing digestible.
In Writing with Style, John Trimble explains that some writers avoid em dashes like the plague because
the dash is so versatile and so eager to work [young writers] will work it silly, asking it to double as a comma, a semi-colon, a parenthesis, a period, ad scandalam. This is why it’s tagged as a mark of Easy Virtue by many staid writers, especially lawyers, who rarely let it near their prose. Such an overreaction is a pity, because when the dash errs, it’s a victim, not a culprit, and nothing can quite replace it. In fact, of all the punctuation marks, it’s the most indispensable for brightening our prose.
Trimble says that the em dash can do five things quite well, and gives some actual examples of its use:
- Inserting an interruption or break in thought: “Life without romance—well, you might as well be in prison or a slug under the earth.” Charlie Chaplin
- Serving as a conversational colon or light bridge: “That’s the worst of facts—they do cramp a fellow’s style.” C.S. Lewis
- Isolating a concluding phrase for emphasis or comic effect: “I could never learn to like her—except on a raft at sea with no other provisions in sight.” Mark Twain
- Inserting a parenthetical explanation, qualification, or amplification: “Easter weekend arrived, and our cherry trees—about thirty of them—blossomed in unison.” Peter Mayle
- Marking a collection of several ideas: “The art of the surprise witness, the withering cross-examination, the sudden objection phrased in arcane formulas—all seem to bespeak a profession based on elaborate training and requiring consummate skill.” Time
In legal writing, em dashes are particularly useful to set off a parenthetical where inserting commas would be too weak for the job or would clog the sentence, and where unsightly parentheses would jar the reader by requiring him to stop mid-sentence.
Consider the following sentences:
- John Taylor, who’s known for his blunt oral-argument style, dazzled the courtroom. (The commas deflate the parenthetical, which is crucial to the idea being conveyed by the sentence)
- John Taylor (who’s known for his blunt oral-argument style) dazzled the courtroom. (The parentheses stop the reader mid-sentence)
- John Taylor – who’s known for his blunt oral-argument style – dazzled the courtroom. (The hyphens are plainly wrong)
- John Taylor — who’s known for his blunt oral-argument style — dazzled the courtroom. (The em dashes strike the right balance by emphasizing the lawyer’s “blunt oral-argument style” without bringing the reader to a full-stop like the second example)
You can set em dashes flush with the surrounding text or add spaces before and after the dash as I’ve done here. Depending on the font, the extra spaces can enhance readability, and the spaces can also prevent awkward breaks at the end of a line. But whatever you choose to do, be consistent.
Professional Writers Care About Punctuation and Grammar
Yesterday, another Lawyerist contributor flippantly claimed that certain unnamed punctuation and grammar rules are “more like guidelines,” which lawyers can discard when it suits their personal predilections or when it’s necessary to placate the whims of ill-informed colleagues.
But as Rudolf Flesch writes, hewing to accepted rules of punctuation and grammar is indispensable to making readers’ lives easier:
Punctuation, to most people, is a set of arbitrary and rather silly rules you find in printers’ style books and in the back pages of school grammars. Few people realize that it is the most important single device for making things easier to read.
Richard Wydick had this to say about the subject: Disregarding generally accepted punctuation and grammar rules “is an abdication of the professional duty to express meaning as clearly as possible.”
Or, how about Bryan Garner:
Where punctuation is merely wrong, and the meaning unaffected, the discriminating reader draws other types of inferences—usually unfavorable ones—about the writer. Any writer wants to avoid these, for they commonly extend beyond one’s grammatical knowledge to one’s level of education and carefulness in general. Well-crafted writing lends credibility to what is being said . . . We cannot divorce style from substance.
(adapted from Litigation (Summer 1989)).
In other words, a loose attitude towards proper punctuation and grammar in your legal writing can make you look foolish and risks disserving the interests of clients who pay you to follow the generally accepted rules.
If you believe that lawyers should aspire to be professional writers, take some time to learn the basic rules of punctuation and grammar, including the rules above for hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes. Clients don’t expect you to take a willy-nilly approach to their matters, so don’t take a willy-nilly approach to these marks in your writing. | <urn:uuid:d33cf089-f711-4536-ae41-a917adc24e50> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | https://lawyerist.com/59711/dont-miss-these-marks-in-your-legal-writing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465456.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00207-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917879 | 2,026 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Title: Designing Science Facilities for the National Science Education Standards
Author: James T. Biehle, AIA
Below is an excerpt from a published course advising on requirements for laboratory design and what factors to include in your decision-making when planning high school science classrooms.
Many high schools still plan their lab/classrooms for specific scientific disciplines: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and some sort of introductory science course. The specific requirements of each of these spaces can be different, but could, if desired, be accommodated in a common design. Investigations in which students work more independently are common and students are often required to design their own investigations to answer specific questions.
High school science teaching spaces should be primarily combination lab/classrooms with an assortment of auxiliary spaces to supplement these basic building blocks. Perimeter counters, base cabinets and sinks and wall cabinets are common; although, in some specific areas, fixed islands may be desired.
A maximum of 24 students should be housed in a lab/classroom and a minimum of 60 square feet per student provided for a total room size of 1,440 square feet. A shape closer to square than long and narrow provides more opportunities for flexible furniture arrangements and is particularly appropriate for Physics. Students often sit at tables large enough for two students; these tables should be sturdily constructed with epoxy resin or phenolic resin tops. Attention to leg attachment is critical since these tables will likely be moved often during their lifetime and legs may come loose welded metal or through-bolted wood construction. If the same tables are to serve dual usage as work surfaces for discussion and presentations, and as laboratory surfaces, they should be at laboratory height, or 36″. Providing two sets of tables, one for seated discussions and one for standing, laboratory work allows the class to move between discussion/presentation and investigations during the same class period without disrupting the laboratory table arrangement.
Physics lab/classrooms generally require fewer sinks and much more flexible space. High ceilings of 10 feet or more are desirable. A suspension apparatus capable of supporting at least 300 pounds per linear foot should hang beneath the ceiling to provide for the suspension of pendulums, and other devices. Longer, wider tables (seven feet by three feet) are useful since the larger surface can easily support, say, a 2-meter air track. The top material could be resin or wood butcher block (which lends itself more readily to C clamps).
Longer, movable tables should have at least one intermediate pair of legs which should be connected to the others by a stretcher frame construction. Some specifically designed physics tables have been employed to enhance a particular program. Physics requires a large number of electrical outlets placed around the room and in recessed floor boxes. DC power can most reasonably be provided using portable converters, plugged into a standard AC outlet. Provide lengths of wall space with no cabinets or markerboards for the installation of Atwood machines or similar apparatus. An adjacent student project space with power tools and the ability to construct devices discussed in physics can greatly enhance the engineering aspects of a physics course.
Biology lab/classrooms require a minimum of one large sink for every four students with both hot and cold water. A very useful perimeter sink station is called a “rinseaway” station and consists of a molded fiberglass top; 6 foot and 10 foot long models have one or two drain areas sloping to a single sink. A pull-out face shower can be used to wash off the sloping surface as well as an additional safety feature of the room. Glassware drying racks can be located on the wall above perimeter sink stations; make sure that the bottom of the drying rack is flush with the top of the backsplash of the sink so that water drains directly into the sink.
Tables for lecture and class discussion should be separate from tables for lab work so that students can easily move between each activity without disturbing set-ups on the lab tables. Lab table height can be an issue on
Biology as many prefer to sit down while using a microscope, although, from a safety standpoint, this is not necessarily a good thing. If most lab functions will be conducted seated, and the lower desk-height table is used for this function, the table should be 30″ high; if most laboratory functions will be conducted standing up, the tables should be at countertop height, or 36″.
Fixed teacher demonstration tables waste floor space and create a very inflexible area at the “front” of the classroom; many new facilities are providing a rolling demonstration surface consisting of a 72″ x 32″ resin countertop with various base cabinets for storage beneath. The entire assembly is mounted on four to six heavy duty casters so that the finished height is 36″, flush with perimeter countertops. When water or gas is needed for a demonstration, the unit can be wheeled to a perimeter sink or gas jet; otherwise it may be located anywhere within the lab/classroom. The 32″ dimension allows the unit to pass through a 36″ wide door into a prep room.
As electrical power is required for microscopes and other equipment, recessed floor boxes work well since they can be closed when not in use and the furniture arrangement can be very flexible. Although there are still some Biology lab/classrooms being constructed with a central gas system, use of gas is so minimal in most programs, that the expensive central system probably should be eliminated in favor of hot plates for most heating functions and small gas bottles for those limited usages where an open flame is required. Provide sufficient power for the number of hot plates to be used, probably at least two separate 20 amp circuits per lab/classroom.
Ventilation is also important in Biology. Some programs require at least one fume hood for demonstrations and group projects; if permanently located, this hood might have glass viewing panels on three sides and be located perpendicular to a wall. Portable fume hoods which recirculate air through a series of filters have also become more reliable in recent years and, although nearly as expensive as a fixed hood, can add flexibility to a layout. Providing a purge air system in the form of an exhaust fan which pulls air directly outdoors can help quickly clear the space of undesirable fumes. Do not rely on a fixed fume hood system for this purpose as they are generally not designed to draw that much air quickly.
Chemistry is the one area in which the move to a totally flexible lab space may be more difficult. The chemistry faculty should evaluate their need for fixed lab stations with respect to the use of corrosive materials that would require corrosion-resistant piping and an acid- dilution system and the need for a central gas system. Many chemistry programs are moving to a system in which the quantities of corrosive chemicals used by students are minimal and the student use of gas is also minimal. In these instances, a single, teacher demonstration station with an undercounter acid neutralization tank and gas jet could serve the needs of the entire class, thereby allowing perimeter sinks and movable tables for the student lab stations. Central acid neutralization systems with corrosion-resistant glass or polypropylene piping are expensive; any acid-dilution system requires periodic maintenance to replace the limestone chips within the dilution tank as they are consumed. Central gas systems are also expensive, requiring extensive piping and an emergency push-button shutoff system which interconnects with the electrical power system to immediately shut down the gas and power in a room. Using hot plates and/or butane cartridges for small burners eliminates this added expense and can increase safety within the chemistry lab/classroom.
Chemicals should NOT be stored within the lab/classroom, nor should they be stored within the prep room. A separate, lockable chemical storage room should be provided with its own ventilation system, providing approximately ten air changes per hour. Vents at the floor and at the ceiling should be included (see photo in “Safety” section) along with a “make-up air” system that brings in fresh air to replace the air that the exhaust system removes. Do not provide electrical outlets in the chemical storage room and have the switch for the room lighting mounted on the wall outside the room. If this room supplies chemicals for more than one lab/classroom, it should be centrally located and have a door to the corridor; this door should always be locked and accessible only by key.
Fume hoods are often used by students in chemistry and should be made accessible to as many students as possible. A “demonstration fume hood” which has view windows on three sides can be mounted perpendicular to a wall (see photo on previous page), thereby allowing a group of students to gather around a hood; at least five feet should be provided between adjacent hoods and hoods should not be placed near a door or window that might disturb the flow of air within the hood. Some recently constructed, movable fume hoods have impressed science safety experts with their ability to serve the needs of a school science program by recirculating air through a series of filters designed for the specific use of the program. First cost of these hoods may be as expensive as a fixed hood; however the life-cycle costs may be lower as the fan use may be significantly less and the major maintenance cost is in the periodic replacement of the filters. Flexibility of the lab/ classroom can be greatly enhanced if a large area is not dedicated to fixed hoods.
Please direct all inquiries with regards to school laboratory planning, science furniture and construction projects to the marketing department at Longo firstname.lastname@example.org. To request a consultant & laboratory space evaluation, email Nat Longo (email@example.com). Nat Longo has been building school science labs and commercial laboratories for over 25 years. Project lists are available from Longo if you wish to see where we have worked in NY, NJ, PA, CT, MA & RI. | <urn:uuid:c6d49a0f-7bfe-446e-ac67-90d697a9569b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.longolabs.com/tag/chemistry-lab-design/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462035.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00266-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944255 | 2,040 | 3.546875 | 4 |
Joni Mitchell's intimately personal music allowed her fans to connect with the singer.
Michael Putland/Getty Images
Recent neurochemistry research suggests music has huge therapeutic potential, and can be more effective than anti-anxiety or pain relief drugs in some cases. Music therapists are already using rhythm to help patients recover from severe brain trauma by reconnecting neural pathways to retrieve lost memories or language, as Katie Silver writes.
A young fan of Joni Mitchell once told the singer, 'before Prozac there was you'.
Music has long been used to self-medicate. On a rough day you might try to boost your mood with some upbeat pop, or wallow with Norah Jones.
'Music moves us because it serves as a metaphor for emotional life,' says Daniel Levitin, one time rock musician and record producer turned neuroscientist.
'It has peaks and valleys of tension and release. It mimics the dynamics of our emotional life.'
Mr Levitin is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He argues that music arouses feelings and emotions better than language can.
'Language tends to be representational, it tends to be very concrete,' he says, adding that music, by contrast, is more metaphorical - and that ambiguity lets it mean different things to different people.
Music can also tug on one's heartstrings by acting as a retrieval cue for certain memories. That is, as a bait to recall a particular memory.
Many songs tend to be associated with a very particular time in our lives, says Mr Levitin, pointing to the fact that most pop songs of the past half-century have had very brief shelf-lives.
'That's exactly what you want in a retrieval cue, because it is uniquely associated with a time and place and with other memories of your life.'
This helps explains why people with Alzheimer's disease or some forms of dementia can often remember songs from their teenage years.
Mr Levitin puts this down to how music is represented in the brain:
'Music has all these different components; there's melody, there's rhythm, there's the lyrics, there's the tempo, the pitches, the harmony.
'And we now know that these are served by different neural networks, different regions of the brain.
'So there are these multiple reinforcing and redundant cues within memory. You may not be able to access all of them but if you can get just a few they trigger the others.'
What determines musical taste?
From the womb - Familiarity: Musical tastes begin to form in the womb based on what the foetus is exposed to. By the age of one, babies show a preference for the music they heard during this time.
Childhood - Cultural: Different cultures have different musical rules. For example, Western music has the same 12 tones, the same scale, and the same rules, regardless of whether it's heavy metal, classical, jazz, country or pop. The music of other cultures, such as Indian, Aboriginal Australian or Chinese, each has its own scales and rules. We internalise the rules of the music we grow up with and form preferences within that system.
Teen years - Social identity: During adolescence we tend to gravitate towards music that helps to brand us and our social identity.
Jane Davidson, of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, agrees there is a strong connection between music and emotion.
She believes that having music as a strong presence throughout our lives is invaluable.
One example of this is extraordinary New York composer Tobias Picker, who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome.
After being given his first piano at age eight, Mr Picker's behaviour improved dramatically.
'My teachers commented on my report cards that there was a change in me ever since the piano came into my house,' he says.
'I could vent my emotions through playing the piano, especially my rage. I was very good at playing loud, fast, angry music.'
He adds that being able to dominate and control 'the king of instruments' became a compensation for his inability to control the tics.
Music activates more regions of the brain than almost anything else we know about. Two of the major ones are:
Brodmann area 47 in the prefrontal cortex: Helps us to form expectations about what's going to happen in the world. It is very active when we listen to music, trying to predict what's going to come next.
Cerebellum: Latin for 'little brain' this bundle of fibres is - among other things - the brain's central timekeeper. It discerns whether sounds are happening with metronomic robotic regularity or not. It is also very connected with the seats of human emotion - the frontal cortex and the limbic system - meaning it acts as a gateway to emotion.
As in the case of Tobias Picker, Daniel Levitin and his colleagues at McGill University believe that music has huge potential in therapeutic settings to contribute to our greater health and wellbeing.
In their recently published paper, 'Music and Neurochemistry: Evidence for Health Outcomes,' they cite findings that which show music is a more effective relaxant than Valium, and that it can increase your physiological pain threshold. That is, you feel less pain when you are listening to music that you like.
According to Ms Davidson, this begins right from the start of our lives, with music serving a nurturing function during infanthood.
As mothers 'goo' and 'ga' they are interacting with their babies on a sound-level, she says.
Practitioners in the growing field of musical therapy use music in a clinical setting to heal a range of physical injuries.
For example, if a stroke patient has impaired capacity in a hand and they wish to re-establish that neural pathway, drumming can be effective as the rhythm gives the client a fixed target and something to work towards. Singing has also proven useful for people with speech disorders.
In melodic intonation therapy, practitioners use singing to try to recover a patient's speech, Ms Davidson says.
The information for speech and singing is stored and used in a different part of the brain to speech, she says.
'Eventually, you get a crossover and some transference back to the capacity to speak,' said Ms Davidson.
Jeanette Tamplin is a music therapist at Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Hospital in Melbourne.
'Everything that we do is based on rhythm,' says Ms Tamplin.
She explained that, while the cerebellum might be involved in the coordination of movement, rhythmic processing is a whole-brain activity.
'Even if you've got damage in some areas of the brain, because rhythm is processed so diffusely across the brain, it's still an avenue for accessing rehabilitation pathways.'
Among others, Ms Tamplin has used Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and the Beatles in helping her patient Mark recover following a severe stroke.
'We were singing, "Knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door," and he managed to come out with the last word,' she says.
'And then over time we've just gradually built on that, so now he can sing whole songs.'
This therapy has improved Mark's language skills outside singing, along with his mood.
'As his partner I can see that there is actual genuine pleasure,' says Louisa, who has been with Mark for 17 years.
'His vocabulary has really expanded, which is very special. Before we came here to the Talbot, Mark wasn't speaking at all.'
Ms Tamplin also uses song writing to help people who have had a traumatic injury adjust to change.
She says it's particularly useful for young male patients, who are more likely to be affected by spinal injuries, and can find it difficult to express themselves emotionally.
Another of Ms Tamplin's patients is Annie, a young girl in the spinal injury unit who had a severe car accident caused by a suspected aneurysm.
Over a six week period, Ms Tamplin's patients write three songs, looking at the past, present and future respectively. Annie has just finished her first song, which looks at who she was before the accident:
'It's interesting looking back at what I had... I think I'm a better person now,' says Annie.
She says the process has also improved her memory and concentration, describing the process as 'lovely' and 'amazing'.
Like Annie, Joni Mitchell wrote music about herself in a way that was very self-disclosing. Daniel Levitin says Joni Mitchell's work was intimately personal, making it universal.
'I think when we are sad... one of the things that happens is that we feel alone and misunderstood,' he says.
'Then we listen to someone who has been through that mess talk about it in an articulate and sensitive way and we no longer feel alone.
'There's this wonderfully therapeutic effect of the sad music that picks you up.' | <urn:uuid:860feef2-6abb-478f-b095-73548f6b26ca> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2730 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936468546.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074108-00179-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962516 | 1,859 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Weaning results in changes to the nutritional environment of the rapidly growing young horse. During this critical period, skeletal development is still occurring. The skeletal system includes the bones, cartilage, tendons and ligaments, all of which are critical components of the framework that will support athletic production later in life. For the weanling to reach its full potential as an adult, you must manage its total nutritional environment. This publication answers some of the questions related to the nutritional management of weanlings that you, as a horse producer, should be considering.
The varying components of a weanling’s nutritional environment include environmental temperature, day length, physical stress, and nutrition. Individual farms can have “micro-environments” that you should factor into the development of your comprehensive farm nutrition program. Research at the Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center has connected the rise and fall in growth with similar seasonal patterns seen in day length, environmental temperature, and pasture quality. This highlights the importance of monitoring these variables and taking action to increase or decrease supplemental feeding before changes in weight or condition occur in the animal. The goal is to maintain a relatively smooth growth curve.
The purpose of the horse and the available facilities affect how you house and exercise your weanling. Research has shown that pastured weanlings experience greater bone growth than young horses kept in stalls possibly due to the self-regulated duration and intensity of exercise and a more consistent feed intake. You can address this by giving stalled weanlings access to plenty of turnout, potentially combined with exercise. Horses managed on pasture often grow at a slower rate, which requires less intensive management. Weanlings kept on pasture often are supplemented with grain. They can be fed individually in stalls, where feed intake can be precisely monitored, or they can be group fed using individual feeders spread out around the pasture to support the proper intake for each horse.
Those showing or marketing young horses usually prefer to stall weanlings individually. Stalled weanlings often are managed for faster growth and require closer observation to detect skeletal development issues before they become problems. Also, weanlings kept in stalls will need forced exercise programs to manage appropriate bone and muscle growth. Most research recommends exercise periods of short duration to condition growing bones and muscles. During this time, you should watch young horses carefully for signs of mild soreness or joint swelling, indications that the exercise may be too intense and causing damage. Allowing stalled weanlings time for free exercise may aid in sound bone development; however, you should not allow the sudden bursts of physical activity seen in horses kept in the stall too long. Turning them out after their daily exercise program may help moderate their activity level.
There are many options when choosing the appropriate time and method to wean. Most farms wean when foals are between 4 and 6 months of age. Weaning before 3 to 4 months usually requires that you provide some form of liquid milk replacer or specially designed foal pellet, as the foal’s digestive tract is not fully able to utilize forages and grains.
Weaning can be a very stressful time for a foal, particularly if it is weaned abruptly, if multiple foals are weaned at the same time, or if it is confined to a stall in order to begin an exercise program. Preparing a foal for weaning will help reduce the stress experienced when you remove the mare. Creep feeding is one tool you can use to prepare the foal for the transition from suckling to weanling. This is particularly true if the foal has been denied access to the mare’s feed while suckling, as can be the case if the mare’s bucket is too high for the foal to reach. A foal accustomed to eating grain while with the mare is more likely to continue eating and experience reduced stress during weaning. As a rule of thumb, a foal about to be weaned should be consuming approximately 1/2 to 1 pound of feed per month of age each day, so a 6-month-old foal could be consuming 3 to 6 pounds of weanling feed per day. A foal for sale or showing is more likely to consume more feed than a foal that will not be working until it is more mature.
After weaning, the young horse no longer has access to milk and relies on forages and concentrates to supply the nutrients and energy required for growth. The horse owner has a great deal of control as to what is fed in the barn. A quality grass or grass/legume-mixed hay with a low acid detergent fiber (ADF, 30 percent to 35 percent) and a crude protein content of between 10 percent to 16 percent is suitable for the weanling. Straight alfalfa forage does not contain balanced energy, protein, or minerals (particularly calcium and phosphorus), so feed it with care. Introduce concentrate slowly and use it to correct any nutrient deficiencies, particularly energy and lysine (protein), that may be lacking in the forage. Ideally, more than 50 percent of the ration should be made up of forage, but in some cases you may feed more concentrate than forage.
Growth can be defined simply as an increase in size over time. It is important to monitor growth because most owners have, as a long-term objective, some sort of athletic purpose for their animal. Skeletal and muscular development are important components of athletic potential. Generally,horse owners monitor growth by measuring changes in body weight, wither height, or body condition. Body weight, which incorporates the growth of all tissues in the body (fat, muscle, and bone), can be tracked by using a weight tape, while wither height gives a closer indication of skeletal development. Skeletal development is the most important aspect of development during this time; therefore, other more precise measures may be useful. Research at the Middleburg Agricultural Research and Extension Center indicates that forearm length and front cannon circumference are pertinent measures of skeletal development (Figure 1). Forearm measurement is useful because it represents a bone that grows a considerable amount (approximately 15 cm in Thoroughbreds) and gives a good indication of skeletal development. Cannon circumference is a measurement that has been used by horsemen for many years to evaluate “bone” maturity or development. Growth should be consistent across all these measurements. Sudden large increases or any decreases should be an indicator of potential problems.
Body condition scoring (Figure 2) can be an important tool to indicate whether the nutritional needs of the growing weanling are being met. Body condition is a subjective evaluation of subcutaneous fat deposition, and uses a 9-point standardized scale with a 1 being poor condition and a 9 being extremely fat. There are numerous factors that influence the condition of a weanling, but generally an animal of this age should have a condition score of between a 4 and 6. A condition score of 4 is described as having a negative crease along the back with a faint outline of ribs discernable. The tailhead prominence depends on conformation, but fat can be felt around it. The hip bones are not discernable, and the withers, neck, and shoulders are not obviously thin. A 6 is described as having a slight crease down the back. Fat over the ribs feels spongy and around tailhead feels soft. Fat is beginning to be deposited along the sides of the withers, behind the shoulders and along the sides of the neck. Evaluate and record body condition every two weeks so that you can detect any change in condition early.
|Figure 2. Anatomical locations and features used in the definitions of individual body condition scores.|
There are many ways to manage and positively affect skeletal development in a weanling horse. Managing exercise and nutrition correctly will improve the longterm usefulness of your young horse. Visit www.ext.vt.edu or talk to your local Extension agent for more information.
Corey Childs, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, Animal Science, Loudoun County
Celeste Crisman, Extension Equine Specialist, Youth, Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech
Erin Peterson, Extension Equine Specialist, Equine Business Management Coordinator, University of Maryland-College Park
Crystal Smith, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, Animal Science, Warren County
Carrie Swanson, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent, Animal Science, Albemarle County
Carey Williams, Extension Equine Specialist, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Virginia Cooperative Extension materials are available for public use, re-print, or citation without further permission, provided the use includes credit to the author and to Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; Jewel E. Hairston, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State, Petersburg.
May 1, 2009 | <urn:uuid:a97a06e9-cf49-47a9-9a8a-84cbb4158aa2> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/406/406-007/406-007.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463444.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00164-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933736 | 1,872 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Is it possible to ignore a cancer? Prostate cancer infests almost 250,000 men in this country each year and will kill 28,000 men in the United States in 2012, over 200,000 around the world. Many lose their lives “too soon”, dying in their 60s or even their 50s. Nonetheless, authorities do not recommend the PSA blood test for routine screening of this disease. How can this make sense? Partly this has to do with the inadequacy of that blood test and its failure to save lives. However, the key to “ignoring” prostate cancer is that sometimes it is not the deadly illness we have been lead to believe.
Common diseases such as melanoma, colon cancer or pancreatic cancer are aggressive malignancies. These cancers can be lethal no matter how early they are diagnosed. For example, Stage 1 lung cancer is fatal more than 50% of the time. We know that the sooner aggressive cancers are removed the better prognosis. Therefore, patients and doctors attempt to detect these diseases early and treat them immediately. However, this is not always true for prostate cancer.
Almost 80% of 80-year-old men carry a small amount of prostate cancer. However, 80% of men do not die from this disease, or even develop signs of it in their lifetime. This suggests that a large portion of prostate cancer is not aggressive and does not threaten life. This type of prostate cancer may not require treatment at diagnosis, and given the possibility of complications, should not receive immediate therapy. Who are these “lucky” patients and how can we decide who needs treatment and who can be observed?
The concept of “active surveillance,” previously referred to as “watchful waiting,” is not new to cancer medicine. We have used it for decades to observe low-grade chronic diseases such as slow growing lymphomas or certain smoldering leukemia’s. These chronic incurable illnesses are often observed without risk to the patient. Treatment, if needed, can be delayed, perhaps for years. Curable prostate cancer is somewhat different because while it is clear that you can treat it late and certain patients never need treatment at all, if you treat too late patients can unnecessarily die.
Therefore, if we are going to observe and follow certain patients with known prostate cancer, there must be ways to decide in which patients that can be done safely. We must find the critical warning signs that it is time to treat. Like gas in a car, you may ignore the gauge, but when the red warning light flashes it is always time to act. Active surveillance for prostate cancer requires measures to detect danger and a clear plan of action when the “red warning light” flashes.
Oncologists define good prognosis prostate cancer by three measures. First, how much cancer is found on biopsy? Experts believe that if the tumor can be detected only on a biopsy, and can not be felt on exam or if it is confined to less than one-half of one lobe of the prostate, that is less likely to grow. This is Stage T1c or T2a.
The next factor is aggressiveness of the disease. This is the “Gleason Score.” When a pathologist studies a prostate cancer biopsy under the microscope, he scores two different areas or “fields.” In each field, using an internationally standard, he determines a score of aggressiveness from 1 to 5. He adds these two numbers resulting in a Gleason Score of 2 to 10. Scores less than 5 are rarely seen, probably because those cancers grow so slowly. Cancers above 8 are aggressive. A Gleason Score of 5 or 6 shows a modestly aggressive disease, is reassuring to the doctor, and may be one of those cancers that can be observed without immediate treatment.
Finally, the PSA score has value in predicting aggressiveness and likelihood of recurrence. If the PSA score, at the time of original diagnosis, is less than 10, it helps less dangerous disease.
Thus, a low PSA combined with a low Gleason score, in the setting of minimal disease, indicate this is a cancer the patient and doctor should consider not treating. This special situation raises the possibility of avoiding the toxicity and invasiveness of therapy by a plan of active surveillance.
Active surveillance does not mean shaking the hand of the urologist and forgetting about the problem. It is not really ignoring the threat at all. Active surveillance requires the patient and doctor to commit to a specific plan to watch the cancer. This means a PSA and rectal exam every three months. If the PSA doubles in less than three years, treatment is required. A repeat prostate biopsy one year after the original diagnosis must be performed in order to confirm that more aggressive disease has not been missed. If the PSA rises, or the biopsy shows a higher Gleason score, then treatment of the cancer is required, using surgery, radiation and/or hormone manipulation.
“Good” prognosis prostate cancer is an opportunity to take a more measured, sophisticated path toward cancer therapy. It is not for every patient but preliminary research indicates that 30 – 50% of patients can delay therapy, and that the chance of dying from prostate cancer because of delay appears to be small, although the exact risk awaits the results of ongoing trials. Especially in the older population, or in patients with other medical problems, waiting to treat can have real benefit. It requires the decision that one can live with the knowledge they harbor a cancer and to commit to an observation plan. However, for many patients active surveillance offers the chance to avoid the side effects of invasive cancer therapy and maintain an extra measure of dignity and independence.
James C. Salwitz is an oncologist who blogs at Sunrise Rounds. | <urn:uuid:6587d4d0-d17a-427e-bd7d-20e7e4046432> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2012/11/ignore-prostate-cancer.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936459277.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074059-00139-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954744 | 1,197 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Let’s say a government is at war. Imagine further that a powerful company holds a patent on technology vital to the government’s ability to fight that war or protect its citizens. Wouldn’t you assume that the government would place national protection far above patent protection?
Of course you would.
And this is indeed what happened, for instance, in 1917, when the U.S. government overrode the broad airplane patent held by the Wright brothers’ powerful company as the nation prepared to enter World War I. I’ll come back to this shortly, but first let’s fast-forward to the troubled present. The contrast couldn’t be more striking.
Early on in the anthrax scare last October-a month into the proclaimed war on terrorism-it almost seemed the Bush administration cared more about upholding Bayer’s patent on the antibiotic Cipro (ciprofloxacin) than it did about safeguarding the public against bioterrorism.
With anthrax spores wreaking havoc from Florida to New York, shuttering offices in the nation’s capital, administration officials announced that although the government wanted more Cipro to combat anthrax, it is illegal to break a patent. Questioned on CNN about New York senator Charles Schumer’s prudent suggestion that Uncle Sam stockpile generic forms of the antibiotic from other manufacturers approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to provide them, U.S. secretary of health and human services Tommy Thompson whined, “It does not look like we have the legal authority to do so.”
Leaving aside the public health considerations, Thompson’s claim about the government’s lack of legal authority is utter nonsense. As many intellectual-property experts have since pointed out, the government would be on firm legal ground in overriding a company’s patent by mandating licensing in such a situation if it chose to. Patents, after all, are government-granted monopolies; in times of war or crisis, the government has broad powers, especially in national security matters.
In this regard, Secretary Thompson would do well to consider the government’s actions in World War I. Back then, the airplane was a relatively new technology. Armed with heavy Wall Street backing from Cornelius Vanderbilt and others, the Wright brothers’ company-then called Wright-Martin Aircraft (precursor to today’s Lockheed Martin)-held a virtual monopoly on the U.S. market. Recognizing that the Wrights’ patent was thwarting the nascent domestic aviation industry and threatening the nation’s ability to produce airplanes for the war, the federal government took bold action. At the urging of a young assistant secretary of the navy named Franklin D. Roosevelt, the feds mandated that the Wrights license their closely held airplane patent.
Among the results of this intervention was the Curtiss JN-4D, or “Jenny”-one of the most successful military aircraft of its day-manufactured by Curtiss Aeroplane. By the end of World War I, more than 6,000 Jennies had been built, and the vast majority of the approximately 9,000 American wartime-trained pilots learned to fly in these airplanes. Overriding the stranglehold of a broad patent in this case was the right thing for the government to do-both for the war effort and for the aviation industry.
This history lesson seems particularly pertinent in light of Secretary Thompson’s claim of helplessness before the almighty drug patent.
Let me say that Bayer deserves criticism as well, despite ultimately agreeing to lower Cipro’s price and despite its self-serving pledge to ramp up production to meet demand. This company sold $1 billion worth of Cipro in the United States last year and has two more years before its U.S. patent runs out-so it naturally sees control of the drug as vital to its bottom line. In this case, however, Bayer should have done the right thing and offered competitors some kind of limited license to manufacture the drug as long as a credible, proven threat remains afoot. Should, heaven forbid, a large-scale anthrax attack take place, the nation might need enough antibiotics to treat the entire population for an indefinite period- far beyond the 100 million tablets Bayer has pledged to manufacture. In that dire event, Bayer executives would certainly regret their self-interested insistence on being the only U.S. supplier.
But Bayer is a drug company. Distasteful or not when lives are potentially at stake, its managers must worry about profits. The same cannot be said, however, for government officials entrusted by citizens to protect public health.
We have not likely seen the end of even the current spate of bioterrorism. True, Secretary Thompson has encouraged the use of other antibiotics for anthrax treatment, removing further pressure from Bayer. But as important as the Bush administration clearly believes patents to be, it is wrong to treat these government-granted monopolies as sacrosanct.
Letting the intellectual-property community know that extraordinary times can call for extraordinary measures does little to damage the patent system. On the contrary, by inserting a sense of priority that places people above patents, the U.S. government strengthens the system in the long run. | <urn:uuid:34a3cdc1-3289-46f1-b8a8-3fad93b6f9ca> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.technologyreview.com/article/401326/protecting-people-above-patents/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463444.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00164-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942635 | 1,099 | 2.78125 | 3 |
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Bend of the River: Kansas City in the 19th Century
First in a monthly series of special sections of the Star on Kansas City in the 19th century. Focus on the earliest known European visits and settlements prior to the 1838 Town of Kansas, beginning with...
Bicentennial: 200 Years in Mid-America
Special section of the Kansas City Star about the history of the Kansas City area since 1776, with several articles and illustrations, starting with the Kansa Indians and later Fort Osage in 1808.
Conflicts and Contacts Between Native Americans and White Settlers, With Special Reference to Emporia and Lyon County, Kansas, 1854-1870
The article presents the clash of culture that happened between the Indians, particularly the Kansa Indians and the Sac and Fox tribes, and the settlers in Lyon County, Kansas in the mid- nineteenth century....
Eastern Beads, Western Applications
Article on the uses and meanings of wampum among Native American tribes of the Great Plains. Beginning with the wampum traditions of the northeast, the author traces the spread of wampum westward. He argues...
Fort de Cavagnial: Imperial France in Kansas, 1744-1764
The French presence in this area began early. This article details the history of Fort de Cavagnial built by the French in 1744 and located overlooking the village of the Kansa Indians on Salt Creek, in...
Historic Spots or Mile-Stones in the Progress of Wyandotte County, Kansas
Short description of the early history of the Kansa, or Kaw, Indians in Wyandotte County, Kansas in the early 1800s.
How Kansas City Got Its Name
Explanation of the origin of the name of Kansas City, taken from the name of the Kansas River, being located at that river's mouth. Also a story of Kansas City, Missouri, nearly being included as part...
Missouri's Aboriginal Inhabitants
Article about the history of the various Indian tribes of Missouri, including the Kansa Indians, Missouri Indians, and Delaware Indians, with description of their languages translated into English and...
Names of Kansas Rivers Reflect Some of the History Made on Their Banks
Article discussing the origins of the names of rivers in Kansas, including the Missouri River, from the word "Missouri," meaning "'town of large canoes' or 'wooden canoe people,'" taken from the Missouri...
Notes on Records from Early Christian Mission Writers
Article describes activities of Baptist, Methodist, and Catholic missionaries in the Kansas City area. Includes details of the life of Watomika, a Delaware Indian who later became a Jesuit priest (then...
Origin of Kansas Name
February 12, 1905
The city takes its name from the river bearing the same name. The word Kansas, in the Indian language, means smoky, and is the name given the river by the aborigines, who dwelt along its banks. The word...
Partie des Etats-Unis
Early map of Missouri and Illinois, apparently from a French atlas. Much of what is now eastern Kansas is also included, along with small sections of Kentucky and Tennessee. An early organization of Missouri...
The Emigrant Indians of Kansas: A Critical Bibliography
June 1, 1905
As the title suggests, this book includes not only a listing of resources about the Indians in Kansas but a helpful essay with background information. Reserves in Kansas were set aside for the following...
The Kansa Indians and the Census of 1843
Article about the changing population of the Kansa Indians, with estimates and censuses from 1702 to the 1840s, with demographic tables from the 1843 census.
The Rise and Fall of Indian Country, 1825-1855
The book details the relationship between Indians of the Plains area, white settlers, and the federal government. Local Indian tribes mentioned include: Kansa, Osage, Pawnee, Potawatomi, Shawnee and Wyandot,...
This Place Called Kansas
Description of the meanings and accepted version of the name of the Kansas River.
Treaty with the Kansa
One roll of microfilm of selected government documents about the June 3, 1805, treaty between the Kansa Nation of Indians and the United States government.
Up the River to Destiny
March 30, 2014
Biographical article describes the life of French explorer Etienne de Veniard, sieur de Bourgmont. Bourgmont's early travels in North America are covered. His interactions with Native American tribes such...
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Water and sanitation professionals work tirelessly to improve health, promote food security, and boost livelihoods. To further USAID’s knowledge sharing goals, the Water Office holds learning events that present solutions and challenges common to water programs. In Currents, we share the solutions discussed at the events and other forums. Email us at email@example.com if you would like your project to be considered for Global Waters.
Grand Challenge For Development Harnesses Technology To Improve Agricultural Water Use
Over 70 percent of the world’s water is used for growing and producing food. Experts estimate that by 2025, two-thirds of the world's population may be impacted by water shortages stemming from climate change and other environmental factors. These shortages will impact farmers’ abilities to produce enough food to eat, feed their families, and earn a living.
The USAID Water and Development Strategy calls for leveraging science and technology to promote efficient water use in agriculture. To this end, USAID has teamed up with the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) to find and harness more sustainable and scalable solutions to the global water crisis.
On September 2, 2013, at the opening session of World Water Week, the partners announced Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development. This $25 million challenge aims to identify and bring to scale promising new innovations that use existing water resources more efficiently, improve water capture and storage technology, and reduce salinity of existing resources to provide new sources of water for agricultural production.
The Grand Challenge is accepting applications until January 17, 2014 for technical and business model innovations with the power to address water challenges in the developing world. The founding partners will select up to 40 winners who will receive funding and acceleration support to scale up their business ventures.
Project Wet Foundation Promotes Hygiene In Latin American Schools
Sustainable behavior change is key to improving public health. The Project WET Foundation uses its expertise in water education to customize WASH education materials that facilitate behavior change in communities.
Using Project WET’s USAID-sponsored WASH education interventions in 15 African countries as a model, the U.S.-based nonprofit worked with UN HABITAT to develop human values-based WASH education in Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru. The materials were customized for local audiences through on-the-ground workshops and translated into Spanish. The curriculum was implemented using a train-the-trainer model and reached approximately 3,000 teachers and 100,000 students.
Evaluations showed 93 percent of teachers who used the educational materials saw an increase in the number of students who improved their hygiene habits and conserved water. Teachers also reported that students exhibited a greater understanding of water resources and showed more compassion and care for the environment.
Small demonstration projects to show how WASH education can empower meaningful local action were also part of the curriculum. Teachers from the pilot countries submitted applications to carry out action projects via a Spanish-language Internet educators’ portal, and projects in Bolivia and El Salvador were selected. In El Salvador, a school director who was trained to use Project WET’s WASH education materials used the grant to upgrade the school’s food preparation, sanitation, and drinking water facilities. Project WET is currently applying their model to a similar WASH and solid waste management education program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
To learn more, visit the Project WET website.
Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group Establishes Freshwater Conservation Guidelines
Water, livelihoods, and the environment are intimately related. In places like sub-Saharan Africa, where 40 percent of the population lacks access to improved drinking water sources, holistic approaches that strengthen the link between freshwater conservation and WASH initiatives are needed to improve access to potable water, reduce poverty, and promote green growth.
Recognizing this need, two members of the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group (ABCG), Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy, led the charge along with non-governmental organizations, academics, USAID, and other donors to produce “Freshwater Conservation and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Integration Guidelines: A Framework for Implementation in sub-Saharan Africa”.
Many WASH and conservation practitioners contributed to the guidelines’ development and technical review, including Absolute Options, African Wildlife Foundation, Catholic Relief Services, Conservation International, FHI360, Global Environment & Technology Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resource Defense Council, Millennium Water Alliance, USAID, U.S. Forestry Service, Water for People, WASH Advocates, Wetlands International, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Winrock International, World Vision, and World Wildlife Fund.
The guidelines provide direction to health, development, and conservation professionals in sub-Saharan Africa on how to plan, coordinate, develop, and achieve mutually supported WASH and freshwater conservation outcomes. The guidelines draw on the evidence base and lessons learned from integrated projects referenced in the 2012 ABCG publication, "Linking Biodiversity Conservation and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: Experiences from sub-Saharan Africa” and a workshop held in May 2013 to improve the understanding of the value of integrated programs and gather inputs.
The guidelines are available on ABGC’s website.
Last updated: January 07, 2014 | <urn:uuid:1564de4e-041d-4baf-8bcd-85cc77176077> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.usaid.gov/global-waters/january-2014/currents | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936464840.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074104-00209-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918158 | 1,092 | 2.703125 | 3 |
What Lurks Beneath the Central Andes?
- 8:46 am |
Geology is full of questions — that is why it is such a vibrant science. There are so many questions about how the processes that make and destroy rocks on this planet work and, in many cases, we’ve only scratched the surface (literally and figuratively). Being a volcanologist/petrologist, I am especially interested in questions about the source of magma and where it is stored in the crust — tricky things to quantify because all our evidence is circumstantial.
We have a good idea of the general sources of magma in different tectonic settings:
- At mid-ocean ridges and hotspots, magma is formed by upwelling mantle material that melts due to dropping pressure (adiabatic melting)
- At subduction zones (like the Andes), magma is formed by dehydration of the oceanic crust as it slides underneath the continental place, thus lowering the melting point of the mantle above the slab by addition of water (flux melting)
Once those magmas move away from the source zones into the crust — oceanic or continental — what happens is still hotly debated. We know through compositional investigations of erupted lavas that most magma interacts with the crust in some way — digesting and incorporating crust or stalling in the crust to cool and crystallize, thus changing its composition. We also know that magmas can mix, thus changing their composition. Understanding this evolution is tricky, though. Like I said, much of our evidence is circumstantial: What are the compositions of the magma and minerals in the magma recording about these events? We need to look at the elemental and isotopic compositions and unravel the story that they record. We have the book and pages, but we don’t quite know what order the pages should fall in and we definitely don’t see the book being written. You go to any geologic meeting and you’ll quickly see that the how, where, and how long of these processes is still being investigated on all fronts.
One way we can try to get a peek at the author of magma at work is through geophysical investigations of the crust. Again, we’re not truly sticking our head in the studio to see the words being written, but we can collect data and model what the state of things inside might be. Take that information and the circumstantial evidence from the composition of magma/crystals, and we can be start to put the book together in the proper order and read the evolution of the magma in the crust.
A recent study by Rodrigo del Potro and others in Geophysical Research Letters looks at the state of the crust in the Central Andes of Chile and Bolivia. In this study, del Potro and others took new geophysical data (specifically, gravity measurement – more on that below) about the state of the crust underneath the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex (APVC, roughly 21-24ºS) and combined it with other geologic evidence to model where magma is being stored in the middle Andean crust (15-45 km). The continental crust in this part of the Andes is especially thick, upwards of 70 km thick. For comparison, the continental crust in the Cascades of North America is closer to 35 km thick, so Andean crust is double that thickness. So, in crust that thick, you might wonder where — and in what state — is all the magma that is the source of the abundant Andean volcanoes. Using these new data, del Potro and others try to answer that question. The long-and-short is that there is a lot of melt in the crust and some of the topography of the surface of that magma body correlates with known uplift at Uturuncu (see below), and some doesn’t correlate with any known uplift).
Before everyone gets all uppity about giant bodies of magma in the crust, we have already known that there has to be a lot of magma in the APVC. The calderas within the region have produced over 12,000 km3 of volcanic material over the last ~23 million years. That is a lot of magma, much of it in the form of giant ash flow sheets (ignimbrites). Those giant eruptions (like those at La Pacana) have waned in the past few million years, but this doesn’t mean that there isn’t active volcanism in the APVC today — volcanoes like Ollagüe, Lascar, and San Pedro all lie in or near the APVC. Unlike giant ignimbrites, these typical composite volcanoes don’t need huge storage tanks of magma as they erupt much smaller volumes. So, finding a large body of partially molten material in the middle crust is fascinating because it means that magma might reside in the crust for millions of years after large eruptions occur, rather than being ephemeral reservoirs that are completely drained (however, the storage of magma in the upper crust, < 10 km, might be where you get ephemeral bodies of magma that get drained).
Del Potro and others use gravity surveys to look at the structure of the crust — simply put, gravity measurements can be used to model the density of the crust at certain depths. In the case of the Altiplano-Puna Magma Body (APMB), the crust is 150 kg/m3 less dense than the rest of the crust starting at ~14-20 km below the surface. This deficiency could be explained a number of ways, including crystallized granite or thermal expansion, but in both of those cases, the data doesn’t fit the model. However, if the crust is modeled as a mix of solid, crystallizing dacite and 25% dacite magma, then the density contrast can be explained. This is very much in line with the ideas of “crystal mushes“, where cooling magma bodies are a mix of crystals and liquid magma and at proportions like 25% magma to 75% crystals, it would likely behave rigidly, rather than as a liquid. So, this leads to the question: how do this magma body produce eruptions?
Well, even when the magma body is dominantly solid, it is still hotter and wetter than the surrounding crust, so that means it is buoyant. It will rise through the crust due to the density difference with the crust and while on the way up, Del Potro and others suggest that the magma continues to crystallize and mix, leaving crystals behind so the top of that rising body of magma becomes more enriched in the buoyant melt (see above). It also becomes more evolved — that is, more silica rich — so a dacite magma can become a rhyolite, which is the type of magma found in many of the large caldera-related ash flow tuff deposits in the APVC. Across the APMB, there are 6 “domes” of lower density (see below) that have been identified in the gravity data and these might represent areas of rising magma. The domes are big, too, 12-20 km in diameter and spaced about 25-40 km apart rising from the ~14 km surface of the APMB.
Now, before you think that these are the sources of all those big calderas and volcanoes across the APVC, one interesting finding in Del Potro and others is that most of these domes don’t correlate with any known volcanic edifice (see above). There is one that is broadly correlative to the rapid Uturuncu inflation, but that is about it. The significance of the fact that these domes aren’t at the roots of known volcanoes is still unknown but it does make for some potentially interesting speculation about how magma might be transported from that hot zone in the middle crust to the volcanoes along the APVC.
So, here we have an example of looking for the printing press, so to speak, of all the magmas across the APVC. Questions remains, as they always do in geology, but this study shows that the more we can combine these different sets of data, the more we can make a viable model for what is going on depth beneath our feet.
Del Potro, R., Díez, M., Blundy, J., Camacho, A.G., and Gottsmann, J., 2013, Diapiric ascent of silicic magma beneath the Bolivian Altiplano: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 40, no. 10, p. 2044–2048, doi: 10.1002/grl.50493.
Sparks, R.S.J., Folkes, C.B., Humphreys, M.C.S., Barfod, D.N., Clavero, J., Sunagua, M.C., McNutt, S.R., and Pritchard, M.E., 2008, Uturuncu volcano, Bolivia: Volcanic unrest due to mid-crustal magma intrusion: American Journal of Science, v. 308, no. 6, p. 727–769, doi: 10.2475/06.2008.01. | <urn:uuid:be3aba0c-b31a-46b9-a46c-f8de3eea2201> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.wired.com/2013/07/what-lurks-beneath-the-central-andes-volcanoes-magma/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461848.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00222-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934715 | 1,961 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Chinua Achebe breaks his silence on the conflict that shattered his homeland, writes Noo Saro-Wiwa.
THERE WAS A COUNTRY: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF BIAFRA by Chinua Achebe (Allen Lane)
No writer is better placed than Chinua Achebe to tell the story of the Nigerian-Biafran War from a cultural and political perspective. Yet, apart from an interview with Transition magazine in 1968 and a book of Biafran poems, Nigeria’s most eminent novelist has kept a literary silence about the civil war in which he played a prominent role — until now. In his engrossing new memoir There Was A Country, Achebe, now 81, finally speaks about his life during the conflict that nearly tore Nigeria apart in the late Sixties.
In many ways, the early part of Achebe’s life mirrors the story of early Nigeria. Nicknamed “Dictionary”, Achebe was a gifted Igbo student and enthusiastic reader, a member of the “lucky generation” of young students who rubbed shoulders at top institutions under the tutelage of Oxbridge colonials. They were effortlessly absorbed into the media, industry and civil service, serving a Nigeria driven by optimism on its way to freedom from British rule.
By independence in 1960, Igbo people dominated commerce and the public sector in a land where the three biggest ethnic groups (the Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo) were jostling for supremacy. Achebe attributes Igbo domination to their self-confidence, inherent democratic values and adaptability, which were suited to Nigeria’s modernising economy. But many Nigerians resented it and Achebe admits that the Igbo could be cocky, brash and materialistic, although he rejects the popular suspicion that there was a pan-Igbo agenda to control Nigeria — his people have too strong an “individualistic ethic”.
Six years after independence, corruption and electoral rigging preceded a military coup that overthrew Nigeria’s first prime minister, the Muslim northerner Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Although most of the coup plotters were Igbo, Achebe disputes that it was an “Igbo” coup, partly on the basis that its leader, Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu, had grown up in the north and was Igbo in name only. Nevertheless, the murder of Nigeria’s northern leaders led to pogroms in which 30 000 Igbos living in the north were killed. The bloodshed culminated in General Emeka Ojukwu’s declaration in 1967 that the Igbos’ southeastern region would secede from a country in which his people “felt unwanted”.
Fearing the disintegration of Nigeria, the government blocked the secession with military force. A United Kingdom government keen to protect its oil interests backed it.
Profoundly disappointed by this turn of events, Achebe left his job at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in Lagos and returned with his family to the southeast, now calling itself the Republic of Biafra. The Nigerian army launched a three-pronged attack to subdue the Biafrans, who fought back assiduously despite being outresourced.
Achebe describes a wartime spirit that inspired Biafran engineers to build army tanks out of reinforced Range Rovers and invent the infamous ogbunigwe (bucket bomb) with devastating effect. Although he abhors violence, Achebe cites these examples as evidence of the quality of the Nigerian people and he laments the corruption that strangled such ingenuity.
In the middle chapters memoir gives way to largely neutral historical analysis in which Achebe cites a range of voices, media reports and books. There are interesting insights into the war’s two central players: Biafra’s leader, Ojukwu, and Nigerian President General Yakubu Gowon, both Sandhurst-trained young men. Rivalries between them and within their teams “confounded political science models”. Possessing little administrative experience, the two men pursued ego-driven policies and missed opportunities to end the conflict sooner. Achebe cites Biafran diplomat Raph Uwechue, who accused Ojukwu of choosing ideology over pragmatism when he rejected relief supplies from the British.
In the following chapters Achebe’s personal story re-emerges. Despite the war he lived a remarkably productive life. Driven by his belief in the political obligations of the writer, he became Biafra’s international envoy, promoting the cause in Canada, Europe and Senegal.
He set up a publishing company with his close friend, Chris Okigbo, and became Biafra’s communications minister, writing a manifesto for the republic. He describes being part of an intellectual elite who came together to recreate a Biafran microcosm of Nigeria’s early spirit, their ideals drawn from a mix of traditional Igbo philosophy, United States-style liberalism and socialism.
As the federal army closed in, Achebe and his family moved from town to town before settling in his father’s village. The atrocities proved inescapable: at a market, Achebe’s wife, Christie, saw a bomb split a pregnant woman in two.
Achebe relays such horrors — including the deaths of his mother and Okigbo — with stoic brevity; his strongest expressions of sorrow are his poems, such as the famous Refugee Mother and Child. Reproduced from his 1971 Biafran poetry book Beware, Soul Brother, these verses are scattered between chapters, offering affecting interludes.
As the conflict dragged on, Biafra buckled under a blockade so brutal that it provoked an international outcry: mass starvation, kwashiorkor and mental illness devastated the Igbo landscape where vultures, those “avian prognosticators of death”, circled overhead.
Biafra was the world’s first properly televised conflict and the horrors flickering on their screens appalled millions across the world. People such as Joan Baez, John Lennon, Martin Luther King and Kurt Vonnegut galvanised international responses to the tragedy in an age before “Africa fatigue” had set in. By the time hostilities ended in 1970 three million Biafrans had died, in contrast to 100 000 casualties on the federal side. Igbos were not mere casualties of war, Achebe insists, but victims of calculated genocide.
Ojukwu, meanwhile, escaped to live in exile in Côte d’Ivoire, inviting accusations of cowardice. Achebe rationalises this move on the basis that if the Biafran leader had stayed in Nigeria, Gowon would have been less magnanimous and conciliatory towards Igbos after the war.
Igbos were reintegrated into Nigerian society, but still faced economic discrimination. Achebe offers an excerpt from an interview in which Gowon tries to justify the crippling £20 flat fee given to every Biafran wanting to convert their Biafran currency back to the Nigerian naira.
This sense of persecution still persists today: Achebe believes that Igbo people are the engine of Nigeria’s advancement, stifled by a corrupt elite that prefers power and mediocrity to meritocracy. Igbo ostracisation, he says, is “one of the main reasons for the country’s continued backwardness”. Some might call this supremacism, but Achebe is ultimately a Nigerian patriot who sympathises with ordinary Igbos, rather than any broad Igbo power structure.
The final chapter is an exhortation to better governance in which he examines corruption, ethnic bigotry, state failure and the steps Nigeria must take to rehabilitate itself.
This prescriptive wish list reminds us of the gap between theory and practice in Nigerian politics; it makes one pine for the likes of Achebe to govern. But sadly, he is not writing a manifesto; instead, we have in There Was A Country an elegy from a master storyteller who has witnessed the undulating fortunes of a nation that — unlike young “Dictionary” — has yet to fulfil its potential. — © Guardian News & Media 2012
Noo Saro-Wiwa’s Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria is published by Granta | <urn:uuid:154f3fdf-26cb-4006-a374-251168656d07> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://mg.co.za/article/2012-11-02-00-moving-account-of-a-nation-at-war-with-itself | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463956.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00201-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951079 | 1,789 | 2.6875 | 3 |
- source: Family History Library Catalog
Blantyre is a civil parish in South Lanarkshire with a population of about 17,500 in 2001, the most recent census available. It is located between Hamilton on the east and East Kilbride on the west, 8.5 miles southeast of central Glasgow. It is made up of a number of small communties, including High Blantyre and Low Blantyre. Area: 6.1 sq. miles (16km2)
Like many of the surrounding parishes, Blantyre was dependent on the industries of cotton milling and coal mining. Scotland's worst mining disaster took place at the High Blantyre pit in 1877 when 207 men were killed. A further serious mining accident occurred two years later.
Blantyre is best known as the birthplace of David Livingstone (1813-1873), the missionary and physician who spent many years exploring central and eastern Africa. He was the first European to see (and name) the Victoria Falls. His former house is now a museum which is at the end of Station Road in Blantyre, on the banks of the River Clyde. Near the Livingstone Museum is Bothwell Castle, dating from the thirteenth century.
For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Blantyre. and also the description in Scottish Places
Sources for Old Parish Registers Records, Vital Records and Censuses
- Scotland's People This is a pay website providing vital statistics and census data for all of Scotland with original images. There is a description at Scotland under Genealogical Resources.
Notes for Lanarkshire
- GENUKI has a list of references for Lanarkshire. Some of these may be superseded by more modern material.
- FreeCen index includes the whole of Lanarkshire for 1841 and a substantial section for 1851. The Genealogical Society of Utah sponsored the collection of 1881 census records and these will be found at FamilySearch. A search of all the censuses for Scotland may be done for a fee at Scotland's People
- ’’Lanarkshire Monumental Inscriptions: Pre 1855 Inscriptions and maps from the burial grounds of the Upper (southern) Ward of South Lanarkshire’’. Edited by Sheila A Scott, M.A. Book available through both of the above family history societies or from the original publisher: The Scottish Genealogical Society.
- The Blantyre Parish Registers for the Church of Scotland provide information on baptisms (1677-1827 and 1820-1854), marriages (1679-1810 and 1837-1854) and burials (1738-1785 and 1788-1819). See the FamilySearch Wiki article on Blantyre for other church denominations.
Further Sources of Reference
Please note and respect the copyright warnings on these websites.
- Scottish Places article on the parish of Blantyre. The tabs of the right provide more information, and comparative maps.
- The FamilySearch Wiki article on Blantyre provides direct reference to FamilySearch holdings on many topics with respect to the parish.
- The National Library of Scotland have a website devoted to maps from the 1600s right up to the present. Comparisons of modern-day and old maps of the same place can be made. From the home page click on "Find by place" and then follow the instructions on the next page. Once you are viewing the place you want, use the slider <----> at the top of the map to compare the layout of roads and the place names of smaller areas, perhaps even farms, with the landscape today. The website takes some getting used to. The One-inch 2nd edition, Scotland, 1898-1904 OS is a series of maps with the parishes delineated. Each of these maps cover an area of 18 x 24 miles and will zoom to comfortable reading size with a couple of mouse clicks on the map itself. Unfortunately, they are not geo-referenced, and it is necessary to go to the OS One Inch 1885-1900 series to locate places by latitude and longitude.
- The Statistical Accounts for Scotland In the 1790s and again in the 1830s, the ministers of the all the parishes of the Church of Scotland were asked to provide a description of their parish to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The original account request included 160 questions to be answered. These accounts are available in print in 20 volumes and are also online where it is freely available to browse. The browsing portal is below the viewing area of most computer screens. Scroll down to "For non-subscribers" and click on "Browse scanned pages". This brings you to another page on which one can enter the name of the parish in which you are interested.
- Excerpts from The Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885 are provided by Scottish Places. Selections from Groome and other gazetteers from the 19th century are also found on GENUKI. | <urn:uuid:5f759790-3ef4-4b68-9670-8f1b1aeb1c7e> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Place:Blantyre%2C_Lanarkshire%2C_Scotland | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461216.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00157-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92866 | 1,084 | 2.625 | 3 |
Seeing yellow over color printer tracking devices
A series of encodings on printouts from color laser printers to discourage counterfeiting? At first, the idea sounds like the urban legend from a couple of decades ago that claimed you could hear Satanic messages when you play vinyl records backwards. Yet the evidence from the Electronic Frontier Foundation is that the encodings are embedded in color printers from all major manufacturers. Moreover, the issues raised by the practice have caused Free Software Foundation director Benjamin Mako Hill and other members of the Computing Culture group at the MIT Media Lab to begin the Seeing Yellow campaign to stop the practice.
The campaign takes its name from the nature of the encoding, which takes the form of yellow dots printed across the entire page of a printout. The dots are invisible to the unaided eye, but can be seen by placing an intense blue LED light behind a printout in a darkened room. Alternatively, the dots can be seen in a scanned copy of a printout with a resolution of at least 600dpi. They become even clearer when the scanned copy is opened in a graphics program like the GIMP, and only the blue channel is visible (Dialogues -> Channels). However, for the most part, the public can only guess what information is carried by the yellow dots.
In fact, except for Toshiba, whose documentation mentions an unspecified tracking device for printouts, most manufacturers do nothing to make consumers aware that their printouts can be tracked.
In addition to the inability to consent to being monitored, the situation also raises issues about privacy and the right to anonymity. Pointing out that the eighteenth century Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 letters that advocated ratification of the American Constitution, were originally published anonymously, Hill says, "It's perfectly legitimate for people to want communicate anonymously. Anonymity is absolutely essential to democracy. The [Federalist Papers] are an example of how anonymous communication can lead to some of the most important political changes."
Hill goes on to note, that, ironically, that people who have written to the campaign insisting that the innocent have nothing to worry about take good care to remain anonymous themselves. Even Hewlett-Packard employees responding to privacy concerns, he says, sign their emails not with their names, but simply with "Privacy." "It's funny," Hill says, "But people are choosing to remain anonymous while telling me that people shouldn't do that."
The immediate impetus for the campaign was a report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that one man who contacted his printer manufacturer for information about how to turn the tracking device off soon found himself being questioned by the U.S. Secret Service. By contrast, Hill says, "We want it to be perfectly normal to complain about the lack of anonymity."
Following the dots
How long has this forensic technology been used? What information is being collected? The truth is that almost nothing is known about the practice. What is known has emerged in bits and pieces.
The first indication of the practice seems to have been an article by Wilbert de Vries in PC World published in October 2004, entitled, "Dutch track counterfeits via printer serial numbers." In the article, de Vries quotes a representative of Canon Europe as saying, "Canon works closely with the relevant national and international authorities to ensure that the opportunities for its products to be misused are minimized," and mentions the existence of the yellow dots.
A month later, PC World published a similar article by Jason Tuohey entitled "Government Uses Color Laser Printer Technology to Track Documents" that covered much the same ground, except in the United States and quoted a Xerox representative, who said that the tracking mechanism was designed for use against counterfeiters. The same article quoted Lorelei Pagano, a counterfeiting specialist with the U.S. Secret Service, who said that the mechanism was used only in criminal investigations, and pointed out that companies have never informed consumers that it was being used.
Nor is it public knowledge whether other tracking devices may be used on printers. However, a site for the Purdue Sensor and Printer Forensics project does clearly indicate that research is being done into other methods of tracking both laser and inkjet printers, as well as digital cameras and scanners. Papers on the Purdue site show that the methods being researched include unique characteristics of various devices, including dad pixels and image noise. Research is also being done into methods for hiding data in halftone documents. Whether any of these methods are or will be implemented is unknown.
The Electronics Frontier Foundation did submit a Freedom of Information request to the U.S. Secret Service in December 2005 asking for more details about the practice, but is still waiting for a reply.
Even the printer manufacturers themselves seem to know little about the practice. Hill reports that most representatives of printer manufacturers are completely unaware of it, which suggests that the decision to incorporate the technology was made at the highest levels of each company.
Not only that, but, if Hewlett-Packard is typical, even the manufacturers know little about the details. When blogger John Whelan contacted HP about the issue, he was told by a company representative that the chips used for the encoding of the yellow dots were outsourced to another company that HP employees could not read them. Whelan's contact also claimed that the devices were secure against misuse because of this secrecy.
Most of what is known comes from the investigative efforts of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The foundation's Web site includes a list of printers whose printouts have been examined, to have the yellow dots. However, this information is tentative. As the preface to the list suggests, the dots, when found, may be the result of dithering techniques or a poorly calibrated printer. Conversely, not finding the dots does not rule out the use of other identification techniques. Still, the foundation is also encouraging supporters to do their own testing and send the results.
In addition, the foundation has managed to partly decipher the dots on a Xerox Docucolor print out. As might be expected, the arrangement of the dots includes the printer serial number in binary-coded decimal, as well as the date and time that the page was printed. Presumably, other manufacturers and possibly other Xerox printers give the same information, but since encoding is not uniform, nobody knows for sure.
Early campaign results
Launched less than ten days ago, the Seeing Yellow campaign has attracted considerable interest. The first day that the site was up, it received 15,000 hits, and, according to Hill, that number has remained steady. In addition, at the time of writing, almost 12,000 people had contacted their printer manufacturer about the issue and clicked the counter on the site keeping track of such actions.
The campaign has also motivated some people to try to return their color laser printers. Others have told resellers that they would buy the first printer that included a guarantee that it did not include such tracking devices.
So far, Hill has heard of no one who has been able to hack their printer to remove the mechanism that prints the yellow dots (which would be difficult, since none of the public know what it is). He has heard reports that some users are trying to find ways to add random dots to make the encoding useless, but, given that more than one encoding seems to be used, this effort is likely to have limited success at best.
Hill acknowledges that workarounds exist. As some of his correspondents have suggested, users could print in black and white, and only print in color when they don't care whether they are anonymous. However, Hill disagrees with the idea of settling for such workarounds for the dots.
"I think that the answer is to turn them off altogether, and that counter-measures are not enough," he says. "But the worst thing to me is that there are people who think they are anonymous when they print in color -- and they're not."
Whether the campaign will be successful in removing tracking measures from color laser printers is still anybody's guess. But for now, the campaign is clearly succeeding in its first step by making sure that people know as much about the issue as there is to know.
Bruce Byfield is a computer journalist who writes regularly for Datamation, Linux.com and Linux Journal
Bruce Byfield (nanday)
- High-Availability Storage with HA-LVM
- DNSMasq, the Pint-Sized Super Dæmon!
- March 2015 Issue of Linux Journal: System Administration
- Localhost DNS Cache
- Real-Time Rogue Wireless Access Point Detection with the Raspberry Pi
- Days Between Dates: the Counting
- The Usability of GNOME
- PostgreSQL, the NoSQL Database
- Linux for Astronomers
- You're the Boss with UBOS | <urn:uuid:a335a7c7-bcde-4ff6-9a16-862ed6feaa88> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000247 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463444.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00164-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969256 | 1,797 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Supplements: To Take or Not to Take, That Is the Question
Around 400 BC, the celebrated Greek physician Hippocrates offered some advice about diet and health. He declared, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." The growing number of Americans who turn to supplements to make up for a poor diet ought to pay attention to those words of wisdom. Each day, millions of adults in the United States take high doses of vitamins and minerals with hopes of feeling better, getting sick less often, and living longer. For years, physicians told consumers that, at worst, they were just wasting their money. But now, the word is to be careful—because high doses of certain vitamins and minerals may actually increase the risk of disease.
Dietary Supplements 101As you probably already know, we need vitamins—by far the most popular choice of supplement—to live (that is, they are ‘vital’ to our survival). The body cannot make them on its own, so we must get vitamins from our diet. Similarly, we need minerals like iron and calcium to function, and must rely on outside sources to meet our requirements. (Other supplements, such as herbs, are a whole other story.) Although supplements are a good idea in certain cases (such as for pregnant women, the elderly, and vegetarians), experts agree the best way for you to get the nutrients you need is by eating a well-balanced, healthful diet .
Too Much of a Good ThingOne hundred years ago, scientists began to identify the nutrients in foods that we need to avoid getting deficiency diseases like beriberi and rickets . With attention being given to the benefits of vitamins and minerals, it’s no wonder that many of us choose to take supplements. Problems arise, however, when people take individual vitamins or minerals in excessive amounts, rather than eat a nutritious diet. Use the following chart as a guide:
Supplements: Recommended Intake Levels of Some Supplements and Known Risks Associated With Excessive Amounts
|Vitamin or Mineral||Why You Need It||Recommended Dose Per Day (for adults, ages 19-50)||Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)||What Happens if You Take Too Many Vitamins||Good Food Sources|
|Vitamin A||Vision, growth, and immune function||900 micrograms (µg) for men , 700 µg for women)||3,000 µg||Too much may cause hair loss, nausea, and vomiting, and may increase the risk of bone fracture. Very high intakes can cause liver disease and fetal malformations.||Preformed vitamin A sources include fortified cereal, eggs, and dairy products; Provitamin A carotenoids (like beta-carotene), found in deep orange and dark green fruits and vegetables, such as unskinned sweet potatoes|
|Vitamin B6||Protein metabolism, neurotransmitter formation, red blood cell function, and hormone function||1.3 milligrams (mg)||100 mg||If taken at very high doses, may result in painful neurologic symptoms and difficulty walking.||Fortified cereals, beans, meat, poultry, fish, and some fruits and vegetables|
|Folic acid (folate)||DNA metabolism as well as the metabolism of several important amino acids||400 µg||1,000 µg||High doses, while safe in themselves, may mask symptoms of, the rare disease, pernicious anemia allowing it to progress unchecked.||Fruits and vegetables, fortified grain foods|
|Niacin||Necessary for energy metabolism||16 mg for men, 14 mg for women||35 mg||In doses fifty times higher than the tolerable upper intake level, can damage the liver and cause severe gastrointestinal problems.||Meat, poultry, fish, fortified cereals, legumes, milk, and seeds|
|Vitamin C||It is required for the synthesis of collagen and the neurotransmitter norepinephrine||90 mg for men, 75 mg for women||2,000 mg||Generally safe, but at high doses can cause diarrhea and might increase risk of urinary tract stones.||Citrus fruits|
|Vitamin D||It helps to form and maintain strong bones, plus is needed to maintain blood levels of calcium and phosphorus||15 µg||100 µg||Continuous very high intakes might lead to damage to the heart, blood vessels and kidneys due to calcification.||Fatty fish (herring, salmon, sardines), eggs from hens that have been fed vitamin D, and fortified milk; exposure to sunlight provides another important source|
|Iron||An essential component of hundreds of proteins involved in the transport and storage of oxygen||8 mg for men, 18 mg for women||45 mg||Can poison a child, causing nausea, vomiting, lethargy, fever, difficulty breathing, coma, and even death; in adults excess iron is theorized to increase risk of heart disease.||Lean red meats, shellfish, legumes, dried fruit, and green leafy vegetables (Note: iron from non-meat sources is best absorbed when vitamin C is also present)|
|Selenium||Necessary for the function of numerous enzymes||55 µg||400 µg||Toxic effects of overdosage include hair and nail brittleness and loss, gastrointestinal disturbances, skin rashes, fatigue, irritability, and nervous system abnormalities.||Organ meats, seafood, and grains|
The Bottom LineWhile it may be promising, the evidence so far linking supplements with a reduced risk of chronic disease is much less convincing than most people realize. What is clear is just how easy it is to overdose on certain supplements. Also, many supplements may interact with medications you currently take. Therefore, your best bet is to get most of the nutrients you need from the foods you eat. For a healthful diet, be sure to include lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains (like whole wheat bread and brown rice), unsaturated fats (found in nuts, avocados, and oils), and low-fat dairy products.If you do take supplements, keep the following in mind:
- A multivitamin cannot provide adequate calcium, and for this reason many people could benefit from a separate calcium supplement.
- Be wary of unfounded medical claims for dietary supplements.
- Talk to your doctor about all supplements you take, including concentrations and amounts.
- Keep supplements out of the reach of children.
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements
United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service
Dietitians of Canada
Health Canada Food and Nutrition
Folate. Office of Dietary Supplements website. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/folate-HealthProfessional. Updated December 14, 2012. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Iron. Office of Dietary Supplements website. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron-HealthProfessional. Updated August 24, 2007. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Niacin. Linus Pauling Institute Oregon State University website. Available at: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/vitamins/niacin. Updated July 2013. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Selenium. Office of Dietary Supplements website. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional. Updated July 2, 2013. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Vitamin A. Office of Dietary Supplements website. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Vitamina-HealthProfessional. Updated June 5, 2013. Accessed April 2, 2014..
Vitamin B3. EBSCO Natural and Alternative Treatments website. EBSCO Health Library website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/healthLibrary. Updated August 22, 2013. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Vitamin B6. Office of Dietary Supplements website. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional. Updated September 15, 2013. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Vitamin C. Office of Dietary Supplements website. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional. Updated June 5, 2013. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Vitamin D. Office of Dietary Supplements website. Available at: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind-HealthProfessional. Updated June 24, 2011. Accessed April 2, 2014.
Vitamin supplementation for cardiovascular disease prevention. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated March 7, 2014. Accessed April 2, 2014.
- Reviewer: Michael Woods, MD
- Review Date: 04/2014
- Update Date: 04/02/2014 | <urn:uuid:09a062f6-84a2-4aa4-9acc-1a1f8dbb6279> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.beliefnet.com/healthandhealing/content/41423/Supplements-To-Take-or-Not-to-Take-That-Is-the-Question.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936469305.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074109-00165-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.882496 | 1,877 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Germany Current Education Issues and Outlook for the Future
Sources: The Library of Congress Country Studies; CIA World Factbook
Germany's system of education faces a number of challenges, among them a surplus of teachers in a period of declining birth rates. A chief problem is reconciling the tradition of Land responsibility for education, which has resulted in a variety of school types, programs, and standards, with the need for a uniform national system. This is the central problem concerning whether or how to integrate the education systems of the new Länder with those of the old Länder . Such an integration will entail deciding whether to increase the number of years of schooling by one year for eastern Germans or to reduce the thirteen years of schooling for western Germans to twelve. It will also mean deciding on whether to introduce a postsecondary vocational qualifying examination (Fachabitur ) in the new Länder to mirror the one that has existed in the former FRG since the 1970s. Other unresolved issues relate to such questions as educational standards, qualifications, and the mutual recognition of qualifying examinations and diplomas. The diversity resulting from a reluctance to impose the same standard norms and diplomas in all Länder , in contrast to France and many other European countries, is so extreme that some observers think it may hinder the mobility of students and teachers within Germany and the larger Europe.
Unification has also thrown into sharp focus the ongoing debate about the weaknesses of the university system in the former FRG. Many West German universities are overcrowded, understaffed, underequipped, and underfinanced. Frequently criticized are the length and structure of degree courses, the excessive length of studies, the high number of long-term students, and the disturbingly high number of dropouts who leave higher education without graduating. Some of these problems result from Germany's success in expanding access to secondary education. About 34 percent of all students graduated with the Abitur in 1990, compared with only 11 percent in 1970.
Critics charge that many students who fail to complete their university studies may not have been well educated. A 1994 study cast serious doubt on the assumption that passing the Abitur is adequate preparation for study at a university. It found that almost one-third of those who had passed the examination failed to complete their coursework at institutions of higher education and that the number of dropouts had quadrupled from 14,000 in the mid-1970s to 60,000 two decades later. The study also found that on average, dropouts left the university after three years, or six semesters, that women had a higher dropout rate than men, and that the highest dropout rate was in liberal arts, formerly the core of university studies.
Students cited a lack of correlation between curriculum content and career goals as one reason for breaking off their studies. One out of three students also reported feeling unprepared for higher education. Other reasons listed were the limited opportunities in the labor market, overcrowding, anonymity (impersonality), a lack of mentors, and the poor quality of teaching. Financial reasons also were mentioned more often than they had been in the mid-1970s.
As remedies, some advocate establishing a better balance between pure and applied research and teaching, making a distinction between first-degree courses offering training for a profession and research-oriented postgraduate courses, and substituting well-defined curricula for the existing uncoordinated requirements. Delegating a larger share of teaching to a new breed of middle-rank lecturers has also been recommended.
* * *
The best and most comprehensive historical and comparative account of German social policy, although published in 1988, is a nearly book-length chapter by Jens Alber in Growth to Limits (Vol. 2), edited by Peter Flora. Peter J. Katzenstein also provides a good introduction to German social policy in Policy and Politics in West Germany . Stephan Leibfried is the author of valuable articles on various aspects of German social policy, as is Arnold J. Heidenheimer. Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman have written on family and child care policies.
Analyses in English of recent developments regarding specific programs after unification are regrettably rare. An exception is "Social Policy: One State, Two-Tier Welfare" by Steen Mangen. A new British periodical, Journal of European Social Policy , publishes research findings in English and is beginning to fill the gap in this area. Examples of the journal's articles include Winifried Schmähl's article on the 1992 reform of public pensions; Wolfgang Voges and Götz Rohwer's very useful article on social assistance; Kirsten Scheiwe's report on poverty risks of mothers in Belgium, Germany, and Britain; and Rudolph Bauer's analysis of voluntary welfare associations in Germany and the United States.
The literature on the German health care system in English is extensive. Written for readers in the United States and dating from 1993, Richard A. Knox's Germany: One Nation with Health Care for All is an excellent discussion of the system's components. A more recent publication is Ullrich K. Hoffmeyer's long article "The Health Care System in Germany." It includes a discussion of the Health Care Structural Reform Act of 1993. Other useful sources are John K. Iglehart's articles in the New England Journal of Medicine , Deborah A. Stone's article "German Unification: East Meets West in the Doctor's Office," and "Global Budgeting in Germany: Lessons for the United States" by Klaus-Dirk Henke, Margaret A. Murray, and Claudia Ade.
There is no recent one-volume comprehensive survey of the German education system. Christoph Führ's Schools and Institutions of Higher Education in the Federal Republic of Germany , dating from 1989, is still quite useful, however, as is his more recent book, On the Education System in the Five New Laender of the Federal Republic of Germany . Also valuable is Peter J. Katzenstein's discussion of university reform in his book Policy and Politics in West Germany . Val D. Rust and Diane Rust examine the difficulties of integrating the two German education systems in The Unification of German Education .
The Press and Information Office of the Federal Republic of Germany publishes brief accounts in English and German on a variety of topics, including social programs. These can be obtained through the German Information Center in New York. (For further information and complete citations, see Bibliography.)
Data as of August 1995
NOTE: The information regarding Germany on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Germany Current Education Issues and Outlook for the Future information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Germany Current Education Issues and Outlook for the Future should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA. | <urn:uuid:6ed78ec4-8b86-46b1-b097-c0f31a7b8737> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.photius.com/countries/germany/society/germany_society_current_education_is~1383.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463679.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00207-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948371 | 1,397 | 2.78125 | 3 |
(PhysOrg.com) -- The world's largest and longest-running volunteer computing project, SETI@home, celebrates its tenth anniversary this month with 140,000 participants and 235,000 computers powering the search for intelligent signals from space.
No extraterrestrials have been found yet. But the project will hold a day-long symposium at the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory on May 21 to celebrate the birthday and discuss the future of a project that still excites the public and has spurred the development of dozens of similar volunteer distributed computing projects.
Launched May 17, 1999, SETI@home uses home computers to sift through radio data acquired from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico in search of patterns that might indicate an intelligent source. The at-home Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) quickly attracted a worldwide following: Three months after its debut, 1 million people had signed up in 223 countries, running the screensaver software on home and work computers and in grade school classrooms, universities and even government offices.
Over the past decade, more than 5 million people have signed up, and today, despite more than 80 competing volunteer computing projects, SETI@home still has the largest core of dedicated users.
A big draw is being able to participate in a search that conceivably could detect life elsewhere in the universe - and to get credit for helping find ETs.
"The number of members has ebbed and flowed," said project director David Anderson, "but we have more computing power than ever, thanks to the steadily increasing power of computer processors."
The challenge, according to chief scientist Dan Werthimer, is scanning all frequencies, all areas of the sky, and all possible signal patterns for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence. During its 10 years of operation, SETI@home has steadily improved the capture of radio signals from the Arecibo radio telescope and subsequent signal analyses. Today, more frequencies are covered and more points in the sky are scanned simultaneously, and, as of March, the SETI@home software also searches for one-time pulses in addition to repeating signals.
SETI@home was conceived in 1995 when David Gedye, a software engineer now at Microsoft Live Labs, first thought about harnessing the immense, unused computing power of desktop computers around the world. He approached University of Washington astronomer Woody Sullivan, who suggested contacting Werthimer, whose SERENDIP project was already doing SETI at Arecibo. Gedye also called on the expertise of Anderson, a specialist in distributed computing. Together, the four developed a way to link desktop computers through the Internet into a virtual supercomputer able to perform complex signal analysis of Arecibo data.
Since the 1999 launch, a group led by Anderson has developed software called BOINC that lets scientists anywhere create projects like SETI@home and allows volunteers to mix and match these projects on their PCs. SETI@home moved to BOINC in 2005; other projects are using BOINC to study disease-related proteins (Rosetta@home), search for gravitational waves (Einstein@home), and predict the Earth's future climate (ClimatePrediction.net).
Boosting even more the number-crunching power of volunteer computers, SETI@home now uses not only CPUs (central processing units), but also the graphics processing units (GPUs) found in newer PCs.
"GPUs are much faster than CPUs at this point," Anderson said. A new version of SETI@home, released five months ago, automatically uses GPUs and typically runs about 10 times faster than the CPU version.
As for the radio data that feeds SETI@home, SERENDIP started collecting data two years ago from a new multibeam receiver at Arecibo that now brings in 14 times more data than the previous receiver with much greater sensitivity, all of it now feeding the number-crunching SETI@home computers. Now that the federal government is again funding SETI projects - software and hardware development for SETI searches through SERENDIP and the Allen Telescope Array, a joint project of UC Berkeley and the SETI Institute, are in part funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA - Werthimer is more optimistic about the future of SETI.
"It's scary that, until recently, only a handful of people on the planet were doing SETI, and all of them were aging," he said. "Now, it's changed."
SETI@home, however, remains a shoestring operation. It got off the ground with just $100,000 in funding from The Planetary Society and Paramount Pictures, and although companies like Sun Microsystems and Intel supply it with server computers, it is now solely funded by donations from volunteers, Werthimer said. But he and Anderson intend to keep it running as long as there is interest.
"We're in this for the long haul. We're looking for a needle in a haystack. It could take a hundred years," Werthimer said. "As long as we have some way to increase the sensitivity of our radio detectors or the frequency range or the part of the sky we're looking at, we'll still be doing something worthwhile."
Provided by University of California - Berkeley (news : web)
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Maximin was the first Bishop of Aix. There are still numerous memorials to him and Mary Magdalene in that area.
One of the most important documents telling of Mary Magdalene’s life was written by Maurus Rabanus, Arch-bishop of Mayence [Mainz][lived from 776-856 A.D.]. His manuscript was titled Life of Mary Magdalene. It is owned by Oxford University, England, preserved in the College Library bearing her name, the Magdalene College Library.
Rabanus confirmed all the other documents. He wrote:
“Therefore the chief, St. Maximus, the blessed Parmenas, the arch deacon Trophimus and Eutropius, bishops and the rest of the leaders of his Christian warfare, together with the God-renowned Mary Magdalene and her sister, the most blessed Martha, departed by way of the sea … They came near to the city of Marseilles, in the Vienoise province of the Gauls [French], where the river Rhone is received by the sea. They having called upon God, the great King of all the world, they parted, each company going to the province where the Holy Spirit had directed them, presently preaching everywhere, ‘the Lord with them,’ and confirmed the Word with signs following” (IBID, p. 166).
Most of the French Bishoprics were founded by the companions of Joseph of Arimathea from the Isles of Avalon in Britain. Sidonis, Saturninus, and Cleon all taught in Gaul [France] for awhile, then they returned to Britain. Martial reportedly never left Avalon, as he was Joseph’s right hand man, and taught new converts of the Isle (Old French Cantique refers to Europe et Martial, Sidonie avec Joseph as reported in George F. Jowett, The Drama of the Lost Disciples, Covenant Publishing Co. LTD, London, England, p. 167). Also mentioned in this manuscript were his parents, Marcellus and Elizabeth, along with Zacchaeus. Others from Judea arrived in Britain to join Joseph at the ingathering of saints in Britain under the protection of the Royal Silurian kings – as PLANNED by Jesus Christ, the only Head of the church.
Parmena, who accompanied Maximin, Eutropius and Trophimus into Gaul from Britain, was a disciple of Joseph of Arimathea. He was appointed the first Bishop of Avignon. Drennalus was also a disciple of Joseph. He first went to Gaul with Joseph to found the church at Morlaix. Joseph then appointed Drennalus as the first Bishop of Treguier.
Three of Avalon’s missionaries were responsible for founding churches in Gaul [France], Helvetia [Switzerland] and Lotharingia. Beatus, who founded the church in Helvetia, was baptized by Barnabas and educated in scripture at Avalon under the instruction of Joseph. Barnabas is recorded in scripture as Joses, the Levite, whose name was changed to Barnabas, meaning “Son of Consolation.” This is the same Barnabas who, with Paul, founded the church at Antioch in 43 A.D. Barnabas joined with Paul, Joseph and his brother, Aristobulus, to expand the church in Britain, particularly in Wales. Aristobulus was martyred, after which three more excursions into Britain were made. One of those resulted in the baptism of Beatus, who years later founded the church in Helvetia [Switzerland]. Before Beatus left Britain, he disposed of his wealth and used the money to ransom saints from prisons. He made his headquarters at Underseven [Unterseen] on Lake Thun. He built hospitals and churches in Helvetia [Switzerland], and the work went on for centuries under the leadership of his converts. He finally died in a cell in 96 A.D. This ancient cell has been preserved and can be seen to this day on Lake Thun. He is mentioned for his great work in Roman Martyrologies.
Another who graduated from Avalon was Mansuetus. He went to Glastonbury [Avalon] from Hiberna [Ireland] where he had been born into Celtic aristocracy. His evangelistic career was notable. He came to Avalon three years before Emperor Claudius’ war campaigns began. Mansuetus was converted and baptized by Joseph in 40 A.D. While at Avalon, he formed a great friendship with Clement and Peter. Peter was one of the original twelve disciples who became Apostles and found it necessary to seek safe sanctuary in Britain in 44 A.D. Mansuetus later went to Rome with Clement, then to Gaul where he founded the Lotharingian Church. He was ordained as the first Bishop of the Lotharingian Church in 49 A.D. (Cardinal Alford, Regia Fides Britannica). He also founded the church at Lorraine.
(To be continued) | <urn:uuid:d897fb69-5660-4c5f-be26-38e0a56a6056> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.newswatchmagazine.org/2013/07/27/closing-out-church-history-in-the-first-century-part-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463956.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00201-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977267 | 1,053 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Dear Catholic Exchange:
I would like information on the 7 capital sins and the definition on each of them. I teach a CCD class and this subject recently came up but I cannot find much on this subject.
Peace in Christ!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism) contains an excellent explanation of sin. Regarding the seven deadly sins, in paragraph 1866 it reads:
vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also be linked to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called “capital” because they engender other sins, other vices. They are pride, avarice (greed), envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia (emphasis in original).
All of this information is available in condensed form in the glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For more developed answers you might consult the Modern Catholic Dictionary by John Hardon. Another ready reference is the online Catholic Encyclopedia at NewAdvent.org.
PRIDE: One of the seven capital sins. Pride is undue self-esteem or self-love, which seeks attention and honor and sets oneself in competition with God (1866). It is essentially an act or disposition of the will desiring to be considered better than a person really is. Pride may be expressed in different ways: by taking personal credit for gifts or possessions, as if they had not been received from God; by glorying in achievements, as if they were not primarily the result of divine goodness and grace; by minimizing one’s defects or claiming qualities that are not actually possessed; by holding oneself superior to others or disdaining them because they lack what the proud person has; by magnifying the defects of others or dwelling on them. When pride is carried to the extent that a person is unwilling to acknowledge dependence on God and refuses to submit his or her will to God or lawful authority, it is a grave sin.
AVARICE:(from Latin avarus, “greedy”; “to crave”) is the inordinate love for riches. Its special malice, broadly speaking, lies in that it makes the getting and keeping of money, possessions, and the like, a purpose in itself to live for. It does not see that these things are valuable only as instruments for the conduct of a rational and harmonious life, due regard being paid of course to the special social condition in which one is placed. It is called a capital vice because through it many other sins are committed. It is more to be dreaded in that it often cloaks itself as a virtue, or insinuates itself under the pretext of making a decent provision for the future. In so far as avarice is an incentive to injustice in acquiring and retaining of wealth, it is frequently a grievous sin. In itself, however, and in so far as it implies simply an excessive desire of, or pleasure in, riches, it is commonly not a mortal sin.
ENVY: Resentment or sadness at another's good fortune of the seven capital sins, envy is contrary to the tenth commandment (2539). Envy is not quite the same as jealousy. Jealously seeks another advantage for oneself while envy tries to destroy another advantage. Jealousy can be good depending on what one is actually desiring. St. Paul wrote that his apostolate was to make his fellow Jews jealous of Christians not so that they would persecute and try to destroy them (as in envy) but so that they would seek the spiritual advantages of conversion to Christ (see Romans 11:15).
WRATH: The desire of vengeance. How we judge it depends upon the quality of the vengeance and the quantity of the passion. When these are in conformity with the prescriptions of balanced reason, anger is not a sin. It is rather a praiseworthy thing and justifiable with a proper zeal. It becomes sinful when it is sought to wreak vengeance upon one who has not deserved it, or to a greater extent than it has been deserved, or in conflict with the dispositions of law, or from an improper motive. The sin is then in a general sense mortal as being opposed to justice and charity. It may, however, be venial because the punishment aimed at is but a trifling one or because of lack of full deliberation. Likewise, anger is sinful when there is an undue vehemence in the passion itself, whether inwardly or outwardly. Ordinarily it is then considered a venial sin unless the excess is so great as to go counter seriously to the love of God or of one's neighbor.
LUST: The inordinate craving for or indulgence in sexual pleasure. The evil of lust is reducible to this: that sexual satisfaction is sought for either outside marriage or, at any rate, in a manner which is contrary to the laws that govern marital intercourse. Indulging in lust is a mortal sin, provided of course, it is done in a way that is voluntary in itself and fully deliberate. This is the testimony of St. Paul in the letter to the Galatians, 5:19:
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury… Of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God.” This teaching applies to external and internal sins alike: “Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
GLUTTONY: Overindulgence in food or drink. Gluttony is one of the seven capital sins (1866). The moral deformity discernible in this vice lies in its defiance of the order postulated by reason, which prescribes necessity as the measure of indulgence in eating and drinking. A glutton wants things according to the apt rendering of Father Joseph Rickably: too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, too daintily. Clearly one who uses food or drink in such a way as to injure his health or impair the mental equipment needed for the discharge of his duties, is guilty of the sin of gluttony. It is incontrovertible that to eat or drink for the mere pleasure of the experience without desire of nourishment or table fellowship, is likewise to commit the sin of gluttony. Someone habitually gluttonous is so wedded to the pleasures of the table as to live merely to eat and drink, so minded as to be of the number of those, described by the Apostle St. Paul, “whose god is their belly” (Phil 3:19). Such a one would be guilty of mortal sin. Likewise a person who, by excesses in eating and drinking, would have greatly impaired his health, or unfitted himself for duties for the performance of which he has a grave obligation, might be guilty of mortal sin.
SLOTH: A culpable lack of physical or spiritual effort; acedia or laziness. One of the capital sins (1866, 2094, 2733). One of the seven capital sins which represent the “I don't care” feeling. A man sees that the practice of virtue is hard and so resists the service of God. He becomes slothful and his soul grows sluggish and lazy at the thought of the painful life journey. The idea of right living inspires not joy but disgust, because of its laboriousness. This is the notion commonly obtaining, and in this sense sloth is not a specific vice according to the teaching of St. Thomas, but rather a circumstance of all vices. Ordinarily it will not have the malice of mortal sin unless, of course, we conceive it to be so total that because of it one is willing to reject some serious obligation. In this sense sloth is directly opposed to charity. The man who is slothful violates, therefore, expressly the first and the greatest of the commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength.” (Mark 12:30).
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In current usage, the term "amen" has become little more than a ritualized conclusion to prayers. Yet the Hebrew and Greek words for amen appear hundreds of times in the Bible and have several uses. Amen is a transliteration of the Hebrew word amen [em'a]. The verb form occurs more than one hundred times in the Old Testament and means to take care, to be faithful, reliable or established, or to believe someone or something. The idea of something that is faithful, reliable, or believable seems to lie behind the use of amen as an exclamation on twenty-five solemn occasions in the Old Testament. Israel said "amen" to join in the praises of God ( 1 Chron 16:36 ; Neh 8:6 ; and at the end of each of the first four books of Psalms, 41:13 ; 72:19 ; 89:52 ; 106:48 ).
Amen is never used solely to confirm a blessing in the Old Testament, but Israel did accept the curse of God on sin by it (twelve times in Deut. 27, and in Neh 5:13 ), and once Jeremiah affirms God's statements of the blessings and the curses of the covenant with an amen ( Jer 11:5 ). It can also confirm a statement made by people ( Num 5:22 ; 1 Kings 1:36 ; Neh 5:13 ). These kinds of uses lie behind the popular, basically correct, dictum that amen means "So be it."
Amen has other uses. Jeremiah mocks the words of a false prophet with an amen (28:6). Because God is trustworthy, Isaiah can call him "the God of amen, " in whose name his servants should invoke blessings and take oaths ( Isa 65:16 ; see also Rev 3:14 ). But Jesus' use of amen is the most striking innovation.
Jesus introduces his teaching by saying amen lego humin [ajmhvnlevgwuJmi'n], that is, "truly I say to you, " on nearly seventy occasions in the Gospels (thirty times in Matthew, thirteen in Mark, six in Luke, and twenty in John, where the amen is always doubled). Where the prophets often said, "Thus says the Lord, " Jesus often says, "Amen I say to you." Although some scholars see the formuLam merely as a method of giving emphasis to a statement, in actuality it constitutes a significant part of Jesus' implicit teaching about himself. We ought to consider Jesus' use of the term "amen" alongside his other implicit claims to deity, such as his claim of the right to forgive sins and to judge humankind, and his custom of performing miracles on his own authority. No mere human has the right to forgive sins, yet Jesus forgave sins. God is the judge of humankind, yet Jesus judges. God's agets ascribe the will and the glory to God when they perform miracles, yet Jesus performed miracles on his own authority. Likewise, prophets never spoke on their own authority. They say, "Thus says the Lord." Or, like Paul, they say they received a revelation from heaven. But Jesus says, "Truly I say to you" dozens of times, asserting that his words are certainly true because he says them.
Jesus often uses the formuLam when he corrects errors or is engaged in disputes. When Jesus instructed Nicodemus, for example, he appealed not to Scripture but to his own authority, saying "Amen, amen, I say to you" (John 3:3, 5; see also Matt 6:2, 5, 16; 18:3; Luke 13:35; John 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53). Amen lego humin also punctuates the teaching of truths unknown in the Old Testament, and seasons startling sayings for which Jesus offers no proof other than his own authority. Here the amen implies that Jesus' words, like the Father's, are true merely because he utters them (Matt 24:34; 26:13; Mark 3:28; Luke 12:37; John 10:1). So in Matthew 5 Jesus comments on the Old Testament or Jewish interpretations of it six times in the chapter, saying, "You have heard that it was said , but I tell you." He concludes the first section with the amen in 5:26, and by so doing asserts that his authority exceeds the Jewish interpreters', and even brings a revelation that surpasses that of the Old Testament law itself.
In this way, whenever Jesus says "amen lego humin" [ajmhvnlevgwuJmi'n], he shows awareness of his authority, his deity. This evidence of Jesus' messianic self-consciousness is important because it resists skeptical attacks on the faith. Critics try to exclude many texts that present Christ's deity on the grounds that they are unauthentic. But implicit claims to deity, whether they be Jesus' use of the amen or other ones, appear in virtually every paragraph of the Gospels, and cannot be explained away.
Paul's use of amen returns to the Old Testament world, except that he utters amen only to bless, not to curse. Many times Paul's letters burst into praise of God the Father or God the Son and seal the confession with the amen (Rom 1:25; 9:5; 11:36; Gal 1:3-5; Eph 3:21; Php 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17; 6:16; 2 Tim 4:18). A doxology appears at or near the end of several letters, and all close with the amen. Other letters end with a blessing on his readers, again completed with amen (1 Col 16:23-24; Gal 6:18). Paul also invites his readers to say amen to the promises of God (2 Col 1:20; see also Rev 22:20). Amen also closes spontaneous doxologies in Revelation; there, however, the object of praise is more often the Son than the Father (1:6-7; 5:14; 7:12; 19:4). In all this Paul and Revelation resemble the Jewish custom of the day, in which Jews said amen when they heard another bless the Lord whether in private prayer (Tobit 8:8) or in worship. But they surpass it in the sheer spontaneity and enthusiasm of their praises.
Several other New Testament epistles follow Paul by praising God and/or calling on him to bestow the grace the readers need (Heb 13:20-21; 1 Pet 4:11; 5:10-11; 2 Pet 3:17-18; Jude 24-25; Rev 22:21). As in Paul, these final words often recapitulate the main themes of the letter, which the writer seals with the amen that both declare and pleads, "So be it! May God indeed be praised for bestowing the gifts his people need."
Copyright © 1996 by Walter A. Elwell. Published by Baker Books, a division of
Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan USA.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
For usage information, please read the Baker Book House Copyright Statement.
[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
[S] indicates this entry was also found in Smith's Bible Dictionary
Bibliography InformationElwell, Walter A. "Entry for 'Amen'". "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology". | <urn:uuid:29b5a72e-1598-482f-bbe0-d97143d16c98> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/amen.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462555.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00028-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94855 | 1,578 | 3.265625 | 3 |
ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION
This publication is the tenth of its type and presents information on environmental behaviour and practices of Australian households and individuals collected in March 2004. Respondents were aged 18 years or older.
This edition focuses on "Water use and conservation" and covers a range of issues including water sources, water supply, rainwater tanks and water saving measures used in households.
Other areas covered include: concern about environmental problems and environmental involvement; use of environmentally-friendly products, fertilisers and pesticides; and use of World Heritage Areas, National and State Parks.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The data in this publication are derived from a supplement to the Monthly Population Survey. Please refer to the Explanatory Notes at the back of this publication for further details about the survey.
A set of changing topics rotate over a period of three years. The topics contained in this publication are compared with data collected in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2001. Where applicable those data have been included in this publication to enable comparisons.
Prior to 1997, environment topics were surveyed using 'personal interview' methodology. From 1997 onwards, the 'any responsible adult' methodology has been applied. When comparing post-1997 and pre-1997 data, readers should be aware that some differences in the data may be explained by the change in methodology rather than the real changes over time.
Where figures have been rounded, discrepancies may occur between sums of the component items and totals. Published percentages are calculated prior to rounding of the figures and therefore some discrepancy may occur between these percentages and those that could be calculated from the rounded figures.
For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Bob Harrison on Canberra (02) 6252 7369.
SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND INVOLVEMENT
WATER USE AND CONSERVATION
- In 2004, 8.6 million Australians aged 18 years and over (57%) stated that they were concerned about environmental problems.
- The level of concern about environmental problems has shown a continual decline since 1992, when three-quarter (75%) of Australians stated they had environmental concerns.
- The Australian Capital Territory had the highest level of concern (69%) and the Northern Territory the lowest (46%).
- Those aged between 45-54 years old expressed the most concern about environmental problems (65%), and those 65 years and over the least (47%).
- In the 12 months prior to March 2004, almost 3 million Australians aged 18 years and over (one in five) donated some time or money to help protect the environment. The proportion was unchanged from 1998 and 2001. People in South Australia, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory were the most likely to donate time or money towards environmental protection (23%, 24% and 25% respectively).
- In the 12 months prior to March 2004, 7% of Australians aged 18 years and over (over 1 million) formally registered an environmental concern either by writing a letter, telephoning, participating in a demonstration, signing a petition or some other means.
- 13% of people with environmental concerns formally registered an environmental concern (via a letter, telephone, demonstration, signed petition or some other means), and 29% donated time or money to protect the environment. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of people with environmental concerns took neither of these actions.
USE OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRODUCTS, FERTILISERS AND PESTICIDES
- 93% of Australian households were connected to mains/town water in March 2004. 98% of households in capital cities were connected to mains/town water, compared with 85% of households residing outside of capital cities.
- 80% of Australian households rely on mains/town water as their main source of water for drinking. This rises to 89% for households in capital cities, and drops to 67% for households outside capital cities.
- Generally, there has been a steady increase in the levels of satisfaction with the quality of mains water for drinking across Australia, from 64% in 1994 to 70% in 2004. Taste (other than being salty) was the single largest problem identified by people dissatisfied with their drinking water (51%). Western Australians nominated this more than any other state (60%), and the Australian Capital Territory residents the least (40%).
- 17% of households sourced water from a rainwater tank in 2004 ( 9% of households in capital cities and 31% of all other households). Nearly half of all households in South Australia (48%) sourced water from a rainwater tank, with 78% of households outside Adelaide using rainwater tanks.
- 21% of households purchased bottled water in 2004 and 8% of households had it as their main source of drinking water. Between 1994 and 2004, the proportion of households which purchased bottled water increased from 3% to 21%.
- 82% of households had a water conservation device inside their dwelling: 74% of households had dual flush toilets in 2004 (up from 39% in 1994 and 64% in 2001) and 44% of households had reduced flow shower heads (up from 22% in 1994 and 35% in 2001).
- 47% of households engaged in water conservation practices in and around the dwelling. More than half of all households (nearly 54%) reported taking no water conservation steps in the home at all.
- The most popular water conservation measures in the home included using full loads when washing dishes and clothes, and taking shorter showers (18% of households reported doing each of these).
- Recycling and/or reusing water was reported by 16% of households, an increase from 11% in 2001. 28% of the Australian Capital Territory households recycled or reused water, increased from 10% in 2001. These were also popular activities in Victoria and Western Australia (21%, increased from 14% in both states).
- More than 90% of households with gardens reported taking measures in the garden to conserve water.
- The measure reported most often by households to conserve water in the garden was using mulch (58% in 2004, up from 51% in 2001). New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory all reported large increases in the use of mulch as a water conservation measure.
- Watering early in the morning or late in the evening was the second most popular water conservation measure for Australian gardens, at 23%. This was most favoured in South Australia (38%) and the Northern Territory (37%)
- 18% of households used recycled water on the garden, a significant increase from 11% in 2001. States and territories that significantly increased their use of recycled water on the garden since 2001 included New South Wales (9% to 19%); Victoria (13% to 23%); and the Australian Capital Territory (7% to 26%).
- In 2004, 71% of Australian households hand watered their garden, compared with 66% in 2001. There was a corresponding decrease in the use of fixed and movable sprinklers (from 28% in 2001 down to 15% in 2004 for movable sprinklers, and 31% down to 22% for fixed sprinkler systems).
- States and territories that reported an increase in measures to conserve water in the garden since 2001 include New South Wales (86% to 90% of households); Victoria (90% to 93%); South Australia (90% to 93%).
USE OF WORLD HERITAGE AREAS, NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS
- In 2004, almost nine in ten households in Australia (89%) reported that they purchase environmentally friendly products (EFPs). This was similar to 2001 (90%).
- Recycled paper products (67% of households ) and products with refillable containers (65% of households) were the EFPs most commonly purchased by Australian households.
- Most EFPs showed a small decline in their usage, with the purchase of unbleached paper products showing the largest decline (from 63% in 1992 and 51% in 2001 to 46% in 2004).
- Households in the Australian Capital Territory were more likely to purchase all types of EFPs except for organically grown fruit and vegetables.
- Cost remains the most important reason why households do not buy EFPs and this reason has increased over time (31% in 1998; 36% in 2001 and 39% in 2004). This reason was most significant for single parent households (59%).
- In 2004, nearly 3 million households (46%) reported they grow fruit or vegetables in their garden.
- Most of these households (84%) reported that they used some form of fertilisers in this activity; 76% stated they used manure or compost and 40% used other fertilisers.
- Nearly 29% of households use pesticide or weedkiller when growing fruit and vegetables in their gardens.
- In March 2004, nearly 8 million (52%) Australians aged 18 years and over reported that they had visited a World Heritage Area, National or State Park in the 12 months prior to the survey. This proportion is much less than in 1992 when almost two in three Australians (63%) had visited any one of these areas 12 months prior to the survey.
- People who made a trip to these areas were most likely to be between the ages of 25 and 44 and belong to a household comprising of a couple with dependent children (61%). Least likely to visit a World Heritage Area or a park were persons aged 65 years and over (30%) and those belonging to a single person household (44%).
- Since 1998, the main reason reported for not visiting a World Heritage Area, National or State Park was lack of time (36%-37%); followed by age/health/inability (17%).
- People in Western Australia and the Northern Territory (60%) reported the highest visits to a World Heritage Area, National or State Park; and New South Wales the least (50%).
This page last updated 20 June 2006 | <urn:uuid:19e39a12-4c0c-410d-93ec-4acdd207b4eb> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/ProductsbyReleaseDate/449B97A4846A7D46CA2570C700729037?OpenDocument | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936535306.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074215-00151-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961107 | 2,048 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) was discovered at 5:15 am on September 21 2012 by Artem Novichonok and Vitaly Nevsky at the ISON-Kislovodsk observatory in Russia. The astronomers on their blogs and forums are saying there is a good chance that this will be a big one, very bright around the end of 2013.
That is so long as it doesn’t break up like comet Elenin, and even though the discoverer titled his blog post, Great Comet From Russia, he does say “any optimistic forecasts should be treated with caution…its core can be very fragile and may not survive the comet perihelion.”
I hope that comet ISON holds together and gives us a good show following the disappointment of Elenin. I’m sure that either way we will soon be hearing about ascension, doomsday or some aliens riding the tail in. I’ll start that ball rolling by looking into some old and new astrological methods for interpreting the meaning of comets.
Comet ISON Astrology Chart
Robson says the effects of comets are influenced “through the constellation in which they appear, and also through the zodiacal sign and degree to which their position corresponds. They are said to cause inordinate heat, pestilence. sterility of the earth, wars and changes in kingdoms, winds, earthquakes and floods, and are assigned to the planets according to their colors.” We will have to wait to see what color this comet is. Comet ISON first appeared through a telescope at 00°59′ Leo between constellations Gemini and Cancer. The comet aligned with alpha Monoceros, the brightest star in the Unicorn constellation.
The two longest solar eclipses in the last two millennia fell on this star. The eclipse of 26 June 363 AD heralded the end of Paganism and the rise of Christianity through the Church of Rome. The last pagan ruler or Rome, Emperor Julian the Apostate died the day after the eclipse. He was succeeded by the Christian emperor Jovian. The solar eclipse of July 22 2009 coincided at the height of the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. Monoceros rules the Catholic Church, Germany, Ireland, Israel, equality, communications and aviation.
“Throughout the history of astrology, the appearance of comets was a sign of upheaval for humanity, affecting agriculture and the weather. Comets were also seen as heralding the rise to power of an “agent“, a military or religious leader, or a reformer.” Jonathan Flanery.
Today we can use a more modern method because we have an exact time and place for the first sighting of this comet. That means we can look at the discovery chart for clues. The star culminating on the Midheaven is Menkib in constellation Perseus “indicative of events affecting large numbers of people, especially those events caused by major meteorological phenomena“.
Mercury stands out in the discovery chart being square Uranus and opposite Pluto. Perhaps the message from this comet has to do with the big evolutionary changes that Uranus square Pluto is bringing.
The discovery came just 2 days after the second exact square, and the closest approach to the Sun comes at the peak of these squares in November 2013. The rising star in the discovery chart is Thuban, the brightest star in constellation Draco the Dragon. “It was said by the Ancients that when a comet was here poison was scattered over the world.” Comet ISON should be visible to the naked eye from early November 2013 to mid-January 2014. It makes its closest approach to Earth on December 26. Comet ISON passes through constellation Draco from December 26 2013 to January 3 2014.
“For several days around January 12, 2014, Earth will pass through a stream of fine-grained debris from Comet ISON…The shower is going to hit our planet from two directions at once…In my experience, this kind of double whammy is unprecedented.” Comet ISON Meteor Shower.
“comets are an ideal vehicle for sustaining and transporting a variety of microbes, including viruses, from planet to planet and even from solar system to solar system. In consequence, when these organisms are deposited on a world already thriving with life, genes may be exchanged, the evolution of new species may ensue, or conversely contagion may be unleashed, and disease, death, and plague may spread throughout the land.” Comets and Contagion: Evolution and Diseases From Space.
Update 28 November 2013
Comet ISON’s closest approach to the Sun today (perihelion) – see chart.
Update 29 November 2013
NASA says ISON’s reemergence continues “a history of surprising behavior” that has seen the comet brighten and dim “in unexpected ways.” Comet ISON reappears in new NASA images, scientists say nucleus ‘may still be intact’.
That is Mercury opposite Uranus in the comet ISON discovery chart. | <urn:uuid:4e4acb28-496c-4a8c-a47a-f5eb80739b3b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://astrologyking.com/comet-ison/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462555.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00028-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941408 | 1,057 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Words change meaning all the time — and over time. Language historian Anne Curzan takes a closer look at this phenomenon, and shares some words that used to mean something totally different.
Words change meaning over time in ways that might surprise you. We sometimes notice words changing meaning under our noses (e.g., unique coming to mean “very unusual” rather than “one of a kind”) — and it can be disconcerting. How in the world are we all going to communicate effectively if we allow words to shift in meaning like that?
The good news: History tells us that we’ll be fine. Words have been changing meaning — sometimes radically — as long as there have been words and speakers to speak them. Here is just a small sampling of words you may not have realized didn’t always mean what they mean today.
- Nice: This word used to mean “silly, foolish, simple.” Far from the compliment it is today!
- Silly: Meanwhile, silly went in the opposite direction: in its earliest uses, it referred to things worthy or blessed; from there it came to refer to the weak and vulnerable, and more recently to those who are foolish.
- Awful: Awful things used to be “worthy of awe” for a variety of reasons, which is how we get expressions like “the awful majesty of God.”
- Fizzle: The verb fizzle once referred to the act of producing quiet flatulence (think “SBD”); American college slang flipped the word’s meaning to refer to failing at things.
- Wench: A shortened form of the Old English word wenchel (which referred to children of either sex), the word wench used to mean “female child” before it came to be used to refer to female servants — and more pejoratively to wanton women.
- Fathom: It can be hard to fathom how this verb moved from meaning “to encircle with one’s arms” to meaning “to understand after much thought.” Here’s the scoop: One’s outstretched arms can be used as a measurement (a fathom), and once you have fathoms, you can use a fathom line to measure the depth of water. Think metaphorically and fathoming becomes about getting to the bottom of things.
- Clue: Centuries ago, a clue (or clew) was a ball of yarn. Think about threading your way through a maze and you’ll see how we got from yarn to key bits of evidence that help us solve things.
- Myriad: If you had a myriad of things 600 years ago, it meant that you specifically had 10,000 of them — not just a lot.
- Naughty: Long ago, if you were naughty, you had naught or nothing. Then it came to mean evil or immoral, and now you are just badly behaved.
- Eerie: Before the word eerie described things that inspire fear, it used to describe people feeling fear — as in one could feel faint and eerie.
- Spinster: As it sounds, spinsters used to be women who spun. It referred to a legal occupation before it came to mean “unmarried woman” — and often not in the most positive ways, as opposed to a bachelor …
- Bachelor: A bachelor was a young knight before the word came to refer to someone who had achieved the lowest rank at a university — and it lives on in that meaning in today’s B.A. and B.S degrees. It’s been used for unmarried men since Chaucer’s day.
- Flirt: Some 500 years ago, flirting was flicking something away or flicking open a fan or otherwise making a brisk or jerky motion. Now it involves playing with people’s emotions (sometimes it may feel like your heart is getting jerked around in the process).
- Guy: This word is an eponym. It comes from the name of Guy Fawkes, who was part of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament in 1605. Folks used to burn his effigy, a “Guy Fawkes” or a “guy,” and from there it came to refer to a frightful figure. In the U.S., it has come to refer to men in general.
- Hussy: Believe it or not, hussy comes from the word housewife (with several sound changes, clearly) and used to refer to the mistress of a household, not the disreputable woman it refers to today.
- Egregious: It used to be possible for it to be a good thing to be egregious: it meant you were distinguished or eminent. But in the end, the negative meaning of the word won out, and now it means that someone or something is conspicuously bad — not conspicuously good.
- Quell: Quelling something or someone used to mean killing it, not just subduing it.
- Divest: 300 years ago, divesting could involve undressing as well as depriving others of their rights or possessions. It has only recently come to refer to selling off investments.
- Senile: Senile used to refer simply to anything related to old age, so you could have senile maturity. Now it refers specifically to those suffering from senile dementia.
- Meat: Have you ever wondered about the expression “meat and drink”? It comes from an older meaning of the word meat that refers to food in general — solid food of a variety of kinds (not just animal flesh), as opposed to drink.
We’re human. We love to play with words in creative ways. And in the process, we change the language. In retrospect, we often think the changes words undergo are fascinating. May we transfer some of that fascination and wonder — some of the awe that used to make the words awful and awesome synonymous — to the changes we’re witnessing today. | <urn:uuid:4484dbde-972e-4c8c-8833-e39248719315> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://ideas.ted.com/20-words-that-once-meant-something-very-different/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462232.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00311-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966502 | 1,270 | 3.078125 | 3 |
The following sections discuss how to use write operations, cursors and SELECT INTO when manipulating data.
You can use INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements in a function or procedure provided MODIFIES SQL DATA has been specified for the access clause, see Routine Access Clause.
You can use routine parameters and variables in these statements wherever an expression can normally be used, as shown in the examples below.
Example:CREATE PROCEDURE mimer_store_book.add_title(IN p_book_title VARCHAR(48), IN p_authors VARCHAR(128), IN p_published_by VARCHAR(48), IN p_format VARCHAR(20), IN p_isbn CHAR(18), IN p_date_released CHAR(10), IN p_price NUMERIC(7, 2), IN p_stock SMALLINT, IN p_reorder_level SMALLINT) -- Add the details for a book entity; inserts against the join view which fires -- the instead of trigger MODIFIES SQL DATA BEGIN -- Insert into join view INSERT INTO mimer_store_book.details(title, authors_list, publisher, format,isbn, release_date, price, stock, reorder_level) VALUES (p_book_title, p_authors, p_published_by, p_format, p_isbn, p_date_released, p_price, p_stock, p_reorder_level); END -- of routine mimer_store_book.add_title
You can use the ROW_COUNT option of the GET DIAGNOSTICS statement may be used immediately after an INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, SELECT INTO or FETCH statement to determine the number of rows affected by the preceding statement.
Example:DECLARE v_rows INTEGER; ... INSERT INTO mimer_store_book.details ...; GET DIAGNOSTICS v_rows = ROW_COUNT; IF v_rows > 0 THEN
Note: All SQL statements except GET DIAGNOSTICS will overwrite the information in the diagnostics area.
You can declare and use cursors in a compound SQL statement to receive a result set from a query-expression or from a result set procedure.
A cursor may not have the same name as another cursor declared in the same scope.
Cursors in a procedural usage context are used in much the same way, in terms of the SQL statements used, as cursors declared outside routines. It is possible to open cursors, fetch data into variables and use the statements UPDATE and DELETE WHERE CURRENT OF cursor.
Example 1BEGIN DECLARE data ROW AS (mimer_store_book.details(title, authors_list, format, price, item_id, product_id, display_order)); DECLARE c_1 CURSOR FOR SELECT title, authors_list, format, price, item_id, product_id, display_order FROM mimer_store_book.details NATURAL JOIN mimer_store_book.authors NATURAL JOIN mimer_store_book.keywords WHERE title_search LIKE TRIM(TRAILING '0' FROM mimer_store.product_search_code(p_book_title)) || '%' AND keyword LIKE REPLACE( mimer_store_book.authors_name(p_author), ',', '%,') || '%' ORDER BY title, authors_list, product_id, display_order; DECLARE EXIT HANDLER FOR NOT FOUND CLOSE c_1;
Example 2DECLARE D DATE DEFAULT CURRENT_DATE; DECLARE C1,C2 CHAR(5); DECLARE Z SCROLL CURSOR FOR CALL MY_PROC(1,D); DECLARE I INTEGER; ... OPEN Z; ... FETCH FIRST FROM Z INTO C1; ... FETCH ABSOLUTE I FROM Z INTO C2; FETCH ABSOLUTE I FROM Z INTO C2;
The example 1 demonstrates detection of the NOT FOUND exception as a method of checking that a fetch statement does not return any data. If a NOT FOUND exception occurs in the example, an exit handler is invoked. After the exit handler has finished, the flow of control leaves the compound SQL statement labeled L1.
Alternatively, the GET DIAGNOSTICS statement can be used to retrieve the number of rows affected by the FETCH statement, as shown below.
Example:DECLARE ROWS INTEGER; L1: LOOP FETCH X INTO I_CHARGE_CODE,I_AMOUNT; GET DIAGNOSTICS ROWS = ROW_COUNT; IF ROWS = 0 THEN LEAVE L1; END IF; END LOOP; CLOSE X;
The following specific restrictions apply to cursors used in routines:
- no dynamic functions can be used (i.e. extended cursor names and the use of SQL descriptors)
- REOPENABLE cursors are not allowed
- the use of the keyword RELEASE with the CLOSE statement is not permitted.
Using FETCH to get result set data from a result set procedure may cause parts of the result set procedure to execute, see Result Set Procedures. The result set procedure will be in use until the associated cursor is closed.
Another way of fetching data is by using a SELECT INTO statement. This can only be used when one single record is fetched from the database. If more (or less) than one record fulfills the search criteria, an exception condition is raised.
Example:SELECT currency, v_euros * exchange_rate INTO p_local_currency, p_local_price FROM mimer_store.customers JOIN mimer_store.countries AS cnt ON cnt.code = country_code JOIN mimer_store.currencies AS crn ON crn.code = currency_code WHERE customer_id = p_customer_id AND currency_code <> 'EUR' AND exchange_rate IS NOT NULL;
It is possible to start and end transactions within a routine. A transaction is implicitly started when a routine that accesses the database is invoked.
It is also possible to explicitly start a transaction by using the START statement. When a transaction is ended, either by a COMMIT or ROLLBACK statement, all open cursors are closed.
Example:START; UPDATE table SET ... WHERE col = v_str, ... ... COMMIT;
It is possible to affect the behavior of transactions by using the SET TRANSACTION and SET SESSION statements.
Note: If a compound SQL statement is defined as ATOMIC, a transaction cannot be terminated within it because execution of the COMMIT or ROLLBACK statements is not permitted.
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Shape , Mother Jones, and Other Magazines “Plant” Trees for Arbor Day
Magazine Industry Sustainability Leaders Save Trees By Using Recycled Paper
April 26, 2005
Washington D.C. – This Arbor Day, while many citizens plant trees to beautify their communities, the magazine industry will finish another month of consuming about 2.5 million trees. However, a small and growing number of leading magazine publishers are making sure that 2,789 trees stay planted each month simply by choosing paper made from recycled consumer waste.
“A tree saved is a tree planted,” noted Frank Locantore, Director of the PAPER Project at the nonprofit organization Co-op America. “By printing on postconsumer recycled paper, publishers are not only protecting trees but are also ensuring that other parts of the environment and public health are protected. The publishers’ paper choice is a move towards sustainable production as it reduces greenhouse gases that are warming the planet, preserves living space for wildlife and human beings, and conserves energy and water for other uses.” Postconsumer recycled paper is made from materials that a consumer recycled, as opposed to materials that a manufacturer recycled, such as scraps from the manufacturing process.
“Virgin” paper production consumes vast amounts of resources and emits enormous amounts of harmful pollutants, as described in a white paper entitled Turning the Page available on the Co-op America website. In addition to the 2,789 trees saved each month, the 17 magazines participating in our recycled paper usage survey also prevented emission of over 450 thousand pounds of greenhouse gases and conserved 108 million BTUs of energy and one million gallons of water. These numbers are the outputs of a paper calculator created by Environmental Defense, a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City.
Publishers who decide to reduce the destructive effects of magazine paper production are asking their suppliers for recycled paper—many paper mills have the ability to use postconsumer content upon demand. While E - the Environmental Magazine and Mother Jones have been using postconsumer recycled paper for years, others such as Ms., Shape, and Salon are recent converts.
The award-winning photography in the National Audubon Society's magazine, published on 17% postconsumer recycled paper, dispels any myth about the print quality of the paper. David Seideman, editor-in-chief of Audubon, says, "We have received eleven awards in the past six years from American Photography and from Communication Arts—I think our award-winning record demonstrates our recycled paper's high performance."
Some magazines have found additional ways to support the environment and public health through publishing decisions. "As a women's magazine, we place tremendous priority on protecting women's health," explains Ms.’s associate publisher, Alicia Daly. “Because dioxin is a by-product of chlorine bleaching and dioxin has been linked to cancer, we wanted to avoid contributing to a problem our readers care so much about.”
Doug Moss, publisher and executive editor of E - the Environmental Magazine, which is printed on 30% postconsumer recycled paper, believes the benefits are clear. "Our forests, the quality of our air and water, and indeed our own health will be much better served by a magazine industry that uses postconsumer recycled paper and cleaner production and whitening processes."
Magazine publishers interested in improving their sustainability bottom line can get information and assistance from the publishers’guide, Different, Not Difficult: How to Make Sustainability Happen, produced last fall by AVEDA, Quad Graphics, the National Wildlife Federation, and Co-op America. The guide offers both the business case and a “how to” for using environmentally preferable papers and production methods. Publishers can download the guide at www.woodwise.org or call 1-800-58-GREEN to receive a free copy by mail. Publishers can also contact Frank Locantore directly at 1-800-584-7336.
The seventeen publications who participated in our survey are Adbusters, Audubon, Co-op America Quarterly, Defenders, E - the Environmental Magazine, The Herb Companion, Herbs for Health, Home Power, Mother Earth News, Mother Jones, Mothering, Ms., National Wildlife, Nature Conservancy, Ranger Rick, YES!, and Your Big Backyard. The trees saved by the magazine publishers are considered to be a mix of hardwoods and softwoods, with an average height of 40 feet and average diameter of 6-8 inches.
Co-op America, at www.GreenAmericaToday.org, is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982 and based in Washington, DC. Co-op America’s mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.
Contact: Frank Locantore, 202-872-5334, or franklocantore@GreenAmericaToday.org
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Please contact Todd Larsen by email | <urn:uuid:10abb1df-47de-451c-a5c5-371da92db9bf> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | https://www.greenamerica.org/about/newsroom/releases/news_2005_4_26.cfm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462555.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00029-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92627 | 1,050 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Vaccines are one of the greatest inventions of the last 150 years. They've all but eradicated deadly diseases like smallpox, polio, and measles from most of the world. The same vaccines that allowed civilization to flourish in the twentieth century, however, have become a political hot button in the twenty-first. What changed? It's possible that a whole generation grew up without witnessing firsthand the horrors of deadly contagious disease on children, and so they never understood the value of vaccination.
Let's take a refresher course and look at what vaccines are, how they work, and several myths surrounding their use.
How do vaccines work?
Vaccines are a single or multiple dose treatment designed to provide a person with immunity from a particular disease. They work by exposing you to a weakened version of a pathogen, like a flu virus. Your body's immune system remembers the pathogen's characteristics and develops the necessary antibodies to resist the pathogen if exposed to it in the wild.
After early experiments with smallpox vaccine, researchers in the twentieth century quickly invented vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and diphtheria along with a variety of other illnesses. The defeat of these diseases was not just due to science - it was also due to public health officials who presented a united front in developing and applying vaccines to the population, greatly increasing the quality of life during childhood and preventing unnecessary deaths. In an era of relative safety, when many deadly childhood diseases are kept at bay, many people are questioning the legitimacy of these vaccines, leading some parents to fear the very thing that might save their child's life.
Here are a few myths about vaccines — myths that could prove deadly.
Myth: Vaccines can give your child autism or other disorders.
Fact: No scientific study backs this claim, and the study that seeded the claim is now regarded as fraud.
In the 1998 Lancet article Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children, Dr. Andrew Wakefield suggested a link between the common Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR) vaccine and gastrointestinal disorders that later developed into a general connection between MMR and autism. The research was unable to be reproduced and it was later found that Dr. Wakefield's research was paid for in part by lawyer's representing clients in an effort to sue vaccine manufacturers and that Wakefield himself patented a Measles vaccine in 1997. The Lancet officially retracted the article in February 2010. Wakefield is no longer a licensed physician in the US or UK , but moved to the United States and founded the Thoughtful Life Care Center for Children, only to resign as Executive Director after the Lancet retracted the seminal 1998 article.
Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann recently suggested that the HPV vaccine, often given to individuals between the ages of 11 and 12 to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, caused mental retardation, quickly leading the American Academy of Pediatrics to deny the suggestion and Bachman herself to step away from the claim. This statement, however, shows the power inherent in a sentence not backed with evidence, especially when said on a national stage.
Myth: Vaccine additives are harmful.
Fact: While the components may sound scary, vaccine additives offer a preventative advantage.
The mercury-based additive thimersol was a key talking point in the MMR vaccine and autism controversy. Thimersol is present in vaccines in order to prevent contamination of bacteria. Although a definitive link to autism was never established, Thimersol was nevertheless removed from most childhood vaccines as a precaution as of 2001. Another vaccine component, monosodium glutamate (the additive MSG often found in foods), is included in order to stabilize the vaccine through changes in temperature and increase shelf life. This is an especially worthwhile additive when transporting vaccines to other countries.Aluminum salts are also included, as they increase the body's immune response reaction, allowing for a smaller quantity of vaccine itself to be administered. Aluminum and MSG are common in our food and environment, and while they may pose limited health issues, the CDC feels that they are safe enough to be administered in vaccine
Myth: Skipping childhood vaccines is the safe and cautious move.
Fact: You are exposing your child to diseases that humanity spent decades trying to eradicate.
Dr. Wakefield's work has convinced parents that they should prevent their children from receiving the MMR vaccine in the UK and worldwide. Thousands of individuals worked throughout the early twenteith century to rid most of the world of smallpox, polio, and measles. Without vaccines, these diseases could recur — and easy worldwide travel in the twenty-first century could jumpstart an outbreak. Additionally, non-medical exemptions for several childhood vaccines have become commonplace, leading to geographic outbreaks of oft-vaccinated diseases, such as the recent with a recent measles outbreak observed in San Diego, California in 2008.
Prior to widespread vaccination in the twentieth century, children were lucky to survive past the age of 10. Vaccines give a chance for every child to survive — the Center for Disease Control's recommended childhood vaccine schedule can be perused here. Un-vaccinated children pose a threat to themselves (for example, if they are exposed to tetanus while playing), as well as a greater societal and public health risk if they pass a disease along to other people.
Deadly diseases are real - that's why the vaccines exist. Preventing childhood vaccines can expose everyone to horrors long since eradicated in most parts of the world. Giving children vaccines is like teaching them fire safety: It could save their lives, and the lives of everyone around them, too.
Images courtesy of the AP. Source documents are linked within the article. | <urn:uuid:548d6fa0-d208-4d19-b7f8-d65d7406e301> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://io9.com/5840419/how-vaccines-saved-the-world?tag=Public-Health | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463028.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00071-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95952 | 1,171 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Ruby: Productive Programming Language
Every few years something significant happens in the land of computer programming. In my opinion the Ruby computer language is such a landmark.
Over the years I have seen programmer productivity go up. These are no hard measured calculations, but I have the impression that every five years the speed of delivering software doubles. Not only that, the curve for writing maintainable software appears to increase linearly too. A lot of that speed can be attributed to the tools of a developer, and core to these tools is the computer language.
Computer languages are essentially alike. There are more similarities than differences between any language. Nevertheless, the differences have a large impact on solving problems, finding ways of expression and human interaction. For example, LISP, a language of great beauty and simplicity in conception, reflects its allegiance more to computers than to humans. A language easy to interpret is not necessarily easy to program, as many a student can attest. LISP's most amazing feature is that it shows with how few rules one can create a powerful computer language.
Structured languages like Pascal and C clearly bridged a gap between native assembler and quick, human-readable coding. C is still widely used where performance matters--it is possible to write close to the assembler, as the Linux and BSD kernels prove.
With C++ in the early nineties, I personally went through a period of exploration and discovery. Classes, objects, containers, operator overloading, the works. Reading Stroustrup's classic book was crucial to understanding C++ as a language, and I loved it. But with hindsight I can see it takes something extra to become productive in C++; it is not for everyone.
Java came to the rescue. A much simpler language with an elegance in OOP (object-oriented programming), Java does have some down sides, like slow JVMs dealing with large libraries. The language itself has some short comings too. Many experienced C++ programmers use Java, and the complaint will come that it feels like working with their hands tied behind the back. Nevertheless Java is great for corporate-type team programming efforts. As a language it goes some way in enforcing structure and using OOP concepts.
In parallel, two other languages made a mark in the nineties: Perl and Python. Both are (interpreted) scripting languages and have some real advantages over C++ and Java in terms of delivery time of software (more on that below). With current levels of computing power, performance is hardly an issue for most "user-land" software.
Perl was a revolution in a way. and most of its productivity boost was due to the introduction of a full programming language with light notation for regular expressions, arrays and especially hashes.
Perl has some real problems, though, as almost everyone will assert who has participated in large Perl programming efforts. Perl has OOP extensions, but they are non-obvious and laborious. I did enjoy learning Perl OOP because it taught me a lot about OOP itself and how to implement OOP in a language as a single hack. Writing Perl OOP, however, is no joy. Maintaining a large Perl source base is only possible with the highest level of discipline by the coders, and the language itself does not help enforcing correct coding practices.
Python is cleaner as a language though its OOP was added as an afterthought--and it shows. I spent some serious time looking into Python and did not like it that much. It gives a lot but runs short, for example, with object elements all being public. In a team effort, that means developers have trouble understanding how their classes are being used (or abused). In this situation, I would even have trouble trusting my own code. Operator overloading is ugly, the syntax of a colon after an if statement I find to be non-obvious, etc. The indentation idea is clever, but somehow it doesn't improve code readability. In short, Python almost makes it but not quite.
Late last year I got my hands on the Ruby book by the (self-named) pragmatic programmers, Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt. The book also has an on-line version. I read the book in one go, and it goes into the hall of fame of important computer books, as far as I am concerned, right next to the Stroustrup. After reading it, I almost skipped sleep for a week because I was so excited by the implications of Ruby, a programming language that reads like poetry.
The author of Ruby, Yukihiro Matsumoto, aka Matz, knows his languages (LISP, Small Talk, Perl, Python and others) and aimed to create his perfect language. Ruby follows the Principle of Least Surprise and, funny enough, gets close. It feels, in fact, exactly like the computer language I have wanted to design all my life (without really knowing it).
Ruby was developed after 1994 and does not carry the baggage of Perl and Python; it is the new kid on the block. It comes with extensive libraries, not as rich as Perl's CPAN, but after a year of working with Ruby, I haven't missed any critical components. Ruby is complete with HTML and FTP classes, CGI support, XML parsers, database libraries, GTK and Qt bindings and even a pure Ruby BTree library. It is also quite straightforward to link up Ruby and Python libraries, which gives it an even richer base. Ruby is well supported on UNIX and Windows; developing on UNIX and deploying on Windows works without a hitch, including GUI development.
- Resurrecting the Armadillo
- High-Availability Storage with HA-LVM
- March 2015 Issue of Linux Journal: System Administration
- Real-Time Rogue Wireless Access Point Detection with the Raspberry Pi
- DNSMasq, the Pint-Sized Super Dæmon!
- Localhost DNS Cache
- Days Between Dates: the Counting
- The Usability of GNOME
- Linux for Astronomers
- You're the Boss with UBOS | <urn:uuid:dccb4bc3-4b65-4aa6-a5b4-770390f5c283> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5915?quicktabs_1=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463956.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00202-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956796 | 1,252 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Two lecterns, with lights, placed on either side of the stage, will simplify the presentation.
A single lighted candle is placed on a table in front of the moderator..
Rank symbols are placed on low tables between the two lecterns. An unlit candle is placed in front of each symbol.
Twelve small candles are set on a table to one side.
Three large candles are set on a table on the other side.
Lights are dimmed.
Speaker #1 (Assistant Scout Master or other Troop leader)
Speaker #2 (Assistant Scout Master or other Troop leader)
Second Class Scout
First Class Scout
MODERATOR: To earn the highest rank in Scouting, a Scout must spend a great deal of time and effort. Therefore, the occasion that recognizes his accomplishments should be memorable. Tonight, we shall follow Light the Eagle trail as we recognize the accomplishments of (Eagle candidates name).
When a boy becomes a Boy Scout there is within him something that we call the spirit of Scouting. This single lighted candle before you represents that spirit. Because the spirit of Scouting embodies the principles of the Scout Oath and Law, it becomes a shining beacon of inspiration. Alone, this light may seem feeble, but when multiplied by the more than three and a half million boys in Scouting around the world, it is powerful indeed. After a boy enters Scouting, the Scout Law that he promises to obey begins to guide his life. One by one, using the flame from the spirit of Scouting, we shall light the symbols for each part of the Scout Law. There are 12 parts; each is an important foundation in the building of strong character.
(Twelve small candles are lit as the Scout Law is read.)
A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful. Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
(Three large candles are lit by a Scout as the Scout Oath is read)
In the Scout Oath the young Scout promises upon his honor to do his best to do his duty, first to God and his country; second, toother people, by helping them at all times; and third, to himself, by keeping himself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. You see how the light from the spirit of Scouting is now beginning to grow and become brighter.
SPEAKER #1: Now, in the distant, looms the hazy outlines of Eagle summit, flanked by the lesser peaks that represent the Star and Life ranks. To the new Scout they are very far away, but they will come a lot closer as the light from the spirit of Scouting continues to spread. The Scout begins as a Tenderfoot,
(A Tenderfoot Scout lights the candle in front of the Tenderfoot symbol.)
The Tenderfoot badge is the first rank a Scout receives. It stands at the foot of the Eagle Trail. Once inspired by the spirit of Scouting, he won't stay a Tenderfoot very long. Putting a few simple achievements behind him, he will shortly climb to the rank of Second Class.
(A Second Class Scout lights the candle in front of the Second Class symbol.)
The requirements for Second Class become more difficult. A Scout must learn to be self sufficient in the outdoors and continue to render service to others. Now the Scout is ready for the challenge to attain First Class.
(A First Class Scout lights the candle in front of the First Class symbol.)
Although the requirements become more difficult, he keeps climbing until finally comes the day when he tops the first summit along the Eagle Trail. There he receives his First Class Badge.
(A Star Scout lights the candle in front of the Star symbol.)
SPEAKER #2: A broad field of merit badges awaits the First Class Scout. More than 100 merit badges guide the Scout to explore careers, hobbies, and community interest items. The Scout needs but a total of six to conquer the Star Scout summit. Probably a lot sooner than he thought possible, the Scout finds himself standing on Star ridge. Thus, through leadership, service, and achievement, he conquers the first of three great peaks along the Eagle Trail.
(A Life Scout lights the candle in front of the Life symbol.)
The trail to the next summit, Life Scout peak, isn't easy. There is leadership to demonstrate, service to others, and plenty of hard work in mastering five additional merit badges and helping fellow Scouts. The higher the Scout climbs, the fewer travelers he meets along the trail. Yet there are no impossible barriers along the way. This Life Scout's goal can be achieved, but it takes real effort.
(An Eagle Scout lights the candle in front of the Eagle symbol.)
While the rank of Life Scout is a coveted one, and deserving to all who obtain it, the Eagle Trail does not end there; it leads on toward a higher summit. The pathway narrows and steepens considerably as it winds along ledges of personal achievement and mountain pastures of troop accomplishment. Mile by mile, the trail becomes more trying. Many challenges must be conquered in these last miles. Before the highest summit along the Eagle Trail can be completed, additional merit badges must be earned. Some of them are very difficult and leadership and service to others are not forgotten. Only with the greatest persistence and courage can the Scout gain the thrill of victory that comes while looking back down the trail, from the very top of the Eagle summit.
SM: Eagle candidate [ Scout's name ], you are to be congratulated for reaching the highest peak of the Eagle Trail; your diligence and hard work have paid off. If you, along with your mother and father, will come forward, your Eagle Badge of rank will be presented.
You have made Troop __________ very proud. May the qualities that inspired you to this achievement continue to lead you on to even greater success in your life.
As an Eagle Scout, the eyes of all Scouting -- yes, the eyes of the world, will be upon you. The traditions of Eagle Scout are high. May you live up to those traditions, always guided by the spirit of Scouting, represented by these blazing candles before you. The Eagle Badge that you are about to receive is symbolic of this spirit of Scouting.
(Eagle badge is presented to the mother to pin on candidate's uniform.)
SM: Mrs. ______________, pin this Eagle badge on your son's chest so that the world may know that he is a Eagle Scout.
(Miniature Eagle badge is given to the Eagle Scout to pin on his mother.)
SM: Eagle Scout [ Scout's name ], pin this miniature badge over your mother's heart in recognition of her love, encouragement, faith, and trust in your future. As an Eagle Scout, may you never disappoint her.
(Eagle neckerchief is given to the father to place around the neck of his son.)
SM: Place this neckerchief around your son's neck to tell the world you will continue to support him as he grows into a man.
MODERATOR: Will the audience please rise and give Eagle Scout [ Scout's name ], a round of applause.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our Eagle Court of Honor. Anyone wishing to congratulate troop _____'s newest Eagle Scout and his proud parents are invited to the reception immediately after our closing. | <urn:uuid:95f769a4-b4a1-4b3d-87db-67a2afa5317b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://insanescouter.org/p/1091/173/Lighting_The_Eagle_Trail_Ceremony.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462141.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00288-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948223 | 1,524 | 2.515625 | 3 |
What You Need to Know About AIDS Today
What You Need to Know About AIDS Today
Although December 1 is World AIDS Day, at Stony Brook we work every day of the year to raise awareness, promote testing, provide early intervention, offer the latest treatments and serve as Suffolk County’s premier Designated AIDS Center (DAC) and resource for children, adolescent, adults and women who are pregnant with HIV and AIDS. Here’s what our experts have to say about how treatment has evolved, the outlook has improved, the testing guidelines have changed — and what else you need to know now.
If there was just one thing people could understand about HIV and AIDS, what would it be?
That it is a highly treatable illness. It is no longer the dire diagnosis it once was. Today, people can typically live 10 to 20 years with the HIV virus without developing AIDS. This is primarily due to new medications that offer a simplified treatment regimen, fewer side effects and a better quality of life. Today, HIV is now treated more like a chronic illness and less like a health crisis, which translates into longer, healthier lives
What is the one thing that people don’t know, but should?
That people may not be aware they are infected with the virus. They may look and feel fine, but because they don’t know they have HIV, they are in danger of spreading it and/or developing more severe complications. Like so many diseases, the outlook for HIV is best when detected early.
As a result, in 2010, the state of New York instituted new testing laws asking hospitals to put a program into place over time, in which all patients receiving care — inpatients, outpatients receiving primary care or patients in the emergency department (ED) — be offered an HIV test. The test is voluntary and, of course, completely confidential. Besides helping with early detection, the new testing mandate keeps HIV/AIDS awareness on top of everyone’s mind and makes it just another part of a strong preventive health routine. Stony Brook’s HIV testing program is hospital-wide.. One of the reasons this testing law has been implemented is because of the success of an earlier law that asked women who are pregnant to be tested voluntarily. Today, in New York State, the mother-baby transmission of HIV has all but been eliminated
So who should get tested?
New York State guidelines recommend that everyone from age 13 to 64 should be tested at least once, and preferably once a year. The first test is a baseline. If it comes back negative, it should be repeated in three to six months because the test measures the presence of antibodies in the bloodstream — not the presence of the virus itself — and the virus takes time to develop. If that test is also negative, the person should continue to practice safe behaviors, as well as become educated on transmission. An important misconception to clarify: Just because you tested negative does not make you “immune” to the virus. You have to continue to be safe. So as a corollary, it makes sense to continue to get re-tested as well.
Specific HIV Testing is another area where great advances have been made. Stony Brook offers two kinds of confidential tests: the rapid test, with its under-an-hour turnaround for results, and the more traditional blood test, which delivers results within approximately a day. Both state-of-the-art tests are highly sensitive (detecting the proportion of people who are correctly identified with having the disease) and specific (detecting the proportion of people who are correctly identified as not having the condition) for HIV. This helps eliminate the “false positives” of earlier generation tests and gives an accurate diagnosis
I tested positive, now what?
First, remember that highly effective treatments are now available. And second, know that the latest treatments, including clinical trials, are available at Stony Brook. Stony Brook has long been a leader when it comes to HIV and AIDS and is the go-to hospital in Suffolk County. With its outstanding care for patients, it serves as a resource for other hospitals, and is a training facility for physicians and an educator for the community. In fact, it is the only facility in Suffolk County, Nassau County, Queens and Brooklyn to have continuous National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding since 1992. Stony Brook’s Maternal Child HIV Center is just one of nine Centers of Excellence in the state, as designated by the New York State AIDS Institute
What services does Stony Brook offer?
Stony Brook provides testing, treatment, clinical trials, resources and support through three separate programs: adult, pediatric/adolescent and maternal/child. They all share a similar approach, however, in that they are comprehensive, team-based and ongoing. Once patients are referred to one of these centers, they receive individualized, coordinated care led by an infectious disease physician specializing in HIV. Additional services are also available to patients through grant-funded programs, including clinical trials and research initiatives, Medical Case Management, Medical Nutrition Therapy, Behavioral Health Education, and Treatment Adherence Services. If additional support is needed, the team connects patients with resources both at Stony Brook and in the community for emotional support, family support, case management, , therapy, financial assistance for medications, and whatever interventions are appropriate for the patient. Stony Brook is the hub of the Suffolk County network, so patients have unparalleled access to the services they need.
Any final thoughts?
We can’t stress it enough: Be smart,
get tested. There really are no barriers to testing and treatment anymore. At
Stony Brook, testing is there for the asking — quick, accurate and totally
confidential. You’ll also find state-of-the-art treatment in your own backyard.
Lack of health insurance should not be a barrier, either, as we can connect
patients with assistance programs and other community safety nets.
For more information about the Adult HIV Center, call (631) 444-1667.
For more information about the Maternal-Child or Pediatric/Adolescent HIV Center, call (631) 444-7692. | <urn:uuid:b3fcbc48-ac30-464f-b128-b240480b4bd7> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/patientcare/aidstoday | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465456.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00208-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954791 | 1,281 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Much of the talk of Mars these days centers on two missions: one in the here-and-now and another at least two decades into the future. Last August, NASA’s Curiosity rover touched down in the broad expanse of Gale Crater and has already made significant inroads in our understanding of the Red Planet. As for the other voyage, much excitement surrounds plans to send humans to Mars, with newly-reinaugurated President Barack Obama timetabling such an event for the mid-2030s at the earliest. Yet another important mission has been working earnestly to further our knowledge of the planet which is closest to our own in many fundamental ways.
Since its arrival in orbit in March 2006, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO, nicknamed ‘Mr. O’) has yielded its own valuable insights. This week, NASA announced the possible presence of subsurface water within McLaughlin Crater, a yawning bowl 57 miles in diameter and up to 1.4 miles deep, at some point in Mars’ geological past. The crater lies on a slope along the edge of “Arabia Terra,” a battered and eroded region in Mars’ northern hemisphere, which is thought to represent one of the planet’s oldest terrains. The discovery adds to a growing dossier of evidence that Mars may have been considerably “wetter” in its early evolution.
According to data from MRO’s Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), the crater contains layered, flat rocks at its floor, which contain carbonate and clay minerals, known to form in the presence of water. McLaughlin lacks “inflow” channels of any large size, and small channels within its walls end close to a level which could have marked the surface of an ancient lake, contained within the crater’s closed basin. The underground zone contributing the water supply has been seen by some scientists as a wet oasis, possibly capable of providing a life-sustaining habitat.
“Taken together, the observations in McLaughlin Crater provide the best evidence of carbonate forming within a lake environment, instead of being washed into a crater from outside,” said Joseph Michalski, jointly affiliated with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz., and London’s Natural History Museum. He added that several other CRISM studies have enabled scientists to study rocks exhumed from Mars’ subsurface by meteoritic impacts … rocks which had been “altered” early in the planet’s history, probably by the action of hydrothermal fluids. “These fluids, trapped in the subsurface,” explained Michalski, “could have periodically breached the surface in deep basins such as McLaughlin Crater, possibly carrying clues to surface habitability.”
CRISM was designed, built, and tested at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore, Md., with the specific purpose of searching for mineralogical traces of past and present water deposits on Mars. It represents the work of investigators from over ten different universities and academic institutions, and its search has seen it put to work on mapping the presence of iron and oxides—which can be chemically altered by water—as well as phyllosilicates and carbonates, known to form in the presence of water. CRISM has also proven important in examining ice and dust particles in the Martian atmosphere as a means of understanding the mechanisms behind climatic and seasonal change.
Launched in August 2005, atop an Atlas V “401” rocket—the very same configuration as will be used to loft the TDRS-K communications and data-relay satellite next week—the $720 million MRO mission arrived in orbit around the Red Planet just seven months later. Following a prolonged phase of atmospheric “aerobraking,” it began its first science phase the following November and its purpose has been described as two-pronged: “Reconnaissance” of sites for future landing missions (including that of Curiosity) and “Exploration” of the planet’s climate, weather, atmosphere, and geological history.
As well as monitoring Mars’ weather and surface conditions on a daily basis, MRO photographed the Opportunity rover on the rim of Victoria Crater in October 2006 and the descent of Curiosity towards Bradbury Landing last August. It also photographed the parachute-assisted fall of the Phoenix lander toward a touchdown in the vast lowland region of Vastitas Borealis in May 2008. Future plans for MRO continue beyond its retirement from formal science duties. Shortly after its arrival in orbit around Mars, in November 2006, it successfully demonstrated its ability as a communications and data relay for the Spirit rover. This has led to much anticipation that it will support the communications and navigational needs of upcoming missions.
Current thinking postulates that McLaughlin’s depth provided the scope for the underground water to flow into the interior of the crater. The results of Michalski’s team will be published on Saturday in the online version of Nature Geoscience. “This new report and others are continuing to reveal a more complex Mars than previously appreciated,” said MRO Project Scientist Rich Zurek of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., “with at least some areas more likely to reveal signs of ancient life than others.” | <urn:uuid:86816402-7d33-4815-b2d1-42c503befd8a> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.americaspace.com/?p=30622 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463165.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00097-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954661 | 1,122 | 3.65625 | 4 |
Some foods can help you control diabetes, while others can spike your blood sugar levels and should be eaten sparingly.
Healthy eating is one of the best ways to manage type 2 diabetes. Because this type of diabetes is strongly linked to excess weight, cutting calories and following the right kind of diabetes diet will go a long way toward improving your health.
One of the most important aspects of good nutrition when you have type 2 diabetes is eating meals with the right mix of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to keep blood sugars as normal as possible throughout the day. The next step is choosing among the foods and beverages that can give you an extra edge in managing type 2 diabetes, says dietitian Beth Reardon, MS, RD, an integrative nutritionist and food researcher at Duke University Integrative Medicine in Durham, N.C.
Diabetes Diet: Pre-Germinated Brown Rice
A diabetes diet that includes this healthy whole grain may reduce the risk of developing diabetic neuropathy, which is nerve damage resulting from high blood sugars. Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia found that pre-germinated brown rice protected animals with diabetes from this common complication. To make pre-germinated rice, you soak the rice in warm water overnight before cooking. This stimulates the rice to germinate, producing tiny shoots that are invisible, but contain chemical complexes that appear to be protective against neuropathy.
This rice is also packed with fiber, an important component for diabetes management. “Because fiber takes a long time to digest, sugars are released slowly,” says Reardon. “That helps keep blood sugar levels steady and prevents glucose spikes.”
Diabetes Diet: Oranges and Spinach
In a recent study of men and women ages 40 to 75, those with the most vitamin C in their bodies had the lowest incidence of type 2 diabetes. Oranges and orange juice are the best sources of vitamin C, says Reardon. Other foods with generous amounts of vitamin C are grapefruit, strawberries, and tomatoes. (If you are on a statin drug for high cholesterol, check with your doctor or pharmacist before eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice, as it can cause dangerously increased levels of atorvastatin, lovastatin, and simvastatin.)
When it comes to leafy greens, just one cup of spinach contains 40 percent of your daily value of magnesium, a mineral that can help regulate blood sugar levels — important because people with type 2 diabetes frequently have low levels of magnesium. To get more of this magnesium-rich green veggie into your diet, substitute spinach for lettuce on sandwiches and in salads, suggests Reardon. Not a big fan of spinach? Nuts, beans, and low-fat diary products are also good sources of magnesium.
Diabetes Diet: Low-Fat Milk
Milk is loaded with calcium and vitamin D. This double whammy of essential nutrients may help in your quest to keep type 2 diabetes under control. In a 20-year study of almost 84,000 women, those who consumed the most calcium and vitamin D gained the most protection from type 2 diabetes. Just be sure it’s low-fat — skim or 1 percent milk will control your intake of saturated fats and help prevent weight gain.
Diabetes Diet: Coffee With Cinnamon
Several studies have documented that cinnamon can lower blood sugar levels. But for an even bigger punch of diabetes protection, sprinkle cinnamon in your morning coffee. Coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, possibly due to its antioxidant properties. Having both cinnamon and coffee can give you double the ammunition to fight type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes Diet: Curry
A hearty bowl of curry could help control your type 2 diabetes. That’s because turmeric, a spice used in curry, can help prevent the inflammation associated with type 2 diabetes. “Turmeric contains a chemical called curcumin, which is a natural anti-inflammatory that works as well as some anti-inflammatory drugs,” says Reardon. Curry typically contains a heaping helping of turmeric, but you can spice up other dishes with turmeric as well.
Diabetes Diet: Foods to Avoid
It’s just as important to steer clear of foods that can make managing type 2 diabetes more difficult, or at least eat them sparingly. Don’t feast on foods that are high on the glycemic index (GI). This is a system that ranks foods by how they affect blood sugar. High GI foods, such as white rice, doughnuts, soda, and white bread, can cause glucose levels to skyrocket. The same goes for sweets and desserts. “Because these foods are high in carbohydrates, they can cause blood sugar levels to go up considerably,” says Reardon.
That doesn’t mean you can never have a slice of pie or a few cookies. Just be smart about eating foods that can make controlling your type 2 diabetes more challenging. Having a piece of cake with a low-carb meal (such as baked chicken and broccoli) won’t raise glucose levels as much as cake after a big pasta meal.
It’s also wise to watch your alcohol consumption since alcohol adds calories and can cause dips in blood sugar levels. The American Diabetes Association recommends that women limit alcohol to one drink daily and men to two drinks per day.
Managing type 2 diabetes involves paying careful attention to what you eat. If you start with a base of good-for-you foods, building a healthy diet will be that much easier. | <urn:uuid:1b8e4b06-39e0-4655-b948-8a62e61f60e3> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | https://qdfriends.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/foods-that-may-control-or-spike-blood-glucose/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936535306.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074215-00151-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926719 | 1,141 | 2.78125 | 3 |
The Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy (PCL) model is a school improvement initiative dedicated to increasing student achievement developed by Dr. Linda Dorn at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. The Illinois Reading Recovery Center for Literacy at National-Louis University continues to collaborate with the University of Arkansas in Little Rock, other university centers though out the United States, Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Consortium for Educational Change (CEC).
To develop self-regulated learners who meet rigorous state and national academic standards.
To develop self-regulated learners with the capacity to guide and monitor their learning to meet the needs of a global society.
To develop a seamless transition across school programs, curriculum approaches, and assessment systems where best practices in literacy instruction are implemented to create intellectual environments that make literate thinking a top priority for students.
- The PCL Logo of interlocking diamonds symbolizes the dynamic, continuous relationship between school literacy programs and the educational agencies and policies that influence school improvement.
- The first diamond represents the relationship of four essential components within the learning system: Core classroom literacy components, School embedded professional development, Interventions for struggling learners, Accountability and research
- The second diamond represents the relationship between educational agencies: School Systems, University College of Education, State Board of Education, State Legislation
The Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy (PCL) model is a school-reform project dedicated to increasing student achievement. The model uses literacy as a tool for implementing school improvement in four related areas: student learning, teacher perceptions, school climate, and school processes. Emphasis is placed on the dynamic, continuous relationship between a school's literacy program and the educational agencies and policies that influence school improvement. Four essential components within the school are:
- classroom literacy framework,
- school-embedded professional development,
- layered interventions for struggling learners,
- accountability and research.
An essential element of the PCL model is the training of district and school literacy coaches. Literacy coaches participate in highly rigorous post-graduate course work while working full time in their home schools with students, teachers and administrators. The training and course work prepares Literacy coaches in four critical areas: 1) literacy instruction and assessment, 2) coordination of a school's literacy curriculum, 3) mentoring teachers and providing in-house professional development, 4) analyzing and reporting school data.
In PCL schools, data are studied to determine changes over time in demographics, perceptions, processes, and student achievement. Literacy team meetings provide a collaborative context for analyzing school data, identifying problems, posing solutions, evaluating alternatives, and making recommendations. Intervention grade-level team meetings are used to review student data and select appropriate interventions that include Reading Recovery for the most tangled first graders and small group services for other needy students. Progress monitoring, program evaluation, and school plans are critical components for continuous school improvement.
A goal of the PCL model is to develop a seamless transition across school programs, curriculum approaches, and assessment systems. An emphasis is placed on creating professional communities within schools where teachers collaborate on teaching and learning issues. Working toward this goal requires developing an understanding of each person's individual professional roles and responsibilities. Key staff positions are described in the following section.
Key Staff Positions
District Literacy Coach (K-12)
The major role of the district literacy coach is to implement comprehensive literacy changes at a district level. District Coaches become knowledgeable in four interrelated areas:
- literacy theory,
- effective literacy practices and assessments,
- coordinating and managing a literacy program, and
- working with adults, including knowledge of coaching and mentoring techniques.
The major role of district literacy coaches is to support school literacy coaches with school-embedded professional development, to manage, coordinate, and assess the district-wide literacy curriculum, to teach students every day in a variety of settings and grade levels, to participate in the literacy coach network, and to self-reflect on professional learning and literacy goals.
School Literacy Coach
The major role of the school literacy coach is to implement comprehensive literacy changes at the school level. Toward this goal, the responsibilities of an effective literacy coach include: providing demonstrations of the literacy framework; working strategically with teachers in planning, monitoring, and assessing their teaching; observing and coaching teachers in effective literacy practices; conducting pre- and post conferences with teachers, including constructive feedback; planning and facilitating literacy team meetings, professional study groups, and staff development sessions in best literacy practices; and teaching an intervention group of students for 30 to 40 minutes daily.
School Administrators and Building Principals
School administrators understand the school's roles and responsibilities of implementing the Partnership in Comprehensive Literacy model. They agree to implement the model as outlined by the university training center, including the implementation of a Comprehensive Intervention Model that provides layers of support for struggling learners across grade levels. School administrators participate in annual professional development sessions through the Network of Literacy Administrators.
Teachers understand their roles and responsibilities of implementing the Partnership in Comprehensive Literacy Model. They agree to implement the model as outlined by the university training center. Teachers organize the classroom to meet the needs of diverse learners, including selecting appropriate materials and working with whole group, small group, and individual learners. Teachers use a workshop approach to learning across the curriculum, including reading, writing, language, and content workshops. Small group reading and writing instruction is provided to meet the needs of diverse learners; and explicit mini-lessons are tailored to meet the needs of the majority of students across the curriculum. Daily one-to-one conferences are scheduled with students during the workshop framework.
The PCL model acknowledges school change as a dynamic, continuous process that requires commitment and collaboration at many levels.
Systemic change lies in our understandings of how children learn and in our ability to problem-solve with colleagues who work with children, who share common experiences, and who are committed to continuous school improvement processes. | <urn:uuid:0195e580-e29e-4446-846a-50de67f947f0> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.nl.edu/readingrecoverycenter/comprehensiveliteracy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465456.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00208-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938232 | 1,212 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Edited by Dr. Jane Aronson
Syphilis is a very common disease in Eastern Europe, and cases of syphilis are increasing rapidly. Therefore, it is possible that a child's medical report may list exposure to syphilis (sometimes translated as Lues, an older term for syphilis) as a medical condition, or it may simply state that the mother was known to have syphilis.
History of an Epidemic
Due to political, social and economic factors in Eastern Europe today, many men and women have experienced significant declines in health. Since the restructuring of the former Soviet Union, poverty and unemployment have increased. Health care systems have been stretched to the limit, and drug and alcohol use has also increased.
There is now an epidemic of syphilis in Eastern Europe, and those at greatest risk are adolescent and young adult women and men. Between 1990 and 1996, syphilis rates increased 48-fold among Russians, and among teenagers it increased 68-fold. Syphilis cases have also skyrocketed in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine since 1990. It is not surprising, therefore, that many mothers whose children are up for adoption may have a history of syphilis.
What is Syphilis?
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). It is fairly common throughout the world, in the US as well as in Eastern Europe. If a person has been tested and knows they have syphilis, it is easily treated with penicillin or other antibiotic. Although syphilis is serious, if detected and treated early, it can be completely cured.
What is Congenital Syphilis?
Congenital syphilis occurs in children whose mothers have had syphilis while they were pregnant. When a pregnant woman has syphilis that has not been treated, she may transmit the infection to her baby. Twenty percent of babies with congenital syphilis are stillborn or die in the first few weeks of life. About 60% of babies with congenital syphilis have no symptoms at birth. Most babies (80%) are diagnosed before 3 months of age, although symptoms can appear any time in the first 2 years. Congenital syphilis can also be completely cured if detected and treated early.
Treatment of Syphilis
If a pregnant woman is known to have syphilis, she should be treated with penicillin. This significantly reduces the chances of transmitting the infection to her baby. If a pregnant woman has syphilis and has not been treated, her baby should be treated with intravenous penicillin for 10-14 days after birth (intramuscular penicillin can be used as well in certain circumstances), which is standard treatment in the US.
In Russia, women attending maternity hospitals for their prenatal care are routinely tested for syphilis and treated before giving birth. Russian children in orphanages who are born to mothers with past syphilis which has already been treated are given 30 days of daily intramuscular injections of penicillin because the doctors are unable to determine the difference between acute and past infection by the blood work. This treatment is quite effective, but treatment failure can occur if the treatment was incomplete or the medicine was old.
What Should Adoptive Parents Do?
Experience with Adopted Children
Dr. Jane Aronson is an infectious disease pediatrician and Director of the International Pediatric Health Services, PLLC in New York. Dr. Aronson reviews 80-100 medical reports of children from Eastern Europe a month, and at least one-third of all reports mention exposure to syphilis. In her practice, she sees about 200 children adopted from Eastern Europe each year; thus far, seven children have had positive antibodies for syphilis indicating past exposure, but none of the children actually had acute syhilis at the time of their evaluation. All of the children had hearing and vision screening which were normal as well.
Recently, Dr. Aronson heard from a family who adopted a 17-month old girl who tested positive for syphilis upon return to the US (both RPR and FTA-ABS were positive). According to her medical report, she had been treated as an infant with 28 days of intramuscular penicillin and her syphilis tests in Russia were all negative. The girl was admitted to the hospital in the US for 10 days of intravenous penicillin. She tolerated the treatment well and she is a completely healthy child.
"This really drives home the message that syphilis tests must be repeated in the home country when the child first arrives," said Dr. Aronson. "It also shows how essential parents are as advocates for their children. The pediatrician did not want to do the syphilis tests and actually fought with the mother a bit, but the mother insisted"
Is "Exposure to Syphilis" a Concern?
Today, because syphilis is easily and frequently diagnosed in Russia, and because pregnant women and babies are almost always treated adequately for syphilis, "exposure to syphilis" is only a small concern for adoptive parents. However, the public health situation in Eastern Europe is changing rapidly.
"I am not as worried about syphilis as I used to be when I first started as an adoption medicine specialist six years ago," said Dr. Aronson. "I want parents to understand the possibilities of exposure, but I don't want parents to be discouraged from adopting a child who has been exposed to syphilis. It is essential that the child have both tests for syphilis when they arrive home. I want pediatricians and family doctors who take care of children adopted from abroad to know how important it is to test for syphilis when a child first arrives in the home country. There will be children who do test positive for acute syphilis and who will require treatment when they arrive home."
The situation with syphilis diagnosis and treatment in other Eastern European countries is generally similar to that of Russia, although there is greater knowledge of procedures in Russia, and more experience with children adopted from Russia.
One possible concern of an "exposure to syphilis" diagnosis is a result of the treatment children undergo. Intramuscular injections of penicillin are very painful and may cause some tactile defensiveness in children. In addition, reusing needles could be a potential source of transmission for hepatitis and HIV although disposable needles are commonly used in Russia
There are other potential concerns associated with a syphilis diagnosis in the mother. The epidemic of syphilis in Eastern Europe is closely associated with drug and alcohol use, as well as with HIV infection and hepatitis B and C infection.
To date, Dr. Aronson has seen no cases of HIV in her practice in the children adopted from Eastern Europe. Almost all children in orphanages in Eastern Europe are tested for HIV and hepatitis before they are made available for adoption, and adoptive parents should request all test results for their children. However, Eastern European blood tests should not be considered that reliable. There have been some cases of hepatitis B among a small percentage of children who tested negative in their country of origin. HIV and hepatitis B and C tests should be repeated once the child arrives in the home country. Hepatitis B and C tests should be repeated six months after the initial test in the home country because of the lengthy incubation periods.
If parents have questions or concerns about a child's medical record, it is important to have medical records, photographs and videos evaluated by a doctor or other specialist who has experience with internationally adopted children. (link to list of doctors who review videotapes).
Links to further information:
Vanderbilt Medical Center description of Congenital Syphilis
Johns Hopkins University STD Research Group
|This page last updated September 17, 2003 6:05 PM EST| | <urn:uuid:34f476d1-9934-4541-b3b6-c2515fe54605> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.orphandoctor.com/medical/commondiseases/infectiousdiseases/syphilis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462141.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00289-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964554 | 1,570 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The Indian black turtle is a medium-sized freshwater turtle from South Asia (2). Despite its common name, the colour of this attractive turtle varies hugely, with the rigid upper shell, or ‘carapace’, ranging from reddish to dark brown or black, often with three yellowish ridges running along its length (2)(3). The underside, or ‘plastron’, is typically a uniform brown with a light trim around the edge. The head of the Indian black turtle may have a scattering of orange or yellow spots, with the intensity of the colour of this spotting varying between the six different subspecies(2)(3). The limbs and tail are generally a grey colour. This turtle has a medium-sized, broad head with a rather short snout, and the feet are fully webbed, aiding with swimming in its aquatic environment (2).
Also known as
Bengal black turtle, black pond turtle, Burmese black turtle, Chochin black turtle, Parker’s black turtle, Sri Lanka black turtle.
Most active at night or dawn and dusk, the Indian black turtle typically forages on aquatic vegetation along the edges of waterbodies (2)(3). This omnivorous turtle will also consume a variety of aquatic insects and is even known to scavenge for carcasses, with hundreds of turtles occasionally gathering around the body of a dead large mammal (2). During the day, the Indian black turtle largely spends its time basking in the sun (3). It has also been reported that the Sri Lankan subspecies of the black Indian turtle lives in burrows during the day, and consequently, in adaptation to this lifestyle, it has a more flattened carapace than other subspecies(3).
The Indian black turtle breeds during the wet season between August and October (2). It is at this time that the male is most aggressive and will pursue the female, all the while biting at the female’s neck (3). Once a breeding pair have mated, the female digs a nest into the ground, or occasionally in a pile of rhinoceros or elephant dung, using the left hind leg to excavate the burrow while the right hind leg clears the excess earth (2)(3). The clutch of eggs are laid into this burrow, with the female laying between two and six clutches each year (3). The eggs are incubated for some 60 to 65 days, with the young turtles usually hatching in the middle of the dry season (2)(3).
The Indian black turtle is found in South Asia, where it occurs in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, southern Nepal, eastern Pakistan and extreme western Thailand. It is also found in the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, although it is likely that this species was introduced to these islands (1)(2).
The Indian black turtle inhabits a variety of freshwater habitats, including streams, rivers, ponds and marshes, as well as a number of artificial habitats, such as rice paddies and watering holes, from sea level up to 800 metres (2).
The Indian black turtle is thought to still be relatively common in parts of Nepal and India, particularly in the Western Ghats region of western India, where it is perhaps the most abundant turtle species (1)(2). It is also thought to be fairly abundant in upland areas of Sri Lanka or in the Maldives. However, outside these areas, the Indian black turtle is threatened by hunting for its meat, which in many areas is considered a delicacy, and by exploitation for the pet trade. These threats are thought to be most severe in Bangladesh and Myanmar, where the species is believed to be highly endangered (1)(2). This species is also likely to be threatened in western Thailand as most turtle species have been found to be extremely rare in this region due to a combination of hunting and habitat loss (4).
The Indian black turtle is protected by law in India, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand, which prohibits the killing or capture of wild turtles. It also occurs in a number of protected areas throughout its range, including some of the most secure reserves in the region, such as the Corbett Wildlife Sanctuary in India and the Royal Bardia National Park in Nepal. However, in some other reserves, improved enforcement of protective legislation is required to protect this species from exploitation. It is also recommended that, due to the limited data available on levels of trade and hunting, further surveys are conducted to assess the levels of the threats that this species faces (2).
ARKive is supported by OTEP, a joint programme of funding from the UK FCO and DFID which provides support to address priority environmental issues in the Overseas Territories, and Defra
Das, I. and Bhupathy, S. (2009) Melanochelys trijuga (Schweigger 1812) – Indian Black Turtle. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B. and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds) Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs, Number 5.
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link ("portlet") by copying and pasting the code below. | <urn:uuid:1ef1b54b-c730-49fc-9773-d5fb6cba0011> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.arkive.org/indian-black-turtle/melanochelys-trijuga/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936464193.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074104-00206-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939101 | 1,141 | 3.859375 | 4 |
What is Cardiac Catheterization?
“Heart cath” is a procedure used to directly visualize the arteries that supply blood to the heart. During the procedure, a long, thin, tube (catheter) about 2 millimeters wide is placed in a blood vessel in the groin or wrist, and is threaded up to the heart. Through the catheter, special dye is injected down the heart’s blood vessels, which allows the vessels to be seen on x-ray. This procedure is called coronary angiography.
The dye shows areas of narrowing or blockage in the arteries which can be responsible for chest pain (angina) or heart attacks. If blockage is found on the angiography, it can sometimes be opened with a balloon and a stent (angioplasty/percutaneous coronary intervention).
The catheter can also be advanced into the left ventricle (the main pumping chamber of the heart) to take pictures of the heart pumping. This may be helpful to assess heart function or to look for heart valve disease.
Sometimes it is important to measure the pressures within the heart and to assess heart valve function more precisely. In these cases, a “right heart catheterization” may be performed. In this procedure the catheter is advanced through a vein in the neck or the leg, up to the right chambers of the heart. This can provide useful information in assessing patients with valve disease, unexplained shortness of breath, or severe leg swelling.
You can learn more about at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
Why do doctors perform this procedure?
A heart catheterization may be recommended for many reasons, but the most common is to evaluate patients suspected of having blockages in the heart arteries. Cholesterol and scar tissue deposits (“plaque”) can clog up arteries (coronary artery disease) and limit the blood supply to the heart muscle, which may result in symptoms such as pain, fatigue with exertion, increased shortness of breath, or decreased stamina. Prior to the heart catheterization, patients may have had symptoms strongly suggestive of blockage in the arteries, or a stress test or cardiac CT scan that shows evidence of limited blood flow to the heart. In these patients, catheterization and angioplasty can be very effective in improving symptoms.
If an artery closes abruptly, a heart attack will occur. Emergent catheterization and angioplasty can save lives and limit the amount of damage to the heart muscle.
A heart catheterization may also be advised to evaluate the cause of heart failure, or to exclude major blockages in the arteries prior to heart valve surgery.
In patients with unexplained shortness of breath, elevated blood pressures in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension), or swelling in the legs and belly, a right heart catheterization (referenced above) may be needed.
During a cardiac catheterization, you will have anesthesia so the discomfort and pain will be minor. It may be a local anesthetic, just at the site where the doctor will insert the catheter into your groin or arm. You’ll remain awake and be able to follow the doctor’s instructions.
These procedures generally can take between 30 minutes to several hours. You’ll remain on your back throughout the procedure.
If angioplasty or stents are performed, you will stay in the hospital at least overnight. If only a heart catheterization is performed, you may be able to home several hours after the procedure is completed.
During the catheterization you will receive 3-4 ounces of x-ray dye, or contrast. Rarely, patients can be allergic to this. It is critical to let your doctor know if you have had prior allergic reactions to x-ray contrast or iodine based dyes.
In addition, if you are diabetic and take the medication Metformin (Glucophage), it is very important to stop taking the drug on the day prior to the procedure, and to not resume it for at least 48 hours after the procedure.
For several days after the procedure, it is best to avoid heavy (>30 pounds) lifting to allow the puncture site to heal. You may take a shower the day after the procedure, but should avoid soaking the catheterization site (e.g. bath tub, hot tub or pool) for 4-5 days.
What are the possible side effects and complications?
Cardiac catheterizations are routine and low risk procedures, but as with all invasive procedures, there is a small risk of complications. In addition to the allergic reactions noted above, the contrast may also decrease kidney function. You should notify your doctor if you have kidney disease, especially if you are diabetic.
Procedures using a cardiac catheter may cause arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats). As with all operations, bleeding and infection are risks. The risk of serious complication is low, but in rare circumstances, heart attack, death, and stroke can occur.
The risk of catheterization increases in elderly patients, patients with significant peripheral vascular disease, patients with diabetes—especially in diabetic patients with kidney disease—and in patients having a catheterization performed emergently. | <urn:uuid:c266ae21-41e8-4609-b353-6352ffe9d83d> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.wakeheartandvascular.com/specialties-services/cardiac-catheterization/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461359.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00179-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918318 | 1,083 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Alternative Approaches: Alzheimer's...Keeping Your Mind Healthy
Alzheimer's...Keeping Your Mind Healthy
by Jennifer LB Leese
Alzheimers (AD) is a progressive degenerative disease characterized by mental deterioration of nerve terminals in the brain. More specifically, neurofibrils (tiny conductive pathways) become tangled, resulting in incorrect messages being transmitted. When this occurs, it affects a person's memory. Symptoms include memory loss, severe mood swings, personality changes, and inability to concentrate or communicate.
Ongoing scientific research reveals that the brains of Alzheimer patients contain abnormally high levels of aluminum. Dr. Daniel Perl was one of the first to discover aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's patients; and in 1985, he connected high levels of aluminum in drinking water with different forms of senile dementia, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disorders.
Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes AD. There probably is not one single cause, but several factors that affect each person differently. Age is the most important known risk factor for AD. The number of people with the disease doubles every 5 years beyond age 65.
Family history is another risk factor. Scientists believe that genetics may play a role in many AD cases. There's much to be learned.
When people think about staying fit, they generally think from the neck down. But the health of your brain plays a critical role in almost everything you do: thinking, feeling, remembering, working, and playing--even sleeping.
Stay Mentally Active
Mentally stimulating activities strengthen brain cells and the connections between them, and may even create new nerve cells.
Remain Socially Involved
Social activity not only makes physical and mental activity more enjoyable, it can reduce stress levels, which helps maintain healthy connections among brain cells.
Stay Physically Active
Physical exercise is essential for maintaining good blood flow to the brain as well as to encourage new brain cells. It also can significantly reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes, and thereby protect against those risk factors for Alzheimer's and other dementias.
Adopt a Brain-Healthy Diet
Research suggests that high cholesterol may contribute to stroke and brain cell damage. A low fat, low cholesterol diet is advisable. And there is growing evidence that a diet rich in dark vegetables and fruits, which contain antioxidants, may help protect brain cells.
Meditation, Yoga, & Mudras (hand gestures)
It is believed that the combination of mudras, or hand gestures, and yoga can help slow the progression process of Alzheimer's and can sometimes even stop it in its earlier stages. In later stages, meditative activities can help improve the activities of daily living.
Massage can be therapeutic for a number of health conditions, and a great deal of research has documented its benefits in general health. Fewer studies have investigated its usefulness in Alzheimer's, but there is some evidence that massage therapy may reduce behaviors such as wandering, aggression and agitation.
Herbal treatment was designed to prompt mental recovery, slow disease progression, prevent and treat later disease, improve the prognosis, and most importantly, build function.
There are two natural treatments for Alzheimer's disease with significant scientific evidence behind them: Ginkgo and phosphatidylserine. There is growing evidence that Ginkgo and possibly phosphatidylserine might be helpful for normal age-related memory loss as well.
Chinese herbalists have recommended this herb for coughs, asthma and allergies. Ginkgo exerts a positive effect on the body's vascular system (including the blood vessels that delivers blood and oxygen to various organ systems).
This herb also helps prevent blood clots and can treat hearing and vision problems, dizziness, senility, heart and kidney ailments, and depression among other things.
Kelp is a sea vegetable high in mineral content, especially iodine and potassium. This vegetable can help increase thyroid function and prevent absorption of radiation and heavy metals. It is beneficial for sensory nerves, the brain, spinal tissues and membranes. Kelp can also treat hair loss, ulcers, arteries, and nails. Kelp should be used in small amounts if one has high blood pressure or if one is sensitive to salt.
Rosemary is often thought of as a herb we use when cooking. The effects of it as a herbal remedy are interesting. Rosemary works by stimulating the brain. Keeping the brain stimulated is essential in making certain that memory is working correctly. There are different ways of preparing rosemary and checking the dosage and strength is always recommended.
Many of the natural remedies that offer benefits in memory function work toward other health goals as well. An example of this is green tea. Green tea is becoming a natural cure for many ailments or conditions. It's thought to have a positive effect on memory function and along with black tea when consumed in moderation seems to help in optimizing a person's ability to remember.
This substance is created in a lab from a type of moss, but it's sold over the counter as a dietary supplement. Studies indicate that it improves memory in all types of people, including Alzheimer's patients.
Another chemical that is created from plant-life, this substance has also performed well in studies. It has been hypothesized that vinpocetine works by increasing blood flow to the brain and safeguarding brain cells against damage caused by lack of oxygen.
Apple Cider Vinegar Cocktail
Combine 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar and 1 tsp Honey to 2 oz of warm water or apple juice. Drink twice a day.
Mix 1 TB Lecithin, 1 raw organic egg yolk blended with 2 oz apple juice daily.
Kelp Energy Bars
You Will Need:
1/2 oz of kelp fronds
2 cups of almonds
1/2 cup of maple (or birch) syrup
_ The first step is to powder the kelp fronds in a blender. Then add your nuts or seeds and grind them together with the kelp. You'll end up with a nicely mixed, coarsely ground blend, which you then pour into a bowl.
_ Next, add the syrup and stir it into the nut mixture.
_ Spread the mixture onto an oiled cookie sheet, pressing it out until it is about 1/4" thick.
_ Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Cut into squares while still slightly warm.
_ Cool completely.
Rooibos Chai Float
Brew 1 cup of Rooibos Chai. Cool. Then top with 1 generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Rosemary Hair Rinse
You can make an apple cider rinse by steeping about half a cup of freshly bruised rosemary leaves in 3 cups apple cider vinegar for two weeks. Add about a third of a cup to your final rinse.
Stick to the dose specified in the studies or on the product label. Tell your physician about any herbs you plan on using, especially if you're pregnant or nursing, have a chronic medical condition or take medication regularly. The purpose of herbal treatment is not to take the place of necessary orthodox medical treatment.
Source: Alzheimer's Association, The Alzheimer's Information Site, Alzheimer's Foundation, National Institute on Aging, and Journal of Alzheimer's Disease | <urn:uuid:d5f67b16-22b3-49cc-9448-387ed9942823> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.picketnews.com/articlePrint.asp?id=4736 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465693.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00193-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.928062 | 1,484 | 3.453125 | 3 |
The rich, vibrant primary colors and the allure of the tube slides make today’s playgrounds appear at first glance like jungle gym paradises. But run over to one, climb aboard via one of the two or three meager challenges, drop through the tube slide and you’ve virtually exhausted the potential of the entire structure! Although attractive, today’s playground structures are becoming less and less challenging and are catering to younger and younger children.
Many of these attractive plastic structures now come equipped with signs that declare, “This playground structure is intended for use by children 12 and under.” The structures seem to be purposely built to keep adolescents, challenge, daring feats and any possibility of injury out of the park. Although minimizing injury is a laudable intent, the anesthetizing manner in which recent playground equipment is designed prevents any real physical challenge and limits the way the actual structure can be used. If you climb aboard, it doesn’t take long to realize that essentially the entire structure is just a long platform with a set of steps and a few simple one-use only ways of getting on and off. The structures are built to prevent high jumping, challenging climbing, flipping or twirling over bars, and falls. If there is a swing set on the playground, the swings are often equipped with short chains that prevent aerial stunts such as “under dogs” and gravity-defying jumps.
Our natural Earth is the best playground for children of all ages- There are few challenges more exhilarating than climbing a leviathan tree, launching ones self off the edge of a rocky cliff and splashing into the ocean below, scaling a mountainous glacial boulder, running through a wooded trail or riding a gushing mountain stream across the flat, slippery rocks of a gorge. Nature as a playground is open-ended and allows limitless possibilities of physical challenge, including the possibility of getting injured. I believe that children who play in nature develop a strong sense of body awareness, groundedness, mindfulness, awareness and innate knowledge of how their bodies move in time and space.
However, for children in the city, children confined to school or children who do not otherwise have access to a natural space, playgrounds can offer a place of immediate respite, fun and physical activity. Even for children who do have regular access to natural spaces, playgrounds can be a fun source of quick physical challenge when out in the community, visiting friends, on camping trips or taking a break while parents run errands. Playgrounds also offer great places to hold homeschool groups, clubs and other gatherings of children and families.
Playgrounds originated in the late 1800’s as a method of exerting social control over the immigrant and lower class children roaming the city streets. Like public schools, playgrounds provided a structured, rule-based environment designed to control and shape children’s behavior and activities and provide “socialization” that was in line with adult expectations. The positive aspects of playgrounds are that playgrounds provided children with physical activity, promoting better health. Another positive aspect is that playgrounds were designed in the early years to attract older children, too.
Playgrounds have changed a great deal since their origins, starting with sand boxes and eventually adding swing sets, slides, see-saws, teeter-totters, spring ride-ons, horse-shaped swings, merry-go-rounds, basketball hoops, jungle gyms, monkey bars, climbing domes and in the mid 80’s, tire structures. The most drastic changes seem to have occurred in the mid-1990’s when the steel metal playgrounds that once functioned as stunt havens for children ages five to 18 were quickly replaced with the now ubiquitous plastic pre-fabbed playground kits fit for children ages 2-8. These new plastic kits, which create an instant draw mainly due to their colorful slides, are as unsatisfying to older children as an electronic toy- They offer novelty and instant gratification, but almost as instantly they lead to boredom unless used instead as a fortress for hide-and-seek.
The steel playground structures of the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s allowed for dangerous feats that much of my son’s generation has not discovered. I will never forget the thrilling shot of fear of locking my feet around the top rungs of a seven foot tall steel jungle gym, leaning backwards until I was hanging upside down, my head rushing with exhilaration, reaching my arms back until my hands grasped the cold metal bar below my head, and then kicking off, flipping and landing on my feet! That was almost as exciting as the sets of lightening fast twirls we would do around a metal bar: I recall I would sit perched on a bar a little wider than my body, my forearms wrapped under the bar. My toes, pointed knock-kneed out to the sides, gripped the poles running down the sides of the bar. When we would release our toes, we would plunge head first towards the ground, sometimes over seven feet off the ground, and then the sudden catch of our inner elbows would launch us into a spin around the bar. Some children could manage five spins in a row or more before their toes would frantically jut out, feeling for the security of the poles. We would do this until the insides of our elbows were red and bruised and we were gasping for breath from the spins.
As a youth I remember gracefully flying high through the air on swings with chains that seemed to climb up as high as the sky; being launched skyward on see-saws, seeing my own laughing face reflected in the joyful face of a laughing friend dropping down on the opposite side– then just as fast I’m being dropped to the earth as my friend hurtles up and touches the sky… I remember the long ascent to the top of the metal slide, flipping over the bar and shooting down the hot metal that would burn my legs in the summer sun. I recall the dexterity, agility, power and strength required on the high climbing domes, knowing one wrong move could mean a fall… I remember laying on my stomach, hanging off the top of the monkey bars, reaching my hands underneath, flipping over and landing on my feet. I remember being whipped off the merry-go-round and bouncing off of the tire structures. I remember all of these challenging, elating stunts my friends, sister, cousin and I used to do together on playground equipment that has since been torn up, carted away and replaced with glorified platforms challenging to no one past the age of eight.
At age 10 I broke my ankle riding with two other children on a sled launched by two other children off of the high metal slide, and my sister once disclosed that she fell from the top of a jungle gym while doing that twirling, spinning stunt. Injuries as well as schools, towns and businesses fearing lawsuits, are probably the biggest reasons for the demise of the retro playground. Allowing children to approach challenges when they are ready, without adults expressing fear or “helping” but with adults encouraging and spotting, can minimize injuries. Removing places and opportunities for adolescents to obviously congregate seems to be another insidious goal of the new toddler-esque playground kits, of course making it more likely that bored youth will have to find less desirable things to do in the community. Creating playgrounds with multiple levels of challenge for all ages is far more inclusive than giving adolescents the message that they are not wanted at playgrounds.
Thankfully, my son and I are within driving distance of a large wooden obstacle course playground and a large rope structure playground where children of all ages can have fun and create group challenges. However, the steel and tire playgrounds of my generation are a rare find. When my son and I are driving and we see a “retro” playground, we make an effort to stop. My son is well aware that at anytime, these few remaining gems that still accommodate big kids could be excavated and replaced with something more fit for his toddler cousin. | <urn:uuid:c0cbba0f-9abe-4d30-b8cb-60b4edb0f162> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.laurieacouture.com/2011/10/bring-back-playgrounds-for-children-of-all-ages/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465456.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00208-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957762 | 1,658 | 2.625 | 3 |
Question: "What should we learn from the life of Nehemiah?"
Answer: Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries, and they both wrote about the rebuilding of Jerusalem, which occurred many years after its destruction by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. Ezra wrote about the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel, while Nehemiah wrote concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls. From ancient times, the cities located in the Middle East were surrounded by stone walls with gates that were guarded for the protection of the citizens. The important men of each city would gather at the gate where they would conduct the business of the city, share important information, or just pass the time of day.
Nehemiah’s account begins in 445 B.C., and this date is important because the prophet Daniel, a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, wrote the “70 weeks of years” prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) based on a very specific date—March 15, 445 B.C. This date is crucial to the beginning of the prophecy; it kicks off the start of the timeframe, which ends with the second coming of Jesus Christ. This prophecy was written long before Jesus came the first time, but it continues through those years leading up to His being “cut off.” It gives details about the antichrist, how he will come onto the world scene, and how he will move against Israel in his final assault on God and His people.
Daniel’s prophecy is found in Daniel 9:25: "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.” Little did Nehemiah know that he was fulfilling the prophecy written by Daniel, but this faithful servant, who was also captive in Babylon at the time, begins his writings with intercessory prayer for his people, Israel, just as Daniel constantly prayed on their behalf, beseeching God to have mercy on them and return them to their homeland. Nehemiah listed specific dates, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in order that there might be a written record as to the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem.
Before he asked the king’s permission to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, Nehemiah prayed, and God granted his request. As he was leaving Babylon, he met some Arab men who mocked him for what he was about to do. Nehemiah 2:20 records his statement, which stands even today as a testament to who has the right to the city known as Jerusalem: “I answered them by saying, ‘The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.’"
Nehemiah continued in his quest to rebuild Jerusalem. God provided all the necessary workers, and the building began. However, they were not without enemies, those who desired to stop the rebuilding. But God intervened as He had done with Moses (Exodus 14:14). Nehemiah 4:20 records, "Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!" This was God’s pre-ordained plan to bring His people out of bondage and back into their land to worship in the temple once again.
We can learn from the life of Nehemiah valuable lessons in restoring and maintaining a relationship with God. As the people returned to the rebuilt city, the first order of business was to make certain that they understood the Law of Moses. So Ezra, a priest, spent many hours reading the Law before the assembly, making sure they understood what God desired. Nehemiah 8:18 records what should be part of every believer’s life, the daily reading of God’s Word: “Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.”
Nehemiah stands as a testament to faithfulness and perseverance. He lived far away from his home, yet he never gave up hope that someday he would return to it. He spent most of his life in exile in a pagan land, yet he never wavered in his faith and trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was a prayer warrior, putting everything before the Lord in prayer, interceding on behalf of his people, and he was rewarded for his diligence and perseverance. Nehemiah cared so much for his people that he never gave up the hope of their restoration, not only to their homeland, but to the God that first called their forefather, Abraham, out of the same area and made a covenant with him, one which Nehemiah believed would stand forever. | <urn:uuid:764c6e4a-f218-49c2-ae6c-55303d4ab438> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.gotquestions.org/Printer/life-Nehemiah-PF.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463460.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00185-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98389 | 1,055 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Like Origen, he arose from Alexandria's Catechetical School and was well versed in pagan literature. Origen succeeded Clement as head of the school. Alexandria had a major Christian community in early Christianity, noted for its scholarship and its high-quality copies of Scripture.
Clement is counted as one of the early Church Fathers.
Clement's birthplace is not known with certainty. Athens is named as his birthplace by the sixth-century Epiphanius Scholasticus, and this is supported by the classical quality of his Greek. His parents seem to have been wealthy pagans of some social standing. The thoroughness of his education is shown by his constant quotation of the Greek poets and philosophers. He travelled in Greece, Italy, Palestine, and finally Egypt. He became the colleague of Pantaenus, the head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, and finally succeeded him in the direction of the school. One of his most popular pupils was Origen. During the persecution of Septimius Severus (202 or 203) he sought refuge with Alexander, then bishop (possibly of Flaviada) in Cappadocia, afterward of Jerusalem, from whom he brought a letter to Antioch in 211.
The trilogy into which Clement's principal remains are connected by their purpose and mode of treatment is composed of:
Overbeckcalls it the boldest literary undertaking in the history of the Church, since in it Clement for the first time attempted to set forth Christianity for the faithful in the traditional forms of secular literature.
The first book deals with the religious basis of Christian morality, the second and third with the individual cases of conduct. As with Epictetus, true virtue shows itself with him in its external evidences by a natural, simple, and moderate way of living.
The doctrine of apocatastasis, the belief that all people will eventually be saved, was first developed by Clement in the Stromata. He wrote that the punishments of God are "saving and disciplinary, leading to conversion. However, his successor as head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, Origen, is probably better known for espousing Christian universalism.
Down to the seventeenth century Clement was venerated as a saint. His name was to be found in the martyrologies, and his feast fell on the December 4. But when the Roman Martyrology was revised by Clement VIII (Pope from 1592 to 1605), his name was dropped from the calendar on the advice of his confessor, Cardinal Baronius. Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 maintained his predecessor's decision on the grounds that Clement's life was little-known; that he had never obtained public cultus in the Church; and that some of his doctrines were, if not erroneous, at least suspect.
The significance of Clement in the history of the development of doctrine is, according to Adolf von Harnack, that he knew how to replace the apologetic method by the constructive or systematic, to turn the simple church tradition into a "scientific" dogmatic theology. It is a marked characteristic of his that he sees only superficial and transient disagreement where others find a fundamental opposition. He is able to reconcile, or even to fuse, differing views to an extent which makes it almost impossible to attribute to him a definite individual system. He is admittedly an eclectic (Stromata, i. 37). This attitude determines especially his treatment of non-Christian philosophy. Although the theory of a diabolical origin for it is not unknown to him, and although he shows exhaustively that the philosophers owe a large part of their knowledge to the writings of the Old Testament, yet he seems to express his own personal conviction when he describes philosophy as a direct operation of the divine Logos, working through it as well as through the law and his direct revelation in the Gospel to communicate the truth to men. It is true that the knowledge of the philosophers was elementary, fragmentary, and incapable of imparting true righteousness; and it was far surpassed by the revelation given through the law and the prophets, as that again was still further surpassed by the direct revelation of the incarnate Logos; but this idea of relative inferiority does not prevent him from showing that his whole mental attitude is determined and dominated by the philosophical tradition.
Thus he emphasizes the permanent importance of philosophy for the fullness of Christian knowledge, explains with special predilection the relation between knowledge and faith, and sharply criticizes those who are unwilling to make any use of philosophy. He pronounces definitely against the sophists and against the hedonism of the school of Epicurus. Although he generally expresses himself unfavorably in regard to the Stoic philosophy, he really pays marked deference to that mixture of Stoicism and Platonism which characterized the religious and ethical thought of the educated classes in his day. This explains the value set by Clement on gnosis. Faith is the foundation of all gnosis, and both are given by Christ. As faith involves a comprehensive knowledge of the essentials, knowledge allows the believer to penetrate deeply into the understanding of what he believes; and this is the making perfect, the completion, of faith. In order to attain this kind of faith, the "faith of knowledge," which is so much higher than the mere "faith of conjecture," or simple reception of a truth on authority, philosophy is permanently necessary. In fact, Christianity is the true philosophy, and the perfect Christian the true Gnostic -- but again only the "Gnostic according to the canon of the Church " has this distinction. Also, he rejects the Gnostic distinction of "psychic" and "pneumatic" men; all are alike destined to perfection if they will embrace it.
From philosophy he takes his conception of the Logos, the principle of Christian gnosis, through whom alone God's relation to the world and his revelation is maintained. God he considers transcendentally as unqualified Being, who can not be defined in too abstract a way. Though his goodness operated in the creation of the world, yet immutability, self sufficiency, incapability of suffering are the characteristic notes of the divine essence. Though the Logos is most closely one with the Father, whose powers he resumes in himself, yet to Clement both the Son and the Spirit are "first-born powers and first created"; they form the highest stages in the scale of intelligent being, and Clement distinguishes the Son-Logos from the Logos who is immutably immanent in God, and thus gives a foundation to the charge of Photius that he "degraded the Son to the rank of a creature." Separate from the world as the principle of creation, he is yet in it as its guiding principle. Thus a natural life is a life according to the will of the Logos. The Incarnation, in spite of Clement's rejection of the Gnostic Docetism, has with him a decidedly Docetic character. The body of Christ was not subject to human needs. He is the good Physician; the medicine which he offers is the communication of saving gnosis, leading men from paganism to faith and from faith to the higher state of knowledge. This true philosophy includes within itself the freedom from sin and the attainment of virtue. As all sin has its root in ignorance, so the knowledge of God and of goodness is followed by well-doing. Against the Gnostics Clement emphasizes the freedom of all to do good.
Clement lays great stress on the fulfilment of moral obligations. In his ethical expressions he is influenced strongly by Plato and the Stoics, from whom he borrows much of his terminology. He praises Plato for setting forth the greatest possible likeness to God as the aim of life; and his portrait of the perfect Gnostic closely resembles that of the wise man as drawn by the Stoics. Hence he counsels his readers to shake off the chains of the flesh as far as possible, to live already as if out of the body, and thus to rise above earthly things. He is a true Greek in the value which he sets on moderation; but his highest ideal of conduct remains the mortification of all affections which may in any way disturb the soul in its career. As Harnack says, the lofty ethical-religious ideal of the attainment of man's perfection in union with God, which Greek philosophy from Plato down had worked out, and to which it had subordinated all scientific worldly knowledge, is taken over by Clement, deepened in meaning, and connected not only with Christ, but with ecclesiastical tradition.
The way, however, to this union with God is for Clement only the Church's way. The communication of the gnosis is bound up with holy orders, which give the divine light and life. The simple faith of the baptized Christian contains all the essentials of the highest knowledge; by the Eucharist the believer is united with the Logos and the Spirit, and made partaker of incorruptibility. Though he lays down at starting a purely spiritual conception of the Church, later the exigencies of his controversy with the Gnostics make him lay more stress on the visible church. As to his use of Scripture, the extraordinary breadth of his reading and manifold variety of his quotations from the most diverse authors make it very difficult to determine exactly what was received as canonical by the Alexandrian Church of that period. Clement uses both canonical and apocryphal Gospels, and often talks just about "the Gospel" without specifying any of them. For the other New Testament writings he seems not to have had as definite a line of demarcation; but whatever he recognized as of apostolic origin had for him an authority distinct from, and higher than, that of all other ecclesiastical tradition.
Clement quoted from the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles as scripture, a book currently known as the Didache. | <urn:uuid:16403376-94ba-4fd4-9c4f-5bf103042d12> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.reference.com/browse/immutably | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463165.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00098-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977418 | 2,007 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Cold War or Cold Water?
Swimming skills might have changed the course of world history
It’s not often that swimming and world politics intersect, but there have been a few fascinating moments in history when an ability to swim (or perhaps an inability, in this case) influenced a nation’s or nations’ course. A seemingly simple 1958 meeting between Nikita Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and Chairman of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, provided just one such moment of swimming intrigue. And it’s a moment that may have altered the course of world history.
First, some background against which to set the gravity of this July meeting. The Cold War, which stretched from 1945 until 1991, was an antagonistic era that arose from the completion of World War II. Largely an ideological conflict that pitted east versus west and communism versus capitalism, the Cold War gave rise to many a spy novel, air raid drill, and distrust of communist sympathizers in the West. A period steeped in cloak-and-dagger chess-like moves and strategies, the Cold War left many Americans with an intense fear of the USSR, China, socialism, and nuclear weapons, among other foreign ideals, personages, and armaments.
Although both the Soviet Union and the PRC were communist countries and seemingly aligned in their animosity towards the capitalist West, as the Cold War dragged on, their dogmas began to evolve. This sometimes happens as new leaders take over for the old guard, and such was the case when Khrushchev assumed power after Josef Stalin’s death in 1953. Within a few years, Khrushchev and Mao were not exactly seeing eye-to-eye, which led to the Sino-Soviet Split. Rankling from 1960 through 1989, the Sino-Soviet Split was a particularly complicated aspect of the Cold War, marked by irreconcilable differences, deep mistrust, and several conflicts along the two nations’ more than 2,000 miles of shared border.
But the Split didn’t happen out of thin air, and the years leading up to it offered several hostile moments between Mao and Khruschev. One of these incidents was that soggy, 1958 meeting between the two portly men at one of Mao’s residences outside Beijing.
Khrushchev turned up for the meeting—one in a series the two nations had scheduled in an attempt to de-escalate tensions—as directed and was met at the door by a bathrobe- and slipper-wearing Mao. Mao presented his Soviet counterpart with a pair of large, green swimming trunks and instructions to get changed. They would talk turkey in the pool.
But this posed a real predicament for Khrushchev, who couldn’t swim. By contrast, Mao was a decent swimmer who had swum several long-distances—reportedly up to 10 miles downstream—in the polluted Yangtze River. As the day wore on, it became abundantly clear that Mao had known about his counterpart’s inability to swim and was exploiting this weakness to assert his own superiority.
As Mao swam laps, using an inefficient sidestroke, Khrushchev stood awkwardly in the shallow end. Meanwhile, translators ran up and back along the pool deck, trying to keep up with what Mao was saying so they could relay his comments to Khrushchev. After a while, Mao insisted that Khrushchev swim along side him and venture into deeper water. According to a 2012 article on Smithsonianmag.com:
“A flotation device was suddenly produced—Lorenz Lüthi [a history professor at McGill University] describes it as a ‘life belt,’ while [former U.S. Secretary of State] Henry Kissinger prefers ‘water wings.’ Either way, the result was scarcely dignified. Mao, says Lüthi, covered his head with ‘a handkerchief with knots at all the corners’ and swept up and down the pool while Khrushchev struggled to stay afloat. After considerable exertion, the Soviet leader was able to get moving, ‘paddling like a dog’ in a desperate attempt to keep up. ‘It was an unforgettable picture,’ said his aide Oleg Troyanovskii, ‘the appearance of two well-fed leaders in swimming trunks, discussing questions of great policy under splashes of water.’”
This treatment did not sit well with Khrushchev, who later characterized the interaction in a speech thusly: “He’s a prizewinning swimmer, and I’m a miner. Between us, I basically flop around when I swim; I’m not very good at it. But he swims around, showing off, all the while expounding his political views…. It was Mao’s way of putting himself in an advantageous position.”
The relationship between the two nations would never be the same; Smithsonian.com notes the Sino-Soviet Split provided an opportunity for Kissinger’s “ping-pong diplomacy” tactic (another incidence of sports influencing world politics) to pressure the Soviets into reducing aid to the North Vietnamese as America sought disengagement from the war there. Alongside this, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks also began, tipping off a long series of events that ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989.
Having recently concluded our April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month campaign, I can’t help but wonder: How might history have been different if Khrushchev had only learned to swim? | <urn:uuid:d5a694b0-aca8-4557-9f3f-9d811b656d55> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.usms.org/articles/articledisplay.php?aid=2906 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936465456.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074105-00208-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972165 | 1,186 | 2.625 | 3 |
Peruvian music is an amalgamate of styles which has its roots in
the Spanish colonization of South America in the 16th century. The music
combines elements from three cultures:
There are two main styles: Criollo and Afro-Peruvian. Criollo is Hispanic influenced music, while the Afro-Peruvian
is black influenced.
The colonization of Peru was very different than that from other
South American countries. African slaves were initially brought
to Peru to work in the gold and silver mines in the high Andes. Not
many survived the extreme temperatures, and the high
altitude, and as a result many of the slaves were sent to the milder
coastal region to work on the sugar cane fields. The Spanish and
Creole haciendas are the birthplace of the Afro-Peruvian
The diversity of the slaves that were brought into Peru also played
an important role in the origins of the Afro-Peruvian music. In Brazil
and other Central/North American countries, large numbers of slaves from
the same tribe were imported. To discourage uproar, the Peruvian slaves
were imported from widely dispersed geographical locations in Africa and
as a result had very different ethnical backgrounds and cultures.
Because of their ethic diversity, the Peruvian slaves easily adopted the
culture and language of their new country, and integrated elements from
Andean music into theirs. There were some occasions at which
music was shared: Christmas was a time at which the Africans were
allowed to share their cultural background with the indigenous people.
The Catholic Church also encouraged cofradiás: associations that
served to preserve national and African culture.
Traditional lyrics of Afro-Peruvian music deal with penalivio:
"easing the pain" of slavery, much like the origins of the blues. The
songs oftentimes relate to slave labor, or (religious) feasts. There are
many sub-genres such as the festejo (celebration), a dialogue of short
phrases with sudden pauses. This music is the basis for dance
competitions. Another sub-genre is the landó; a type of Peruvian dance
music similar to Carribean music, but slower and gentler. The marinera
is also a typical Peruvian dance music, usually performed in
Due to Spanish influences, many Peruvians learned to play European
instruments and music, but added their own interpretation. This is the
source of (Hispanic) criollo. The vals criollo is a direct
descendant from the Viennese Waltz, but has a more restrained, dry
sound. There are many other influences and styles that shaped both the
Criollo as well as the Afro-Peruvian music.
Because of the many cultural influences on Peruvian music, there is a
wide array of instruments. The traditional pre-Hispanic
instruments are typically wind instruments such as:
- Quena - a straight tube instrument with five or six sound-holes
- Zampoña/Antara - this instrument is the south American pan-
pipe: it is a bound cluster of sound pipes. The number of pipes varies
from region to region.
- Tarka - An ancient wooden flute, used for religious ceremonies and
There are also several traditional pre-Hispanic percussion instruments in Peru:
- Chác-Chás/chullus - rattles made of goat hooves tied to a strip
- Bombo Legüero - a drum made froma hollow tree trunk covered with a
cured animal skin.
- Chaucha - A giant dried, wild pod filled with seeds that is used as
- Palo de Lluvia - The "rain stick". This instrument consists of a 6
ft. long, hollow bamboo reed with sealed ends. A large number of sticks
intersects the walls of the reed, and the reed is filled with dried
beans. The rain stick is played by turning it upside-down repeatedly.
The criollo (also) uses more traditional European instruments such as:
- Guitar - This is the most popular instrument in Peru. The basic
form is the traditional six-string Spanish guitar, although there are
also modifications with ten strings.
- Harp - This instrument is also very popular, and many variations
in shape, material and tuning exist.
- Violin - The violin is played all over Peru. The instrument is
either identical to the European violin, but there are also many
variations on the instrument.
- Charango - This is the Andean version of the Spanish guitar. The
instrument is usually smaller than a guitar, and the number of strings
- Mandolin - the mandolin is a string instrument similar to a
lute. The soundbox is often made of an armadillo shell.
Due to its origins, typical instruments of the Afro-Peruvian music
consists of very simple instruments. Some of the percussion instruments
were developed from household appliances such as spoons, table tops,
wooden boxes. Typical instruments are:
- Cajón - A wooden box with a sound-hole at the back. The musician
sits on top of the box and raps with both hands on the front.
- Quijada - this instrument is a bottom half of a jawbone of a
donkey, mule or horse. The instrument is held in one hand and punched
with the other to make the teeth rattle. The vibra-slap was derived
from the Quijada.
- Cajita - This instrument is a wooden box, smaller than the
Cajón. The cajita is played by opening and closing the top lid of the
box to the rhythm of the music, while striking it with a stick. | <urn:uuid:790836fc-f595-4056-bbf3-710fef9332bf> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://everything2.com/user/Professor+Pi/writeups/Peruvian+music | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463104.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00076-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944563 | 1,229 | 4.375 | 4 |
Wrong Once, Expert Keep Quiet On Volcanic Activity in California
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE
Published: September 11, 1990
MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif.— Local businessmen are still angry at geologists for issuing the earlier warning and say they would rather take their chances with a restless volcano than yield to fears that harm the economy.
This widespread attitude is now haunting state and local disaster officials who, working closely with Federal geologists, are trying to develop a new warning system for volcanic hazards in the area. The system that twice led to public warnings about volcanic activity in the early 1980's was dropped in 1983.
Fear of Crying Wolf
''We have not been able to decide when to alert the public,'' said Dr. Richard Andrews, chief deputy director in charge of the earthquake and volcano program at the California Office of Emergency Services. Frequent warnings about the sort volcanic activity that is happening now, he said, can scare away tourists. But if geologists felt that an eruption were imminent, he said, the public would have to be told of the danger and evacuated.
''It's going to be a very hard call,'' said Dr. Andrews. ''We don't want to cry wolf.''
Mammoth Lakes is a four-square mile resort village with 5,500 year-round residents, well known for its nearby ski slopes, hiking and biking trails, ice-cold lakes, hot springs and extraordinary geologic features. Among them is the Long Valley caldera, the oval mouth of a collapsed volcano that is 19 miles long by 9 miles wide at the foot of the mountains rising behind the village.
Today the caldera is covered with fragrant grasses, grazing cows and a geothermal power plant. But 700,000 years ago, it was a young volcano that produced one of the largest volcanic eruptions in Earth's history.
Pieces of the volcano landed in Missouri, and its ash traveled to New York and beyond, said Dr. Hill. While the famous Indonesian volcano of Krakatoa ejected 48 cubic miles of molten material in 1883, the Long Valley volcano tossed up 360 cubic miles of material.
It is this caldera, or giant volcanic crater, that is now showing renewed signs of life. Volcanic activity has persisted in the area for hundreds of thousands of years, said Dr. Hill, but this is the first time modern geologists have been around to watch events unfold.
A Devastating Alert
Things began popping in 1980 with four earthquakes that measured 6 on the Richter scale, said Dr. Hill. Startled geologists discovered that the lava dome thought to underlie the caldera had risen by 10 inches between late 1979 and early 1980. Swarms of small earthquakes continued through 1982 as the dome rose several more inches.
On May 27, 1982, Federal geologists issued a notice of potential volcanic hazard, the lowest alert level in the system then used. The notice was issued on a Friday afternoon before a local weekend festival, said Dr. Andrews, and it had an immediate impact: tourists stayed home.
The local economy collapsed, said Glenn Thompson, Mammoth Lakes' town manager. Housing prices fell 40 percent overnight. In the next few years, dozens of businesses closed, new shopping centers stood empty and townspeople left to seek jobs elsewhere. Public anxiety was kept high in early 1983 by two magnitude 5 earthquakes, a continuing swarm of smaller earthquakes and new measurements showing the dome had risen another three inches. Federal geologists considered issuing a volcano watch, its second and more serious alert level telling people to prepare for disaster, but held off to see what would happen. The third level, a volcano warning, would have meant an eruption was thought to be imminent.
But after mid-1983, nothing happened. Tourists, home buyers and new businesses did not regain confidence in the town until 1986, said Mr. Thompson. The economy has been recovering steadily since then.
So when the caldera began showing new signs of life in spring of 1989, businessmen were shaken and geologists were circumspect. Scientists recorded thousands of small earthquakes throughout last summer and found that the dome had lifted another three inches. After a period of quiet, the small earthquakes - often hundreds a day - began again in December and have continued, off and on, through the present.
No Official Notice
The dome has probably lifted another two inches, said Dr. Hill. ''It means the magma is moving again,'' he said. Aside from a few articles in the local newspaper and one town meeting a year ago, said Dr. Hill, geologists have not said much to the public about the current activity. There has been no official notice of volcanic activity.
There are good reasons to stay quiet for now, said Dr. Hill. In 1983, geologists had few scientific instruments in the Long Valley region. Today they have at least 40 seismic stations and a network of other instruments that are providing a wealth of data on the caldera's behavior.
The emerging picture, said Dr. Hill, is potentially menacing but not in the near future. Under the caldera are several magma chambers capable of generating relatively serious volcanic eruptions, he said, but not on the scale of 700,000 years ago. Researchers estimate that the caldera would have to rise another one and a half to three feet before the overlying rock might give way to the pressures below.
Geologists say they are encouraged in their decision to not warn the public - at least not yet - because of the way two other active calderas have behaved in recent years. A caldera near Naples, Italy rose by nine feet in two bursts of activity over the last decade and did not erupt, said Dr. Hill. Similarly, a caldera in Papua New Guinea rose by more than six feet in the early 1980's, and nothing further happened.
The Long Valley caldera may be doing what it has normally been doing for thousands of years, said Verne McLean, a geologist with the National Forest Service in the nearby town of Bishop. It might roil around underground for some time, he said, ''or produce small volcanic eruptions that squeeze out magma like toothpaste.'' Or, he acknowledged, it could blow up, causing widespread damage and loss of life.
Signs of Violent Eruption
Fortunately, scientists think they will get strong warnings in the days or weeks before a violent eruption would occur. These include major earthquakes accompanied by ground tilting, changes in magnetic fields, earth tremors that exhibit harmonic frequencies and other signs indicating that the magma is headed for the surface.
In the meantime, geolgists and state and local offiicals have been working out a new warning system for the public. Instead of three levels, the proposed system has five alert levels, based on the intensity of geologic events and specific combinations of events. For example, swarms of small earthquakes might elicit a low level of alert. But the swarms accompanied by rapid tilting of the ground or venting of steam could elicit a higher alert level.
The first three or four levels would not be made public, Dr. Andrews said. The information would be used by geologists and disaster officials for ''internal readiness,'' he said. In to the chain of responsibility, geologists alert state officials who then decide when to alert local sheriffs.
Martin Strellnick, the Mono county sheriff whose district includes Long Valley, said he does not know when the public will be told about volcanic threats. ''If it gets to the hazard stage, the public has a right to know,'' he said. ''But who has the expertise to say a volcano will or will not do something? It's a scientific guessing game.''
Photo: The eastern half of the 19-mile-long Long Valley caldera, the mouth of a collapsed volcano, runs along the foreground of this photograph. The resort village of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is left of center. (United States Geological Survey); Diagram | <urn:uuid:8a76ff5b-496e-45f1-8cd3-4ad360c3767b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/11/science/wrong-once-expert-keep-quiet-on-volcanic-activity-in-california.html?src=pm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936460576.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074100-00143-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964537 | 1,650 | 2.984375 | 3 |
|A ‘mess’ of large sauropod footprints in the Broome Sandstone on the Dampier Peninsula, possibly made by a single herd or a procession of animals moving through a narrow thoroughfare. Photo: Steve Salisbury, The University of Queensland.|
The coastline of the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome in the west Kimberley preserves one the largest and most significant stretches of dinosaur track-sites anywhere in the world. There are literally thousands of tracks and trackways representing at least 15 different types of dinosaurs, some of which there is no other record for in Australia. With the exception of a few fragments of bone, these tracks constitute the entire fossil record of dinosaurs in the western half of the Australian continent, and provide our only glimpse at Australia's dinosaur fauna from the earliest Cretaceous, approximately 130 million years ago. Some of the sauropod tracks are over 1.5m long, and belong to what may have been some of the largest animals to have ever walked the planet.
In 2008 the State Government of Western Australia, Woodside Petroleum and its Joint Venture Partners announced a $35 billion proposal to exploit the natural gas resources of the Browse Basin by installing a pipe-line, port and LNG processing plant at James Price Point, on the western coast of the Dampier Peninsula, approximately 50 km north of Broome. Dinosaur track-sites at James Price Point would have been destroyed if the proposed LNG precinct was allowed to go ahead, while others would likely have been placed at risk from vandalism or theft in the absence of any clear management plan for their ongoing protection. As a consequence, our understanding of this unique snapshot of a Mesozoic ecosystem would have been severely compromised, and an ancient aboriginal songline of which the dinosaur tracks for an integral part would have been broken forever.
In recognition of the outstanding heritage values associated with the dinosaur tracks, the intertidal zone along the Dampier Peninsula coastline from Roebuck Bay to Cape Leveque (excluding the area from Dampier Creek to Entrance Point) was included the West Kimberley National Heritage List on 31 August 2011. Despite this, the Western Australian Government and Woodside pushed ahead with their plans for the LNG precinct at James Price Point. Opposition to the proposed gas hub at James Price Point by the Broome community, Traditional Custodians, environmental groups, scientists, political groups, members of the business community and people from all walks of life, from across Australia and around the world, was fierce.
On 12 April 2013 Woodside announced that it was abandoning its plans to go ahead with its LNG development at James Price Point, claiming that it was no longer 'financially viable'. Regardless of how the decision was presented and played out publically, the outcome is a testament to people power and the determination of the Broome community and everyone who was involved in the campaign to save James Price Point. The proposal become 'financiall unviable' due in part to ongoing delays, supported by a coordinated international movement. As Peter Robinson from the WA Wilderness Society explained, the campaign "...successfully exposed and challenged the serious flaws in the project’s assessment and approvals process. At the same time, they [the Broome Community and Traditional Custodians] mounted a vigorous, creative and effective on-the-ground resistance at every stage of the project’s pre-approval works. Together they demonstrated that the environmental surveys and studies conducted by the gas hub proponent, the WA Department of State Development (DSD), lacked scientific credibility."
Although Woodside's decision to walk away from on onshore development at James Price Point is a major step in the right direction, it by no means guarentees that this area and its spectucular dinosaur tracks are safe. The West Australian Government still remains determined to retain the area for future development, and pending a decision by the Federal Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, the future of one of Australia's most significant pieces of fossil heritage still hangs in the balance.
Selected media coverage
Expressions of Concern
Reports and scientific publications
West Kimberley National Heritage Listing (31 August 2011)
Australian Heritage Council's final assessment of national heritage values of the West Kimberley (1 August 2011)
Colbert, E. H. and Merilees, D. 1967. Cretaceous dinosaur footprints from Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 50, 21–25.
Glauert, L. 1953. Dinosaur footprints near Broome. The Western Australian Naturalist 3, 82–83.
Long, J. A. 1998. Dinosaurs of Australia and New Zealand and other animals of the Mesozoic era. University of New South Wales Press Ltd, Sydney. 188 pp.
Page, D. 1998. Stegosaur tracks and the persistence of facies—the Lower Cretaceous of Western Australia. Geology Today, 14, 75–77.
Siversson, M. 2010. Preliminary Report upon the Palaeontology (including Dinosaur Footprints) of the Broome Sandstone in the James Price Point Area, Western Australia. Document 60103995-0000-GE-REP-0009, Browse LNG SEA, prepared for the Department of State Development by AECOM Australia Pty Ltd. January 2010, 14 pp.
Siversson, M. 2010. Report on macro-fossils in intertidal outcrops of the Broome Sandstone, 1·2-2·7 km south of James Price Point (proposed marine infrastructure shore crossing) and 6·2-7·5 km south of James Price Point (proposed southern pipeline shore crossing). Record 2010/1. Unpublished report prepared for the Department of State Development. April 2010, 14 pp.
Thulborn, R. A. 1990. Dinosaur tracks. Chapman and Hall, London. 410 pp.
Thulborn, R.A. 1998. Dinosaur tracks at Broome, Western Australia. Geology Today, 14, 139.
Thulborn, T. 2009. Dinosaur Tracks of the Broome Sandstone, Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia – interim review. A report prepared for the Kimberley National Heritage Assessment, Natural & Indigenous Heritage Branch, Australian Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts. November 2009, 25 pp.
Thulborn, T., 2012. Impact of sauropod dinosaurs on lagoonal substrates in the Broome Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous), Western Australia. PLoS ONE 7(5): e36208. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036208. pdf
Thulborn, T., Hamley, T. and Foulkes, P. 1994. Preliminary report on sauropod dinosaur tracks in the Broome Sandstone (Lower Cretaceous) of Western Australia. Gaia 10, 85–94.
Hands off Country
The Wilderness Society
Save the Kimberley
Australian Conservation Foundation
Bike to Broome | <urn:uuid:28c36b9d-2bed-4133-bff5-b68f7e931ab5> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.uq.edu.au/dinosaurs/index.html?page=157055&pid=14092 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936464840.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074104-00209-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911204 | 1,453 | 3.375 | 3 |
More vividly, perhaps, than ever before, this election campaign has underscored the deformations of presidential politics wrought by the Electoral College.
For the last several months, residents of most states, including Massachusetts, have been spectators to a competitive contest that has unfolded in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and a handful of other states. We have watched campaign events on television, but nothing much has gone on in our neighborhoods, and there is almost no attempt to mobilize voters for the presidential contest. A friend of mine, visiting Boston and New York from Latin America, has been unable to obtain a souvenir Obama campaign button. You’d think we were electing the president of Ohio.
The candidate who wins the popular vote might end up giving a concession speech and living somewhere other than the White House for the next four years.
The contorted shape of the campaign, of course, is only one of the defects of the system that we have come to call the “Electoral College.” (The phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution and became common only in the 20th century.) Others could surface on election night. The candidate who wins the popular vote might end up giving a concession speech and living somewhere other than the White House for the next four years. (See Gore, Albert.)
There is even a very slight chance that this multi-billion dollar campaign could culminate in an Electoral College tie – in which case a very undemocratic tie-breaking mechanism will astonish the populace and install Mitt Romney in the presidency.
The flaws in our Electoral College have been evident almost since the nation’s birth. Responding to the Constitution’s vague mandate that state legislatures had the right to determine the “manner” of appointing electors, those legislatures – and the political parties that had begun to emerge – quickly learned to game the system for partisan advantage.
They held popular elections to choose electors when it suited them, but, at other times, the legislatures chose the electors themselves. They allocated electoral votes on a proportional or district basis in some years (this appears to have been the intent of the founders) but switched to “winner take all” if that would aid the preferred candidate of the legislature’s majority.
Virginia adopted “winner take all” in 1800 to help insure the election of Thomas Jefferson (who, until then, was an advocate of allocating electoral votes by district). By the early 1800s, it had also become clear to everyone that the Electoral Colleges in each state would never become the deliberative bodies that the founders had envisioned.
Not surprisingly, serious efforts to reform the system began in the early 19th century, and, since that time, more than 700 constitutional amendments have been introduced into Congress in order to change the way we elect presidents. Several proposed amendments have been passed, with the requisite super-majority by one branch of Congress, and one, in the late 1960s, was approved by the House of Representatives and defeated only by a filibuster in the Senate.
For most of our history, proposals for replacing the Electoral College with a national popular vote were deemed unrealistic – because a national popular vote would greatly reduce the influence of southern states in which African-Americans could not vote but counted towards the states’ allotment of electoral votes. More generally, reform initiatives have foundered because particular political factions have judged that their short-term partisan interests were better served by keeping the Electoral College.
The long trail of unsuccessful efforts ought not discourage attempts to change an electoral system that Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, in the mid-19th century, characterized as “artificial, cumbrous, radically defective, and unrepublican.”
One promising sign is the progress made in recent years by the National Popular Vote inter-state compact, an agreement among states to cast all of their electoral votes for the candidate who wins the national popular vote. The compact, which will take effect only when states with 270 electoral votes have signed on, has already been joined by nine states (including Massachusetts) with more than 130 electoral votes.
Other reformers would prefer a constitutional amendment mandating a national popular election for president, while still others would rather target the “winner take all” problem by requiring states to cast their electoral votes in proportion to the state’s popular vote for each candidate.
Much can be debated about the best strategy to achieve change, but the bottom line is that change is long overdue. For the last half century public opinion polls have consistently indicated that between 60 and 80 percent of all Americans would like to replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote, and it is time for our political parties and elected representatives to take serious note of that popular preference.
Even if today’s election goes smoothly and the electoral vote is congruent with the popular vote, we ought not kick the can down the road for another election cycle or two. We deserve an electoral system that is more consistent with our democratic values (e.g. one person, one vote) and less prone to yielding anomalous results.
We also deserve – and need – an electoral system that will generate more widespread participation, engagement, and civic education. Just imagine what the final weeks of a close presidential election in 2016 might look like if a national popular vote determined the outcome: both parties competing avidly for votes in every state, county, and town across the nation; widespread public gatherings, rallies, marches; neighbors out talking to one another; students canvassing everywhere; state and county party organizations from Rhode Island to California vying with one another to see who could achieve the highest levels of turnout.
It would be chaotic, messy, tiring – and very democratic.
Watch the Trailer: | <urn:uuid:ba450fc5-8254-42af-9bae-ce93c15a846b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://cognoscenti.wbur.org/2012/11/06/electoral-college-alex-keyssar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463318.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00119-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969392 | 1,169 | 2.84375 | 3 |
One of the things that persuaded Gwynne Dyer that it was time to write his book Climate Wars was the realisation that “the first and most important impact of climate change on human civilization will be an acute and permanent crisis of food supply”. He’s not the only one to recognise that. Many of us hearing about what the Russian heat wave is doing to crops have no doubt been wondering what the effect of so much loss might be on global supplies. Right on cue Lester Brown, whose Plan B books always lays great stress on food reserves, has produced an updateon what the failed harvest in Russia might mean.
“Russia’s grain harvest, which was 94 million tons last year, could drop to 65 million tons or even less. West of the Ural Mountains, where most of its grain is grown, Russia is parched beyond belief. An estimated one fifth of its grainland is not worth harvesting. In addition, Ukraine’s harvest could be down 20 percent from last year. And Kazakhstan anticipates a harvest 34 percent below that of 2009. (See data.)”
He notes that the heat and drought are also reducing grass and hay growth, meaning that farmers will have to feed more grain during the long winter. Moscow has already released 3 million tons of grain from government stocks for this purpose. Supplementing hay with grain is costly, but the alternative is reduction of herd size by slaughtering, which means higher meat and milk prices.
The Russian ban on grain exports and possible restrictions on exports from Ukraine and Kazakhstan could cause panic in food-importing countries, leading to a run on exportable grain supplies. Beyond this year, there could be some drought spillover into next year if there is not enough soil moisture by late August to plant Russia’s new winter wheat crop.
The grain-importing countries have in recent times seen China added to their list. In recent months China has imported over half a million tons of wheat from both Australia and Canada and a million tons of corn from the US. A Chinese consulting firm projects China’s corn imports climbing to 15 million tons in 2015. China’s potential role as an importer could put additional pressure on exportable supplies of grain.
The bottom line indicator of food security, Brown explains, is the amount of grain in the bin when the new harvest begins. When world carryover stocks of grain dropped to 62 days of consumption in 2006 and 64 days in 2007, it set the stage for the 2007–08 price run-up. World grain carryover stocks at the end of the current crop year have been estimated at 76 days of consumption, somewhat above the widely recommended 70-day minimum. A new US Department of Agriculture estimate is due very soon, which will give some idea of how much carryover stocks will be estimated to drop as a result of the Russian failure.
We don’t know what all this will mean for world prices. The prices of wheat, corn, and soybeans are actually somewhat higher in early August 2010 than they were in early August 2007, when the record-breaking 2007–08 run-up in grain prices began. Whether prices will reach the 2008 peak again remains to be seen.
Brown performs the obligatory ritual of acknowledging that no single event can be attributed to global warming, though I would have thought that by now that proviso could be taken as read. It’s surely more important to affirm, as of course he does, that extreme events are an expected manifestation of human-caused climate change, and their effect on food production must be a major concern.
“That intense heat waves shrink harvests is not surprising. The rule of thumb used by crop ecologists is that for each 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature above the optimum we can expect a reduction in grain yields of 10 percent. With global temperature projected to rise by up to 6 degrees Celsius during this century, this effect on yields is an obvious matter of concern.”
Demand isn’t going down to match the reduction:
“Each year the world demand for grain climbs. Each year the world’s farmers must feed 80 million more people. In addition, some 3 billion people are trying to move up the food chain and consume more grain-intensive livestock products. And this year some 120 million tons of the 415-million-ton U.S. grain harvest will go to ethanol distilleries to produce fuel for cars.”
And the obvious conclusion:
“Surging annual growth in grain demand at a time when the earth is heating up, when climate events are becoming more extreme, and when water shortages are spreading makes it difficult for the world’s farmers to keep up. This situation underlines the urgency of cutting carbon emissions quickly—before climate change spins out of control.”
There’s a podcast in which Lester Brown speaks at greater length, elaborating the matters covered in his written update, and amongst other things commenting on how we might be thankful, from a global grain harvest perspective, that it was Moscow and not Chicago or Beijing which experienced temperatures so far above the norm. The grain loss would have been much higher in either case.
It’s worth adding that while the Russian event is dramatic in terms of its obvious impact on exports of grain globally, there are plenty of other places where food production is threatened by extreme events or by other trends which are in line with climate change predictions. It is impossible to look at the vast flooding of land in Pakistan and not wonder how they will cope with the washing away of millions of hectares of crops — there have been “huge losses” according to the BBC.
“We need to cut carbon emissions and cut them fast.” | <urn:uuid:ade20240-cd70-4f78-95f8-b05be9666d1a> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://hot-topic.co.nz/lester-brown-russian-heat-hits-world-grain-supplies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936462426.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074102-00007-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959724 | 1,180 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Solution to Baltimore’s trash is right in city’s backyards
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Trash accumulations are reaching out-of-control proportions and are not aggressively addressed because the problem is deemed unsolvable. Most of the attempts by the city to deal with the trash problem in Baltimore and the Inner Harbor are old school and appear to be just going through the motions with little to show for progress. Status quo and not causing problems for the mayor seems to be what is expected from city officials.
Excessive trash reaches the harbor through the storm drains that are needed because 70 percent of Baltimore City is impervious. Excessive trash also clogs inlets to the drains (arteries) and promotes flooding and sink holes.
The city responds to crisis situations and always blames the problem on old infrastructure. Meanwhile, the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news broadcasts offer "breaking news" to those still watching stale television.
Life goes on unchanged and unchallenged. The begging question is: Does it have to be this way?
Let's talk about the trash problem. How does so much trash get into Baltimore Harbor? Where does this trash come from? What are root causes of trash accumulation? Is there a better way of getting rid of this trash and keeping Baltimore clean?
Let's do an experiment. We know that there are 26 storm water outlets to the Inner Harbor and that trash flows out with the water. Along with the trash are pollutants such as bacteria and nutrients that can cause marine and human health problems. Let's see if we can significantly reduce the trash to one of these 26 stormwater outlets — and if successful — adopt this model at the other outlets.
This experiment was actually carried out and is known as the Harris Creek Watershed Project. This watershed includes 17 diverse city neighborhoods in East Baltimore that came together and conducted a major trash sweep covering 4,000 homes over a 10-week period — June 16 through Aug. 31, 2010.
The coordinated sweep involved the city's departments of Housing and Public Works along with neighborhood trash leaders. The result: Trash was reduced at the outlet to the harbor from 4 tons a month to less than half a ton each month. We were able to do this because we had a Trash Interceptor that accurately measured the amount of trash coming out of the outlet.
Where did all of this trash come from? We walked rounds in all of the watershed alleys and discovered more than 100 mini-landfills (dumps) in the backyards of vacant houses. What proved to be helpful in these cases was the ability to call 311-TRASH. Callers gave an exact location, were given a service report number that identified the trash, which the DPW was required to clean up within one week.
Why had this trash not been reported by city workers who walked these alleys on a daily basis? Why were other parts of the city getting better services than those in the inner city, where many vacant houses with backyards that served as extra dumps are found?
Once a site turns into a dump, it becomes an easy target for more dumping. Trash bags are required to be placed in trash cans to keep rats and cats out of them. When there are not enough neighborhood trash cans, trash bags are thrown into these artificial dumps. In many cases, these bags are collected and placed at the ends of alleys so trash trucks do not have to go back into the alleys.
Thus, one can see where the city's excessive trash is coming from: the subculture that allows for this practice to continue and the resistance to change for the better.
The beauty of this story is that it is correctable in time with the right moves — but they have to be bold moves. Bold moves can work if city leaders develop vision and maintain tenacity to the vision.
What is a bold move that will move this city to clean up its act?
I would propose the following:
We presently have a Baltimore Harbor WaterKeeper working with the Maryland Department of the Environment to reduce pollutant loads in the harbor through the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load.
Trash is considered a pollutant and a TMDL for it will be developed here. But, here, we are only talking about trash when it gets into the water.
It seems to me that what we really need is a TMDL for land trash, and along with this should come a Trash LandKeeper. The LandKeeper would make daily alley rounds and issue service reports to the DPW to clean up the back yards of vacant houses.
To work, though, the Landkeeper must belong to another city department that would make sure that the DPW is doing what it is paid to do instead of creating two Baltimore services — one for affluent and one for poverty stricken areas.
This would ensure fairness and justice to all citizens of Baltimore City. Discovering and addressing this injustice will go a long way in bringing back a clean Baltimore City and a safe and clean Baltimore Harbor that will be fishable and swimmable in our lifetime.
Comments are now closed for this article. Comments are accepted for 60 days after publication. | <urn:uuid:59c77571-93b4-40c1-92f1-24f377967375> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.bayjournal.com/article/solution_to_baltimores_trash_is_right_in_citys_backyards | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936459277.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074059-00139-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967301 | 1,063 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The other day, I stopped at a gas station to fill up on gas and put air in my tires. There was a lovely, young lady who looked to be about twenty years old putting air in her tires. She seemed to be taking an unusually long time on just one tire and I wondered if something was wrong. Finally, she looked over at me and asked, “Do you know how to put air in a tire?” I gladly went over and helped her out. I showed her what I knew about putting air in a tire and helped her get the job done. When we finished, she thanked me and happily drove off.
Afterwards, I got to thinking, “How many teens know how to put air in a tire or are familiar with proper tire care?”
Probably not many.
I know that tire care is important for safety, not to mention the fact that proper tire inflation improves gas mileage. I decided to do a bit of research and find out what I could about good tire care so that I could share this valuable information with my teens and yours. Here’s what I learned.
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When the time comes for you to own your own car, you’ll find that knowing a few things about tire care will not only keep you safe, but save you money as well.
One of the first things you should know is that it’s a good idea to check your tires once a month. Checking involves two parts of your tires: the tread and the pressure.
The tread of your tire helps give you traction, especially on wet surfaces. In order for your car to be safe (and legal) on the road, the tread on your tires needs to be greater than 1/16 of an inch. Now, you don’t have to go hunting for a ruler to check your tire tread. There’s an easier way that uses a penny instead. Here’s what you do:
- Insert a penny upside down into the wide cracks between the treads. Lincoln should be standing on his head when you do this properly.
- If you can see the top of Lincoln’s head above the tread, you need to change your tires.
- If the tread covers the top of Lincoln’s head and more, you are probably alright.
Properly inflated tires improve gas mileage and help prevent blowouts. It would be nice if tires always maintained their proper air pressure, but they don’t. All tires naturally lose a little air through a process called permeation. Also, changes in the temperature outside can have an effect on air pressure. Here are some tips on how to check the air pressure in your tires using a tire gauge as well as instructions on how to add or remove air.
- Try to check the pressure when the tires are cold. “Cold” means that the vehicle hasn’t been driven in at least 3 hours. Driving makes the tires heat up and expand which will give you an inaccurate reading. Of course, sometimes you have no choice but to check them when they are hot, like when you are putting air in them at the gas station. Just try to do a cold check first if you can.
- Find the proper tire pressure for your vehicle. This information is usually found on a sticker that is located on the door jamb (the door frame) on the driver’s side. It’s also in the driver’s manual for the vehicle. There should be a number followed by the letters “psi” which stand for “pounds per square inch.”
- Unscrew the cap on the valve of the tire. Put the cap in a safe place while you check the air pressure! Looking for one of those caps on a driveway is not a fun experience.
- Press the end of the tire gauge onto the end of the valve. Make sure it is on securely and there is no hissing sound. The hissing means that air is leaking through the valve so you won’t get an accurate reading. Adjust the angle of the tip until it fits tightly.
- Remove the tire gauge after a second or two and read it. If the number is below the recommended psi number, you’ll need to add air to the tire. Here’s how to do that:
- Most gas stations will have a free air pump. Park your car next to the pump.
- Remove the valve from the tire and press the end of the air pump over the tip of the valve just like you did with the tire gauge. If you hear a loud hissing sound, that means the connection isn’t secure and air is being let out of the tire. Adjust the angle until you get a tight fit.
- Remove the end of the air pump from the valve after a few seconds and check the pressure again with the gauge. It doesn’t take long to fill a tire with air.
- Continue until you get the tire to the proper air pressure level.
If the reading on the tire gauge is above the recommended psi, you’ll need to let air out. Here’s how:
- Locate the pin in the valve of the tire.
- Use a tool such as a small screwdriver or the end of the tire gauge to press the pin in until you hear a hissing sound.
- Release the pin after a second or two and check the air pressure again.
Another important aspect of tire care is alignment. Alignment refers to the aligning of all four wheels with each other so that they make good contact with the road. Alignment can only be checked at a garage. It’s a good idea to have that done if you get into an accident or if you notice that your car pulls to one side of the road as you’re driving.
Lastly, it’s a good idea to get your tires balanced and rotated at a garage according to the vehicle manufacturer’s specifications. This information should be in the owner’s manual. Balancing and rotating prolong the lifetime of the tires. Without these two maintenance steps, your tires will very likely wear unevenly. | <urn:uuid:6e092ae4-3d31-49f1-a514-c24490b45146> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.homeschoolwithlove.com/2013/12/03/teen-life-skill-4-tire-care/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936460576.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074100-00144-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953841 | 1,301 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The House Of Saxe Coburg Gotha
Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
( 1 May 1850 – 16 January 1942)
Prince Arthur, the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Prince Consort, was born at Buckingham Palace at 8:20 am on 1 May 1850. He was named after Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, whose birthday he shared.
Arthur was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Bird Sumner, on 22 June in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace. He was given the names Arthur William Patrick Albert.
From an early age Arthur displayed an avid interest in military matters, and accordingly, in 1866 he was enrolled at the Royal Military College at Woolwich, from where he graduated two years later and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers on 18 June 1868. He transferred to the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 2 November 1868 and on 2 August 1869, to his father's regiment the Rifle Brigade, after which he engaged in a long career as an army officer. Arthur was the only one of Queen Victoria's sons to see active service. With the rank of Major-General, he commanded the 1st (Guards) Brigade of the 1st Division during Sir Garnet Wolseley's Egyptian Campaign of 1882.
On 24 May 1874, Arthur was created Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Earl of Sussex by his mother the queen. Arthur married the German Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia, the daughter of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia and Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, on 13 March 1879. Princess Margaret was the cousin of Prussian Emperor Frederick III, who was married to Arthur's sister Victoria, Princess Royal. The Duke and Duchess of Connaught acquired Bagshot Park in Surrey as their country home and after 1900 used Clarence House as their London residence.
The couple's first child Princess Margaret was born on 15 January 1882 at their country home of Bagshot Park. She was christened Margaret Victoria Charlotte Augusta Norah. Attractive, dark haired and tall, Margaret married Gustaf Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden on 15 June 1905 and became the mother of five children including Ingrid, Queen of Denmark and Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, the father of the future King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. Her grandchildren include King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Queen (consort) Anne-Marie of Greece. Margaret was heavily pregnant with her sixth child in 1920 when she underwent mastoid surgery. An infection set in, leading to the death of Margaret and her unborn child.
Arthur and Margaret's son, Prince Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert was born 13 January 1883, and was baptised in the Private Chapel of Windsor Castle on 16 February 1883. He married his cousin, Princess Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edwina Louise, 2nd Duchess of Fife (17 May 1891 – 26 February 1959) at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace, London. Alexandra was the eldest daughter of Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife and Princess Louise, the Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Arthur's brother King Edward VII. The couple had one child Prince Alastair Arthur of Connaught (9 August 1914 – 26 April 1943).
A third child, Princess Patricia of Connaught (Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth) was born on 17 March 1886, known as 'Patsy' in the family, she became the wife of her father's aide de camp, Commander (later Admiral) The Hon. Alexander Ramsay (29 May 1881 – 8 October 1972). Patricia renounced her royal titles and became known as Lady Patricia Ramsay, she had one child, Alexander Ramsay of Mar, who was born at Clarence House, then the London residence of his maternal grandfather.
King George V appointed his uncle Arthur of Connaught as Governor General of Canada. Arthur travelled to Canada with his wife and his youngest daughter, who was to become an extremely popular figure with Canadians. The Duke of Connaught served as Governor General of Canada from 1911 to 1916. He was active in auxiliary war services and charities and conducted hospital visits, while the Duchess of Connaught worked for the Red Cross and other organizations to support the war cause.
After his years spent in Canada, Prince Arthur held no similar public offices but undertook a number of public engagements. He also returned to military service and continued well into World War II. His wife Margaret of Prussia died of influenza and bronchitis at Clarence House in March 1917, after which Arthur mostly withdrew from public life. On 1 May 1920, his daughter, Crown Princess Margaret of Sweden died suddenly in Stockholm. The official announcement said infection set in following a mastoid operation. At the time, she was eight months pregnant and expecting her sixth child. His son Prince Arthur of Connaught, who served as aide-de-camp to Generals Sir John French and Sir Douglas Haig, also predeceased him, dying of stomach cancer at the age of 55 on 12 September 1938.
Arthur died 16 January 1942 at Bagshot Park in Surrey, at the age of 91. He was buried in the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. His title passed to the his grandson Alistair Arthur, 2nd Duke of Connaught who died in 1943 at the age of 29 without a successor. Alastair died in Ottawa "on active service" in unusual circumstances. The diaries of Sir Alan Lascelles, King George VI's private secretary, published in 2006, recorded that, rejected him as incompetent, he had fallen out of a window when drunk and died of hypothermia overnight. | <urn:uuid:503aa311-3582-444c-97c9-bf734dd7ffc3> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxe_coburg_gotha_8.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463606.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00189-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98209 | 1,187 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Writing about stressful events has long been known to cause improvements in health and psychological well-being. Now, a new study provides clues to why that is.
The research, published in the September issue of APA's Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (JEP: General) (Vol. 130, No. 3), indicates that expressive writing reduces intrusive and avoidant thoughts about negative events and improves working memory. These improvements, researchers believe, may in turn free up our cognitive resources for other mental activities, including our ability to cope more effectively with stress.
In the past few years, research has hinted that a cognitive mechanism may help explain the link between expressive writing and health, notes University of Texas psychologist James W. Pennebaker, PhD, who has taken the lead, in the past decade, in research on expressive writing and health. He and his colleagues have found that the people who benefit most from expressive writing tend to use more causal analysis and express more emotion in their writing, leading some psychologists to speculate that expressive writing helps people simplify and organize fragmented memories.
The trouble, says Pennebaker, is that these ideas have been frustratingly vague. Now, he says, "Along comes this new study, which in my mind is almost revolutionary. It's a different level of analysis that none of us had thought about."
"If you're suffering from a traumatic or stressful event, your ability to pay attention and focus on life's stressors isn't what it should be," proposes the study's lead author, North Carolina State University psychologist Kitty Klein, PhD.
As a consequence, she suggests, "It's going to take you a lot longer to come up with effective coping strategies. That may be a vehicle for getting you into poorer and poorer health."
The new results hint at a way to short-circuit that destructive process, says co-author Adriel Boals, now a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University. "They suggest that at least for fairly minor life problems, something as simple as writing about the problem for 20 minutes can yield important effects not only in terms of physical health and mental health, but also in terms of cognitive abilities," he says.
Writing about college stress
In an initial experiment, Klein and Boals examined how writing about a stressful event affected working memory for 71 undergraduates. The participants completed three 20-minute writing sessions during a two-week period. Half, assigned to an "expressive writing" condition, were instructed to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about coming to college and to "tie it all together" at the end of their essays. Participants in a control condition instead wrote about what they had done that day and how they might have done a better job.
Using a standard test of verbal working memory, Klein and Boals measured participants' working memory capacity three times: once before the first writing session, and again one week and seven weeks after the last writing exercise.
The researchers also examined the content of participants' essays, probing for "cause and insight" words--such as "hence," "because" and "therefore"--that might signal efforts to create a more coherent narrative out of fragmented stressful memories. Finally, the team measured the link between working memory improvement and academic performance, using students' grade-point averages (GPAs) for the semester during which the experiment took place and the following semester.
The results revealed that participants in the expressive-writing condition showed modest improvements in working memory between the second and third memory tests. In contrast, control participants showed no such improvement.
In addition, participants in the expressive-writing condition used more cause and insight words than did those in the control group, strengthening the notion that expressive writing boosts the narrative coherence of stressful memories. Gains in working memory were also associated both with greater use of cause and insight words and with higher GPAs both immediately after the experiment and in the subsequent semester.
Although that first experiment provided tantalizing support for the idea that expressive writing may improve working memory, it did not firmly establish whether expressive writing freed memory resources by purging people's intrusive and avoidant thoughts about stressful experiences.
The experiment also revealed only modest effects of expressive writing on working memory. Such effects may have been dampened, the authors hypothesized, by the writing task itself: Because going to college is not a uniformly stressful experience, expressing one's feelings about it may have less benefit for some people than for others. And instructing participants in the control group to think about how they could have better spent their time may have inadvertently encouraged them to form more coherent cognitive representations of their day, enhancing working memory.
To address these issues, Klein and Boals tweaked the writing task in a second experiment, asking some participants to write about an extremely negative experience and others to write about an extremely positive one. Participants in a control group again wrote about their day's schedule, but this time, they were not prompted to evaluate the day.
To test the link between expressive writing, intrusive thoughts and working memory, the researchers also asked participants to indicate, at the beginning and end of the experiment, how frequently unwanted memories of their most negative and positive experiences intruded into their thoughts and how often they avoided thinking about the experiences.
The results revealed that participants who wrote about a negative event had fewer intrusive and avoidant thoughts and showed sizable improvements in working memory, compared with those who wrote about a positive event and those in the control group. Further, mediational analyses suggested that expressive writing works to boost working memory only when a person has fewer intrusive and avoidant thoughts. Finally, as in the first experiment, working memory improvements were again associated with higher GPAs, as were reductions in intrusive thoughts.
The findings are exciting for a number of reasons, say psychologists. In a practical sense, the results suggest that the simple act of writing about stressful events can have a positive impact on academic performance--although for how long remains unknown. And as a "first stab" at explaining what's behind the well-established connection between writing and health, says Pennebaker, "This paper is just remarkable. My only regret is that I didn't think of it first."
What's equally striking, says cognitive psychologist Akira Miyake, PhD, of the University of Colorado, is the finding that working memory is malleable and can be affected by a psychosocial task such as expressive writing. That, he argues, has repercussions not only for physical health, but for a range of domains in which working memory might be impaired. For instance, college students who have math anxiety and fear statistics often experience working memory deficits while working on math problems because of intrusive thoughts and worry about math. Such students, Miyake suggests, might benefit from writing about their anxiety.
But even as Klein and Boals's findings provide exciting clues to why expressive writing exerts such a powerful effect on people's well-being, the study leaves unanswered questions--among them, why does expressive writing squash intrusive thoughts and improve working memory?
Pennebaker and others have theorized that forming a more coherent narrative surrounding fragmented memories--as is evidenced by increases in cause and insight words--helps free up working memory. Yet Klein and Boals found working memory effects only for participants who wrote about negative experiences, despite the fact that the two groups showed the same improvements in their use of cause and insight words--an effect that is unexplained by that theoretical rationale.
One possible explanation, suggests Klein, is that positive events simply have less cognitive impact than negative events. That may be particularly true for college students, who, Klein believes, tend to take positive events for granted.
Miyake suggests an alternative explanation, which dovetails with the results of another article in the same issue of JEP: General, by Washington University psychologist Jeremy R. Gray, PhD. In his research, Gray found that verbal working memory is impaired by negative emotion, but not by positive emotion. The opposite, he showed, is true for visuospatial working memory.
To the extent that repeated writing about negative events decreases their emotional impact, Miyake speculates, it may lead to improvements in verbal working memory. If such a mechanism is indeed responsible for Klein and Boals's results, says Miyake, it may be that tests of visuospatial working memory would reveal a similar effect of writing about positive events.
This article is part of the Monitor's "Science Watch" series, which reports news from APA's journals.
Letters to the Editor
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Black History is not a particular focus of our Special Collections department, but we do have a few noteworthy items with which I was able to put together a small exhibit on the first floor of the library. Only one of these books is available in our Digital Library, but the others are available through the Internet Archive. Here, then, is a brief look at some of these historically interesting books.
The portrait gallery of pugilists of America and their contemporaries by Billy Edwards (Philadelphia: Pugilistic Pub. Co., 1894) profiles many of the noteworthy boxers of the late nineteenth century. Although the majority of pugilists included in the book are white, the book gives a good view of the racial tensions in boxing at the end of the nineteenth century. One of the black boxers profiled in the book is Peter “Black Prince” Jackson (1861-1901). The descendant of a freed slave, he was an Australian heavyweight boxer who had a significant international career, although the Australian Dictionary of Biography Online notes that “Jackson was one of the finest boxers never to fight for a world championship: John Sullivan refused to defend his title against a black and [James J.] Corbett avoided Jackson once he gained the heavyweight crown in 1892.” For more on Jackson’s career as “a black fighter in a white world,” see the full article here.
Hampton and its students by two of its teachers, Mrs. M.F. Armstrong and Helen W. Ludlow (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1875), tells of the founding of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in 1868, shortly after the conclusion of the U.S. Civil War, by black and white leaders of the American Missionary Association. The roots of this school went back further, however, to a “simple oak tree” on a former plantation that served as a gathering place for former slaves who sought refuge there with the Union Army in 1861. One of the school’s earliest students was Booker T. Washington, who arrived in 1872 at the age of 16, and later became a renowned educator and author. Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute shortened its name in 1930 to Hampton Institute, and in 1984 it was accredited as Hampton University.
Poems of cabin and field by Paul Laurence Dunbar (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1900) includes poems in dialect by Dunbar paired with photographs from the Hampton Institute camera club. Dunbar was the first African American poet to win national acclaim. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1872, to former slaves. Dunbar’s work included poems in dialect as well as standard English, essays, short stories, and novels. His work often described the difficulties faced by African Americans as they tried to achieve equality. To read more about Dunbar’s life and work, see the University of Dayton’s Paul Laurence Dunbar Website.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Cleveland: J. P. Jewett & Company, 1852) is one of the most widely-known novels about slavery. Published in 1852, this novel focuses on the character of Uncle Tom, a long-suffering slave, around whom the other characters’ stories revolve. The novel portrays the reality of slavery while also emphasizing that Christian love can overcome anything, even the enslavement of fellow human beings. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the best-selling novel of the nineteenth century, selling 300,000 copies in the United States in its first year of publication. The novel was heavily criticized by those who supported slavery, especially in the South, while it received praise from abolitionists. In response to such negative criticism, Stowe produced A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Boston: J. P. Jewett & Co., 1853) one year after Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe maintained that she based her novel on the stories of fugitive slaves she encountered in Ohio. This book was also a best-seller.
Uncle Remus, his songs and his sayings: the folk-lore of the old plantation by Joel Chandler Harris (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881) was a collection of animal stories, songs, and other forms of oral folklore that were compiled into written form by Harris, who remembered hearing them from slaves while he worked on a plantation as a young man. The stories are rendered in Harris’s version of a Deep South slave dialect. Br’er Rabbit is the main character of many of the stories. He is a trickster, often getting himself into scrapes with Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear. The stories often convey a lesson, much like Aesop’s Fables.
Both Harriet Beecher Stowe and Joel Chandler Harris were white Americans who wrote stories about African Americans and slavery. First published in the latter half of the nineteenth century, both authors were praised by their contemporaries for the accuracy of their depiction of African Americans in what was then considered to be a non-racist manner. Although attitudes have changed since then and the stereotypes and dialects of the stories are now deemed offensive, Stowe and Harris both remain important and influential figures. Stowe’s work helped to fuel the abolitionist cause and, according to some, was also an influence leading up to the Civil War. Harris’s Uncle Remus tales were an accurate recording of tales told by slaves, which helped to preserve their folklore for future generations.
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Leucopogon: white beard (the petals are hairy)
parviflorus: small flowers
Chatham Island Mingimingi
Current Conservation Status
2012 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB
Previous Conservation Status
2009 - At Risk - Naturally Uncommon
2004 - Range Restricted
2012 - RR, SO
2009 - OL, SO
Leucopogon parviflorus (Andrews) Lindl.
Bushy prickly shrub bearing hard narrow sharp leaves that are greenish underneath and short spikes of small white bell-shaped flowers and white fruit inhabiting the Chatham Islands. Leaves 10-15mm long by 4-6mm wide. Flowers hairy inside, bell-shaped, in clusters of spikes towards tip of twigs.
Vascular - Native
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank
is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs
Cyathodes parviflora (Andrews) Allan, Leucopogon lanceolatus R.Br. (nom. illegit.), Leucopogon richei (Labill.) R.Br., Styphelia parviflora Andrews, Styphelia richei Labill.
Indigenous. New Zealand: Chatham Island. Present in Australia (southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania).
Strictly coastal. Usually on stable, sand dunes, dune slacks and sand flats, more rarely on sandy soils in pasture. Also rocky headlands, at the head of ravines and in low, windswept coastal scrub where it may be dominant. Prefers free-draining substrates and avoids permanently damp soils.
Shrub 0.8-1.0(-3) × 1.0-1.8(-2.0) m. Trunk stout, often with several arising from ground level, bark firm, furrowed, ± tessellated, dark grey-black or brown. Branches and branchlets numerous, virgate, crowded, glabrous. Leaves numerous, ± weakly appressed to erecto-patent, crowded toward branch apices, glabrous, lanceolate, oblanceolate to elliptic, apex ± attenuate, rounded to subacute, with a small apical callus, base attenuate; 10-15(-20) × 4-6(-8) mm, flat or slightly convex with recurved, entire margins, veins faint, parallel, more evident when dried; lamina pale yellow-green to dark green above, paler beneath, with the foliage of young growth and exposed plants often adaxially glaucescent. Inflorescences axillary or terminal in upper leaf axils, spicate; spikes densely crowded, 15-20 mm long; flowers sweetly scented, densely packed, crowded,. Bracts and bracteoles broadly ovate, bracteoles weakly keeled, c.½ as long calyx. Sepals ovate, acute, 1.5-2.5 mm long, finely ciliolate. Corolla tube ± cylindrical, about as long as sepals, white or pale pink, corolla lobes 1.5-1.9 mm long, white or pale pink at anthesis, fading to white with age, deltoid to narrowly triangular, reflexed, inner surface densely invested in white hairs (bearded). Anthers versatile, half exserted, 1.5 mm long, with sterile tip 0.3-0.5 mm long. Ovary 4-5-locular, c.1 mm long, tapering into a short style; style not exserted. Fruit a fleshy, ovoid or spherical drupe 3 mm diameter, immature flesh at first greenish-yellow, then pale yellow, maturing white. Endocarp elliptic to broadly elliptic, 3-angled, rarely biconvex or 4-angled. 2.2-3.5 × 1.8-2.3 mm, indistinctly longitudinally ridged or veined, surface light orange-yellow, orange or orange-brown, internally with 2-4 cells with up to 3 filled.
None on the Chatham Islands. However, this species has been confused in cultivation and occasionally on Chatham Island with Pouteretere (Leptecophylla robusta), which differs by its leaves which are dark green, purple-green or bronze-green above, pale green or cream below (rather than yellow-green to dark green above, paler beneath), and ovate or oblong (rather than lanceolate, oblanceolate to elliptic), flowers which are solitary rather than in spikes, and fruit which is larger (5-8 mm cf. 3 mm diameter) and red, pink or white. North Cape, North Island records of this species are referable to L. xerampelinus.
Throughout the year
Throughout the year
Easily grown from fresh seed. Can also be grown from semi-hardwood cuttings though these can be slow to strike. An attractive shrub that does well in exposed sandy soils and is very drought tolerant.
A Naturally Uncommon, Range-restricted species abundant along the sandy coastline of Chatham Island. It is not especially palatable however, at some sites it may be threatened by marram grass (Ammophila arenaria)
2n = 22
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 30 December 2010. Description prepared from Chatham Island herbarium specimens and live material.
This page last updated on 6 Dec 2014 | <urn:uuid:53fc3d50-f23a-4c49-a85a-c581f2afb0a9> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.aspx?ID=573 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461216.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00157-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.826094 | 1,391 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Play It Safe in the Sun
Skin Cancer: the Basics
- Fair skin
- Blonde, or red hair
- Blue, gray, or green eyes
- A history of sunburns early in life
- A history of indoor tanning
- Many moles and freckles
- Family or personal history of skin cancer
The sun's rays are at their worst during these hours. Exercise in the early morning or later in the day—a time when it is also cooler. If lunchtime is the only time you can workout, seek out a shady route, wear a wide-brimmed hat, load up on the sunscreen, and keep it brief.
You need one that blocks UVA and UVB rays, with a SPF of 30 or higher.
Baseball hats leave cancer-prone areas such as ears and the back of the neck exposed. A smarter option is a hat with at least a two- to three-inch brim. If you have thinning hair or are bald, a hat is a must.
Look for clothes with tightly woven material. When you apply sunblock, you should still apply it on areas that will be covered by clothing. A typical T-shirt has an SPF rating lower than 15.
Since the majority of skin cancers occur on these areas, consider them top priority.
Skin cancer can also occur on the lips. Look for a waterproof or water-resistant, lip-specific product with a high SPF. Plan on reapplying often as lips are moist and lip balms have a tendency to come off easily.
Choose sunglasses with UV protection. This will also protect the delicate skin around the eyes.
Applying Sunscreen and Keeping It On
Apply sunscreen 20 minutes before any sun exposure so that it has time to chemically react with the skin.
Sport formulas are usually water-resistant, easy to apply, will not drip into the eyes, and will not interfere with a grip on a tennis racket or a golf club.
It should take about one ounce, or a shot glass-worth, of sunblock to cover your whole body.
If you are walking or doing a low-intensity activity, reapply sunblock at least every two hours. If you are sweating profusely, or are in the water or a windy area, apply it more frequently.
It Is Not Just the Sun
Sun reflected on snow can produce as much ultraviolet penetration as the sun on sand, especially at higher altitudes. So snowboarders and skiers need adequate protection, regardless of the temperature.
Wind can thin sunblock, so make sure to reapply every two hours or so if you are in a windy environment (think beaches, skiing, and sailing).
Cloudy days are no excuse to skip the sunblock. About 80% of the sun's rays still get through.
The closer you are to the equator, the more harmful the sun's rays are.
UV radiation increases nearly 4% every 1,000 feet above sea level you go.
Sand, concrete, water, and snow are highly reflective surfaces that can expose you to more of the sun's rays.
Get out of the sun to stop more burning.
Keep the water lukewarm, not hot. This can soothe the skin
After the bath, gently rub a good moisturizer onto your skin.
Consider using a mild over-the-counter pain reliever if you are feeling pain.
For serious blistering, see your doctor right away.
American Cancer Society http://www.cancer.org
Skin Cancer Foundation http://www.skincancer.org
BC Cancer Agency http://www.bccancer.bc.ca
Canadian Cancer Society http://www.cancer.ca
Ask the expert: Can darker-skinned people get skin cancer? Skin Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/ask-the-experts/can-darker-skinned-people-get-skin-cancer. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Essential sun safety information for skiers & snowboarders. Skin Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.skincancer.org/healthy-lifestyle/outdoor-activities/essential-sun-safety-information-for-skiers-and-snowboarders. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Facts about sunscreen. American Melanoma Foundation website. Available at: http://www.melanomafoundation.org/prevention/facts.htm. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Five ways to treat a sunburn. Skin Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/sunburn/five-ways-to-treat-a-sunburn. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Frequently asked questions. Prevent Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://preventcancer.org/prevention/preventable-cancers/skin-cancer/faq/. Accessed March 29, 2013.
How long does it take to get a sunburn? Telluride Medical Center website. Available at: http://tellmed.org/patient-information/local-health-concerns-1/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-a-sunburn. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Lip cancer: Not uncommon, often overlooked. Skin Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/lip-cancer-not-uncommon. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Prevention guidelines. Skin Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.skincancer.org/prevention. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Saving face. Skin Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/mohs-surgery/mohs-surgery-saving-face. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Skin cancer: prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/basic%5Finfo/prevention.htm. Updated February 15, 2013. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Skin cancer: risk factors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/basic%5Finfo/risk%5Ffactors.htm. Updated March 27, 2013. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Sunscreen. The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity website. Available at: http://www.skcin.org/Sun-Safety/Sun-Screen. Accessed March 29, 2013.
Sunscreen FAQs. American Academy of Dermatology website. Available at: https://www.aad.org/media-resources/stats-and-facts/prevention-and-care/sunscreens. Accessed October 20, 2014.
Year-round sun protection. Skin Cancer Foundation website. Available at: http://www.skincancer.org/year-round-sun-protection.html. Accessed March 29, 2013.
- Reviewer: Brian Randall, MD
- Review Date: 03/2013 -
- Update Date: 10/20/2014 -
This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © EBSCO Publishing
All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:d0f7f59c-c9f8-490a-a697-e5cbb40e7f77> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://medicalcityhospital.com/your-health/condition_detail.dot?id=13823&lang=English&db=hlt&ebscoType=healthlibrary&widgetTitle=FOR%20ALL%20HOSTS%20(GLOBAL)%20***%20EBSCO%20-%20Condition%20Detail%20v2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936461359.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074101-00178-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.870254 | 1,593 | 2.625 | 3 |
The Geographical Collection of King George III of Great Britain comprises the King’s Topographical Collection of maps and views, and the King’s Maritime Collection of sea charts.
The collection known as 'K. Top.' came to the Museum in 1828 along with other collections from the library of King George III. The Maritime Collection of charts, however, passed into the care of the Admiralty until 1844, when the bulk of the charts came to the Museum. Further material was transferred in 1952 and 1988, including manuscript atlases by William Hack. A few items were transferred to the Department Of Printed Books (now Scholarship and Collections) and to the British Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings before 1973.
The King’s Topographical Collection, the map collection of George III (reigned 1760–1820) is one of the world’s most important historical resources. It comprises approximately 50,000 maps, plans and views, both printed and hand drawn, of all parts of the world but particularly Great Britain and the British Empire. The material ranges in date from about 1540 to 1824 and is extremely varied in terms of format and size. The collection was donated to the nation by George IV (reigned 1820-1830) in 1828, and is held mostly in the British Library Map Library.
The Maritime Collection of George III is a distinct segment of the King’s collection and consists of hand-drawn and printed sea charts and atlases spanning the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The distinction between the Maritime and Topographical collections can appear blurred, however, as sea charts exist in both. In 1828 the Maritime Collection passed to the Admiralty Library, but since 1844 the vast majority of the charts and atlases were transferred to the British Museum and since 1973, the British Library.
George III and collecting
George III was a keen armchair traveller, and by inheritance, purchase, and acquisition by official presentation, he built an important topographical collection which includes the first western impressions of Australia. The resulting library of single sheet items, rolled maps, printed atlases and bound volumes of engraved and drawn views was situated next door to his bedroom in Windsor Castle. The single sheet material was originally housed in boxes made in the shape of richly bound books, and the entire collection was arranged by place depicted. The single sheet material is now bound into 244 guard volumes, following the original sequence.
- Some of the earliest European printed maps, such as the so called ‘Lafreri’ copperplate maps produced in Rome in the mid 16th century
- The complete range of British county maps dating from 1579 to the early nineteenth century
- Administrative maps
- Planning maps including maps of proposed railways and canals
- Presentation maps, such as the ‘Duke’s Plan’ of New York, made to celebrate its capture by the English from the Dutch in 1664
- Estate maps and maps of Royal palaces
- Architectural drawings, including a large archive of working drawings by Nicholas Hawksmoor, the architect of Christ Church, Spitalfields in London
- Printed and hand-drawn or painted views, including examples by Wenceslaus Hollar, Samuel Hieronymus Grimm and Paul Sandby
- The results of large scale surveys, including a manuscript map of part of Newfoundland by James Cook, and William Roy’s military survey of Scotland
- A large archive of maps and plans of Hannover and Northern Germany
Identifying material from the King’s Topographical Collection
Items in the collection are identified by the shelfmark prefix Maps K.Top. Rolled maps and atlases contain extra elements to the shelfmark such as Maps K.Top 52.62.TAB.END. or Maps 1.TAB.50. This refers to the way large items used to be stored at the ends of bookcases and tables – hence Tab(le) end. Some material is also found in the British Library’s early printed collections with shelfmarks beginning 118 or 116 and a superseded Maps K.Top shelfmark. A few items are in the British Museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings, and the King’s military collection of about 5,000 plans of battles and encampments is now in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle.
Catalogues and access
The entire content of the King’s Topographical Collection and the King’s Maritime Collection is listed on Explore the British Library, and can be ordered in the Maps Reading Room using the Online Catalogue.
There is a dedicated catalogue of King’s Topographical collection, written as it was donated to the nation: the Catalogue of Maps, Prints, Drawings, etc., forming the geographical and topographical collection attached to the Library of his late Majesty King George the third (London, 1829.). This has been scanned, so that Explore the British Library entries use the same text. The Catalogue of the Manuscript Maps, Charts, and Plans, and of the Topographical Drawings in the British Museum [known as the British Library from 1972]. (London, 1844-1861) also covers manuscript material in the collection.
• Barber, Peter, 'George III and his collection'. An Electronic Offprint from The wisdom of George the Third : papers from a symposium at the Queen's gallery, Buckingham Palace June 2004 / (London : Royal Collection, 2005.)
• Barber, Peter, ‘King George III’s topographical collection: a Georgian view of Britain’ in Kim Sloan with Andrew Burnett (eds.) Enlightenment: discovering the world in the eighteenth century (London, 2005), pp. 158-165
• Wallis, Helen M, 'A banquet of maps: an account of the map collections of the British Library'. The Map Collector 28 (1984) 2-10.
• Wallis, Helen M, 'The royal map collections of England'. Centro de Estudos de Cartografia Antiga, Série Separatas 141 (Coimbra, 1981).
• Wallis, Helen M, 'The map collections of the British Museum Library' in Helen M Wallis and Sarah Tyacke (eds.) My head is a map (London, 1973). pp 2-20.
• Skelton, R A,'The Royal map collections'. British Museum Quarterly 26 (1962), 1-6.
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