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Discuss the quote below in reference to The Great Gatsby and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, nee Moulton Sonnets from the Portuguese. "To what extent does the time in which composers/authors live influence their response to enduring human concerns?" especially with reference to The Great Gatsby? I found out all information on the context of the 1920s and the 19th Century but can not extract information to answer this question. Any suggestions or websites would be appreciated. 1 Answer | Add Yours The time during which an author writes is particularly important because people are influenced by the time in which they live. In their texts, authors will confirm or challenge current world views through their characters, plots, and settings. Fitzgerald's portrayal of women in The Great Gatsby has been shaped by the context of the 1920s. Jordan Baker in many ways is representative of the "modern woman"; however, Fitzgerald challenges this image by making Jordan's participation in golf questionably dishonest. Contemporary writers might not deal with the portrayal of women in this way because gender roles in our times are different from what they were in the 1920s. So, consider all the information gathered on the 1920s and assess the ways in which elements of the novel have been influenced by the times. Join to answer this question Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.Join eNotes

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Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, commonly known as the Brothers Grimm, were not primarily writers but philologists whose names are still as well known in the field of linguistics as they are to readers of fairy tales. Grimm’s Law is a basic rule in the study of Indo-European languages, and the dictionary of the German language is largely their work. Although the fairy tales were always intended to be read by children, they were also meant to represent German culture at its most fundamental level. The Grimms thought that culture at the level of the common people exists in its purest form and is the least influenced by foreign traditions. During the late eighteenth century, after centuries of cultural stagnation, Germany experienced a cultural renaissance, which brought with it a pride in all things German. The fairy tales were the Grimms’ contribution to that flowering. Theirs remains one of the largest, and certainly the most famous, of national collections. Among the best-known stories are “Hansel and Gretel,” “Snow White,” “The Golden Goose,” “The Goose Girl,” “Rumplestiltskin,” “The Frog Prince,” “The Juniper Tree,” and “Snow White and Rose Red,” and these and many others have become the unquestioned property of childhood in the Western world. In many instances, popular children’s books quickly become dated or are crowded into the background by more recent books, but Grimm’s Fairy Tales remains as popular as when it was first published. New editions of single stories or of the whole collection continue to appear every year. The term fairy tale is used both for children’s stories that have been created and transmitted orally and for literary stories such as those by Hans Christian Andersen, which imitate the folktale form. The stories of the Brothers Grimm are genuine folktales and as such have certain characteristics. They are inevitably short, they involve obvious parallels and repetitions in structure and language, descriptions are brief and stylized, characters are obvious stereotypes, the setting in place and time is usually vague and generalized, animals can talk, and magic is commonplace. Because they are so stylized, very little practice is needed to learn to tell any folktale effectively. The Grimms refined the language of the stories extensively in the course of the seven editions that were published in their lifetimes, but the fact that the stories remain highly tellable shows their essentially oral nature. The tales reveal little about the external world, history, culture, class, or politics. They are, however, close to the human unconscious, and they have much to say in symbolic terms about sibling rivalry, intergenerational hostility, human sexuality, ambivalence about the opposite sex, fear of parental desertion, and much else. Because fairy tales usually end happily, the term “fairy tale romance,” came into being, but even the prettiest of fairy tales touch on the darker sides of human nature. Snow White is menaced by her mother’s murderous sexual jealousy, and her triumphant marriage coincides with the mother’s death. It takes no great depth of psychological sophistication to see in the wicked witch, with her pretense of maternal concern covering treacherous intentions and her welcome house that proves to be a death trap, the malign image of the mother, or to see in the noisy, brutal, and stupid giant who seems always to be coming in from outdoors, the malign image of the father. It is this quality of psychological tension that gives the tales their power, not the quaint trappings of the story—castles, beautiful princesses, and talking frogs. It is this quality that also makes them a little uncomfortable. Literary imitations nearly always emphasize the quaintness and avoid the dangerous quality that underlies the... (The entire section is 1562 words.)

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Originally published in UCLA Today By: Jessica Lynch Alfaro A study of the evolution of dogs has opened new and unparalleled doorways to understanding how genes and the genome produce diversity, people attending a recent symposium hosted by the UCLA Center for Society and Genetics learned. Held Feb. 25-26, the two-day public symposium, “Made for Each Other? Dog and Human Co-evolution,” brought together geneticists, behaviorists, dog lovers and trainers, historians, cultural anthropologists, ecologists, artists and many others to discuss the genesis of dogs and explore the changing and complex relationship between dogs and humans. Dogs and humans have essentially evolved alongside each other, migrating together across continents. Today, there are no human populations that do not have dogs as an integral part of their culture. All dogs — those that are considered “village” animals who still roam in packs and breed at will, as well as those that are “breed” dogs who live with humans — share a common ancestor, the wolf. But there was no single wolf-to-dog event that created the dog, according to genetic analyses and the fossil record, said Robert Wayne, UCLA professor in ecology and evolutionary biology. Rather, the emergence of the dog was an ongoing, long-term, widespread process as wolf populations interacted with humans. “Wherever there are wolves and humans,” said Mark Derr, author of “Dog’s Best Friend,” “you end up with dogs.” While some wolves became commensal with humans, and those human-associated wolves evolved over time into dogs, the vast majority of wolves has remained wild and has continued to live in packs, hunt prey and care for their offspring as they have for millions of years. The genomes of village dogs around the world show a very different genetic signature compared to purebred dogs, according to Adam Boyko, research associate in genetics at Stanford University. “Our research shows that, in general, village dogs are direct descendants of ancient pre-breed dogs, not a mix of various breeds.” While village dogs seem to have a stronger genetic signal of Asia as their ancestral home, breed dogs share more unique genetic traits with Middle Eastern wolf populations. From beasts of burden to shamans As humans and dogs began to co-exist, they migrated together across the globe. In fact, in many cases, dogs may have facilitated humans’ movement into more hostile parts of the world by carrying loads, hunting, scouting and fighting off predators. The relationship of dogs to human societies varies widely. For example, many cultures use dogs as work animals. Until a few decades ago, dogs in the United States were primarily farm animals, said Richard Cupp, professor of law at Pepperdine University. As humans became more urban, dogs became more domestic and integrated into the human family. Laws about dogs evolved as well, Cupp said. “Whereas dogs were once considered ‘things’, and the property of the master, now dogs are seen in some states as legal inheritors in wills,” he said. And if someone kills a dog, the dog is considered to be more valuable than just property because the loss of a dog can cause extreme emotional pain and distress. Among the Runa Indians in Ecuadorian Amazon, dogs are mainly used as hunters, said Eduardo Kohn, assistant professor of anthropology at McGill University. The Runa use a special conjugation of their language to address their dogs—a construction that is never used in human-to-human speech. If their dog misbehaves, they give it hallucinogens to turn the dog into a shaman. The Indians will talk to the dog in a special language to teach it how to behave, but they will also tie up its mouth so it can’t talk back to them, Kohn said. “They want to socialize their dogs into human norms, without allowing the dog to actually become human,” he explained. Dogs have shown their usefulness in other situations. For example, scientists have documented evidence that forming a human-canine social bond may not only help calm and relax people during stressful situations, but dogs as well. Karen Allen, research professor in the School of Medicine at SUNY Buffalo, described research showing that dogs can help decrease the stress response in humans who are given a difficult mental task. She also suggested that the benefits are mutual — that oxytocin increases and mutes the stress response for both dogs and humans when they are allowed to be together in social contact. Dogs also seem to buffer their humans from elevated blood pressure in reaction to stress, she found, in particular for patients using medication to decrease hypertension. Mixing and matching Humans have been breeding and cross-breeding dogs for millennia, with the height of this activity peaking in the 1800s in Europe. The result is more than 300 registered dog breeds exist today. One outcome of this strict breeding, according to Heidi Parker, senior staff scientist at the National Human Genome Research Institute, has been the sharp increase in disease in purebred dogs, compared to mutts, because purebreds are homozygous (having two of the same copy of a gene instead of two different variations) for many conditions. Another outcome has been the clear segregation of alleles across breeds, making the search for genes leading to phenotype, or physical characteristics, much easier in dogs than for almost any other species. As one example, Parker showed how her lab group has been able to isolate one gene that is responsible for short legs in dachshunds, Scottish terriers and 17 other breeds, as well as the genes most responsible for hair variation and for overall body size in dogs. Among the many groups and individuals participating in the symposium were Cue the Dog!, whose members showed off their dogs’ skills in obedience and agility exercises; Los Angeles search dogs and their handlers; the UCLA People-Animal Connection Therapy Dogs; and local dog trainer Robert Cabral, founder of Bound Angels in Malibu. Cabral’s group specializes in rehabilitating shelter dogs that are considered ‘beyond repair’ and condemned to death. UCLA’s Design | Media Arts Professor Victoria Vesna and her students presented a “Sniffing Booth” in collaboration with Siddharth Ramakrishnan, a research associate in electrical engineering at Columbia University. They showed how dogs perceive the world through smell, which in dogs is so refined they can detect ovarian cancer in women before it is detected through other medical techniques. Through its annual symposia that are open to the public, the UCLA Center for Society and Genetics aims to provide multidisciplinary perspectives on contemporary issues at the intersections between biology and society. The center recently launched two new majors, in human biology and society (B.A. and B.S.) that will take the same problem-based approach to examining issues that are inextricably biological and social. All of the lectures will soon be available online at this website.

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The Northern pike Esox lucius is in the family Esocidae, a predatory group of freshwater fishes. The remaining members of Esocidae being the pickerels Esox americanus and Esox niger, the megapredatory Muskellunge Esox masquinongy, and the Amur pike Esox reicherti. There is some debate on whether the Amur pike is a distinct species from or a sub-species of E. lucius. For the purposes of this article we will treat E. reicherti as the same species as E. lucius. Due to their voracious appetite and large size, Northern pike are a popular game fish for recreational anglers in North America and Europe. Esocids as a family date back to the Cretaceous period. The Paleocene fossil Esox tiemani is most similar in morphology to the Northern pike indicating that E. lucius is the least derived of the extant species in the family Esocidae and has common ancestors that date back 62 million years. 12-14" juvenile Northern pike from the Kankakee River, Illinois. Photo credit: Uland Thomas 1.3 meter (50") Northern pike from Manitoba, Canada. Photo credit: Jerry Dunlop, www.dunlopfishing.com 1.3 meter (50") Northern pike from Stark Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. Photo credit: Nathan Musclow Juvenile E. lucius feeding on a trout (salmonidae) fingerling in captivity. Notice how the young pike shifts the prey in the mouth to swallow the prey head first. Video credit: Bernt René Voss Grimm E. lucius is an elongate, tube-shaped fish with the median fins set on the posterior potion of body. The caudal fin is forked with the ends rounded. Pectoral fins are located ventrally just posterior the operculum (gill cover). Pelvic fins are located ventrally on the middle region of the body. The snout has a duck-bill shape and the mouth is lined with sharp canine teeth on the lower jaw and small fine teeth on the upper jaw. Adults have white or yellow bean shaped spots against a dark green or brown background on the lateral portions of the body. A solid dark green or brown coloration covers the dorsal region of the body. The ventral region from the snout to the anal fin is pearl white. The fins have dark black markings against a yellow, red, or orange background. Fingerling pike often have a tiger-like pattern with yellow lines against a green background. Diagnostic features include 1.) cheek fully scaled and half scaled opercle and 2.) five to six submandibular (lower jaw) pores. Northern pike can attain lengths of up to 1.5 meters and weigh 30+ kilograms. Spawning occurs in late winter or early spring when the water temperature is on average 6-14ºC, depending on the region. Males reach sexual maturity at 1-2 years of age (16-18 inches in length) and females at 2-3 years of age (20-22 inches in length). The onset of sexual maturity occurs fastest in regions where pike have highest growth rates. Like most other bony fishes (Osteichthyes), Northern pike exhibit external fertilization in which the eggs are fertilized and develop outside of the females body (termed oviparous). During the month long spawning season a single female is accompanied by multiple males. Females release eggs in vegetation and males fertilize the eggs by releasing sperm and using the caudal fin to mix the gametes. Besides the actual spawning event, adult pike show no parental care. Eggs hatch into yolk-sac embryos 12-14 days after spawning. The new-born pike attach to vegetation and absorb the yolk for about 10 days. After which, the pike become free-swimming and begin exogenous feeding on zooplankton. By the time other fishes are spawning in late spring or early summer, the fingerling pike are already a couple inches in length and can prey upon the spring/summer recruitment. Certain European populations of northern pike are unique in that they are anadromous, migrating from the Gulf of Bothnia into freshwater rivers to spawn, much like well-known salmon (salmonidae) runs. Like most fishes, pike have what is called indeterminate growth, meaning they will continue to grow throughout the entire lifespan. Growth tends to increase rapidly in young fishes and slows abruptly after sexual maturity. On average, pike live around 7 years in the wild, the equivalency of a meter long pike. However, larger pike can be as old as 25 years old. In captivity, pike have lived to 75 years of age. Distribution & Movements Northern pike, as is evident in the common name, are distributed in the northern hemisphere of North America, Europe, and Asia. The distribution of the Northern pike is unique in that it has the most widespread distribution of any exclusively freshwater fish. Burbot Lota lota is another freshwater species with circumpolar distribution, though, not as widespread as the Northern pike's. Pike have been intentionally introduced in many non-native countries including Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, Ireland, and Spain. Due to their predatory nature, pike have also been introduced in historically absent areas of native countries to support sport-fishing and to control over-population of prey species. Northern pike are temperate, cool-water species that can be found in just about every type of freshwater habitat. Prime habitat is vegetated areas of lakes and backwaters of rivers with plenty of forage. Adults lurk within and around vegetation waiting to ambush prey with quick bursts of speed. Larval pike also utilize vegetation as nursery grounds and as pike grow juvenile pike remain near vegetation to hide from larger piscivores and ambush prey. Food & Feeding Habits Northern pike are chiefly piscivorous, but are opportunistic predators that will feed on crustaceans, amphibians, birds, small mammals, and even other pike. A Lie-in-wait technique of prey capture is evident by the anterior morphology of Northern pike. Like the oceanic barracudas (Sphyraenidae), Northern pike have elongate bodies with the median fins set on the posterior portion of the body and a low aspect ratio caudal fin. Fishes with this type of body plan can rapidly accelerate in short bursts of speed. A large gape and expandable stomach give pike the ability of swallowing large prey. Sharp teeth allow northern pike to capture prey and maneuver the prey in the mouth so that the prey item is swallowed head first. This is critical as a large number of fishes have sharp spines in their fins, which would prevent swallowing if not ingested head first. The eyes of pike are highly mobile and can locate fast moving prey. Grooves along the snout just anterior the eyes allow pike to judge distance when locking onto prey. The lateral line system, a line of pores along each side of the body and around the face, detect distortions in the water column around the fish providing an additional tool for prey location. The lateral line system is so effective that blind pike have been documented surviving in the wild. Larval and juvenile pike can fall prey to a great number of animals including other fishes, mammals, birds, and insects. However, as pike grow to adulthood they quickly earn rank in the top of the food chain with limited predators, humans being one of the very few. Economic Importance for Humans Esox lucius is a popular food for some cultures as pike can grow large and contain a good amount of meat. However, pike also contain numerous small bones (difficult to fillet) and can harbor large quantities of parasites. So, pike need to be cooked thoroughly if eaten. The countries with the largest commercial catch of Northern pike in 1999 were Finland and Russia. Northern pike are also an important game fish and are stocked extensively in North America and Europe for sport-fishing. Anglers use fast moving artificial lures like spinner-baits to trigger the predatory instincts of pike. Live baits such as suckerfish (Catostomidae) are also popular baits to catch large pike. Threats & Conservation Status Pike are a least concern speces according to the IUCN's red-list. The widespread distribution, lack of predators, and popularity as a game fish ensure the Northern pike's existance for the foreseeable future. Although, there is one threat to Northern pike, the destructon of spawning habitat. Wetland and marsh habitat have been greatly reduced due to development in the native range of the Northern pike. Bosanko, Dave. 2007. Fish of Michigan Field Guide. Adventure Publications, Inc., Cambridge, Minnesota. Cooke, Fred, Hugh Dingle, Stephen Hutchinson, George Mckay, Richard Schodde, Noel Tait, & Richard Vogt. 2008. The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. Freyhof, J. & M. Kottelat. 2008. Esox lucius in IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Helfman, Gene S., Bruce B. Collette, Douglas E. Facey, & Brian W. Bowen. 2009. The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology. 2nd edition. Wiley-Blackwell West Sussex, United Kingdom. Page, Lawrence M., & Brooks M. Burr. 2011. Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America North of Mexico. 2nd edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, New York. Raat, Alexander J.P. 1988. Synopsis of Biological Data on the Northern Pike. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. No. 30 Rev. 2.

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A Patient's Guide to Cervical Laminectomy A laminectomy is a surgical procedure to relieve pressure on the spinal cord due to spinal stenosis. In spinal stenosis, bone spurs press against the spinal cord, leading to a condition called myelopathy. Myelopathy can produce problems with the bowels and bladder, disruptions in the way you walk, and impairments with fine motor skills in the hands. In a laminectomy, a small section of bone covering the back of the spinal cord is removed. Lamina refers to the roof of bone over the back of the spinal cord, and ectomy means the medical procedure for removing a section of the bony roof to take pressure off the spinal cord. This guide will help you understand - why the procedure becomes necessary - what surgeons hope to achieve - what to expect during your recovery What parts of the neck are involved? Surgeons perform this procedure through the back of the neck. This is known as the posterior neck region. It includes the parts that make up the bony ring around the spinal cord (the pedicles and laminae.) Related Document: A Patient's Guide to Cervical Spine Anatomy What do surgeons hope to achieve? A laminectomy can alleviate the symptoms of spinal stenosis, a condition that causes the spinal cord to become compressed inside the spinal canal. Wear and tear on the spine from aging and from repeated stresses and strains can cause a spinal disc to begin to collapse. This is the first stage of spinal stenosis. As the space between the vertebrae narrows, the posterior longitudinal ligament that attaches behind the vertebral body may buckle and push against the spinal cord. The degenerative process can also cause bone spurs to develop. When these spurs point into the spinal canal, they squeeze the spinal cord. In a laminectomy, the surgeon removes a section of the lamina bone, the buckled parts of the posterior longitudinal ligament, and the bone spurs, taking pressure off the spinal cord. How will I prepare for surgery? The decision to proceed with surgery must be made jointly by you and your surgeon. You should understand as much about the procedure as possible. If you have concerns or questions, you should talk to your surgeon. Once you decide on surgery, your surgeon may suggest a complete physical examination by your regular doctor. This exam helps ensure that you are in the best possible condition to undergo the operation. On the day of your surgery, you will probably be admitted to the hospital early in the morning. You shouldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before. What happens during the operation? Patients are given a general anesthesia to put them to sleep during most spine surgeries. As you sleep, your breathing may be assisted with a ventilator. A ventilator is a device that controls and monitors the flow of air to the lungs. This surgery is usually done with the patient lying face down on the operating table. The surgeon makes an incision down the middle of the back of the neck. The skin and soft tissues are separated to expose the bones along the back of the spine. Some surgeons use a surgical microscope during the procedure to magnify the area they'll be working on. Surgeons have found that complete removal of the laminae loosens the facet joints that connect the back of the spine. This can cause the spine to tilt forward. To avoid this, a hinge can be formed by only cutting partially through the lamina on one side. A second cut is made all the way through the other lamina. This edge is then lifted away from the spinal cord, and the other edge acts like a hinge. The hinged side forms a bone union, which holds the opposite side open and keeps pressure off the spinal cord. Small cutting instruments may be used to carefully remove soft tissues near the spinal cord. Then the surgeon takes out any small disc fragments and scrapes off nearby bone spurs. In this way, additional tension and pressure are taken off the spinal cord. The muscles and soft tissues are put back in place, and the skin is stitched together. Patients are usually placed in a neck brace after surgery to keep the neck positioned comfortably. What might go wrong? As with all major surgical procedures, complications can occur. Some of the most common complications following laminectomy include - problems with anesthesia - nerve damage - segmental instability - ongoing pain This is not intended to be a complete list of the possible complications, but these are the most common. Problems with Anesthesia Problems can arise when the anesthesia given during surgery causes a reaction with other drugs the patient is taking. In rare cases, a patient may have problems with the anesthesia itself. In addition, anesthesia can affect lung function because the lungs don't expand as well while a person is under anesthesia. Be sure to discuss the risks and your concerns with your anesthesiologist. Thrombophlebitis (Blood Clots) Thrombophlebitis, sometimes called deep venous thrombosis (DVT), can occur after any operation. It occurs when the blood in the large veins of the leg forms blood clots. This may cause the leg to swell and become warm to the touch and painful. If the blood clots in the veins break apart, they can travel to the lung, where they lodge in the capillaries and cut off the blood supply to a portion of the lung. This is called a pulmonary embolism. (Pulmonary means lung, and embolism refers to a fragment of something traveling through the vascular system.) Most surgeons take preventing DVT very seriously. There are many ways to reduce the risk of DVT, but probably the most effective is getting you moving as soon as possible. Two other commonly used preventative measures include - pressure stockings to keep the blood in the legs moving - medications that thin the blood and prevent blood clots from forming Infection following spine surgery is rare but can be a very serious complication. Some infections may show up early, even before you leave the hospital. Infections on the skin's surface usually go away with antibiotics. Deeper infections that spread into the bones and soft tissues of the spine are harder to treat and may require additional surgery to treat the infected portion of the spine. Any surgery that is done near the spinal canal can potentially cause injury to the spinal cord or spinal nerves. Injury can occur from bumping or cutting the nerve tissue with a surgical instrument, from swelling around the nerve, or from the formation of scar tissue. An injury to these structures can cause muscle weakness and a loss of sensation to the areas supplied by the nerve. Laminectomy surgery can cause the spinal segment to loosen, making it unstable. The facet joints that connect the back of the spine normally give enough stability, even when the lamina is taken off. This is why surgeons prefer to leave the facet joints in place whenever possible. But these joints may have to be removed if they are enlarged with arthritis. During total laminectomy, the facet joints are removed. This procedure creates extra space around the nerves but often leads to segmental instability. Fusion surgery is generally needed to fix the loose segment. Related Document: A Patient's Guide to Posterior Cervical Fusion Many patients get nearly complete relief of symptoms from the laminectomy procedure. As with any surgery, however, you should expect some pain afterward. If the pain continues or becomes unbearable, talk to your doctor about treatments that can help control your pain. What happens after surgery? Patients are usually able to get out of bed within an hour or two after surgery. Your surgeon may have you wear a soft neck collar. If not, you will be instructed to move your neck only carefully and comfortably. Most patients leave the hospital the day after surgery and are safe to drive within a week or two. People generally get back to light work by four weeks and can do heavier work and sports within two to three months. Outpatient physical therapy is usually prescribed when patients have extra pain or show significant muscle weakness and deconditioning. What should I expect as I recover? Rehabilitation after laminectomy surgery is generally only needed for a short period of time. If you require outpatient physical therapy, you will probably need to attend therapy sessions for two to four weeks. You should expect full recovery to take up to three months. Many surgeons prescribe outpatient physical therapy within four weeks after surgery. At first, treatments are used to help control pain and inflammation. Ice and electrical stimulation treatments are commonly used to help with these goals. Your therapist may also use massage and other hands-on treatments to ease muscle spasm and pain. Active treatments are added slowly. These include exercises for improving heart and lung function. Walking, stationary cycling, and arm cycling are ideal cardiovascular exercises. Therapists also teach specific exercises to help tone and control the muscles that stabilize the neck and upper back. Your therapist works with you on how to move and do activities. This form of treatment, called body mechanics, is used to help you develop new movement habits. This training helps you keep your neck in safe positions as you go about your work and daily activities. At first, this may be as simple as helping you learn how to move safely and easily in and out of bed, how to get dressed and undressed, and how to do some of your routine activities. Then you'll learn how to keep your neck safe while you lift and carry items and as you begin to do other heavier activities. As your condition improves, your therapist will begin tailoring your program to help prepare you to go back to work. Some patients are not able to go back to a previous job that requires heavy and strenuous tasks. Your therapist may suggest changes in job tasks that enable you to go back to your previous job. Your therapist can also provide ideas for alternate forms of work. You'll learn to do your tasks in ways that keep your neck safe and free of extra strain. Before your therapy sessions end, your therapist will teach you a number of ways to avoid future problems.

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While Judaism finds its genesis in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, its modern-day expression is largely a function of the destruction of the temple in AD 70. As such, Judaism now finds expression in Torah study rather than temple sacrifice. The three main branches of Judaism are Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative. First, Orthodox Judaism (Torah Judaism) is best known for its strict dedication to the eternal and unalterable Mosaic Law as reinterpreted by rabbis subsequent to the fall of Jerusalem. Only through devotion to the complex code of Jewish law (Halakhah) can one experience nearness to God. Orthodox Jews await a rebuilt temple, a Jewish Messiah who will restore the kingdom to Israel, and the physical resurrection of the dead. Ironically, it is possible to be an Orthodox Jew and yet not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Furthermore, unlike Orthodox Judaism, which teaches that observance of the Law leads to freedom, Reform Judaism (Liberal) begins with the freedom to decide what Law to observe. In other words, human autonomy trumps the authority of Halakhah. As a movement arising in the eighteenth century, Reform Judaism seeks to adapt to the modern world in order to preserve Jewish identity amidst pressures of assimilation. Thus, Reform Judaism is reformed and always reforming. Finally, Conservative Judaism (Historical) is a late–nineteenth-century reaction to the liberal tendencies inherent in Reform Judaism. As such, Conservative Judaism forges a middle way between Orthodox and Reform Judaism. On the one hand, adherents embrace modern culture. On the other, they observe Jewish laws and customs without the fundamentalistic fervor of the Orthodox. Regardless of the religious affiliation of those to whom we are witnessing, our duty is to demonstrate the reality of Jesus Christ through the testimony of our love, our life, and our lips. For as the apostle Paul explains, the gospel of Jesus Christ “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:16–17). For further study, see Richard Robinson, “Understanding Judaism: How to Share the Gospel with Your Jewish Friends,” Christian Research Journal, 19, 4, (1997), available through the Christian Research Institute (CRI) at http://www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/. “He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’”

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Landmark year ahead for Earth observation science missions With three Earth Explorer satellites set to launch this year, another three under construction and up to three more about to be selected for feasibility study, 2009 promises to be a significant year for ESA's contribution to Earth science – paving the way to a clearer understanding of how our planet works. Understanding how the Earth works and the way in which natural processes respond to global climate change is a major challenge facing science today. Encompassing a new approach to observing the Earth from space, ESA's Earth Explorer missions are developed in direct response to a range of Earth-science challenges identified by the scientific community. The fundamental principle of defining, developing and operating missions in close cooperation with the scientific community aims to provide an efficient tool with which to address pressing Earth-science questions as effectively as possible. In addition, the scientific issues addressed also form the basis for the development of new applications for Earth observation data. This user-driven approach has so far realised six Earth Explorers, three of which planned for launch this year, as well as another six concepts for new missions that are being presented to the scientific community next week in Lisbon, Portugal. The six candidate missions will subsequently undergo a selection process to enter the next phase of development. The first Earth Explorer to launch is ESA's gravity mission GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer), which although delayed last year due to a problem with the Russian launcher, is scheduled to lift-off in March. GOCE will map global variations in the gravity field with extreme detail and accuracy. This is crucial for deriving accurate measurements of ocean circulation and sea-level rise, both of which are affected by climate change. Next up is SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity), which is planned to launch in July. Currently, the satellite is in storage at Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France. Once launched, SMOS will deliver data to address the current lack of global observations of soil moisture and ocean salinity. These data are needed to further our knowledge of the water cycle and contribute to weather, extreme-event forecasting and seasonal-climate forecasting. Towards the end of 2009, ESA's ice mission CryoSat-2 will launch. With diminishing ice cover a reality, CryoSat-2 has been designed to measure the exact rate of change in the thickness of ice floating in the oceans and ice sheets on land. This will help explain the connection between the loss of polar ice, the rise in sea levels and climate change. It is planned that the launches this year will be followed by the Atmospherics Dynamics Mission ADM-Aeolus and the magnetic field mission Swarm, both in the 2010 timeframe. ADM-Aeolus will be the first space mission to measure wind profiles on a global scale. It will improve the accuracy of numerical weather forecasting and advance our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and processes relevant to climate variability and climate modelling. Swarm will provide high-precision and high-resolution measurements of the strength and direction of the Earth's magnetic field. Then in the 2013 timeframe, the EarthCARE mission (Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer) is planned for launch. EarthCARE will address the need for a better understanding of the interactions between cloud, radiative and aerosol processes that play a role in climate regulation. As part of the on-going user-driven approach to implementing new science and research Earth observation missions, six new concepts have just completed their two year-long assessment studies. On 20-21 January, over 250 leading members of the science community will gather in Lisbon, Portugal to attend the Earth Explorer User Consultation Meeting to review these six mission concepts, which comprise: A-SCOPE – to observe atmospheric carbon dioxide for a better understanding of the carbon cycle BIOMASS – to observe global forest biomass for a better understanding of the carbon cycle CoReH2O – to observe snow and ice for a better understanding of the water cycle FLEX – to observe photosynthesis for a better understanding of the carbon cycle PREMIER – to observe atmospheric composition for a better understanding of chemistry-climate interactions TRAQ – to observe tropospheric composition for a better understanding of air quality. Following the meeting and taking into account opinion from the science community, ESA's Programme Board for Earth Observation will select up to three missions for feasibility study – the next step of the implementation cycle. A further down-selection will lead to ESA's seventh Earth Explorer mission – envisaged to launch around 2016. In conclusion, the launch of three Earth Explorer satellites, the further selection of three missions to go to the next phase of implementation and the on-going development of three Earth Explorers means that 2009 is set to be a challenging year for the science and research element of ESA's Earth Observation Programmes.

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MULTI-SYLLABIC WORDS are words that have more than one syllable. Every syllable in a word has only one vowel sound. Decoding a word is the ability to look through a word, segment, and blend. Please practice writing the following multi-syllabic words. Place an O for open and a C for closed at the end of each syllable. Study the multi-syllabic rules below. Rules for decoding multi-syllabic words. These common syllables-spelling patterns will provide students with insight into how words are put together. A Closed Syllable: These syllables end in a consonant and the vowel in the syllable is usually short. Example, the words rab/bit and the word nap/kin. An Open Syllable: These syllables end in a vowel and the vowel is genernally long. Example, the words pi/lot and po/lite. R-controlled: When a vowel is followed by r, the letter affects the sound of the vowel. The vowel and the r appear in the same syllable. Example: bird, turtle. Vowel-silent e These represent long-vowel sounds. Example: complete, decide. Consonant-le: Usually the le appears at the end of a word and is preceded by a consonant, the consonant plus le forms the final syllable. Example: table, little. Vowel Team: Many vowels sounds are spelled with vowel digraphs such as ai, ay, ea, ee, oa, ow, oo, oi, oy, ou, ie, and ei. The vowel digraphs appear in the same sylable. Example: boat, explain

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Contact: Sarah Eve Roberts Cosmic candles shine a light on the size of the universe Space Scoop: Astronomy News for Kids Artist's impression of a binary star system. For a hundred years, astronomers have been trying to pin down the exact distance to one of our nearest neighbouring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. Measuring distances in the vast Universe is very tricky business: we can't travel with a measuring tape, and our rulers would have to be very long! However, astronomers have come up with some very clever tricks for measuring distances, using just light. In the case of the Large Magellanic Cloud, its distance was determined by looking at pairs of stars that orbit each other. We call these 'binary systems'; you can see an artist's impression of one in this picture. From Earth, we see the stars regularly passing in front of each other. Each time this happens, the combined brightness of the stars drops. By tracking the changes in brightness very carefully, astronomers can work out all kinds of information: how big the stars are, how much material they have and even how far they are from Earth. By using this technique, we now have a much more precise distance to our neighbour than ever before: it's 163 000 light years away! This means that if you managed to cheat physics and travel at the speed of light — the fastest moving thing we know — it would still take 163 000 years to reach it! Finding the accurate distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud is an important breakthrough, because the distance to stars in that galaxy can be used to find the distance to even more remote galaxies. When measuring the scale of the Universe, astronomers use something called 'standard candles'. These are astronomical objects with a known brightness. If we know the distance to nearby standard candles — in the Large Magellanic Cloud, for example — we can work out the distance of those further away. This is because more distant objects appear fainter. But the chain is only as accurate as its weakest link, which used to be the Large Magellanic Cloud. Now that we know the precise distance to it, we can determine the distance to the galaxies much further out in the Universe more precisely. Cool Fact: Apart from Mercury and Venus, all the planets in our Solar System have natural satellites, better known as 'moons'. Interestingly, our galaxy — the Milky Way — also has some natural satellites orbiting it. These satellites are called 'dwarf galaxies' because they are much smaller than normal galaxies like ours. The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of these.

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How did bilaterally symmetric flowers evolve from radially symmetric ones? To address this important question, geneticists Francisco Perfectti and Juan Pedro M. Camacho, and ecologist José M. Gómez (Universidad de Granada, Spain) explored how different flower shapes affected plant fitness in natural populations of Erysimum mediohispanicum, a Mediterranean herb. Their findings will be published in the October issue of The American Naturalist. The researchers found that plants bearing bilaterally symmetrical flowers were more visited by pollinators and had higher fitness, measured by both the number of seeds produced per plant and the number of seeds surviving to the juvenile stage, than plants with radially symmetric flowers. "This study reveals that natural selection can play a key role in the evolution of flower bilateral symmetry," says Camacho. "Our data also suggest that it is possible to understand the evolution of complex forms by means of microevolutionary analyses, as complementary tools to those coming from developmental genetics." Founded in 1867, The American Naturalist is one of the world's most renowned, peer-reviewed publications in ecology, evolution, and population and integrative biology research. AN emphasizes sophisticated methodologies and innovative theoretical syntheses--all in an effort to advance the knowledge of organic evolution and other broad biological principles. José M. Gómez, Francisco Perfectti, and Juan Pedro M. Camacho, "Natural selection on Erysimum mediohispanicum flower shape: insights into the evolution of zygomorphy," The American Naturalist 167:10. AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Here's another reason to kick the soda habit. New research published online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) shows that high levels of phosphates may add more "pop" to sodas and processed foods than once thought. That's because researchers found that the high levels of phosphates accelerate signs of aging. High phosphate levels may also increase the prevalence and severity of age-related complications, such as chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular calcification, and can also induce severe muscle and skin atrophy. "Humans need a healthy diet and keeping the balance of phosphate in the diet may be important for a healthy life and longevity," said M. Shawkat Razzaque, M.D., Ph.D., from the Department of Medicine, Infection and Immunity at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. "Avoid phosphate toxicity and enjoy a healthy life." To make this discovery, Razzaque and colleague examined the effects of high phosphate levels in three groups of mice. The first group of mice was missing a gene (klotho), which when absent, causes mice to have toxic levels of phosphate in their bodies. These mice lived 8 to 15 weeks. The second group of mice was missing the klotho gene and a second gene (NaPi2a), which when absent at the same time, substantially lowered the amount of phosphate in their bodies. These mice lived to 20 weeks. The third group of mice was like the second group (missing both the klotho and NaPi2a genes), except they were fed a high-phosphate diet. All of these mice died by 15 weeks, like those in the first group. This suggests that phosphate has toxic effects in mice, and may have a similar effect in other mammals, including humans. "Soda is the caffeine delivery vehicle of choice for millions of people worldwide, but comes with phosphorous as a passenger" said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal. "This research suggests that our phosphorous balance influences the aging process, so don't tip it." Receive monthly highlights from the FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). The journal has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century and is the most cited biology journal worldwide according to the Institute for Scientific Information. FASEB comprises 23 societies with more than 90,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. FASEB enhances the ability of scientists and engineers to improve—through their research—the health, well-being and productivity of all people. FASEB's mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy. Details: Mutsuko Ohnishi and M. Shawkat Razzaque. Dietary and genetic evidence for phosphate toxicity accelerating mammalian aging. FASEB J. doi:10.1096/fj.09-152488 ; http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/fj.09-152488v1 AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. Forest Service scientists today released an assessment that shows forest land has expanded in northern states during the past century despite a 130-percent population jump and relentless environmental threats. At the same time, Forest Service researchers caution that threats to forests in the coming decades could undermine these gains. According to the Forests of the Northern United States report, forest coverage in the United States has increased by 28 percent across the region that includes Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Forested land currently accounts for 42 percent of the northern land area. Population in the region rose from 52 to 124 million people during the past 100 years, while northern forest coverage expanded from 134 to 172 million acres. Total U.S. forest land remained essentially unchanged during that time. "While it's heartening to see our northern forests thriving in great times of change, we should also use this report as a reminder to remain vigilant about working together across all lands to make sure these positive trends continue," said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. "Forests have rebounded over the last century, but there are significant threats that could undo many of the gains. Forest Service research including a study released in 2010, have already indicated this. Our future research will delve more deeply into those threats." The assessment is the first product of the Northern Forest Futures Project, a cooperative effort of the Forest Service, the Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters and the academic community. The project is examining how trends and choices may impact the landscapes of northern states. Partners in the cooperative hope ultimately the project influences decisions regarding the protection and sustainable management of public and private forests. Outlined in the report are current conditions, recent trends, opportunities and threats affecting the most densely populated and forested part of the country. This information lays the groundwork for a 50-year outlook on northern forests, which the Forest Service is expected to release in 2013. "The Northern Forests Futures Project will give landowners across the entire spectrum, from industry to states to non-government organizations and concerned residents, the knowledge they need to develop strategies for sustaining the forests that dominate our landscape and our history," according to Michael T. Rains, Director of the Northern Research Station. The report shows that Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, West Virginia and Maine have the greatest total volume of timber among northern states – more than 20 billion cubic feet each. Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and West Virginia have the highest average volume per acre of timberland—more than 1,900 cubic feet per acre. These trees benefit rural and urban communities by protecting soil from erosion, reducing energy consumption, collecting carbon emissions and providing clean water. Forty-eight percent of the North's water supply originates on the forests that cover 42 percent of the land. In its economic evaluation, the northern forest assessment states that about 441,000 people work in the forestry, logging, wood products, and pulp and paper industries – accounting for about 40 percent of all U.S. jobs in these sectors. Forest Service northern forest projections in 2013 are almost certain to show that future growth and sustainment is not guaranteed. Invasive plants, animals, and disease threaten forest health. Invasive insects, such as the gypsy moth, and diseases, such as Dutch elm and chestnut blight, have afflicted northern forests for more than 70 years. More recent arrivals, including the emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle and hemlock woolly adelgid, have devastated some areas. And a recent Forest Service study also showed that urban development has contributed to a decline in tree coverage in U.S. cities at a rate of about 4 million trees per year. Over the next year, Forest Service scientists will analyze how future forest conditions are likely to change over the next five decades. Those forecasts will consider how alternative economic, management, and climate scenarios are likely to affect forest conditions and the lives of people in the North. The mission of the U.S. Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Recreational activities on our lands contribute $14.5 billion annually to the U.S. economy. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. USDA works with state and local governments and private landowners to conserve and protect our nation's natural resources – helping preserve our land, and clean our air and water. President Obama launched the America's Great Outdoors initiative in 2010 to foster a 21st century approach to conservation that is designed by and accomplished in partnership with the American people. During the past two years, USDA's conservation agencies—the U.S. Forest Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Farm Service Agency—have delivered technical assistance and implemented restoration practices on public and private lands. We are working to better target conservation investments: embracing locally driven conservation and entering partnerships that focus on large, landscape-scale conservation. AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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The global study was led by University of Melbourne and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology today. The study involved about 2,500 women from Europe, North America and Australia who have inherited mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, the breast cancer susceptibility genes, and who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. About one-third of these women were placed on tamoxifen. Tamoxifen has been used for decades to treat breast cancer and has recently been shown to prevent breast cancers in many women. Until now, there has been limited information about whether it reduces breast cancer risk for women who are at the very highest level of risk with BRCA1 or BRCA2. Lead author, Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips says this study, the largest to date, suggests that it could work for these high-risk women by halving their breast cancer risk. "In the past, the only way of reducing breast cancer risk for these high-risk women was to do invasive surgery to remove their breasts and/or ovaries. For women who choose not to undergo such surgery, or who would prefer to delay surgery until they are older, tamoxifen could now be a viable alternative." Such was the case for US actress Angelina Jolie who was found to carry a mutation in one of these genes. Previous research led by Professor Phillips revealed that only 1 in 5 Australian women with a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 choose to undergo bilateral mastectomy to prevent cancer. Professor John Hopper, co-author from the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne, says "In light of our findings, it is clear that women who have a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 should review their management plan with their specialist and re-discuss the options available to them to lower that risk." This important finding has come from more than 20 years of research involving breast cancer families recruited from cancer registries and clinics across the country. "Without the generous contributions of those families we would not be able to make such discoveries which help future generations fight breast cancer," he says. AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Although ivy’s composition has not been subject to detailed scientific investigations, it is known to contain 5–8% saponins. Other constituents in the leaf include an alkaloid called emetine that is similar to one found in the herb tylophora. Although emetine typically induces vomiting, in ivy leaf it seems to increase the secretion of mucus in the lungs. While the emetine content is very low in ivy, this could in part explain its traditional use as an expectorant (a substance that promotes the removal of mucous from the respiratory tract). Animal studies have shown the saponins found in ivy extract prevent the spasm of muscles in the bronchial area. While very few human clinical trials have been performed on ivy, a controlled trial in a group of children with bronchial asthma found that 25 drops of ivy leaf extract given twice per day was effective in improving airflow into the lungs after only three days of use. However, the incidence of cough and shortness of breath symptoms did not change during the short trial period. Ivy leaf is approved by the German Commission E for use against chronic inflammatory bronchial conditions and productive coughs due to its actions as an expectorant. One double-blind human trial found ivy leaf to be as effective as the drug ambroxol for treating the symptoms of chronic bronchitis. In addition to the use of ivy to treat asthma, clinical reports from Europe suggest that topical cream preparations containing ivy, horsetail, and lady’s mantle are beneficial in reducing, although not eliminating, skin stretch marks.

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It is summer and everyone is relaxed and having fun. It is more difficult to think about dangerous situations. Despite the great times, parents must be reminded of the dangers that surround children everyday and especially, on vacations. The percentages are higher for the children to be in areas with many strangers. These areas include: parks, beaches, hotels, movie theaters, pools, restaurants, boardwalks, malls, stores, and more. Would your child know what to do in situation where a stranger approaches them? Have they been taught how to protect themselves? Teaching children how to protect themselves is just like teaching them math, science, or how to ride a bike. It must be taught. This is a different less though. Are you afraid to have such a discussion with your children? If so, this is a fear that must be fought. It is vital to teach children how to avoid being kidnapped or molested. Parents worry about discussing certain topics with their children. Avoiding these conversations can be putting children at a higher risk. There are ways to discuss these topics and teach your children how to protect themselves without terrifying them. Find a qualified individual such as a police officer or guidance counselor to have this discussion if you cannot. Either way, it must be done. Here are some tips to help you with your discussion: 1. Make sure you use age appropriate words for your children. Careful selection of words will not scare your children. 2. Do not make them think all people are dangerous because in general, most people are good. 3. It is never too late to get help. 4. Teach them how to be aware of their surroundings. 5. Do not fear your children are too young for the discussion. Remember the saying: "Knowledge is power." Summer vacation can be exciting and somewhat less worrisome knowing your children will know what to do if a stranger approaches them. Visit this site for some wonderful information to help your kids protect themselves.

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Knitting went to charts awhile ago. If you don't know how to use them...it is time you learned. In some form, they are here to stay. Charts are a visual of the written project instructions. They are used for lace work, color knitting, patterns and cables. Charts are easy to understand for knitters who learn visually. For those of us who like the written word, think of it as a new way to read your knitting. With a glance of the chart you see the design and color pattern that will be on your needles. Each box in the chart represents a stitch. Knitting charts are read from right to left on right-side rows and left to right on wrong-side rows. The first row starts on the bottom right. Each row is numbered. Learn more about Stitch-maps a variation on knitting graphs that you may find easier. Enlarge the chart you are working on. Stitch markers and a row counter are helpful. Mask the rows you are not currently working. When working a solid colored project, use a different crayon to color in each type of stitch (knit, purl, yo…). Once you become familiar with reading charts, your projects should go easier.

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Hercules, the first massive winter storm, arrived Jan2nd during the night. The storm brought huge amounts of snowfall and freezing temperatures. Some mayors declared a state of emergency and urged people to stay inside of their homes. Massachusetts had the highest level of snowfall. Some of the towns had more than 23 inches of snow. The National Guard was on standby to assist because of the heavy snowfall. The massive storm left many travelers stranded and it has led to at least 13 deaths. A woman suffering Alzheimer's disease froze to death after she wandered away from her home in New York. In Philadelphia, a worker at a salt storage facility was killed when a 100 foot tall pile of road salt fell and crushed him. Meterologists followed the storm closely, so people would know what to expect. Thousands of flights were cancelled and delayed because of the storm. The wind also cause interstates to shut down and gave millions of school children a snow day.

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Devi, the Divine Female, revered by all, as is revered a mother, is better and universally known as the Mother Goddess. Reverence for 'mother' is inherent in any one born, a beast or a man, and is the first pious impulse in a child, which shapes the flesh to a human face. The first man, it seems, while contemplating the idea of the unseen Divine, looked at the face of the woman who bore him, the protective, caring and loving mother, and discovered in her the ultimate 'divinity' and the manifest form of the unseen Divine. Devi, the Goddess, thus, transformed as mother and is now since ages the Mother Goddess. The Mother Goddess is India's supreme Divinity. Myriad are her shrines and unending her boons. Centuries long tradition of worship has woven around her innumerable myths and the devotional mind has discovered in her oceans of mercy. In fury or in frown, she is always the same protective, caring, loving Mother with a benign face and a blessing hand. Mother Goddess in the Indus Valley Mother Goddess in Terracotta from the Indus Valley This impulse seeking to combine the Divine with mother seems to have been man's earliest spiritual experience. At some point of time and perhaps for an effective performance of worship rites, which a believing or fearing mind necessitated, this perception of mind was transformed into a material medium. The Indus dweller further magnified it when, for realizing his idea of the Supreme Divinity, he elevated the Mother to the Mother Earth that blessed him with grain, water, air, fire and afforded for him a dwelling. The terracotta figurines of the Mother Goddess, recovered in excavations at various Indus sites (now mostly in Pakistan), are not only the ever known earliest manifestations of the Divine Power in any medium but are also suggestive of a well evolved Mother Goddess worship cult. As appears from the so far recovered figurines of the Goddess datable from 3000 B. C. to the 1st century B. C., this primitive manifestation of the proto Mother in terracotta idols seems to have continued to prevail till almost the beginning of the Christian era. Female Deity from Mohenjo-daro (Indus Valley) with Exposed Genitals These figurines, being made of clay and thus defining their kinship with the earth, of which they are cast, represented the Mother Goddess as Mother Earth. As significant and suggestive is her iconography- the large breasts filled with milk, uncovered genital organs, beautifully dressed hair and a good number of bangles on her wrists. This is the iconic perception of the Being who bears, feeds, takes all calamities on her head and covers the born one under her protective umbrella and, at the same time, defines in the modeling of her form an absolute aesthetic beauty. As suggest her bangles, the traditional emblem of marital state, besides a mother she is also a consort. Thus, in her material manifestation, She represents, with absolute motherhood, also the absolute womanhood. She causes life and sustains it, and is also the cause of life, its inspiration and aspiration, and the reason to live. Mother Goddess in the Vedas and Other Early Texts In its contemplation, the Rigveda, which seems to have conceded to the idea of the Divine Female, takes two different lines, one mystic and the other traditional. The traditional line was the same as prevailed amongst the primitive Indus community, which perceived the Divine Female as Mother Goddess. The Rigveda calls the Female power Mahimata (R.V. 1.164.33), a term which literally means Mother Earth. At places, the Vedic literature alludes to Her as Viraj, the universal mother, as Aditi, the mother of gods, and as Ambhrini, the one born of Primeval Ocean. The Rigveda takes a mystic line, when it perceives the Proto Female as Vak or Vani, which, as the creative speech, manifests the cosmos and all existing things. In Vedic mysticism the cosmos and all things pre-exist but are unmanifest. The Vak, or Vani makes them manifest. The Proto Female has been perceived also as Ushas, the glowing light of early morning. What the darkness of night makes unmanifest, Ushas makes manifest. In metaphysical theorization, which Vedic literature enunciates, 'all things exist but become manifest in Her, that is, in the Proto Female'. The Upanishadas elucidate this Vedic proposition with greater clarity. In their contemplation, the Upanishadas identify this Vedic Proto Female as Prakriti, the manifest nature, which is the material aspect of the Creation. The Upanishadas suggest that She is the all-pervasive cosmic energy inherent in all existing things. The Vedas and Upanishadas weave around Devi a body of mysticism, but, in popular tradition, as suggests Harivansha Purana, a 4th-5th century religious treatise, when it alludes Her as the Goddess of jungle and hill tribes, She was yet the same simple unmystified puritan Mother Goddess. Her ties with the primitive man were emotional and relatively strong. However, there also emerged, in simultaneity to this worship cult, and obviously inspired by Upanishadas' mysticism, a body of metaphysics, which perceived the Divine Female as Shakti, the guided cosmic energy and the transcendental source and support of all creatures and all created things. The Mahabharata, keeping in line with the Vedic mysticism, alludes Her as the source of all things, the spiritual as well as material. The epic enunciates that all things, material and abstract, manifest and unmanifest, are only the manifestations of the Divine Female. According to the Mahabharata, this metaphysical Being, the Mother Goddess of the primitive man, is the basis, the root and the root cause of everything. She is the eternal upholder of Dharma and truth, the promoter of happiness and the giver of salvation and prosperity but also of sorrows, grief and pain. She removes obstacles and worries and renders Her devotees' path detriment free. Devi in Puranic literature During the period after the Mahabharata to the emergence of the Puranic era around the 4th-5th century A.D., the Devi is only the little quoted theme in literature and art of the elite. The worship of Devi was those days a wide spread phenomenon, yet till her elevation to the status of a Puranic deity, such worship was confined to only, or mostly, around the remoter corners of the primitive world of tribes. The tribes like Santhal, Bhumia and others of Bihar, Orissa and Bastar yet have a live convention of announcing their lineage at the time of wedding of their sons as well as daughters. Both sides begin with their origin, which is usually from one of the nature gods and commit themselves to Shiva, the Yogi of hills and their protector, and Mahimata, the Mother Earth, as their Dharini, the upholder. Quite interestingly, it depicts the five thousand year long continuity of the cult of worshipping Shiva, as the Mahayogi, representing the Divine Male and Mahimata, the Mother Earth or Mother Goddess, representing the Divine Female. It was only after She was accommodated into the Brahmanical pantheon, that the Mother Goddess was an object of worship in the world of elite also. The Devi theme, once it becomes a part of the Brahmanical pantheon around the 5th century A.D., almost explodes the entire body of Puranic literature, with each Purana text coming out with one of Her aspects or the other. Here, She not only occupies the thinking mind but also its the altar. She is invoked not only as the Supreme Power reigning the cosmos and reigning above all gods, but as the cosmic energy incarnate, She is invoked also with greater thrust : "Ya Devi sarvabhuteshu shaktirupen sansthita, Namastasye namastasye namastasye namo namah", that is, 'O yea, the Goddess who in the entire cosmos stands for energy form, we make our salutations to Thee, over and over we salute Thee' (Markandeya Purana). Of all texts, the Markandeya Purana is most elaborate in its Devi concept and related rites and is considered as yet the most authentic document on the cult of Devi. It contains a full book, known as the Devi Mahatmya, conceptualizing and adoring Devi. She has been identified in Markandeya Purana primarily as Durga. On the face of it, the Markandeya Purana seems to move away from the prior manifestation of Devi as Mother Goddess, or Mother Earth, but in reality it is only a continuity of the Indus valley tradition. It is, at the most, a departure from the iconic manifestation of the passive Indus Mother Goddess to the operative personified representation of the Divine Mother who abounds with myths of Her origin and exploits, but She is yet the same Mother Earth or the Divine Mother. The Devi Mahatmya part of the Markandeya Purana is narrated by sage Markandeya to king Suratha and merchant Samadhi, who, having lost respectively their kingdom and business, approach the sage for knowing from him how to regain their prior status. After having narrated the significance of the Divine Mother and Her unique power, sage Markandeya asks them to prepare an earthen image of the Divine Mother and worship it. Obviously, even during Puranic era, She best manifested as Earth and in an earthen medium. Devi in Metaphysical Perception In Puranic literature, religious conventions, anthropomorphic iconography and ritual practices, the Mother Goddess has been diversely conceived and variedly named. There is, however, a wondrous unanimity in Her metaphysical visualization and cosmic perception. In Her metaphysical perception, whether it occurs in myths or legends, rituals or rhetoric, classics or folk traditions, or to the eye of a worshipper, painter, sculptor or poet, She is the Adi Shakti, the proto energy including in it all forms of vitality, strength, might, power, force, proficiency, dynamism and all operative faculties. As Adi Shakti, She represents Prakriti, which operates in and on all things, the manifest or otherwise, materially present or abstract. She is the dynamic factor of the cosmos, and at the same time She is Dhatri, the holder of all things, whether static or moving, and is thus also constant and firm. She is manifest nature and is thus materially present, yet She is also the absolute Consciousness, the thinking Mind, the universal Intellect and the Controller of senses. She is thus the sleep, thirst, hunger, as also the light, brilliance, shadow and darkness. Modesty, contentment, compassion, mercy, beauty, charm, faith, patience, quietude, activity, movement as also vengeance, or even violence are Her aspects. And, above all, She is the Universal Mother. Devi's cosmic perception is a mix of metaphysics and mythology. In India's metaphysical perception the Creation has been perceived as comprising of two factors, variedly named as Prakriti and Purusha, Matter and Self, Male and Female and the like. Mythology identifies them as Shiva and Shakti. Prakriti or Matter, which in metaphysical equation Female represents, is the manifest aspect of Creation while Purusha or Self its unmanifest aspect. In mythological perception this equation undergoes a change. Here Shiva is Shava, the inanimate Being and Shakti, the energy incarnate, His enlivening and operative power. Without Shakti Shiva is the dead mass. Symbolically Shakti is the inherent energy of all things, whether manifest or unmanifest. This Shakti factor, a concept of metaphysics, is perceived in mythological contemplation as Devi and in primitive vision as the Divine Female. Other Dimensions of Devi Related Mythology The primitive concept of the Divine Female seems to be that of a non-operative boon giver votive deity who the primitive man realized iconically but did not humanize. The Puranic Devi, or the Mother Goddess, despite the related metaphysics, is more a humanized Being with an abundance of mythology woven around Her. After the Puranas vested in Her operative attributes, they conceived Her not only in various roles but also with innumerable personality aspects and in different manifestations. There grew around Her theories of Her origin, myths of Her manifest and incarnate forms, fables of Her various exploits and annals of Her acts of charity and benevolence. As to Her origin, there prevail innumerable myths, although only two of them are more quoted and have greater relevance to the over-all Devi cult. One of them points out towards Her exploits against evil and restoring righteousness and in the other She is conceived as preceding all of the Gods-Trio (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). In one case, She was created out of the gods' celestial powers with all their attributes vested in Her. In the other, She had always existed but appeared as and when required. As the tradition has it, a buffalo demon Mahishasura ruled the earth. The tyrannous demon inflicted upon all creatures great atrocities and rendered life miserable. He even invaded heaven, the seat of Indra and other gods and drove them out of the holy place. Under a sanction from Brahma Mahishasura was invincible against any male, a beast or human born. After Brahma made the disclosure of his boon, gods decided to seek a female warrior for eliminating the buffalo demon. When they found none capable to accomplish their object, they decided to create such one out of themselves and by their own powers. They decided to create a female warrior, who was unique in might and unparalleled in beauty and charm, as she could be required to bewitch and beguile the demon also by them. Accordingly, her head was formed by the powers of Shiva, her hair by those of Yama and her arms, breasts, waist, feet, toe-nails, fingernails, nose, teeth, eyes, brows and ears respectively with those of Vishnu, Moon, Indra, Brahma, Sun, Vasu, Kuber, Prajapati, Agni, Twilight and Vayu. Her glittering jewels and ornaments were Ocean's gift and her necklace inlaid with celestial gems that of the great Serpent Shesh. The Devi emerged with three eyes and eighteen hands carrying in them various celestial weapons, the instruments of war and destruction- Shiva's trident, Vishnu's disc, Varuna's conch, Vayu's bow, Agni's dart, Yama's iron rod, Surya's quiver, Indra's thunderbolt, Kuber's mace, Brahma's rosary and water pot, Kala's sword and shield, Vishwakarma's battle axe and many others. Himvana gave her a lion to ride. The enthused gods rejoiced and in gratitude prostrated before Mahadevi, as they called Her. Mahamuni Narada then narrated to Her the plight of gods, hearing which She proceeded to annihilate Mahishasura and killed him in no time. As significant is Her other cult. The text called Devi Bhagawat was the first to propound it. After the Great Deluge Vishnu emerged as a child floating upon a fig leaf. In dismay, he asked himself as to who he was, who created him and why he was there. Suddenly there emerged a celestial voice that announced- all that is, it is me. Me alone is eternal. Puzzled he looked around and saw a celestial female with four hands emerging before him. She carried a conch, disc, club and lotus, wore divine clothes and jewels and was attended by twenty-one powers, more important ones being Rati, the goddess of love and erotic, Bhuti, the goddess of riches and prosperity, Buddhi, the goddess of wisdom, Kirti, the goddess of credibility, Smriti, the memory, Nidra, the sleep, Daya, the compassion, Gati, the movement and pace, Tusti, the contentment, Pusti, the growth and affirmation, Kshama, the forbearance, Lajja, the grace and Tandra, the lethargy. Vishnu realized that She was the Adi Shakti Mahadevi and bowed to Her in reverence. In one mythological tradition, Devi's emergence has been linked with Mahishasura. Mahishasura is not the beast in man but rather the human face taking to the face of a beast, and that too, to none else but to that of a buffalo, the most insensitive, self-contained epitome of evil. This suggests total human failure, which none of the gods, equipped only with this or that attribute or representing just this or that virtue, could repair. Only Devi, the supreme virtue equipped with all weapons and means of war, the Divine Totality, could change such state of affairs. The other myth suggests that Devi preceded Gods Trio. She not only annihilated evil and paved the way for virtue and good to prevail but also revealed cosmic mystery. Her multi-arms suggest Her multi-fold protective umbrella and role. When Mahishasura, the male, contains energy, it leads to evil, the self-centered unguided might breeding ego, greed to acquire and possess more, an ambition to conquer and rule, but when contained in a female frame, it is only the guided power eradicating evil, perpetuating good and virtue and despite that She held arms and resorted to killing, She has attending upon Her only virtues and celestial attributes. She is multi-armed but has a single head, that is, whatever the number of operative organs, the guiding faculty that breeds determination, is just one and single. The Manifest Forms of the Divine Female This Devi form, irrespective of Her origin-cult and evolution, has multiple manifestations, the prime ones being three. The Markandeya Purana and almost all other Puranas perceive Devi, the Universal Mother, primarily in Her role as warrior or destroyer, sustainer and creator, three aspects of cosmic act which vest with Trinity. As warrior, She is Mahakali, the Destroyer who eradicates evil, evil doers and wrongs and restores good and righteousness. As sustainer, She is Mahalakshmi, who bestows bliss, prosperity, wealth and material happiness and yields good crop and abundant grain. And, finally, as supreme wisdom and all knowing intellect, She is Mahasaraswati, who nourishes all creative faculties, arts, music, dance and creativity. In anthropomorphic visualization Mahakali, is the Shaktirupa, the energy incarnate and is hence multi-armed, their number varying from four to eighteen or even more, and carries in each of them an instrument of destruction. She also grants abhaya and varada and thus, on one hand eradicates evil and on the other protects good ones. The four-armed Mahalakshmi carries primarily the lotus, which rises from the earth, routes across and above the water and sprouts into the air and sky. It pervades with its glow and fragrance all three worlds. The four-armed shubhra-vasana, Mahasaraswati, the Goddess clad in white, rides a lotus, and subsequently a swan, both symbolizing purity, chastity and detached knowledge. The Puranas thus begin personifying Her in various aspects and initiate Her variedly conceived iconic and anthropomorphic formations. The warrior and demon slayer Mahakali is perceived also as Durga who for accomplishing Her object takes to other forms and creates for Her aid subordinate powers as Mahavidyas and Matrikas. Different from the black complexioned Mahakali, who wears a ferocious look, Durga, though still the same demon slayer, has golden complexion, a benign face and feminine softness. The Puranas disapproved renunciation and discovered in family life itself means of salvation. They hence perceived their Divinities not as recluses or mendicants but as householders, as the Divine couples. They perceived the abstract Supreme Being of the Vedas manifest as Gods-Trio, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and associated with each of the Trio one of Devi's manifest form, Durga or Mahakali with Shiva, Mahalakshmi with Vishnu and Mahasaraswati with Brahma. Shiva is also the proto lover and then Durga, his consort, manifests as the humble domestic Parvati. Parvati, the white complexioned daughter of Himalaya, is also Shiva's loving Gauri. While in exile from Baikuntha to hills of South, Vishnu takes to Venkatesh as his name. Here his consort Lakshmi, or Mahalakshmi emerges as Padmavati. When Vishnu incarnates as Rama his consort Lakshmi emerges as Sita and when he incarnates as Krishna, Lakshmi incarnates as Radha. Brahma's consort Mahasaraswati is better known as Sharada and most of her ancient shrines are devoted to her only in her name as Sharada. The ancient sculptures of Sharada follow Durga's iconic norms. The Puranas like Skandapurana, Devipurana, Brahmavaivartapurana, Devibhagawata, Prapanchasaratantra, Lingapurana etceteras, have conceived of other forms of Shakti to couple other important male gods. The more widely accepted number of such manifestations of Shakti is seven, though in some of these and other Puranas it is eight and even more. They are better known as the Saptamatrikas, or Seven Mothers. In Matrika cult, Brahma's consort is known as Brahmani, Shiva's as Maheshvari, Raudri or Rudrani and Vishnu's as Vaishnavi. In his Varah incarnation, Vishnu's consort is Varahi and in Narsimha incarnation Narsimhi. The consort of Shiva's son Karttikeya is Kaumari, or Karttikeyani, that of Indra Indrani or Mahendri and of Yama Chamunda or Chamundi. There prevail two myths in relation to Saptamatrikas. A demon Andhaka had the boon to get every drop of his blood that fell on earth transformed into yet another Andhaka. The demon thus multiplied himself in the battlefield rendering his opponent impossible to eliminate him. Once he attempted to take away Shiva's consort Parvati. Shiva shot an arrow at him. The blood gushed from his body but only to create many more Andhakas. Finally gods sent their Shaktis to assist Shiva. These Shaktis licked each drop of demon's blood before it fell on earth. Another version of the myth is almost similar to it except that demon's name was this time Raktabija and instead of Shiva his consort Durga confronted him. Durga created Saptamatrikas by her own power to assist her in eliminating the demon. Other significant manifestations of Devi have been perceived in ritual tradition as Ten Mahavidyas. Though a late cult, individually some of the Mahavidyas, say Kali, have quite an early origin. Their number coincides with Vishnu's ten incarnations and is, hence, interpreted as the Shakta or Shaivite version of ten-incarnation Vaishnava cult. In Devi theology, Devi, like Vishnu, has been revered as the creator and maintainer of the cosmic order. Sometimes Vishnu's incarnations are considered as arising from these Mahavidyas, as Kali becoming Krishna, Chinnamasta becoming Narsimha and so on. These Mahavidyas are Kali, Tara, Chinnamasta, Bhuvaneshwari, Bagala, Dhumavati, Kamala, Matangi, Sodasi and Bhairavi, and are more or less the tantrika innovations of the Divine Female. The tradition of worshipping the Mother Goddess, in whatever name, thus, has very early beginning. It is believed Rama invoked Devi when he felt that without her blessings he would not be able to eliminate Ravana. Sikhs' tenth Guru Gobind Singh and the great Maratha warrior Shivaji invoked her to assist them in accomplishing their object. During India's struggle for freedom her sons resorted to Devi and perceived their land as Bharat-Mata. Reciting Vande Mataram, that is, salutation to Thee, Mother, they laid their lives for her freedom. She is now India's most widely worshipped deity and has associated with her more festivals and events than has any other Divinity. References and Further Reading - Aitareya-brahmana (the Rigveda Brahmana) translated by Arthur B. Keith, Delhi. - Bhattacharya, N.N. The History of Sakta Religion, New Delhi. - Bhattacharya, N.N. Indian Mother Goddess, Calcutta. - Brown, Cheever Mackenzie. God is Mother: A feminine Theology in India, Hartford. - Coburn Thomas B. Consort of None, Sakti of All: The vision of the Devi Mahatmya In The Divine Consort: Radha and Goddesses of India, edited by John Stratton Hawley and Donna Marie Wulff, Berkeley, California. - Devi Bhagavata Purana, Banaras. - (Devi Mahatmya) The Glorification of the Great Goddess edited and translated by Vasodeva Sharan Agrawal, Banaras. - Dehejia, Vidya. Devi : the Great Goddess, Washington D.C. & Ahmedabad. - Hymns to Kali (Karpuradi Stotra), edited and translated by Arthur Avalon, Madras. - Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses, Delhi. - Kumar Pushpendra. Shakti Cutl in Ancient India, Banaras. - Mahabharata. Edited by Vishnu S. Sukthankar, Poona. - Marshall, Sir John (edited) Mohenjo-dara and Indus Civilization (3 vols.), London. - Rg-veda with commentary of Sayan. Edited by Sontakke and C.G. Kashikar, Poona. - The Sakta Upanishads, translated by A.G. Krishna Warrier, Madras. - Skanda Purana. (3 vols) Calcutta.

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Dos and Don'ts: Czech Animal Sounds What will you hear at the farm, in the forest, or at the zoo in the ČR? If you have Czech-speaking children, or Czech friends with children, you will have probably heard some of the local variations of animal noises. Sometimes, the English and Czech equivalents are close to one another. Others couldn't be more different and leave you wondering if the person making the noise have the same animal in mind. Strange as it may sound, people can be quite defensive about their language's animal onomatopoeia. Just as we can be sure that cats meow and dogs go woof (or bow-wow), most Czech people will be certain of the accuracy of their animal sounds. Every time it has come up in conversation - and it comes up more often than you'd think - either side of the language divide will swear by the truthfulness of their bark, mew or whatever. Of course, most of this is harmless fun, and you are unlikely to upset anyone with the English version, except maybe a Czech three-year-old who has proudly mastered these noises. Learning the animal noises can have other benefits apart from improving friendly conversation. The sounds are a good way of practicing vowels, especially distinguishing between the long and short forms plus the diphthong 'au'. Lastly, and maybe most of all, it's a lot of fun. So whatever your reasons, here are some Czech animal sounds: |Animal||Czech Name||Eng. Animal Noise ||Czech Equivalent | |Bear ||medvěd ||grrrr ||brum| |Bee/fly/mosquito||Včela/moucha/komár ||buzz/zzzz ||bzzz| |Bird ||pták ||tweet-tweet ||píp píp| |Cat ||kočka ||meow-meow ||mňau mňau| |Chick ||kuřátko ||cheep-cheep ||píp píp | |Cow ||kráva ||moo ||bú | |Crow ||vrána ||caw ||krá krá | |Dog ||pes ||woof woof / bow-wow ||haf haf | |Donkey ||osel ||hee-haw ||iá iá | |Duck ||kachna ||quack ||káč káč | |Frog ||žába ||ribbit-ribbit ||kvák kvák | |Goat ||koza ||baah / maah ||mé mé | |Goose ||husa ||honk ||ga ga ga | |Hen ||slepice ||bock-bock || kokodák | |Horse ||kůň ||neigh ||ihaha | |Lion/Tiger||lev/tygr ||roar ||uá | |Mouse ||myš ||squeak ||kvík | |Owl ||sova ||hoo / tu-woo ||hú | |Pig ||prase ||oink-oink ||chroch-chroch | |Rooster ||kohout ||cock-a-doodle-doo ||kykyryký | |Sheep ||ovce ||baah ||bé bé | |Snake ||had ||hiss ||ssssss | If you want to hear these sounds, there is a song by Jaroslav Uhlíř and the famous actor and director, Zdeněk Svěrák, called “Krávy, krávy”. It covers some of the essential animal noises. There is also a Czech version of “Old MacDonald”. (The Czech version is at the bottom of the link.) If we've left something off, please let us know! ASSOCIATED Art & Culture LISTING Please log in to leave a comment or leave comment as guest

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Legislative action has also been sought, with considerable success. The scope of legislation has expanded, as areas once considered of marginal value, such as the polar regions, temperate wetlands, and tropical rain forests, are included in environmental planning. Although varying in scope and stringency, land-use laws are now in force in most of the United States. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires that federal agencies file statements assessing the environmental impact of proposed projects (see environmental impact statement). Agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must now subject their land-use proposals to the Environmental Protection Agency and therefore to public scrutiny. This requirement, along with other legislation empowering citizens to sue industry and government for failure to comply with air pollution and water pollution standards, has profoundly affected land-use decisions. Although conservatives sometimes criticize legislation for the time-consuming and costly obligations it places on private business, environmental activists argue that the act promotes only a modest level of conservation.

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Oxford. 1 Town (1990 pop. 12,588), Worcester co., S Mass.; settled 1687 by French Protestants, inc. 1693. It is chiefly residential, with some light manufacturing. Clara Barton was born in the town. 2 City (1990 pop. 9,984), seat of Lafayette co., N central Miss.; inc. 1837. In a farm area, the city is a trading center and has some light manufacturing, but it is principally a university town, the seat of the Univ. of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"). In 1962, Oxford was the scene of rioting and conflict when the first black student was enrolled in the university. The city was the home of the novelist William Faulkner and the setting for some of his works. Although the town was burned by Union forces in 1864, many antebellum houses remain. The Mary Buie Museum houses one of the largest doll collections in the United States. 3 Village (1990 pop. 18,937), Butler co., SW Ohio, near the Ind. line, in a farm area; laid out 1810, inc. 1830. It is a residential college town, the seat of Miami Univ. Nearby is a pioneer farm (1835; now a museum). See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography

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Tackling Climate Change The coffee farmers of Sonomoro Cooperative in Northern Peru have seen dramatic weather changes in their region. A partnership between the German supermarket chain LIDL, Twin Trading, Fairtrade International and the cooperative is helping farmers learn to adapt to the effects of climate change through a variety of efforts. Produced by Fairtrade Deutschland, narrated by Matt Zuvela. On the Trail of Fairtrade Cotton Listen to cotton farmers talk about the concrete benefits Fairtrade has brought to their communities. But also about the challenges they are facing. Film produced in part thanks to the support of the European Union. On the Fairtrade Coffee Trail The Green Living Project visited the Fairtrade coffee farmers at KNCU, The oldest Fairtrade cooperative in Tanzania. Come along on the trip. A Fair Story A Fair Story is an original short film telling the global story of Fairtrade. Visit www.fairstory.com to add yourself to the story using Facebook! Fairtrade para Principantes Esta película innovadora, educativa cuenta la historia de una trabajadora agrícola en un viaje a través de la Western y Northern Cape de Sudáfrica mientras ella aprende cómo funciona el sistema de Fairtrade. Producida por Naashon Zalk Media. Precios Mínimos y Primas Fairtrade Busca los Precios Mínimos y Primas Fairtrade

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New Sciences/ New Paradigms |Mayl 4-11, 2004 ||with Dr. F. David Peat This week-long workshop will range over many of the issues discussed in David Peat's books, essays and on his web site. The aim is to explore the various ways in which the new paradigms and the new stories that are being told by science have an impact on our lives, society and values. Are we beginning to see the world in new ways? Is a new thinking emerging? How are the visions of the artist and the scientist related? Are we moving towards a new integration of knowledge? How is this changing the way we think about ourselves and our society? The course will proceed via a combination of lectures and discussions. When scientific ideas are involved these will be explained and explored in a non-technical way. This course is therefore suitable for laypeople and anyone interested in the history and evolution of ideas. This course ran twice in 2001 and gave rise to many stimulating and productive discussions. For further information email email@example.com. The course will be far ranging and will draw on some of the topics listed below - the actual choice made will reflect the particular interests of participants. Changes in European society and consciousness from the Early Middle Ages to the present day. 13th Century - new ways to represent the world Renaissance and the Rise of Science Newtonian world view and the Rise of Mechanism Planck, Bohr, Pauli and Heisenberg Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle The Observer is the Observed Schrodinger's Cat Paradox Chance in Quantum Theory The Copenhagen Interpretation A "veiled reality" or no reality? Limits to what can be said EPR Paradox, Bell's Theorem and Non-locality Quantum Theory and Beyond Crisis between Relativity and Quantum Theory Theories of Everything A New Order in Physics David Bohm's Contributions The Implicate Order The Quantum Potential, Active Information and proto-mind The Role of Language and the Rheomode How can we say what we mean? (Russell and Wittgenstein) "We are suspended in language" (Bohr) Blackfoot world view and the Whorf-Sapir Hypothesis. Bohm, the Blackfoot and the Rheomode Perception in the Mind Whitehead and perception in the mind Jung's Rational Functions Scientific theories as ways of seeing Alternative World Views European consciousness in the early Middle Ages The world of the Blackfoot and Iroquois To what extent does science present us with facts about the world and to what extent is it a story created by our society? What is the nature of creativity in nature and mind? Creativity as: "making it new", "acts of renewal", "making it whole" Creativity and embodiment Dionysius and Apollo in the act of creation Alchemical Cycles in the body The role of beauty in physics and art The basic ideas of chaos theory and their applications in society, organizations and everyday life Self-organization and Open systems Limit cycles, Strange Attractors and Fractals Chaos as infinite order Limits to description, prediction and control Art and Science General discussion of the scientific and artistic approaches and the possibilities for dialogue between them. From Certainty to Uncertainty Revolutions in twentieth century thought including. Postmodernism, Godel's Theorem, post-modern physics Synchronicity: Jung and Pauli Some basic ideas in Jung The encounter of Jung and Pauli The "Irrational in Nature" Matter and Psyche In light of the range of ideas to be covered, the workshop will proceed in a gentle way. In addition to lecture periods with time for questions, there will be group discussions and one-on-one sessions when participants have a chance to discuss, in depth, issues of particular interest to them. Note: During the courses, one afternoon may be set aside for those who wish to do a little sight-seeing. Participants will also be encouraged to engage in some art work or creative writing during the course. Course Cost: $1,300 (US) Costs cover tuition, accommodation and all meals (traditional Tuscan fare and vegetarians can be catered for), beginning with dinner on the day of arrival and ending with lunch on the final day. For more information write to David Peat Contact F. David Peat This site designed and maintained by Marcel Gordon

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The tangerine (Citrus × tangerina) is an orange-coloured citrus fruit. It is a variety of the Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata). Tangerines are smaller than most oranges, and the skin of some varieties will peel off more easily. The taste is often less sour, or tart, than that of an orange. Good quality tangerines will be firm to slightly soft, heavy for their size, and pebbly-skinned with no deep grooves, as well as orange in color. Peak tangerine season is short, lasting from November to January in the Northern Hemisphere. Tangerines are most commonly peeled and eaten out of hand. The fresh fruit is also used in salads, desserts and main dishes. Fresh tangerine juice and frozen juice concentrate are commonly available in the United States. The number of seeds in each segment (carpel) varies greatly. A popular alternative to tangerines are clementines, which are also a variant of the mandarin orange Juice is a liquid naturally contained in fruit or vegetable tissue. Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fresh fruits or vegetables without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree. Juice may be prepared in the home from fresh fruits and vegetables using variety of hand or electric juicers. Many commercial juices are filtered to remove fiber or pulp, but high pulp fresh orange juice is a popular beverage. Juice may be marketed in concentrate form, sometimes frozen, requiring the user to add water to reconstitute the liquid back to its "original state". However, concentrates generally have a noticeably different taste than their comparable "fresh-squeezed" versions. Other juices are reconstituted before packaging for retail sale. Common methods for preservation and processing of fruit juices include canning, pasteurization, freezing, evaporation and spray drying.

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One of the most common knee injuries is a ligament tear (tehr), primarily, the anterior cruciate (KRUE-shee-ate) ligament, or ACL (A-C-L), which may require reconstructive surgery. Once torn, the ACL ends are usually shredded and don't have the capacity to regenerate or heal, despite any efforts to sew the torn ends together. Reconstruction is necessary to repair the ligament correctly, using a strip of hamstring tendon from the patient's own leg to replace the damaged ligament. The tendon strip is stabilized at both ends with staples or screws. Within six to eight weeks after the surgery, the tendon graft begins to remodel and form a new ligament; however, proper care must be taken to avoid stressing the ligament during this time or the reconstructed ligament may rupture or loosen. In most cases, surgery is performed by arthroscopic (are-throw-SKAW-pik) methods and requires an overnight stay at the hospital. Immediate protected weight bearing is allowed, but with a hinged knee brace and crutches for support. Rehabilitation may begin immediately and can last from six to nine months.

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Connect the Dots Reveal Present Worksheet Counting will be more fun for kids if you will use a fun worksheet. This printable kids worksheet doubles as a fun game. Ask the kids to connect the dots from 1 to 73 to reveal the hidden surprise, then ask them to fill-in the missing letters to spell out the word. Click for Printing Tips

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Scale-up of cellulose nano material production Cellulose nano-crystals (CNCs) are produced by dissolving chemical grade wood pulp using sulfuric acid, separating the acid resistant crystals from the acid in a centrifuge, and removing the residual acid by dialysis. The CNCs produced at FPL are uniform 4 nm diameter rods, 150 nm long. Production scale is limited by the size of the equipment with ten reactions combined to provide the 1 kg final product. NFCs are produced by several different methods, but the strongest material is made by selective oxidation of the glucose molecules making up the cellulose chains. After oxidation, the wood cell wall can be disintegrated into uniform 20 nm diameter fibrils ranging up to two microns in length Reaction scale is limited by the size of the equipment, with six separate oxidations combined to provide the 600 grams of final product.

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Threatened, Endangered, and Proposed (TEP) Plant Profile Liatris helleri, Heller’s blazing star This rare perennial grows on high cliffs, rock outcrops, ledges, and grassy balds in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Visit the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Species Profile link below for links to listing and other USFWS documents. - Listed Threatened 1987 - Recovery Plan 2000 (PDF, 2.1 MB) - Recreational and residential development - Trampling by hikers, climbers, and sightseers - Natural succession - Acid precipitation and other forms of atmospheric pollution that have been found to be concentrated at higher elevations in the Southern Appalachians

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Ancient Astronauts: The Gods from Planet X DVD The Anunnaki were an advanced civilization considered gods that may have come from a distant planet Clay tablets from ancient Sumeria reveal the Anunnaki, an advanced civilization considered to be gods. The Anunnaki may have given the Sumerians technology that was used to construct sacred sites. This two-disc set asks if the Anunnaki came from a mysterious planet called Nibiru and if they are returning to usher in a new era of mankind. 180 minutes.

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A scientific team at the University of Chicago reports that genome analysis can be radically accelerated by relying on supercomputers such as the one they used. This computer, known as Beagle and based at Argonne National Laboratory, is able to analyze 240 full genomes in about two days, according to the researchers. Although the time and cost of sequencing an entire human genome has plummeted, most current approaches to analyzing the resulting three billion base pairs of genetic information from a single genome can take many months. “This is a resource that can change patient management and, over time, add depth to our understanding of the genetic causes of risk and disease,” said study author Elizabeth McNally, M.D., Ph.D., the A. J. Carlson Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics and director of the Cardiovascular Genetics clinic at the University of Chicago Medicine. “The supercomputer can process many genomes simultaneously rather than one at a time,” said first author Megan Puckelwartz, a graduate student in McNally's laboratory. “It converts whole-genome sequencing, which has primarily been used as a research tool, into something that is immediately valuable for patient care.” The team published their study (“Supercomputing for the parallelization of whole genome analysis”) in Bioinformatics. Because the genome is so vast, those involved in clinical genetics have turned to exome sequencing, which focuses on the 2% or less of the genome that codes for proteins. This method is often useful. An estimated 85% of disease-causing mutations are located in coding regions. But the rest, about 15% of clinically significant mutations, come from noncoding regions, once referred to as “junk DNA” but now known to serve important functions. If not for the tremendous data-processing challenges of analysis, whole-genome sequencing would be the method of choice, claim the University of Chicago scientists. To test the system, Dr. McNally’s group used raw sequencing data from 61 human genomes and analyzed that data on Beagle. They used publicly available software packages and one quarter of the computer's total capacity. They found that shifting to the supercomputer environment improved accuracy and dramatically accelerated speed. “We now adapted a Cray XE6 supercomputer [Beagle] to achieve the parallelization required for concurrent multiple-genome analysis. This approach not only markedly speeds computational time but also results in increased usable sequence per genome,” wrote the investigators. “Relying on publicly available software, the Cray XE6 has the capacity to align and call variants on 240 whole genomes in approximately 50 hours. Multisample variant calling is also accelerated.” “Improving analysis through both speed and accuracy reduces the price per genome,” said Dr. McNally. “With this approach, the price for analyzing an entire genome is less than the cost of the looking at just a fraction of genome. New technology promises to bring the costs of sequencing down to around $1,000 per genome. Our goal is get the cost of analysis down into that range.”

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gundeck of navy ship Salty Language or Nautical Terms Now in Common Usage The English language is the most concise form of communication on earth with an exact word for everything. This occurred through a patchwork addition of words from other languages and technical terms from various professions entering common usage. These patches were grafted onto the original Norman French and Anglo-Saxon German hybrid as events brought new areas to the forefront. Nautical terms began entering English as England became a sea power. You may be surprised by how often you use salty language. - A Square Meal - In good weather, crews' mess was a warm meal served on square wooden platters. - Above Board - Anything on or above the open deck. If something is open and in plain view, it is above board. - Not moored, at the will of the wind and tide. From the middle English drifte (to float). Sailors used the word to describe anything missing or come undone. From this word came drifter, a person without purpose or aim in life. - As the Crow Flies - When lost or unsure of their position in coastal waters, ships would release a caged crow. The crow would fly straight towards the nearest land thus giving the vessel some sort of a navigational fix. The tallest lookout platform on a ship came to be know as the crow's nest. - At Loggerheads - An iron ball attached to a long handle was a loggerhead. When heated it was used to seal the pitch in deck seams. It was sometimes a handy weapon for quarrelling - Back and Fill - A technique of tacking when the tide is with the ship but the wind is against it. - From the 17th century, it described the Spanish custom of hoisting false flags to deceive (bamboozle) - to batten down the hatches - "if it also comes on to blow and rain uncommon hard, we take battens, stout laths of wood, that fit against the coaming, the raised rim of the hatchway, and so pin the tarpaulin down drum tight. Some people do it by nailing the batten to the deck, but it is a sad, sloppy, unseamanlike way of carrying on, and we have cleats.'" [Patrick O'Brian, The Truelove] - Bear Down - To sail downwind rapidly towards another ship - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - The devil seam was the curved seam in the deck planking closest to the side of the ship and next to the scupper gutters. If a sailor slipped on the deck, he could find himself between the devil and the deep blue sea. - Black Book - From the 1300's - a collection of maritime laws and conduct that became known as the Black Book of the Admiralty. The punishments for offenses was harsh including drowning, starvation, and marooning for serious offenses such as repeatedly sleeping on watch. As used today, if you're listed in someone's black book, you have offended them in some way. - Blind Eye, to turn a - In 1801, during the Battle of Copenhagen, Admiral Nelson deliberately held his telescope to his blind eye, in order not to see the flag signal from the commander to stop the bombardment. He won. Turning a blind eye means to ignore intentionally. - Blood Money - Originally known as bounty money, it was the financial reward for sinking an enemy ship. The amount of the reward, however, was not based on the size or importance of the ship but on the number of crew - Booby Hatch - Aboard ship, a booby hatch is a sliding cover or hatch that must be pushed away to allow access - Brightwork originally referred to polished metal objects and now is used to refer to varnished items made of wood, such as trim. - Brought Up Short - A sailing ship underway could only be brought to an emergency standstill by dropping the anchors, creating a rather jaring stop. Used today to mean a person brought to an unexpected standstill by a sudden change of fortune or circumstance. - Buoyed Up - Using a buoy to raise the bight of an anchor cable to prevent it from chafing on a rough bottom. - By and Large - Currently means in all cases or in any case. From the nautical: by meaning into the wind and large meaning with the wind: as in, "By and Large the ship handled very well." - By Guess and By God - An early form of navigation, relying upon experience, intuition and faith. Has come to mean inspired guesswork. - From the Latin carina (keel) or French carener. Prior to hydraulic lifts, hulls still needed to be cleaned, patched, caulked, etc. Careening is a deliberate heeling to one side in order to accomplish these tasks. Usually was done on a careenage, a steep, sandy shoreline. - Carry On - In the days of sail, the officer of the deck kept a weather eye constantly on the slightest change in the wind so sail could be reefed or added as necessary to ensure the fastest headway. Whenever a good breeze came along, the order to 'carry on' would be given. It meant to hoist every bit of canvas the yards could carry. Today, the term means to continue with your work. - Cast Off - Releasing the lines to a mooring, wharf, dock, buoy or another ship in order to move away. Shore-side, the term refers to second-hand clothing. - Chewing the Fat - Literally, eating the seaman's daily ration of tough, salt-cured pork or beef. Long before refrigeration, cured meats were tough but durable and it took a lot of chewing to make them edible. Has come to mean a friendly conversation. - Meaning something is filled to capacity or over loaded. If two blocks of rigging tackle were so hard together they couldn't be tightened further, it was said they were "Chock-a-Block". - clean bill of health - In many port cities before permission to dock was granted, ships were required to show a bill of health, a document that stated the medical condition of their previous port of call, as well as that of everyone aboard. A “clean bill of health” certified that the crew and their previous port were free from the plague, cholera, and other epidemics. Today, a person with a “clean bill of health” has passed a doctor’s physical or other medical examination. - Close Quarters - A small wooden fortress or barricade erected on the deck of a merchant ship when attacks by privateers were expected. Small openings, called loopholes, allowed the sailors to fire from behind the protective wall. Land-side, close quarters has come to mean in close contact or a small area. - Crossing the Line - An ceremony performed onboard when passengers and/or crew cross the equator for the first time. A special initiation ceremony in which King Neptune and various other mythological characters participate. Owes its origin to ancient pagan rites. - Cut and Run - If a captain of a smaller ship encountered a larger enemy vessel, he might decide that discretion is the better part of valor, and so he would order the crew to cut the lashings on all the sails and run away before the wind. Other sources indicate "Cut and Run" meant to cut the anchor cable and sail off without delay. - Cut of His Jib - Warships many times had their foresails or jib sails cut thinly so that they could maintain point and not be blown off course. Upon sighting thin foresails on a distant ship a captain might not like the cut of his jib and would then have an opportunity - Deliver a Broadside - A broadside was the simultaneous firing of the guns and/or canons on one side of a war ship. Quite a blow, as can be imagined. Today it means much the same type of all-out attack, though done (usually) - To unrig a vessel and discharge all stores. - The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea: "a belt of low pressure that extends 5° to 10° either side of the equator…[they] were notorious in the days of sail, because vessels could become becalmed there for many days and even weeks…Being in the doldrums has now become synonymous with being listless, depressed, and generally stuck in a rut." - Dressing Down - Thin and worn sails were often treated with oil or wax to renew their effectiveness. This was called "dressing down". An officer or sailor who was reprimanded or scolded received a dressing down. - Even Keel, Keeled Over - A vessel that floats upright without list is said to be on an even keel and this term has come to mean calm and steady. A keel is like the backbone of the vessel, the lowest and principal centerline structural member running fore and aft. Keeled over (upside down) was a sailor's term for death. - Fall Foul Of, Foul Up - Foul is a nautical term generally meaning entangled or impeded. An anchor tangled in line or cable is said to be a foul anchor. A foul berth is caused by another vessel anchoring too close wherein the risk of collision exists. A foul bottom offers poor holding for anchors. - feeling blue - If the ship lost the captain or any of the officers during its voyage, she would fly blue flags and have a blue band painted along her entire hull when returning to home port. - field day - Day for cleaning up all parts of a ship. - First Rate - Implies excellence. From the 16th century on until steam powered ships took over, British naval ships were rated as to the number of heavy cannon they carried. A ship of 100 or more guns was a First Rate line-of-battle ship. Second rates carried 90 to 98 guns; Third Rates, 64 to 89 guns; Fourth Rates, 50 to 60 guns. Frigates carrying 20 to 48 guns were fifth and sixth rated. - Fits the Bill - A Bill of Lading was signed by the ship's master acknowledging receipt of specified goods and the promise to deliver them to their destination in the same condition. Upon delivery, the goods were checked against the bill to see if all was in order. If so, they fit the bill. - Flake, Flake Out - In order to keep the anchor chain of a ship in good condition, the chain would be laid out up and down the deck (flaked) in order to locate and replace any worn or weak links. The term is still in use, as the captain will often instruct the crew to flake out the anchor line in preparation for anchoring. The anchor line is looped on deck in such a way that it does not become fouled (tangled) when the anchor is dropped. So if someone calls you a flake, you are either a weak link or about to disappear. - Flotsam and Jetsam - These are legal terms in maritime law. Flotsam is any part of the wreckage of a ship or her cargo that is lost by accident and found floating on the surface of the water. Jetsam are goods or equipment deliberately thrown overboard (jettisoned) to make the ship more stable in high winds or heavy seas. (Lagan are goods cast overboard with a rope attached so that they may be retrieved and sometimes refers to goods remaining inside a sunken ship or lying on the bottom.) The term flotsam and jetsam shore-side means odds and ends of no great value. - A large sail used only for sailing downwind and requiring rather little attention. - The bottom portion of a sail is called the foot. If it is not secured, it is footloose and it dances randomly in the wind. - Garbling was the prohibited practice of mixing rubbish with the cargo. A distorted, mixed up message was said to be garbled. - Give (someone) a Wide Berth - To anchor a ship far enough away from another ship so that they did not hit each other when they swung with the wind or tide. - Gone By the Board - Anything seen to have gone overboard or spotted floating past the ship (by the board or side of the ship) was considered lost at sea. - In 1740, British Admiral Vernon (whose nickname was "Old Grogram" for the cloak of grogram which he wore) ordered that the sailors' daily ration of rum be diluted with water. The men called the mixture "grog". A sailor who drank too much grog - Hand Over Fist - Hand over hand was a British term for the act of moving quickly up a rope or hoisting a sail, which was a matter of pride and competition among sailors. It is thought that American sailors changed this term to 'hand over fist', and the term now means to advance or accumulate rapidly. - Hot Chase - A principle of naval warfare, though without basis in law, that allowed a fleeing enemy to be followed into neutral waters and captured there if the chase had begun in international waters. The term hot pursuit derives from this 'principle'. - In the Offing - Currently means something is about to happen, as in - "There is a reorganization in the offing." From the 16th century usage meaning a good distance from shore, barely visible from land, as in - "We sighted a ship in the offing." - jury rig - "assembled in a makeshift manner", is attested since 1788. It comes from "jury mast", a nautical term attested since 1616 for a temporary mast made from any available spar when the mast has broken or been lost overboard. probably from Old French ajurie="help or relief", from Latin adiutare="to aid" (the source of the English word "adjutant"). - The weather side of a ship is the side from which the wind is blowing. The Lee side is the side of the ship sheltered from the wind. A lee shore is a shore that is downwind of a ship. If a ship does not have enough "leeway" it is in danger of being driven onto the shore. - to make headway - To get on, to struggle effectively against something, as a ship makes headway against a tide or current... - No Great Shakes - When casks became empty they were "shaken" (taken apart) so the pieces, called shakes, could be stored in a small space. Shakes had very little value. - No Room to Swing a Cat - The entire ship's company was required to witness flogging at close hand. The crew might crowd around so that the Bosun's Mate might not have enough room to swing his cat o' nine tails. - Over the Barrel - The most common method of punishment aboard ship was flogging. The unfortunate sailor was tied to a grating, mast or over the barrel of a deck cannon. - To sail downwind directly at another ship thus "stealing" or diverting the wind from his sails. - To prevent the buntline ropes from chaffing the sails, crew were sent aloft to haul them over the sails. This was called overhauling. - If a ship holds a tack course too long, it has overreached its turning point and the distance it must travel to reach it's next tack point is increased. - Old English for capsize or founder. - Pipe Down - Means stop talking and be quiet. The Pipe Down was the last signal from the Bosun's pipe each day which meant "lights out" and "silence". - The poop is the stern section of a ship. To be pooped is to be swamped by a high, following sea. - nautical term for left because that was the side of the ship cargo was unloaded from when in port - Port Outward, Starboard Home - when traveling to India from Britain and back - keeps your cabin on the shady side of the ship. - Press Into Service - The British navy filled their ships' crew quotas by kidnapping men off the streets and forcing them into service. This was called Impressment and was done by Press Gangs. - roaring forties - A Dictionary of Weather ; The band of strong westerlies that encircles the southern hemisphere at approximately latitude 40° S. Originally a nautical term, but now in common usage. - Rummage Sale - From the French "arrimage" meaning ship's cargo. Damaged cargo was sold at a rummage sale. - A Dictionary of Weather ; scud --1. Tattered fragments of low cloud (usually stratus fractus ) that are often observed in windy conditions below rain clouds, particularly nimbostratus . Originally a nautical term, it now has a more general usage. 2. A term used in parts of Canada for a sudden gust of wind. - A butt was a barrel. Scuttle meant to chop a hole in something. The scuttlebutt was a water barrel with a hole cut into it so that sailors could reach in and dip out drinking water. The scuttlebutt was the place where the ship's gossip was exchanged. - Shows his true colors - Early warships often carried flags from many nations on board in order to elude or deceive the enemy. The rules of civilized warfare called for all ships to hoist their true national ensigns before firing a shot. Someone who finally "shows his true colors" is acting like a man-of-war which hailed another ship flying one flag, but then hoisted their own when they got in firing range. - skylarking, hurling himself about the upper rigging regardless of gravity - A small triangular sail set above the skysail in order to maximize effect in a light wind. - Slush Fund - A slushy slurry of fat was obtained by boiling or scraping the empty salted meat storage barrels. This stuff called "slush" was often sold ashore by the ship's cook for the benefit of himself or the crew. The money so derived became known as a - Son of a Gun - When in port, and with the crew restricted to the ship for any extended period of time, wives and ladies of easy virtue often were allowed to live aboard along with the crew. Infrequently, but not uncommonly, children were born aboard, and a convenient place for this was between guns on the gun deck. If the child's father was unknown, they were entered in the ship's log as "son of a gun". - the nautical term for right, In Old England, the starboard was the steering paddle or rudder, and ships were always steered from the right side on the back of the vessel. - Start Over with a Clean Slate - A slate tablet was kept near the helm on which the watch keeper would record the speeds, distances, headings and tacks during the watch. If there were no problems during the watch, the slate would be wiped clean so that the new watch could start over with a clean slate. - swallow the anchor, to - The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea ; 'swallow the anchor, to', a nautical term meaning to retire from sea life and settle down ashore. - Taken Aback - A dangerous situation where the wind is on the wrong side of the sails pressing them back against the mast and forcing the ship astern. Most often this was caused by an inattentive helmsman who had allowed the ship to head up into the wind. - Taking the wind out of his sails - Sailing in a manner so as to steal or divert wind from another ship's sails. - Tar, Jack Tar - Tar, a slang term for a Sailor, has been in use since at least 1676. The term "Jack tar" was used by the 1780s. Early Sailors wore overalls and broad-brimmed hats made of tar-impregnated fabric called tarpaulin cloth. The hats, and the Sailors who wore them, were called tarpaulins, which may have been shortened - The Bitter End - The end of an anchor cable is fastened to the bitts at the ship's bow. If all of the anchor cable has been payed out you have come to the bitter end. - The Devil to Pay - To pay the deck seams meant to seal them with tar. The devil seam was the most difficult to pay because it was curved and intersected with the straight deck planking. Some sources define the "devil" as the below-the-waterline-seam between the keel and the the adjoining planking. Paying the Devil was considered to be a most difficult and unpleasant - Three Sheets to the Wind - A sheet is a rope line which controls the tension on the downwind side of a square sail. If, on a three masted fully rigged ship, the sheets of the three lower course sails are loose, the sails will flap and flutter and are said to be "in the wind". A ship in this condition would stagger and wander - To Know the Ropes - There were miles and miles of cordage in the rigging of a square rigged ship. The only way of keeping track of and knowing the function of all of these lines was to know where they were located. It took an experienced seaman to know the ropes. - Toe the Line - When called to line up at attention, the ship's crew would form up with their toes touching a seam in the deck planking. - Touch and Go - This referred to a ship's keel touching the bottom and getting right off again. - Under the Weather - If a crewman is standing watch on the weather side of the bow, he will be subject to the constant beating of the sea and the ocean spray. He will be under the weather. - When a vessel is so full of water as to be heavy - the whole nine yards - If you look at a "typical square-rigger" you will see that there are three masts with three yards on each mast. So if you had all of the square sails a flying on board you would have the whole nine yards in operation. ie. everything. - A sudden unexpected rush of wind from a mountainous shore which allowed a ship more leeway. Purchase these usful references from Amazon: A Sea of Words The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins A Dictionary of Weather Learn about the history and development of the English language: The Adventure of English This site last updated 2006 by

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|POLITICAL SCENE||February 1998| Scientific Consensus and Political Controversy As scientists, we want policymakers to base their decisions on the best available scientific information, and we complain that too often science is ignored or paid lip service. But what happens when science becomes the focus of debate in the political arena? Scientists who are accustomed to arguing the fine points of an issue long after the major points are settled suddenly find both their agreements and disagreements used as debating points for policymakers and interest groups alike. Presenting the current debate over long-term global climate change as an example, this month's column focuses on the problems that arise when scientific consensus -- or lack thereof -- becomes a political commodity. The climate change debate In The Amicus Journal, Natural Resources Defense Council Executive Director John Adams writes that as a result of an industry-led public relations campaign, "some people in this country have the vague idea that 'scientists don't agree' on global warming. The reality is that a handful of scientists think global warming will probably never happen, while 2,500 [other scientists] around the world have joined a consensus statement that global warming has probably already begun." What is the scientific consensus and what does it signify? Those who advocate taking action on climate change repeatedly point to the 1996 scientific assessment by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in which more than 2,000 international scientists took part. The statement most frequently cited is from that report's executive summary for policymakers: "The balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate." This statement is so often quoted that there appears to be an unwritten rule (clearly adhered to in this column) that no article on climate change can appear without quoting it. Why so? The statement's popularity may stem from its ambivalence. Champions point to the awesome implication that we humans can affect something as immense as the global climate, whereas critics are quick to note what the statement does not say -- particularly the lack of a magic bullet directly linking global warming to human activity. The IPCC statement raises two questions: Does it represent scientific consensus and, if so, does popularity confer truth? With respect to the first question, global warming skeptics argue that this statement and other policy recommendations in the IPCC report were drafted by a small fraction of the total number of scientists associated with the assessment, and that the policy recommendations were never passed back to the larger group for comment or approval. To counter this criticism, global warming proponents point to an even stronger statement signed by more than 2,600 scientists that calls on President Clinton to enter into binding agreements at the Kyoto conference. But critics have noted that the signatories (primarily solicited through mailings) were, for the most part, not atmospheric scientists but individuals from a wide range of unrelated disciplines, including veterinarians and sociologists. Even assuming that scientific agreement on this issue does exist, the second question targets the fallibility of scientific consensus. Scientists themselves tend to view strength- in-numbers arguments with skepticism, and scientific progress has never been a popularity contest. If it were, plate tectonics would have lost in a landslide during its formative years. The shifting consensus on climate change has been a major talking point for global warming skeptics. A recent editorial in The Economist delighted in reprinting two quotes, one from Newsweek in 1975 and the other from Vice-President Al Gore in 1992. Both state the almost unanimous consensus of scientists that global change was taking place, but the first consensus was on global cooling and the second on global warming. Although such a turnabout makes for good copy, in fairness it should be noted that changes in consensus generally represent progress. Today, plate tectonics would win in an even larger landslide. The IPCC assessment may very well prove to be correct, but its vulnerability to criticism illustrates the difficulties that policy-makers face in using scientific consensus to help forge political consensus. Even minor scientific disagreements can be exploited in the policy arena into a simplified case of two opposing viewpoints, equally weighted. When an issue is portrayed in an adversarial setting, it is often difficult to determine whether 99 percent are on one side and 1 percent on the other, or whether the scientific community is evenly divided. Perhaps as a result of this policy wrangling, scientists are starting to frame their own debates in legal terms. When asked by the Washington about the likelihood that increased solar intensity was causing global warming, Jerry Mahlman, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, replied that "a grand jury would throw it out in 20 minutes." Who develops scientific consensus? In the case of climate change, consensus comes through an intergovernmental process, but for many policy issues, Congress and federal agencies look to the National Research Council and its reports by committees of experts. Even their consensus is often hard won on contentious issues such as nuclear waste disposal, and increased pressure to produce more timely reports has led to the increased inclusion of minority views. Is there a role for scientific societies? As organizations of scientists, these groups are uniquely positioned to provide a unified voice for their memberships, but how are their memberships best served? Should scientific societies adopt a role akin to the League of Women Voters, dedicated to informing and increasing their members' participation in the policy process, or should they advocate specific positions? The former approach seeks to lower the threshold for action by individual scientists, regardless of what action that may be. The latter sets the stage for action on behalf of a large group. Individual action requires no more than consultation with one's conscience, whereas group action requires extensive consultation to achieve consensus. How extensive? If societies step forward with a position, should it reflect the consensus of the experts on a given subject within that society or should the combined views of the broader community be represented? Should such positions be limited to scientific findings or extend to the scientists' collective opinion on the broader policy at issue? Do societies gain credibility for being societally aware and making their work relevant to the policy process, or do they lose credibility by speaking out on topics outside their scientific ken? I present many more questions than answers, but these are the questions that must be addressed as the geoscience community seeks to become more effective in policy matters. The problems associated with the use of scientific consensus in making policy will continue as long as politicians require consensus to make progress, but scientists do not. AGI Director of Government Affairs Please send any comments or requests for information to the AGI Government Affairs Program

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B-58 Program Reendorsement Development of 13 B-58 test aircraft, and nothing more, was approved by Secretary Talbott on 2 June 1955. The Secretary's approval carried stern, if not unexpected conditions. The Air Force wanted the program's costs to be reduced, and it wanted the aircraft to begin flying before November 1956. Furthermore, ARDC was to plan the aircraft's utilization in light of the Air Force's new objectives. In short, there no longer was any question of producing a high-altitude, manned strategic bomber and reconnaissance weapon system out of the B-58 test-aircraft. The program's only purpose was to promote research and development. SAC was pleased with the decision, but thought a 13-aircraft research and development program was larger than necessary. The Air Force needed to learn more about the aerodynamic problems of sustained supersonic flights at high altitudes, and it needed to test subsystems and components for future weapon systems. There were no delays in satisfying most of Secretary Talbott's demands. AMC had been studying the aircraft's cost problem for several months. An April estimate showed that $554 million would cover 13 B-58s, 31 pods, all engines, other government-furnished equipment and support, as well as Convair's fee. With the aircraft now strictly earmarked for research and development, various items could be deleted. This would save about $50 million and bring total costs close to the Air Force's tentative maximum. Convair seemed unabashed by the cut of its program, believing time would work in its favor. Hence, it went all out to match AMC's cost reductions, while projecting costs for the production of up to 500 aircraft. In mid-June, AMC authorized Convair to resume work on development engineering, tool fabrication, airframe parts, and the like. At month's end, the contractor felt confident it could fly a B-58 by November 1956, which it did. Meanwhile, personnel of the B-58 project office coordinated with representatives of various offices to identify non-essential B-58 subsystems and components, while preserving the development of any B-58 hardware that could benefit other projects. Included in such projects were the B-70, the nuclear-powered aircraft, and a tactical bomber logged as Weapon System 302A. Scheduled for production in December 1952, an object of indecision in April 1954, practically cancelled 10 months later, and relegated to research and development in June 1955, the B-58 project was yet to undergo another major change. Abruptly, on 22 August 1955, the B-58 weapon system once again emerged as a production candidate. The decision, approved personally by General Wining, climaxed weeks of debates.37 General Putt, now Deputy Chief of Staff for Development, had helped to initiate the program and still professed the B-58 could be "a useful SAC tool." General Irvine, the new Deputy Chief of Staff for Materiel, and others on the Air Force Council shared General Putt's opinion. However, attempts to sway General LeMay failed. This failure most probably accounted for the production directive's unusual wording. The directive of 22 August 1955, calling for a wing of B-58s by mid-1960, was most specific in stressing the need for economy but made no mention of the wing's recipient or of SAC in particular. Convair's Letter Contract AF33(038)-21250 of February 1951 was superseded in December 1955 by a definitive contract of the cost-plusincentive-fee type. This gave Convair an additional $340 million for 13 aircraft, 31 pods, and all contractor-furnished equipment, bringing the contract's total value to about $540 million. The incentive fees depended on technical performance, weight control, and contractor adherence to cost and to delivery schedule. A second letter contract, AF33(600)-32841, issued on 25 May 1956, provided another $13.6 million to buy long-lead items and to maintain B-58 production at a minimum sustaining rate through October 1956. The Air Force planned to decide in the fall of 1956, if it should buy 17 more upper components (B-58 airframes), 17 powered bomb pods, 12 free fall bomb pods, 3 photo pods, and 3 electromagnetic data (ferret) pods. If it did, an extra $14.9 million of pre-production funds would be needed. This planning was in line with the August 1955 decision to buy a wing of B-58s. As all along understood, this could only be done if there was sufficient evidence that the project was viable. The initial B/RB-58 made its first flight on 11 November 1956, taking off from the Convair Fort Worth facilities at Carswell AFB, Texas. A second flight on 14 November lasted one hour and was also described as successful. On both occasions, the maximum altitude reached was 30,000 feet, while the maximum speed did not exceed Mach 0.9. Supersonic speeds of Mach 1.6 and Mach 1.35, at altitudes of 35,000 feet, were first reached in a third flight on 4 December. The 3 flights were made by the same plane which, like several subsequent ones, was temporarily identified as a prototype (YB-58). In another departure from the usual, a characteristic that typified the B-58 program from the start, the YB-58 flights of late 1956 and early 1957 proved extremely important. Although testing had just begun, they undoubtedly influenced the Air Force's ensuing decisions. By virtue of the weapon system concept adopted for the highly complex B/RB-58, the core of the testing program was altered. Also, the Air Force's insistence in 1952 that technological developments fit requirements inevitably affected testing. The Air Force decision of 1952 was one of the many difficulties and momentary contradictions that plagued the B-58. A few years before, when the GEBO study was initiated, USAF engineers asked for more realistic military characteristics and advocated state-of-the-art design compromises. As a result of such innovations, the flight testing program, an always thorough undertaking, acquired a new, time-consuming, and occasionally frustrating dimension. By chance, this coincided with the end of the 8-phase concept of testing, under which a new aircraft was designed, built, and tested first by the contractor, then at various ARDC centers, and finally transferred to a major Air Force command for operational utilization. The new testing program, although counting only 3 categories, did not degrade in any way the former program's scope. The Category I tests, begun by the contractor in November 1956, accounted for almost 3,000 hours of flight tests by March 1962, and the destruction of 1 aircraft (the fifth YB-58, Serial No. 55-664) in November 1959. Furthermore, pod drops, aerial refueling, and a few other special tests, properly part of Category I, were completed under the Category II program, which did not officially start before March 1959. While the production decision of 22 August 1955 failed to indicate which command would use the new aircraft, it soon again became obvious that the B-58 lay in SAC's future. General LeMay's lack of enthusiasm for the B-58 put the aircraft within the reach of the Tactical Air Command. It was a fact, however, that the Convair project had been geared from the start to meet SAC's performance criteria, that the recently flown YB-58 basically remained a SAC-configured aircraft, one that would require the time-consuming incorporation of many costly changes if it were to fulfill the Tactical Air Command mission. In early 1957, Gen. Otto P Weyland, who headed the command, wanted a minimum of 2 B-58 wings, but the Air Staff disagreed. As technological difficulties increasingly impaired the B-70 development, the command became more involved with the B-58. Willing to believe in the B-58's potential for improvement, SAC in late 1956 was actually preparing to participate in the aircraft's forthcoming test program. In the spring of 1957, imminent budget decisions affecting SAC aircraft nearly shattered the command's fragile cooperation. By that time, the B-58 had established itself as the world's fastest jet bomber. The Mach 2 speed success of the B-58, cited as one of the reasons for decreasing the B-52 production rate, did not satisfy General LeMay. He quickly reasserted his early 1955 position that no B-58s were needed. New studies, General LeMay explained, showed that the B-52G with its programmed penetration aids would be superior to the production-improved B-58 and to any "better" B-58, such as the new B-58B configuration proposed by Convair. This was particularly true from the standpoints of cost effectiveness and availability. As for the B-70, General LeMay added, there was no doubt that it would provide substantial improvements over the B-52G. Therefore, "the B-58 should be limited to a test program. Funding for procurement or model improvement testing should not be provided." The Air Staff bluntly disagreed with General LeMay, stating that it was "most desirable" that SAC get a supersonic bomber at an early date and that the decision had been made to buy a limited quantity of B-58s for the SAC inventory. In a mollifying gesture, the Air Staff underlined that the United States had to protect its technological lead over the Soviets as well as the money already invested in the B-38 program. Also, the B-38 would improve through normal growth, and the program's funding requirements would not affect the B-70's prospects. Indeed, the proposed B-70 fell under a different time period. Nevertheless, by focusing attention on cost, the enormously expensive B-58 program did not help the cause of future high-performance manned bombers. Flight testing of the first 3 YB-38s, while accounting for some spectacular achievements,43 brought to light several problems. By the end of 1957, the YB-58s had attained a maximum speed of Mach 2.11 at altitudes over 30,000 feet; made 2 successful pod drops from 42,000 feet at Mach 2 speeds; maintained a speed of more than Mach 1.13 during 91 minutes, and zoomed without pod from a speed of Mach 2 at 50,000 feet to a speed of Mach 1.13 at 68,000 feet. The J79-GE-1 prototype engines, installed on the YB-38s pending certification of the J79-GE-3s, had a number of flaws ( Even though General Electric's progress had negated the temporary use of Pratt & Whitney J57s, the J79-5's 150-hour preliminary flight rating test was not expected before year's end). Malfunctions in the fuel system sloshed the fuel around when the YB-58 accelerated or slowed down, impairing the aircraft's stability. Afterburner problems caused intermittent yawing at supersonic speeds. Of greater concern were already noted acoustical and sonic fatigue problems as well as excess vibration in the YJ79-GE-1 engines. The acoustical and sonic fatigue difficulties affected the aft area of the fuselage and would cause testing restrictions unless promptly solved. Fatigue created cracks along the rivet lines in the forward section of the fuselage. Since the cracks appeared after less than 30 hours of flight, replacing the YJ79-1 engine by the J79-3 would worsen the problem because the more powerful J79-3 would increase the sound level 10 decibels above the level induced by the YJ79-1. The engine vibrations also might affect components of the electronic equipment, installed in the fuselage'.s aft section and in the aft portion of the various droppable pods that were programmed for the aircraft. There were other difficulties of varying importance. The brake system was not satisfactory. Because of inadequate heat dissipation after braking, tire failures were frequent following landing at high gross weights and high-speed taxi runs. The upward-type of ejection seat put in the aircraft was unsafe at high speed, due to insufficient thrust. Convair tests of a more powerful, rocket-type catapult seat identified problems of another kind. Other sorts of ejection seats were being considered, with misgivings. The Air Force and the B-58 contractor greatly favored a capsule-type escape system, under development by both the Martin Company and the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, but time was of the essence. Finally, slippage in the bombing-navigation subsystem development program portended a serious delay in the delivery of the initial equipment. This would retard the B-58 flight-test program, as would shortages of spares for both the YJ79-1 and -5 engines. In 1958, the B-58 program came under renewed scrutiny. The YB-58 could fly fast and high, but its range remained poor. With 1 refueling, the aircraft had a radius of 3,800 nautical miles; without refueling, the distance dropped by almost 40 percent. In addition, limited testing had already uncovered far too many problems. Configuration changes worked out between Convair and an 85-man team from ARDC, AMC, and SAC, would probably help a lot. Yet, changes were always costly. In August 1958, General Power, who had been heading SAC for over a year,45 told the Air Staff that the B-58's deficiencies were exaggerated, a common occurrence, he remarked, when a program was expensive and it became difficult to obtain financial support. Believing that a mixed force of B-52s and B-58s was the best way to replace the B-47s, General Power pointed out that the B-58's bombing and navigation system, already late, might become available sooner than expected since performance of the system's doppler radar was getting better (General LeMay, although acknowledging in November 1957 that the mixed force concept was apparently in the offing, continued to question the wisdom of the proposed combination. The cost, from the standpoint of refueling operations alone, did not favor the B-58. It would take 1 tanker to refuel 1 of the new bombers, while 2 tankers could take care of 3 B-52s. Among the members of the Air Force Council, General LeMay stood alone in his opinion.). Agreeing with General Power that the B-58's early difficulties had been taken out of perspective, General White nevertheless cautioned that, should the program survive, the quantity of aircraft to be purchased in fiscal year 1959 would have to be reduced. The money thereby saved would pay for the most important changes and inevitable cost increases. By the end of December, photo reconnaissance, one of the B-58 program's initial requirements, was deleted. ME-1 pods and ground photo processing equipment, under contracts but yet to be delivered, were canceled, as were 45 ALD-4 ferret pods. On the positive side, the MB-1 free fall bomb pod was exchanged for a 2-component bomb and fuel pod. The new 2-component bomb and fuel pod had special merits. After the fuel had been used, the bomb and integral tankage would be dropped on a target, making the aircraft lighter for its return flight. Other approved changes included improved communications equipment (singleside band/high frequency and emergency ultra-high frequency radios), encapsulated crew ejection seats (another new development), tactical air navigation (TACAN) electronics, and various minor improvements. However, as indicated by General White, one-third of the fiscal year 1959 B-58 procurement was cancelled. Letter Contract AF33(600)-36700, issued on 1 November 1957, called for 47 B-58s, bringing forecast procurement to a total of 77-30 so-called prototypes and 47 aircraft for the operational inventory. But the letter contract of November 1957 remained to be finalized, and its 47 aircraft were reduced to 33 on 26 September 1958. Officially initiated in March 1959, but actually started on 15 February 1958, the Category II tests first assumed some of the flight testing normally conducted under Category I. This variance was primarily due to the November 1957 decision to consolidate the B-58 flight test program under the direction of the weapon system office. While the ARDC testing role was not changed significantly, the proposed using command (SAC, as already confirmed) was to participate in all testing, which was unusual. In another departure from past procedures, testing would be carried out as close as possible to the contractor facilities, which made Carswell AFB the obvious location. The Air Force believed that, among other advantages, this arrangement should reduce costs for logistical training and for support of the Convair technicians. As to the consolidated testing program, it should help to discover and solve development problems quicker. SAC's 3958th Operational Employment 'Ii'sting and Evaluation Squadron was activated on 1 March 1958, too late to monitor the beginning of the Category I tests. Nevertheless, the 3958th, its ARDC counterpart (the 6592d Test Squadron), and representatives from AMC and Convair soon were in place, constituting the test force that took care effectively of the Air Force Category II and III tests. The Category II tests were completed on 30 June 1960, after accumulating 1,216 flight hours that were reached in 256 sorties. Except for a few authorized deviations and some unexpected delays, the Category II testing progressed as planned. Tivo YB-58As, undergoing stability and control evaluation, were flight tested from Edwards AFB, California, and from Convair's Fort Worth airfield. Another test-aircraft, earmarked for climatic hangar evaluation, went directly from Fort Worth to Eglin AFB, Florida. Finally, the accelerated service test of the J79-GE-5 engine, after 330 flight hours under Category II, was completed under Category III, when SAC crews accumulated 170 additional hours of flight. From the practical standpoint, the Category II tests proved invaluable. Yet, they probably accounted in part for the program's last near-cancellation and final reduction. Seven test-aircraft were lost between December 1958 and June 1960, including 1 which disintegrated in flight on 7 November 1959. |Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list|

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Introspection, or reflection, means being able to obtain information dynamically about GOOPS objects. It is perhaps best illustrated by considering an object oriented language that does not provide any introspection, namely C++. Nothing in C++ allows a running program to obtain answers to the following types of question: Employee::adjustHoliday(), what class contains the adjustHoliday()method that will be applied? In C++, answers to such questions can only be determined by looking at the source code, if you have access to it. GOOPS, on the other hand, includes procedures that allow answers to these questions — or their GOOPS equivalents — to be obtained dynamically, at run time. |• Generic Functions:| |• Accessing Slots:|

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Dynamic code generation is the generation of machine code at runtime. It is typically used to strip a layer of interpretation by allowing compilation to occur at runtime. One of the most well-known applications of dynamic code generation is perhaps that of interpreters that compile source code to an intermediate bytecode form, which is then recompiled to machine code at run-time: this approach effectively combines the portability of bytecode representations with the speed of machine code. Another common application of dynamic code generation is in the field of hardware simulators and binary emulators, which can use the same techniques to translate simulated instructions to the instructions of the underlying machine. Yet other applications come to mind: for example, windowing bitblt operations, matrix manipulations, and network packet filters. Albeit very powerful and relatively well known within the compiler community, dynamic code generation techniques are rarely exploited to their full potential and, with the exception of the two applications described above, have remained curiosities because of their portability and functionality barriers: binary instructions are generated, so programs using dynamic code generation must be retargeted for each machine; in addition, coding a run-time code generator is a tedious and error-prone task more than a difficult one. GNU lightning provides a portable, fast and easily retargetable dynamic code generation system. To be portable, GNU lightning abstracts over current architectures’ quirks and unorthogonalities. The interface that it exposes to is that of a standardized RISC architecture loosely based on the SPARC and MIPS chips. There are a few general-purpose registers (six, not including those used to receive and pass parameters between subroutines), and arithmetic operations involve three operands—either three registers or two registers and an arbitrarily sized immediate value. On one hand, this architecture is general enough that it is possible to generate pretty efficient code even on CISC architectures such as the Intel x86 or the Motorola 68k families. On the other hand, it matches real architectures closely enough that, most of the time, the compiler’s constant folding pass ends up generating code which assembles machine instructions without further tests.

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New Tools Emerge for Preventing Power Outages A decade after the largest blackout in American history, engineers are installing and linking 1,000 of those instruments, called phasor measurement units, to try to prevent another catastrophic power failure. After the lights went out for 50 million people from the Northeast to the Midwest on Aug. 14, 2003, investigators found readings from two obscure instruments that would have given them an hour’s warning — plenty of time to solve the problem if the devices had been wired to provide a stream of critical data. Join the Discussion After you comment, click Post. You can enter an anonymous Display Name or connect to a social profile.

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Keeping Your Schools Safe The SAFE Act is designed to keep the public, including our children, safe from gun violence. The law cracks down on possession of a gun on school grounds or a school bus and also supports school districts in implementing effective school safety plans. A few simple provisions will ensure that our schools are safe environments where children can learn, grow, and be protected from violence. - School Safety - For Students - For Parents - For School - For the School Safety Teams Keeping children safe at school starts with coordinated planning between the school administrators and first responders. The New York State SAFE Act creates school safety improvement teams comprised of experts from the division of homeland and security and emergency services, the division of the state police, the division of criminal justice service and the state education department. Working with school administrators and local law enforcement, the teams will work with school districts to identify and close any gaps in their school safety plans. - Don't use violence to settle disputes. - Don't carry weapons to school. - Report crimes or suspicious activities to school authorities, parents, or the police. - Tell a school official immediately if you see another student with a weapon. - Tell a teacher, parent or trusted adult if you're worried about a bully. - Learn safe routes for traveling to and from school. Know where you can seek help if you need it. - Get involved in your school's anti-violence programs, and If there isn't a program at your school, help start one. - Educate your children on how to resolve disputes and avoid violence. - Teach your children how to reduce their risks of becoming crime victims. - Know where your kids are, what they are doing, and who they are with at all times. - Set clear rules in advance about acceptable activities. - Ask your children about what goes on during the school day. Listen to what they say and take their concerns and worries seriously. - Do not allow your child to carry weapons. - Become involved in your child's school activities. For School Staff - Evaluate your school's safety objectively, and set targets for improvement. - Develop good security procedures and response plans for emergencies. - Train school personnel in conflict resolution, and identifying potentially troubled students. - Encourage students to talk about concerns and listen to what they say. - If a student makes a threat of violence, take him or her seriously, and address the problem immediately. - When something violent and frightening happens at school or in the community, take time to talk about it with the students. Get help from trained couselors if necessary. - Law enforcement can engage with local schools and suggest ways to make schools safer. - Community-based groups, church organizations, and other service groups should provide counseling, extended learning programs, before- and after- school activities, and other community crime prevention programs. - Local businesses can provide apprenticeship programs, participate in adopt-a-school programs, or serve as mentors to area students. - Colleges and universities can offer conflict management courses to teachers or assist school officials in implementing violence prevention curricula. **Information from National Crime Prevention Council, Working Together to Create Safer Schools Bullying behavior may seem insignificant compared to kids bringing guns to school, but the fact is that your child is much more likely to be affected by bullying than gun violence. Bullying is often dismissed as part of growing up, but it may be an early form of aggressive, violent behavior. Statistics show that one in four children who bully will have a criminal record before the age of 30. Bullies often cause serious problems that schools, families, and neighbors ignore, and fears and anxieties about bullies can cause some children to avoid school, carry a weapon for protection, or even commit more violent activity. What You Can Do - Listen to children and encourage them to talk about their worries, concerns and fears. - Take children’s complaints of bullying seriously. Children are often afraid or ashamed to tell anyone that they have been bullied, so listen to their complaints. - Watch for symptoms that children may be bullying victims, such as withdrawal, a drop in grades, torn clothes, or needing extra money or supplies. - Alert the school if you think that your children are being bullied. - Maintain a positive, supportive, culture at home. - Help children learn the social skills he or she needs to make friends. A confident, resourceful child who has friends is less likely to be bullied or to bully others. - Provide opportunities for children to talk about bullying, perhaps when watching TV together, reading aloud, playing a game, or going to the park or a movie. - Recognize that bullies may be acting out feelings of insecurity, anger, or loneliness. If your child is a bully, seek professional help from a school counselor or child psychologist. **Information from National Crime Prevention Council, Bullies: A Serious Problem for Kids

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To sign up to the Graham Hancock newsletter mailing list, please click here. In an unusual development that researchers are calling evidence of adaptive behavior, some catfish have taken to jumping on land to hunt live pigeons. Discover Magazine's Ed Yong writes, "These particular catfish have taken to lunging out of the water, grabbing a pigeon, and then wriggling back into the water to swallow their prey. In the process, they temporarily strand themselves on land for a few seconds." Researchers captured video of the European catfish, which reside in the River Tarn in southwestern France. In the footage, several of the fish, which range in length from 3 to nearly 5 feet, are seen thrusting their bodies from the shallow banks onto land where they capture pigeons and drag them back into the water. Back to Previous... Go to News Desk... Enjoy the newsdesk? Please tell others about it:Tweet Dedicated Servers and Cloud Servers by Gigenet. Invert Colour Scheme / Default

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To understand demand response, imagine the electricity grid as a giant scale that needs to stay in constant balance. On hot summer days when the air conditioning load soars, generators are working full-out and sometimes struggle to keep pace with the demand for power. Demand response, also called demand management, tips the scale on the electricity users side. Instead of generating more power to keep the balance, demand response technologies reduce consumption on things such as air-conditioners, industrial equipment, electric hot water heaters, lights or dryers. This technique has been used for many years, but is getting more sophisticated as technologies — notably smart buildings — gain ground. And as more solar and wind energy comes online, demand response could play an important role integrating these variable sources into the grid. What is demand response? Demand response is changing electricity usage based on a change in the price of power. It’s a technique utilities use with commercial, industrial and residential customers. Consumers first may become aware of demand response programs during heat waves, when there are worries about adequate power supply. For example, last summer the New York City grid "shed load" by reducing power at a number of public services, including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and utility ConEdison activated a voluntary program to adjust consumers' air-conditioner thermostats at peak hours. In exchange for participating in these voluntary programs, electricity customers receive a rebate. Without demand response, the grid operators would rely on expensive and polluting auxiliary power plants or, if that didn't provide enough power, being forced to stop supplying certain areas. Demand response also has been a key reliability tool in the winter. The frigid weather last winter caused grid reliability concerns because some generators failed. In Texas and other places, grid operators called on demand response resources to avoid brownouts or blackouts. Increasingly, these techniques are earning energy consumers money. Grid operator PJM, which runs the transmission network in 13 eastern states, has an "economic demand response" program that allows companies to bid it into the wholesale markets. Just as a power plant owners can bid megawatts into the daily and hourly markets for energy, a demand response provider can bid reductions in as well. For example, the FDA's microgrid in Maryland earns money with an automated demand response system that reduces energy use in buildings. Why would a company want to participate in demand response? Commercial or institutional customers can save money and help the grid stay stable. Reducing power at peak times can be more or less transparent to the end user, proponents say. For example, changing thermostat settings on a supermarket freezer or dimming the lights in a hotel lobby for 15 minutes can be done in a way that doesn't affect people. How much an individual or company can earn by participating varies by utility and region. But PJM, considered the most progressive in implementing demand response and related services, pays significant sums out to companies that do voluntary reductions. In one month in 2012, PJM paid out $5 million to demand response providers. Equipment provider Schneider Electric says demand response programs can earn back 5 percent to 25 percent (PDF) of their annual electricity costs. Why does a utility want customers to participate in these programs? In many states, regulators create incentives for utilities to use less energy, particularly at peak hours of the day. Initially, demand response programs were put in place to avoid having to turn on "peaker plants," or auxiliary power plants that may be pressed into service only 10 days a year to meet high demand. So instead of building new power plants to meet demand, utilities instead can rely on power curtailments. In New York, for instance, 543 megawatts of curtailments are available just from commercial and industrial customers, which is about the same capacity as a medium size power plant. Keeping these plants idle also helps keep the price of power down. Instead of having to call on very expensive power generators to meet high demand in the late afternoon, grid operators can reduce the load and avoid paying peak-time pricing. In one week in 2012, PJM estimates its region saved more than $650 million in one week from voluntary curtailments. How is demand response different from energy efficiency? The goal of energy efficiency is to lower the overall energy use, while demand response is geared at lowering consumption at specific times based a change in price. Said another way, corporate efficiency initiatives are meant to lower monthly energy bills. By contrast, a change in the price of power, which varies by the hour, triggers a demand response event that leads to curtailing power for a short period. In the U.S., a series of orders from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission were designed to compensate demand reductions the same way a power generator is, which has helped spur the growth of demand response and the notion of a virtual power plant, says Ben Kellison, an analyst at GTM Research. Regional grid operators, however, are implementing these orders at a different pace, which means that prices for participating in demand response vary significantlly. Who are important providers of demand response? Utilities can run their own demand response programs or rely on third-party companies. EnerNoc and Comverge, for example, install the control equipment at customer sites and manage the curtailments based on price signals from the grid operators. EnerNoc manages tens of thousands of commercial sites from a network operations center where employees monitor energy demand and bid their services into wholesale energy markets. But the technology picture is rapidly changing. Opower, which made its name in utility energy efficiency, is now operating demand response programs on behalf of utilities based on analyses of smart meter data. And increasingly, smart two-way thermostats are being used. Honeywell and Nest, for example, allow consumers to sign up in utilities demand response programs and opt in to calls to reduce power from their smartphone or tablet. This "bring your own device" trend could help spread demand response into the residential field. Having two-way communications is a big step forward, says Kellison. Before, utilities didn’t know for sure how much power actually was shed during peak hours, whereas now they can verify reductions and better control how they use demand response. For example, a utility may know that one feeder on the distribution grid overloads 10 days a year and and can target that area for demand response participation. How do renewables and demand response tie together? Demand response can be a way to smooth out some of the fluctuations from variable wind and solar. Devices such as water heaters or potentially electric vehicles can be adjusted quickly, which means they can compensate for a dip or surge in wind power, says Kellison. That's one reason why demand response is becoming a bigger topic in Europe, he says. In a survey conducted by the Peak Load Management Alliance, 38 percent of industry professionals said that demand response was the best way to handle the variable nature of solar and wind. The top response was energy storage with 43 percent. Reality check: What could set demand response back? An ongoing challenge for demand response is signing on participants. If done poorly, remote control of consumers’ air conditioner thermostat settings can be a serious inconvenience and put people off to the entire idea. Although programs are voluntary, some people bristle at the very idea of a utility controlling their energy consumption. Letting people adjust their thermostats manually could allay those concerns with some people. Commercial customers, too, don't want to make sacrifices even if they save money on their bills, so curtailments ideally should be done in a way that doesn't cause disruptions. Oddly enough, energy efficiency could lessen the need for demand response. If utilities are successful reducing overall energy use, then the peak-hour demand for power will lessen as well, notes Kellison. Still, demand response will continue to play a role dealing with spikes in demand. Also, PJM is notable for quickly adopting FERC orders that make demand response economically attractive, but not all regional grid operators are as progressive, which could check demand response growth. At a high level, demand-side management represents a fundamentally new way of running the grid. Instead of simply turning up the power to keep things steady, operators actively can manage both the supply and demand ends to maintain balance and save energy at the same time. Nest thermostat image by David Berkowitz via Flickr.

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Urban settlements feature many of the same impacts of climate change as other settlements-such as air and water pollution, flooding, or consequences of increasingly viable disease vectors. These impacts may take unusual or extremely costly forms in urban areas-for example, flooding that results not from river flooding but from overwhelmed urban storm drains and sewers during extreme rainfall events (which may become more common in the future). Urban settlements also experience the consequences of accommodating migrant populations, the unique aspects of urban heat islands (which affect human health and energy demand), and some of the more severe aspects of air and water pollution. To some extent, the effects of climate change anywhere in the world are integrated through world markets, social and political changes, and migration. Many of these social and economic effects appear in the world's cities, including some of the world's largest (Rosenzweig and Solecki, 2000). The SAR discussed at some length the potential impact of population movement in response to environmental impact and attractions of large urban areas. Human populations show significant tendencies to adapt to interannual variability of climate via migration, although migration may be the last of a complex set of coping strategies (Meze-Hausken, 2000). For example, decreases in crop and rice yields as a result of a prolonged dry season under ENSO conditions in Indonesia causes farmers to leave the villages to work in the surrounding cities. Population subsequently recovers (Yoshino, 1996b; Yoshino et al., 1997). In some cases, immigration is more permanent and does not involve large urban areas. For example, after three successive typhoons hit Tau Island in American Samoa in 1987, 1990, and 1991, about one-third of the population abandoned their homes and moved to Pago Pago on Tutuila Island, putting more population pressure on the limited economic opportunities and services of that island (Meehl, 1996). A school of thought based on observations of several ethnic conflicts in the developing world suggests that environmental degradation, loss of access to resources, and resulting human migration (including "environmental refugees") in some circumstances could become a source of political and even military conflict (see Chapters 10 and 11). The result is possible, but the many intervening and contributory causes of intergroup and intragroup conflicts allow only low confidence in predictions of increases in such conflicts as a result of climate change, even where environmental resources are scarce and threatened (e.g., Wolf, 1998). The impact of climate change on human heath in settlements is a complicated mechanism that involves the interaction of physical attributes of settlements and precursors for direct effects of heat stress, vector-borne diseases such as malaria, and enteric diseases such as cholera (see Chapter 9). These impacts are common to all types of settlements, including traditional ones. The 1997-98 El Niņo event provided a way to derive and test process models for the impacts of climate change. In Latin America, for example, outbreaks of malaria and Dengue fever appeared to be related to anomalously high nighttime minimum temperatures (Epstein et al., 1998). Settlements provide disease vectors and organisms with habitat in the form of standing water, garbage dumps, and space sheltered from the elements. Flooding can flush organisms into settlements' clean water supplies, causing disease outbreaks. Heavy rainfall in normally dry areas leads to rapid increases in rodent populations, in turn leading to increases in rodent-borne diseases such as hantavirus (Glass et al., 2000). Cholera-harboring marine plankton blooms also can be triggered by riverine flooding, which provides extra nutrients to the coastal environment (Colwell, 1996). Extremely dry conditions reduce the quantities and quality of water available for sanitary and drinking purposes, which also can trigger cholera and diarrheal outbreaks. Historically, this has been a problem on various Pacific islands during drought. Poverty, crowding, and poor sanitation in settlements add to these problems, as reported in the SAR. Warming of urban air increases in intensity and area as cities grow (Oke, 1982). This growing "heat island" tends to aggravate the risk of more frequent heat waves, as well as their impacts. Research indicates that variability in summer nighttime minimum temperature (temperatures above 32ēC at night)-combined with lack of acclimatization, high humidity, and poorly ventilated and insulated housing stock-may be the most important factor in urban heat deaths (Chestnut et al., 1998). Elderly people, the very young, people in ill health, and poor people are most likely to be affected (see Chapter 9 for these and other health effects). Because climate change is expected to raise nighttime minimum temperatures more than daytime highs, urban heat islands would be a significant health concern in the largest human settlements. Conversely, during the rainy season (except in a few cities, such as Cairo, where practically no rain occurs) the heat island enhances the intensity and frequency of rain showers (Changnon, 1992; Jáuregui and Romales, 1996), leading to higher risk of street flooding or mudslides where the urban poor live. Moreover, warmer and drier climates may aggravate air pollution seasonally because of wind erosion of bare soil areas in cities with semi-arid or arid climates (e.g., Mexico City, Beijing, Delhi, and cities located in sub-Saharan Africa). Blowing dust and high summer temperatures are likely to increase the incidence of heat stroke, respiratory illness, and transmission of disease by deposition of airborne bacteria in lungs and on food. In warmer and drier climates, local minimum temperatures tend to be higher, which tends to attenuate the intensity (and depth) of temperature inversions formed by nocturnal radiation cooling and reduce the risk of poor air quality. However-and especially in large cities located in valleys (e.g., Mexico City, Santiago, Beijing, Delhi)-this attenuation effect could be compensated by a higher rate of radiation cooling to an air layer with less moisture content, aggravating the air pollution situation. Elevated subsidence inversions such as those on the descending branch of semi-permanent anticyclones and limiting vertical dispersion of pollutants in cities such as Saõ Paulo, Los Angeles, or Tijuana are less likely to significantly change their thermal structure in a warmer world. Despite massive investment in water treatment in the developed world and increasingly in the developing world over the past century, many settlements throughout the world (especially in rural areas) still are without adequate water treatment (UNCHS, 1999). In the case of drought, reduced water availability could force people to use polluted water sources in settlements at the same time that reduced flow rates reduce the rate of dilution of water contaminants. In the opposite case, flooding frequently damages water treatment works and floods wells, pit latrines and septic tanks, and agricultural and waste disposal areas and sometimes simply overwhelms treatment systems, contaminating water supplies. Air pollution is a serious problem in many cities of the world, even under the current climate. The following issues emerge from a review of developing country cities that are members of the 69 urban agglomerations with population of more than 3 million in 1990 (UNEP, 1992): Box 7-2. Air Pollution Problems of Large Cities in the Developing World-Update on the Case of Mexico City The SAR notes the complex air pollution problems of Mexico City and expresses concern that increases in air stability episodes under climate change could exacerbate an already difficult situation. Although these problems remain severe, as noted below, Mexico City also shows that adaptation (mitigation of air pollution) is possible and effective. Mexico City is located in an elevated inland valley (approximately 2,250 m above sea level) in central Mexico. The climate is subhumid tropical, tempered by the altitude. Industrial activity contributes 20% of the city's air pollution; 3 million motor vehicles that consume 17.3 million liters of gasoline and 5 million liters of diesel daily (in 1997) generate 75% of the pollution (Office of the Environment Annual Report, 1997). Typical anticyclonic weather prevailing during the dry season contributes to frequent thermal inversions that prevent dispersion of pollutants. Moreover, abundant insolation prevailing during the dry warm period (March to May) favors activation of precursors [mainly oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC)] to produce high levels of ozone. This also is the season for dust storms and blowing dust (Jáuregui, 1989). Although transport may generate 75% of the airborne pollutants by weight, estimates made in 1989 regarding transport's contribution to air pollution in terms of toxicity suggested its contribution was 42.4%. A considerable contribution also comes from vegetation and topsoil (12% of all airborne pollutants by weight in 1994) (see Connolly, 1999). The Mexico City Ministry of the Environment subsequently found that ozone-one of the most serious threats to health-was still above acceptable levels on 300 days in 1999 but that some progress had been achieved. During the worst days from 1990 to 1992, pollutants hit emergency levels on as many as 177 days annually. Emergency levels occurred on 5 days in 1999. This achievement was considered to be a result of anti-pollution efforts by the local government. For example, in the early 1990s, lead was removed from gasoline sold in the Valley of Mexico; laws restricted the use of cars without catalytic converters to 4 weekdays; and inspections of factories to reduce pollution doubled in 1999, to 152. The average ozone reading fell from 197.6 to 144, where the air quality norm is 100 points of ozone-equivalent to exposure to 0.11 ppm for 1 hour (Mexico City Ministry of the Environment, 2000). This progress in improving air quality suggests that even huge developing world cities can begin to reduce pollution. Box 7-2 shows that adaptive measures can be effective in reducing many of the precursors to adverse air quality under current climate. These measures also would help in the context of unfavorable atmospheric conditions as a result of climate change. Other reports in this collection

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[Haskell-cafe] commending "Design concepts in programming daniel.is.fischer at web.de Fri May 8 08:31:09 EDT 2009 Am Freitag 08 Mai 2009 13:23:09 schrieb Wolfgang Jeltsch: > Am Donnerstag, 7. Mai 2009 14:42 schrieb Daniel Fischer: > > Of course, if centuries ago people had decided to write the argument > > before the function, composition would've been defined the other way > > round. They haven't. > Algebraists used to write x f instead of f(x) at least in the 1980s. I think that should read *some* algebraists... Though I had no contact with algebraists in the 1980s, if that practice had been ubiquitous among them, I would have expected it to show up in the textbooks. I've never seen it in an algebra book, nor was it used in any algebra lecture I attended in the 1990s, so I doubt it was very widespread. Don't get me wrong, that notation does make sense and has some advantages over the conventional one, I wouldn't oppose a change, though it would take some time to get used to it. All I'm saying is that the overwhelming majority of mathematicians doesn't use it. > I think, also category theorists often wrote (write?) composition with the > first morphism on the left, i.e., “the other way round”. Yeah, I heard that, too. It's a field where the advantages of postfix notation show clearly and a young one, so for them it was relatively easy to switch. You'd have a hard time persuading the statisticians and analysts, though. > Best wishes, More information about the Haskell-Cafe

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Type 1 diabetes information from trusted sources: Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes is a chronic (lifelong) disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin to properly control blood sugar levels. See also: Diabetes Gestational diabetes Type 2 diabetes Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy. Type 2 diabetes, which is far more common, occurs when the body becomes resistant to the effects of insulin or doesn't make enough insulin. Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes is a long-term (chronic) condition caused by too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. It is also known as diabetes mellitus. Diabetes - type 1 Type 1 diabetes is a disorder characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Diabetes consists of two forms: type 1, previously called "juvenile-onset" diabetes, and type 2, previously called "adult-onset" diabetes. Type 1 diabetes usually starts suddenly before age 30, and usually in children before age 13, but may occur at any age. Type 2 diabetes, conversely, tends to affect adults above the age of 30, but also may affect children and young adults. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 10% of cases of diabetes. It requires daily insulin injections because the body loses its ability to manufacture any insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, is caused by a combination of insulin resistance and an inability of the cells of the pancreas to produce enough insulin. To help diagnose autoimmune type 1 diabetes, to help predict the development of type 1 diabetes in family members of those affected (for research purposes only) Type 1 - American Diabetes Association Usually diagnosed in children and young adults, type 1 was previously known as juvenile diabetes. Diabetes mellitus type 1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Diabetes mellitus type 1 (Type 1 diabetes, IDDM, or, obsoletely, juvenile diabetes) is a form of diabetes mellitus that results from autoimmune destruction ... What is Type 1 Diabetes? - Diabetes Mellitus : Juvenile Diabetes ... Diabetes (medically known as diabetes mellitus) is the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its blood glucose, or blood sugar, ... Type 1 Diabetes: symptoms, diagnosis, and insulin treatments ... Mar 29, 2009 ... Type 1 diabetes is much less common than type 2 diabetes and typically affects younger individuals. Type 1 diabetes usually begins before ... Type 1 Diabetes: What Is It? Every year in the United States, 13000 children are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. With some practical knowledge, you can become your child's most ...

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For several centuries, people have debated whether human beings can spontaneously combust, or burst into flames without being ignited by an external source. Though the first known accounts of spontaneous human combustion (SHC) date all the way back to 1641, the phenomenon gained wider exposure in the 19th century after popular author Charles Dickens used it to kill off one of the characters in his novel “Bleak House.” When critics accused Dickens of legitimizing something that didn’t exist, he pointed to research showing 30 historical cases. More recently, cases of SHC have been suspected when police and fire department officials have found burned corpses with unscathed furniture around them. For instance, an Irish coroner ruled that spontaneous combustion caused the 2010 death of 76-year-old Michael Faherty, whose badly burned body was discovered near a fireplace in a room with virtually no fire damage. Because the human body is composed mostly of water and its only highly flammable properties are fat tissue and methane gas, the possibility of SHC being an actual phenomenon seems remote. Many scientists dismiss the theory, arguing that an undetected flame source such as a match or cigarette is the real culprit in suspected cases. Typically, deceased victims are found close to a fire source, and evidence suggests that many of them accidentally set themselves on fire while smoking or trying to light a flame. On the other hand, believers point to the fact that the human body has to reach a temperature of roughly 3,000 degrees in order to be reduced to ashes. Unless SHC were a genuine factor, it seems impossible that furniture would not burn as well. Proposed causes of the supposed phenomenon include bacteria, static electricity, obesity, stress and—most consistently—excessive consumption of alcohol, but none have been substantiated by science so far. One recent hypothesis comes from British biologist Brian J. Ford, who in August 2012 described his experiments with combustion in the magazine New Scientist. According to Ford, a buildup of acetone in the body (which can result from alcoholism, diabetes or a specific kind of diet) can lead to spontaneous combustion.

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Trade was vital to Ancient Rome. The empire cost a vast sum of money to run and trade brought in much of that money. The population of the city of Rome was one million and such a vast population required all manner of things brought back via trade. The Roman Empire was criss-crossed with trade routes. There were sea routes that covered the Mediterranean and Black Seas and numerous land routes using the roads built by the Romans. Trade and moving the Roman Army around were the two principle reasons for building roads. The most important port was Ostia as it was the nearest major port to Rome itself. Ostia was situated at the mouth of the River Tiber and was only 15 miles from Rome. Many ships travelled between Ostia and the major North African city of Carthage, a journey that took between three and five days. Ships also arrived from Spain and France at Ostia. All their goods could be quickly moved to Rome itself as they were taken in barges to the city up the River Tiber after slaves had transferred the products from the merchant ships to the barges. Ironically, Ostia was to play a major part in the downfall of Rome when Alaric the Goth captured Ostia in AD 409 knowing that this would starve Rome of much needed food. The Romans did what they could to make sea journeys safe - lighthouses were built as were safe harbours and docks. The Roman Navy did what it could to make the Mediterranean Sea safe from pirates. The Romans made trade as easy as possible. There was only one currency used and there were no complicating customs dues. Trade was also encouraged by many years of peace within the Empire. Trade was vital to the success of the Empire. When the Empire collapsed, trade throughout the lands that had once made up the Roman Empire, also collapsed. The Mediterranean Sea became a dangerous place for merchants as there were no powers to control the activities of pirates who marauded as far north as the English Channel. What was acquired from where? The Romans imported a whole variety of materials: beef, corn, glassware, iron, lead, leather, marble, olive oil, perfumes, purple dye, silk, silver, spices, timber, tin and wine. The main trading partners were in Spain, France, the Middle East and North Africa. Britain exported lead, woollen products and tin. In return, it imported from Rome wine, olive oil, pottery and papyrus. British traders relied on the Romans to provide security within the Empire. When this collapsed and Europe was seemingly overrun by Barbarians, no one could guarantee traders that their produce would get through. Also, without the power of Rome, who would be willing to buy what was produced in Britain and other parts of Europe? "Ancient Rome and Trade". HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. 2006. Web.

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Historical Events for Year 1632 Events 1 - 19 of 19 Feb 22nd - Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published. Mar 29th - Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed, returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629. Apr 15th - Battle of Rain; Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat Count Tilly of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. Apr 16th - Albrecht von Wallenstein appointed supreme commander May 25th - Albrecht von Wallenstein recaptures Prague on Saksen Jun 4th - Prince Frederik Henry conquerors Venlo Jun 5th - Prince Frederik Henry conquerors Roermond Jun 8th - Prince Frederik Henry conquerors Sittard Jun 20th - Britain grants 2nd Lord Baltimore rights to Chesapeake Bay area Astronomer & Physicist Galileo Galilei Jul 22nd - Foundation laid in Madrid for Buen Retiro-palace for king Philip IV Jul 23rd - Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France. Aug 22nd - Prince Frederik Hendrik occupies Maastricht Aug 28th - Henry Casimir I appointed viceroy of Drenthe Sep 1st - Battle at Castelnaudary: Henri de Montmorency's rebellion army loses Sep 3rd - Battle at Nurnberg: Duke wallenstein beats Sweden Oct 1st - Battle at Castelnaudary: Duke Henri de Montmorency's rebel army loses Oct 5th - Henry Casimir I appointed viceroy of Groningen Nov 6th - Battle at Lutzen: Swedish/Saxon army beats imperial armies Nov 16th - Battle at Lutzen: Sweden beats imperial armies under Von Wallenstein

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The health attributes of Honeybush have been known to the indigenous peoples in South Africa for centuries, and the herb has been consumed as a hot water extract (or tisane) for many years. Honeybush contains many of the 14 minerals essential to human health and wellness. Among these are the critical elements: Iron, Potassium, Calcium and Manganese. These are vital in the prevention of anemia, fluid balance abnormalities, and for adequate bone growth and repair. Honeybush contains many anti-oxidants, including isoflavones and coumestans. These compounds counter the effects of oxidative stress, and help prevent the production of free radicals. Free radicals are known to exert atherogenic and other harmful effects on the body, and may lower natural immune defense mechanisms. Honeybush has Long Been Reputed to Have an Effect on Blood Sugars. Numerous botanical studies have been undertaken into the nature and composition of Cyclopia. Although no human studies have yet been undertaken, the most recent mammalian study is supportive of potential health benefits of Honeybush, specifically as relates to helping control blood sugar levels. This study, a mutual effort by the Medical Research Council of South Africa, the University of Stellenbosch, and the University of Southern Denmark, confirmed that a Honeybush tisane resulted in a remarkable blood sugar lowering, and cholesterol lowering effect, when fed to type 1 and type 2 diabetic rodents. The researchers conclude as follows: - “statistically significant reduction in Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG), equal to the effect achieved in the Metformin and Rosiglitazone groups”. (controls =12.2 mmol/L compared to 4.8-5.4 mmol/L in the Honeybush groups (p<0.001). - “statistically significant reduction in intravenous glucose tolerance (IVGTT), beyond the effect achieved in the Metformin and Rosiglitazone groups”. - “statistically significant reduction in Total Cholesterol (TC). (a reduction of 2.9 +/- 0.3 (30.1-31.6%) was achieved (p<0.05) - “statistically significant reduction in a-cell mass, and improvement in a-cell to b-cell ratio” (approximate reduction 50% (p<0.05) These findings point to Honeybush as a potential natural aid in the management of similar diseases in humans, including Diabetes, pre-Diabetes and elevated Cholesterol. While human studies are clearly needed to substantiate these findings, it is worth noting that should a beneficial compound be found in Honeybush, as suggested by this study, it would have important implications. Diabetes is the commonest cause of renal failure, blindness and non-traumatic lower limb amputation in the world. 8% of the adult population in the USA has Diabetes, and more than 35% of the population has pre-Diabetes. Lipid disorders, including elevated cholesterol, are directly linked to the incidence of coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease and poor circulation. A number of studies have been conducted into the botanical nature and composition of Cyclopia sp. and its active compounds, hesperiden, mangiferin and isomangiferin, and have been published in: - Journal of Sustainable Agriculture (1998) - Current Organic Chemistry (2000) - British Journal of Pharmacology (2000) - American Journal of Epidemiology (2001) - Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin (2001) - European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2003) - Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry (2003) - European Food Research and Technology (2003) - Diabetes Care (2003) - Journal of Nutrition (2004) - African Journal of Biotechnology (2005) - International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology (2006) - Heart (2006) - International Journal of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences (2007) - International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2007) - Journal of Clinical Biochemistry & Nutrition (2007) - Life Sciences (2008) - Drug Discovery Today (2009) - Molecular Nutrition and Food Research (2009) - Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2009) - Cardiovascular Therapeutics (2010) - International Journal of Advances in Pharmaceutical Sciences (2010) - Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition (2010) - Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa (2011) et al - Latest study, discussed above: http://cdn.intechweb.org/pdfs/25504.pdf Phyto-estrogens, present in Honeybush, as in many other plants such as Soy and Black Cohosh, may be useful in the natural control of menopausal symptoms in women. Lactation & Infantile Colic Although the mechanism remains undetermined, Honeybush has been long used by the local indigenous peoples to stimulate lactation in nursing mothers, and in relieving infantile colic. By virtue of its Pinitol content, Honeybush Tea has been used by the local population as an expectorant and treatment for many common respiratory complaints. MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, or Health Canada. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. PREGNANCY AND LACTATION: Do not use during pregnancy or lactation without the advice of a healthcare practitioner.

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Customer Alert: This site will be experiencing brief outages on Friday, 07/25/2014, from 7 pm to 12 am CST, as we update and implement improvements on our network systems. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience. This text offers an innovative approach to teaching and coaching based on a thorough analysis of skilled performance and an understanding of the conditions under which people learn best. It shows how the strategies of simplifying, shaping, focusing, and enhancing can maximize learning and positively influence the attitudes of learners. Play Practice: Engaging and Developing Skilled Players From Beginner to Elite, Second Edition, provides an alternative to traditional sport instruction. This innovative and authentic approach to teaching sports combines contemporary theory with the experience of practical and reflective work in real sport environments. Coauthors Alan Launder and Wendy Piltz, both with wide-ranging experience as players, teachers, and coaches, expand and update the play practice approach they presented in the first edition and show how it can be used to help improve sport skills for players of all ages and abilities. This flexible model of sport pedagogy can be applied as a whole or one element at a time. It covers a wide range of team and individual sports, including archery, table tennis, flag football, snow skiing, cricket, and track and field. Plus, you’ll find a wealth of field-tested ideas for working with diverse learners in schools and communities. The second edition highlights the significance of key terms such as games sense, technique, resilience, and fair play. It also provides new information relating to the complexity of learning and addresses the difficulties beginners face in the learning process. The second edition of Play Practice integrates a thorough analysis of skilled performance with an understanding of the conditions under which people best learn. It also shows how the strategies of simplifying, shaping, focusing, and enhancing can help you create situations to maximize learning and positively influence the attitudes of learners. Over 130 illustrations and photos demonstrate specific approaches, ideas that can work for multiple sports, and ways to apply the approach with beginners through elite players. Summary sections in each chapter help you quickly identify and review key topics. And two bonus chapters about the origins, evolution, and theoretical bases for Play Practice are available free for download at www.HumanKinetics.com/PlayPractice. Play Practice is based on the idea that an individual’s commitment to achieving mastery is a powerful motivator for learning. Learn to harness these motivators and create enjoyable practice situations in which learners young and old, whether resistant beginners or highly motivated professionals, are encouraged to strive for excellence. Part I. Fundamentals of Play Practice Chapter 1. Approaches to Teaching and Coaching Sport Traditional Approaches to Teaching Games and Sport Teaching Games and Sport Effectively Origin and Evolution of Play Practice Precepts of Play Practice Differences Between Play Practice and TGfU Chapter 2. Elements of Skilled Performance Playing Skillfully With and Without the Ball Integrating Games Sense and Technical Ability Understanding the Rules Resilience and Mental Toughness Chapter 3. The Process of Playing Skillfully Differences Between Beginner and Expert Players Complexity of the Total Skill Process Chapter 4. Strategies for Teaching Play Practice Enhancing Play Experiences Chapter 5. Teaching Specific Elements of Skilled Performance Developing Fair Play and Resilience Improving Technical Ability Developing Games Sense Reading the Play Chapter 6. The Ps of Perfect Pedagogy Prepare the Learner Prepare a Protected Learning Environment Present the Task Effectively and Efficiently Provide Opportunities for Practice Project Poise, Patience, and Passion Part II. Play Practice in Action Chapter 7. Teaching Field Invasion Games Chapter 8. Teaching Invasion Games American Flag Football Chapter 9. Teaching Court Invasion Games Chapter 10. Teaching Court-Divided Games Chapter 11. Teaching Striking and Fielding Games Bowling and Pitching Softball and Baseball Chapter 12. Teaching Target Games Ten Pin Bowling Chapter 13. Teaching Individual Sports Cross Country Running Track and Field Athletics Chapter 14. Sport for All Talent Versus Opportunity Developing Elite Athletes About the Authors Supplemental text for coaching methods and health and physical education methods courses. Reference for health and physical education teachers, youth sport coaches, and club and elite sport coaches. Alan Launder has been involved in sports for more than 50 years as a competitor, teacher, and coach. He has worked in Great Britain, the United States, and Australia. He has taught at elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels with considerable success. His period as head of the physical education department at Dr. Challoners Grammar School in England in the 1960s was especially rewarding because in a relatively brief period the school became a sporting powerhouse. For the last 20 years of his professional career he was a senior lecturer at the University of South Australia, where he helped to develop a four-year degree course in physical education teacher education that became a model for programs in other countries. He won the 1992 Rothmans Prize in recognition of his ability to develop and communicate innovative ideas in sport education. Launder holds senior coaching qualifications from Great Britain and Australia in soccer, cricket, basketball, track and field, and table tennis. In 1984, he was a coach of the Australian track and field team at the Los Angeles Olympics. In 1986 and 1988 he was the head coach of the Australian team at the World Junior Championships. In 1991, 1993, and 1995, he was a coach of the track and field team at the World University Games. Most recently he has served as a consultant to the Australian Track and Field Coaches Association and to the Australian Lacrosse Association as they revised their coach education programs. Since 1973 Launder was also involved in developing and teaching the curriculum for the Australian Track and Field Coaches Association and was a primary contributor to the internationally respected coaching magazine Modern Athlete and Coach. As the national event coach for pole vault, he has seen Australia move into world-class standing with many fine results, including a female world-record holder, the men’s world champion in 2001 and 2009, and the men’s Olympic champion in 2008. Launder considers his major career achievement to be the development of the philosophical and pedagogical principles that underpin the Five Star Award, an innovative approach to teaching track and field that has been adopted by more than 20 countries. In 2000, Queen Elizabeth II made Launder a member of the Order of Australia for services to Australian sport. In his spare time, Launder enjoys sporting art, travel, snow skiing, and fine wine. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Salisbury East, South Australia. He has two sons, David and Richard, and four grandsons. Wendy Piltz has been involved in physical education and sports for many years as a player, teacher, and coach. Her involvement in a range of sports and various outdoor pursuits is a significant aspect of her lifestyle and expertise. An accomplished athlete, Piltz has competed at the district level in basketball and netball, the state level in touch, and at the national level in women’s cricket and lacrosse. Wendy is a committed and enthusiastic educator who has worked in elementary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. She completed her undergraduate degree in physical education from the University of South Australia (formerly ACAE) in 1978 and her master’s degree in social psychology from the University of Oregon in 1980. Wendy taught in the public secondary school system in South Australia for 10 years as a specialist health and physical education teacher and a school coach of basketball, lacrosse, cricket, volleyball, touch, athletics, and netball. In addition, she worked with elementary-aged children and served as a volunteer for 5 years as the basketball coach of children in grades 3 to 7 at her daughter’s primary school. Her coaching experience extends to a state level in women’s cricket, and she is currently coaching lacrosse at the North Adelaide club in South Australia. Wendy began working at the University of South Australia in 1990, where she joined Alan Launder as a colleague on staff in the health and physical education faculty working in teaching and curriculum, sport pedagogy, and group dynamics. Since 1998 she has redesigned the preservice programs in health and physical education to accommodate changing program structures and has embedded Play Practice models into these programs. A key area of Wendy’s research focuses on teaching and learning oriented to practice-based study on the efficacy of this approach. Her expertise in teaching, innovation in course and program design, leadership, and mentoring have been acknowledged through numerous teaching awards at the university. In addition, Wendy has received two national Australian Sports Commission awards for outstanding services to sport and innovation in lacrosse coach education. Wendy regularly presents at international and national conferences in sport pedagogy, focusing on teaching and learning using Play Practice, team development, and teacher and coach education. She also maintains a sustained service to local communities, conducting professional development workshops for teachers through the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (ACHPER), sporting clubs, and state departments of sport and recreation. Wendy has served as a consultant for the American Sport Education Program (ASEP), Australian Sports Commission (ASC), Australian Football League, South Australian National Football League, Women’s Lacrosse Australia, and Australian Touch Association. In her free time, Wendy enjoys being with friends, swimming, cycling, and adventure travel. She loves the mountains and is passionate about snow skiing. Wendy resides in Adelaide, South Australia, and has one daughter, Kelsey.

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Period Main event(s). -1859 The first tunnels under the Thames. 1860-1869 The first two companies opened their lines, Metropolitan and Metropolitan District. 1870-1879 The first (unsuccessful) tube: The Tower Subway. 1880-1889 Metropolitan and Metropolitan District extensions out to the NW and SW suburbs, respectively. 1890-1899 The first (successful and/or electric) tube: City & South London Railway. Waterloo & City opened. 1900-1909 Five lines opened: Central, Northern City, Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Charing Cross Euston & Hampstead, now part of Northern. 1910-1919 Bakerloo reached Watford. East London line as we know it today opened. 1920-1929 Northern line extensions. 1930-1939 Piccadilly line extensions. 1940-1949 Central line extensions. 1950-1959 Not much happened, due to financial restrictions after the war. 1960-1969 Victoria line opened. 1970-1979 Jubilee line opened. 1980-1989 Bakerloo line contracted and extended. 1990- Jubilee line Docklands extension opened. The scope of this publication To first page To Trains Page Transport for London official home page Clive Feather's UndergrounD Line Guides London Underground Railway Society Douglas Rose's historical web site This page updated 2007-07-26

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New Galaxy Model Leaves Old Questions Unanswered by Brian Thomas, M.S. * According to evolutionary astronomers, the arching "arms" that protrude from spiraling galaxies are supposedly 10 billion years old.1 But because the inside stars rotate faster than the outside stars, the arms they form would have "wound up" to form a disk after only about a hundred million years. And what possible forces could have spun them out of a mass of hydrogen atoms or a clump of stars in the first place? Postgraduate student Robert Grand of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, recently presented a spiral galaxy model at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Wales. The model attempted to digitally simulate the origin of the arms in spiral galaxies. Grand said in an RAS press release, "We have found it impossible to reproduce the traditional theory, but stars move with the spiral pattern in our simulations at the same speed."2 The "traditional theory" held that stars are channeled into arms by "density waves." However, this explanation merely pushes the problem back one step to another puzzle—what caused the density waves? And clearly, Grand was unable to make the physics of the "traditional theory" of density waves work in his simulations. His replacement model appears to be based on spiral density waves, but his version, used to model a Milky Way-size galaxy, showed how stars could rotate within each galactic arm. After 100 million years, "the arm breaks up due to the shear forces."2 This is consistent with what physicist Dr. D. Russell Humphreys wrote in 2005 when he briefly described the winding galaxy problem: The stars of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, rotate about the galactic center with different speeds, the inner ones rotating faster than the outer ones. The observed rotation speeds are so fast that if our galaxy were more than a few hundred million years old, it would be a featureless disc of stars instead of its present spiral shape.1 (emphasis in original) Thus, neither the traditional density waves nor this new spiral density wave model show that the spiral arms could last anywhere near the 10 billion years that evolutionists have assigned to many distant galaxies. But Grand did suggest an escape from this problem. His presentation abstract stated, "We find that the spiral arms are recurrent material features, and the pattern speed generally decreases with radius, in such a way that the pattern speed almost equals the rotation speed of stars at all radii."3 Though the spiral arms may be "recurrent" in his simulations, real spiral galaxies within the universe do not show stages of arms forming, collapsing, and reforming. Actual galaxies either have strongly defined spiral arms, like the ones in Galaxy M81, or arms that have partly or totally blurred into one another. There are no examples in the skies of new arms forming, and this new model did not produce the clear spiral arms that telescopes have revealed. Humphreys noted this mismatch between the way real galaxies look and the virtual galaxies in Grand's model, shown here: Image credit: Robert Grand. Copyright © 2011 Royal Astronomical Society. In a recent email, Humphreys wrote: I notice that the spirals of their simulations are very poorly defined, with not much fewer stars per unit area between the arms compared to the number per unit area in the arms, and very blurry boundaries. But many real galaxies have very clearly defined spiral arms.4 Humphreys also noted that without access to the details of Grand's model, it is impossible to discern if the claim of rapid spiral arm formation is the product of wishful thinking, unrealistic tweaking of physics parameters, or real physics. But since Grand's model produced such a weak facsimile, there is little reason to trust it. Thus, a realistic way for natural processes alone to produce spiral arms has yet to be discovered. And spiral galaxies still don't look anywhere near as old as the "nature is all there is" advocates claim. Spiral galaxies still look like relatively youthful, intentional creations. - Humphreys, D. R. 2005. Evidence for a Young World. Acts & Facts. 34 (6). - NAM 21: New theory of evolution for spiral galaxy arms. Royal Astronomical Society press release, April 20, 2011. - Grand, R. Analysing stellar motions and spiral arm formation in spiral galaxies. Presented at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting 2011 in Llandudno, North Wales, April 17-21. - Humphreys, D. R. Personal communication, April 25, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPL * Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research. Article posted on May 5, 2011.

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Young Comet Challenges Solar System Formation Story by Brian Thomas, M.S. * Comet Hartley 2 is an odd, dumbbell-shaped object that rotates as it tumbles along its orbit. One end spews carbon dioxide gas so violently that it regularly throws off chunks of ice as it travels around the sun every six and a half years or so. Astronomers are scratching their heads over how such a small object could still have so much energy and material after billions of years of existence. NASA's EPOXI mission flew near enough in November 2010 to capture impressive images of Comet Hartley 2 ejecting its gases. Much of the data it collected has since been analyzed. The University of Maryland's Michael Ahearn told Space.com recently, "Among the comets visited by spacecraft, Hartley 2 is in a class by itself."1 First, the comet looks young. Space.com reported: For starters, its nucleus contains an abundance of carbon dioxide (CO2—or, in solid form, dry ice). This is a volatile material—it burns easily—and so scientists would expect much more of it to have burned away in the 4.5 billion years since the comet formed along with the rest of the solar system.1 In fact, as ICR News pointed out when data from the flyby was fresh, one would expect not just "much more of it" to have burned off, but all of it eons ago.2 A detailed analysis of Comet Hartley 2 was published in the June 17 issue of Science.3 A'Hearn, the study's principal investigator, emailed Space.com: We are still trying to sort out the implications for formation. The biggest remaining question, or at least the one that interests me most, is why there is so much CO2 in this comet and why it seems to differ between the two ends.1 So, nobody knows how this one-mile-long flying space rock could possibly still have so much carbon dioxide after billions of years. But this is a familiar story in the world of astronomy. Nobody knows how the material that supplies Enceladus' jet-like fountain could possibly still exist, either.4 The comet also shows an "excited state" of rotation, including a "nodding motion" that was unexpected. The authors of the Science report stated, "These changes are presumed to be due to torques produced by the outgassing."3 But after 4.5 billion years, how could the comet's outgassing still be able to generate enough force to push around this 300-megaton comet?5 The whole thing should have fizzled into space dust in only a fraction of its supposed billions-of-years lifespan. Comet Hartley 2 looks very young. The most "scientific" explanation should be the one that fits the most data with the fewest assumptions. If it looks young, maybe it is young—even if its maximum age has to be measured in thousands, not billions, of years.6 - Wolchover, N. Quirky Comet Hartley 2 Confounds Theories on Early Solar System. Space.com. Posted on space.com June 16, 2011, accessed June 16, 2011. - Thomas, B. NASA Photographs Young Comet. ICR News. Posted on icr.org November 12, 2010, accessed June 16, 2011. - A'Hearn, M. F. et al. 2011. EPOXI at Comet Hartley 2. Science. 332 (6036): 1396-1400. - Thomas, B. Planetary Quandaries Solved: Saturn is Young. ICR News. Posted on icr.org May 7, 2009, accessed June 17, 2011. - Lisse, C. M. et al. 2009. Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of the Nucleus of Comet 103P/Hartley 2. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 121 (883): 968-975. - See also Humphries, D. R. 2005. Evidence for a Young World. Acts & Facts. 34 (6). Image credit: NASA/JPL * Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research. Article posted on June 28, 2011.

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|Thursday, Jan 17, 2013 - 12:30 AM "Video 4. Angle Measurement" Review appropriate notation for angle measurement, and describe angles in terms of the amount of turn. Use reasoning to determine the measures of angles in polygons based on the idea that there are 360 degrees in a complete turn. Learn about the relationships among angles within shapes, and generalize a formula for finding the sum of the angles in any n-gon. D |More on LEARN/CREATE (PT)| |No upcoming shows in database|

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| ||The Hansard Society has published a report on ‘Connecting Citizens to Parliament’. | The report analyses data drawn from an online questionnaire (sample size 2,005) and focus groups held around the country on levels of public participation with politics and parliament and recommends ways in which Parliament can engage more effectively with hard to reach groups. The report argues that those displaying high levels of political engagement “are not representative of society as a whole and likely to be more highly educated, part of a higher socio-economic group, male and older.” ‘Democratic outsiders’ form the majority, which the report defines as those “not yet interested in politics, policy and current affairs”. Others, the report argues, “have a latent or perceived interest but lack the skills, resources or knowledge to be able to engage.” “Some of them might be relatively easy to engage with, others, however, are significantly disenfranchised not just from Parliament and politics but from many other aspects of British life, often by way of factors of multiple deprivation that leave them unaware, unable or unwilling to engage.” From the research, a framework and supporting recommendations are proposed to improve political literacy and public involvement by “increasing the opportunities available to disengaged and, in particular, hard to reach groups. This in turn will drive opportunities for them to become more aware of and involved in the life and activities of Parliament.” Changes to public awareness and participation will require “a number of smaller cumulative step-changes,” according to the report such as “increasing the availability of information about Parliament in local areas and providing a strong online resource for citizens to learn more about its work and the way it functions.” However the report suggests that Parliament needs to go further and utilize differentiated means of communication to connect to people using different formats for different audiences and through different channels. Social network and community ties and associations are identified as important with regards to awareness-building and knowledge transfer, as “we learn best from those we know and trust.” The report gives examples of “placing relevant, easy to understand information about Parliament in popular newspapers and magazines, using accessible, engaging online videos and the potential for daytime television and soap operas to be used to convey information and build awareness about Parliament. These strategies are designed to build greater awareness of Parliament, what it does and how it works, in people’s lives and help reduce barriers to engagement caused by lack of awareness and lack of knowledge." The report also recommends the opportunity for young people from hard to reach groups “to experience life in Parliament and how this knowledge can be shared through their own local community networks.” The report further explores the role of education to “ensuring that political literacy is enshrined in our compulsory curricula but also that tertiary and vocational study considers how the work of Parliament can be related to the subject area in innovative and practical ways. It is not simply formal education that can drive an uptake in awareness and, ultimately, engagement; community-based, informal and social learning are also important.” The report is an important reference point for the British Muslim community, which traditionally has lower levels of participation with parliament and the political process. The full report is available to read here. |< Prev||Next >|

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is collaborating with public health officials in Idaho and Washington and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O121 (STEC O121) infections. The type of bacteria responsible for this outbreak is among those referred to as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli,or STEC. Some types of STEC frequently cause severe disease, including bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a type of kidney failure. STEC bacteria are divided into serogroups (e.g., O157 or O121). E. coli O157 is the STEC serogroup found most commonly in U.S. patients. Other E. coli serogroups in the STEC group, including O121, are sometimes called "non-O157 STECs." Because clinical laboratories typically cannot directly identify non-O157 STEC serogroups, they must first test stool samples for the presence of Shiga toxins. Then, the positive samples must be sent to public health laboratories to look for non-O157 STEC. In recent years, the number of clinical laboratories that test for Shiga toxin has increased greatly, but some laboratories still do not perform these tests. Because of these complexities, many non-O157 STEC infections are probably not identified. As of May 21, 2014, seven confirmed and three probable cases of STEC O121 infection have been reported in Idaho and Washington. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Idaho (3) and Washington (7). Among persons for whom information is available, illness onset dates range from May 1, 2014 to May 13, 2014. Ill persons range in age from 22 years to 45 years, with a median age of 27 years. Ninety percent of ill persons are female. Five (50 percent) of the 10 ill persons have been hospitalized. No ill persons have developed HUS, and no deaths have been reported. This outbreak can be visually described with a chart showing the number of persons who became ill each day. This chart is called an epidemic curve or epi curve. Illnesses that began after April 30, 2014 might not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of two to three weeks. Results from initial state and local epidemiologic investigations indicate a link to eating raw clover sprouts. In interviews, nine (90 percent) of 10 ill persons reported eating raw clover sprouts in the week before becoming ill. This proportion is significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy persons in which 8 percent reported eating raw clover sprouts in the week before they were interviewed. According to the Washington State Department of HealthExternal Web Site Icon and the Idaho Department of Health and WelfareExternal Web Site Icon, ill persons reported eating sprouts in sandwiches at several local food establishments, including several Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches locations, the Pita Pit, and Daanen’s Deli. Preliminary traceback investigations indicate that contaminated raw clover sprouts produced by Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC. of Idaho is the likely source of this outbreak of STEC O121 infections. FDA continues its investigation in order to identify the source of the contamination causing the outbreak. CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing laboratory surveillance through PulseNet to identify additional ill persons and to interview them about foods eaten before becoming ill. CDC will update the public when additional information is available.

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Definition of 'Starbucks Index' A representation of purchasing power parity published by The Economist that determines what a country's exchange rate would need to be in order for a Starbucks tall latte to cost the same as it does in the United States. Using this index, the purchasing power of each individual national currency can be reflected in the U.S.-dollar cost of a latte in that country. This can also be referred to as the "tall latte index." Investopedia explains 'Starbucks Index' In theory, if currency markets function with proper efficiency, the price of an identical product, such as a Starbucks latte, should have an identical U.S.-dollar cost in any country. Therefore, if a latte costs significantly less in one country than another, this suggests that the country with the cheaper latte price has an undervalued currency.

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Here you can download the SIP Tutorial written by Dorgham Sisalem and Jiri Kuthan. In this tutorial you will learn: - What is IP Telephony. - Basics about IETFi standardization process. - Overview of IP Telephony signaling protocols. - What is SIP and how does it work. - Basics about available media codecs. - What is RTPi and how does it work. - Basics about IMSi and 3GPPi . - Basics about QoS. If you are looking for other SIP related technical information, you may also want to try the SIP website . If you still feel that you did not find what you were looking for you might try posting to the SIP Implementors mailing list. |sip_tutorial.pdf ||5.72 MB |

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Teaching Intersex Issues Teaching Intersex Issues is designed for undergraduate classes and offers instructors a two-week unit on intersex issues in a format that can easily be added to existing syllabi, expanded to constitute an entire course, or trimmed down to a few class sessions. The kit contains an annotated bibliography of recommended texts as well as discussion questions and sample activities for the classroom. The lesson plan included is interdisciplinary and appropriate for undergraduate courses in Science and Technology Studies, Bioethics, Women’s Studies, and Cultural Studies. Each Teaching Intersex Issues kit contains: - Teaching Intersex Issues, a handbook that includes two one-week units with class plans, reading, discussion questions and activities - a Speakers Handbook with valuable information about intersex conditions, photographs and stories from ISNA speakers, and advice about dealing with student questions - helpful suggestions for writing about intersex issues that can be used by both instructors and students ISNA recommends that instructors purchasing Teaching Intersex Issues also consider purchasing the videos used in the two-week unit. The recommended videos are: Download the teaching packet, free of charge.

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|Scientific Name:||Monodon monoceros| |Species Authority:||Linnaeus, 1758| |Red List Category & Criteria:||Near Threatened ver 3.1| |Assessor(s):||Jefferson, T.A., Karkzmarski, L., Laidre, K., O’Corry-Crowe, G., Reeves, R., Rojas-Bracho, L., Secchi, E., Slooten, E., Smith, B.D., Wang, J.Y. & Zhou, K.| |Reviewer(s):||Brownell Jr., R.L. & Cooke, J.| The narwhal was assessed previously (1996) as Data Deficient. The aggregate circumpolar population of narwhals is probably greater than 80,000 (all ages). At the global level the species does not qualify for a threatened status under any of the criteria, although there is substantial uncertainty about numbers and trends in large parts of the range and clear evidence of decline for specific subpopulations (NAMMCO/JCNB 2005). The intense hunting (including associated loss due to wounding and sinking) in Greenland and Canada gives cause for concern, particularly given the lack of reliable data on hidden mortality and serious injury. Given that uncertainty, and the fact that cessation of national and international, taxon-specific conservation programs that currently monitor and manage hunting could result in the narwhal’s qualifying for threatened status (under criterion A) within five years, the species should be listed as Near Threatened. The narwhal is unquestionably a conservation-dependent species. Across the global range of the species, subpopulations are subject to differing levels of threat and warrant individual assessment. Therefore, a caveat for the global listing as Near Threatened is that it assumes national and international management authorities will continue to monitor and manage harvest levels. Hunting with modern equipment in specific parts of Greenland and Canada represents the most long-standing and consistent threat to narwhals throughout their range. Several small and/or depleted subpopulations (e.g. West Greenland and Hudson Bay) warrant individual assessment as an immediate priority. |Range Description:||Narwhals primarily inhabit the Atlantic sector of the Arctic. The principal distribution is from the central Canadian Arctic (Peel Sound – Prince Regent Inlet and northern Hudson Bay) eastward to Greenland and into the eastern Russian Arctic (around 180°E). They are rarely observed in the far eastern Russian Arctic, Alaska, or the western Canadian Arctic. In summer, Narwhals spend approximately two months in high Arctic ice-free shallow bays and fjords; they overwinter in offshore, deep, ice-covered habitats along the continental slope (Heide-Jørgensen and Dietz 1995). The whales migrate annually between these disjunct seasonal areas of concentration, with the migratory periods lasting approximately two months (Koski and Davis 1994, Innes et al. 2002, Heide-Jørgensen et al. 2002, Dietz et al. 2001, Heide-Jørgensen et al. 2003). The map shows where the species may occur based on oceanography. The species has not been recorded for all the states within the hypothetical range as shown on the map. States for which confirmed records of the species exist are included in the list of native range states. Native:Canada; Greenland; Russian Federation; Svalbard and Jan Mayen Vagrant:Germany; Iceland; Netherlands; Norway; United Kingdom; United States |FAO Marine Fishing Areas:|| Arctic Sea; Atlantic – northeast; Atlantic – northwest |Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.| The global population is probably in excess of 80,000 animals. The narwhals that summer in the Canadian High Arctic constitute the largest fraction, probably in excess of 70,000 animals (Innes et al. 2002; NAMMCO/JCNB 2005). In addition, some thousands of narwhals probably summer in the bays and fjords along the East Baffin Island coastline (NAMMCO/JCNB 2005). Another summering aggregation, centred in northern Hudson Bay, numbers about 3,500 animals (COSEWIC 2004). Two summering aggregations in West Greenland (Inglefield Bredning and Melville Bay) total over 2,000 animals (Heide-Jørgensen 2004, NAMMCO/JCNB 2005) and in East Greenland a rough estimate of the total number of animals in the summering aggregations is >1,000 (Gjertz 1991, NAMMCO/JCNB 2005). Surveys in Central West Greenland in late winter estimated 2,800 animals in 1998 and 1999 (Heide-Jørgensen and Acquarone 2002), however, these surveys covered unknown proportions of whales from different summering aggregations in West Greenland (likely Inglefield Bredning) and possibly Canada. Some areas in Canada with summering aggregations remain unsurveyed, although these likely contain small numbers. The estimated generation length for the narwhal according to Taylor et al. (2007) is 24 years, which means that the 3-generation window is 1936-2008. |Habitat and Ecology:|| In all areas of their occurrence, Narwhals prefer deep or offshore waters (Hay and Mansfield 1989). Narwhals from Canada and West Greenland have high site fidelity to the winter pack ice of Davis Strait and Baffin Bay in regions along the continental slope with high gradients in bottom temperatures, predictable open water (< 5%) and relatively high densities of Greenland Halibut (Laidre et al. 2004a). The wintering grounds may be the most important habitat for narwhals. Intense benthic feeding behavior has been documented between November and March in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait (Laidre et al. 2003, Laidre and Heide-Jørgensen 2005a), in contrast to low feeding activity during the summer period. This suggests a major portion of the annual energy intake is obtained in winter (Laidre et al. 2004a, Laidre and Heide-Jørgensen 2005a). This may also be true for the Greenland Sea, but has yet to be documented. Fish, squid, and shrimp make up the Narwhal’s diet (Hay and Mansfield 1989; Heide-Jorgensen 2002), especially Arctic fish species, such as Greenland halibut, Arctic Cod, and Polar Cod (the latter of which are often associated with undersides of ice) (Laidre and Heide-Jørgensen 2005a). Narwhals feed mostly in deep water and possibly at or near the bottom. Dives of up to nearly 1,500 m and 25 minutes are documented (Laidre et al. 2003), and there are some seasonal differences in the depth and intensity of diving (Laidre et al. 2002, Laidre et al. 2003). Predators include Killer Whales, Polar Bears, and possibly occasionally Greenland Sharks and Walruses (Hay and Mansfield 1989). |Use and Trade:||This species is hunted in Canada and Greenland for human and animal food, and for tusk ivory.| Narwhal populations are potentially threatened by hunting, climate change, and industrial activities. Narwhals were never the targets of large-scale commercial hunting except for a brief period of perhaps several decades of the early 20th century in the eastern Canadian Arctic (Mitchell and Reeves 1981). They were hunted opportunistically by commercial whalers, explorers and adventurers in many areas. For many centuries, narwhals have been hunted by the Inuit for human food, dog food and tusk ivory (Born et al. 1994). The mattak (skin and adhering blubber) is highly prized as food and provides a strong incentive for the hunt (Reeves 1993), but in recent years the cash value of ivory and the need for cash to buy snowmobiles have both greatly increased. Potential future threats include habitat degradation from oil exploration and development (e.g., in West Greenland) and increased shipping in the high Arctic (NW and NE passages), all of which is bound to increase with the dramatic, ongoing reduction in sea ice. In West Greenland, catches have declined since 1993 with no significant sex bias. Heide-Jorgensen (2002) estimated the annual catch rate at 550 between 1993 and 1995. In 2004, the estimated catch in West Greenland was 294 (NAMMCO/JCNB 2005), including whales that were struck and lost. In contrast to West Greenland, there has been an 8% increase in catches in East Greenland since 1993 (NAMMCO/JCNB 2005). The narwhal is actively hunted only in Canada and Greenland. In the eastern Canadian Arctic, the average reported landed catch per year from selected communities was 373 between 1996 and 2004 (NAMMCO/JCNB 2005). In Canada the majority of the communities take a greater proportion of males than females throughout the seasons. Annual catch statistics in Canada substantially underestimate the total numbers of Narwhals killed due primarily to the incomplete reporting of whales that are struck and killed but lost (IWC 2000; NAMMCO/JCNB 2005; Nicklen 2007). Narwhals supplied various staples in the traditional subsistence economy. Today the main products are mattak and ivory (Reeves 1993, Reeves and Heide-Jørgensen 1994, Heide-Jørgensen 1994, Nicklen 2007). Narwhal tusks from Canada and Greenland are sold in specialty souvenir markets domestically and also have been exported. However, in Greenland, the export of tusks is currently banned. In Canada, the quota system that had been in place since the 1970s was replaced by a community-based management system implemented in the late 1990s and early 2000s (COSEWIC 2004). The hunt is managed by local hunter and trapper organizations with harvest limits established in some communities. Compliance has been questionable (COSEWIC 2004). Under this system, removals from some summering aggregations are probably sustainable, however, there is concern that removals from other summering aggregations may not be (NAMMCO/JCNB 2005). In Greenland, a quota system was introduced in 2004 by the Greenland Ministry of Fisheries and Wildlife. The quota was set at 300 Narwhals (of which 294 were taken), divided among municipalities of West Greenland. Compliance reportedly has been good (NAMMCO/JCNB 2005) although there is concern that catch limits may be set too high (IWC 2007, p. 52). The effects of climate change on Narwhals are uncertain. Narwhals are well adapted to a life in the pack ice as indicated by the fact that there is very little open water in their winter habitat (Laidre and Heide-Jørgensen 2005b). They spend much of their time in heavy ice and are vulnerable to ice entrapments where hundreds can become trapped in a small opening in the sea ice (savssat) and die. This occurs when sudden changes in weather conditions (such as shifts in wind or quick drops in temperature) freeze shut leads and cracks they were using. When entrapped whales are discovered by hunters, they normally are killed. A recent assessment of the sensitivity of all Arctic marine mammals to climate change ranked the narwhal as one of the three most sensitive species, primarily due to its narrow geographic distribution, specialized feeding and habitat choice, and high site fidelity (Laidre et al. in press). The species is listed in Appendix II of CITES and CMS Appendix II. The European Union (EU), with stronger CITES rules than other countries, has established an import ban on tusks (active since December 2004). Although Denmark belongs to the EU, it is unclear whether the ban on trade in narwhal ivory between Greenland and Denmark is being enforced. Born, E. W., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Larsen, F. and Martin, A. R. 1994. Abundance and stock composition of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in Inglefield Bredning (NW Greenland). Meddelelser om Gronland Bioscience 39: 51-68. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 2004. Assessment and update status report on the narwhal Monodon monoceros in Canada. Ottawa, Canada Available at: www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm. Dietz, R., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Richard, P. R. and Acquarone, M. 2001. Summer and fall movements of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from northeastern Baffin Island towards northern Davis Strait. Arctic 54: 244-261. Gjertz, I. 1991. The narwhal, Monodon monoceros, in the Norwegian high arctic. Marine Mammal Science 7: 402-408. Hay, K. A. and Mansfield, A. W. 1989. Narwhal Monodon monoceros Linneaus, 1758. In: S. H. Ridgway and R. Harrison (eds), Handbook of marine mammals, pp. 145-176. Academic Press, London, UK. Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. 1994. Distribution, exploitation and population status of white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhals (Monodon monceros) in West Greenland. Meddelelser om Gronland Bioscience 39: 135-150. Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. 2002. Narwhal Monodon monoceros. In: W. F. Perrin, B. Wursig and J. G. M. Thewissen (eds), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, pp. 783-787. Academic Press, San Diego, USA. Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. 2004. Aerial digital photographic surveys of narwhals, Monodon monoceros, in northwest Greenland. Marine Mammal Science 20(2): 246-261. Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. and Aquarone, M. 2002. Size and trends of bowhead whales, beluga and narwhal stocks wintering off West Greenland. NAMMCO Scientific Publications 4: 191-210. Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. and Dietz, R. 1995. Some characteristics of narwhal, Monodon monoceros, diving behaviour in Baffin Bay. Canadian Journal of Zoology 73: 2106-2119. Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Dietz, R., Laidre, K. L. and Richard, P. 2002. Autumn movements, home ranges, and winter density of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) tagged in Tremblay Sound, Baffin Island. Polar Biology 25: 331-341. Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Richard, P., Dietz, R., Laidre, K. L., Orr, J. and Schmidt, H. C. 2003. An estimate of the fraction of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Canadian High Arctic that winter in West Greenland. Polar Biology 26: 318-326. Innes, S., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Laake, J. L., Laidre, K. L., Cleator, H. J., Richard, P. and Stewart, R. E. A. 2002. Surveys of belugas and narwhals in the Canadian High Arctic in 1996. NAMMCO Scientific Publications 4: 169-190. International Whaling Commission. 2002. Report of the Standing Sub-Committee on Small Cetaceans. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 4: 325-338. International Whaling Commission. 2007. Report of the Scientific Committee. Journal of Cetcaean Research and Management 9: 1–73. IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2012.2). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 17 October 2012). Koski, W. R. and Davis, R. A. 1994. Distribution and numbers of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. Meddelelser om Gronland Bioscience 39: 15-40. Laidre, K. L. and Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. 2005. Arctic sea ice trends and narwhal vulnerability. Biological Conservation 121: 509-517. Laidre, K. L. and Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. 2005. Winter feeding intensity of narwhals (Monodon monoceros). Marine Mammal Science 21(1): 45-57. Laidre, K. L., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. and Dietz, R. 2002. Diving behaviour of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) at two coastal localities in the Canadian High Arctic. Canadian Journal of Zoology 80: 624-635. Laidre, K. L., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Dietz, R., Hobbs, R. C. and Jorgensen, O. A. 2003. Deep diving by narwhals Monodon monoceros: Differences in foraging behavior between wintering areas? Marine Ecology Progress Series 261: 269-281. Laidre, K. L., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P., Jorgensen, O. A. and Treble, M. A. 2004. Deep-ocean predation by a high Arctic cetacean. ICES Journal of Marine Science 61: 430-440. Laidre, K. L., Stirling, I., Lowry, L.F., Wiig, Ø., Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. and Ferguson, S.H. 2008. Quantifying the sensitivity of Arctic marine mammals to climate-induced habitat change. Ecological Applications 18 (Supplement: Arctic Marine Mammals): 97-125. Mitchell, E. and Reeves, R. R. 1981. Catch history and cumulative catch estimates of inital population size of cetaceans in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 31: 645-682. Nicklen, P. 2007. Arctic ivory: hunting the narwhal. National Geographic 212(2): 110-129. North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission. 2005. Report of the Joint Meeting of the NAMMCO Scientific Committee Working Ground on the population status of narwhal and beluga in the North Atlantic and the Canada/Greenland Joint Commission on Consercation and Management of Narwhal and Beluga Scientific Working Group. North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, Nuuk, Greenland. Reeves, R. R. 1993. Domestic and international trade in narwhal products. Traffic Bulletin 14: 13-20. Reeves, R. R. and Heide-Jørgensen, M. P. 1994. Commercial aspects of the exploitation of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in Greenland, with emphasis on tusk exports. Meddelelser om Gronland Bioscience 39: 119-134. |Citation:||Jefferson, T.A., Karkzmarski, L., Laidre, K., O’Corry-Crowe, G., Reeves, R., Rojas-Bracho, L., Secchi, E., Slooten, E., Smith, B.D., Wang, J.Y. & Zhou, K. 2012. Monodon monoceros. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 July 2014.| |Feedback:||If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided|

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The City of Jacksonville will be resuming its summer mosquito abatement program in the coming months, but in the meantime, there is much that regular citizens can be doing today to help limit the impact these nuisance insects will have on everyone as the temperatures According to Vector Control Coordinator Kelly Young, there are several simple steps that anyone can take to help keep mosquito bites to a minimum this year. “By destroying their habitat, we can kill the majority of mosquitos before they even have the chance to become biting adults,” Young said. “Mosquito larva develop in standing water, and they only need a few inches of water to do so, so if everyone on your block works together to remove as many sources of standing water from their yards as possible, it will greatly reduce the number of mosquitoes you will have to deal with.” Dump out any standing water in birdbaths, planting pots, pet water bowls and anything else that may collect water every few days. Maintain your pools and dump them out if the water becomes stagnant. Also try to correct any drainage issues in your yard, if possible. A single stopped-up drainage ditch can produce thousands of mosquitos during a typical breeding season. Young said the majority of the species of mosquitos which are most troublesome for humans in East Texas are active mainly at dawn and dusk. By avoiding the outdoors during these prime feeding times, we can greatly decrease our odds of being bitten. “If you absolutely do need to be outside at these times when females are known to feed, mosquitoes can’t bite through most clothing, so wear long sleeves and pants, if possible,” he said. Also be sure to apply insect repellant when outdoors. Most common insect repellants on the market contain DEET, which is very effective. For those who do not want to use DEET, alternative repellants containing Picardin or Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus have been shown scientifically to be about as effective as DEET.

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Updated: April 30, 2009 With the number of confirmed cases of H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu, growing in North America, and cases now being confirmed in Europe, Israel and New Zealand, world health officials are expressing concern that the illness has "pandemic potential." "The current situation regarding the outbreak of swine influenza A(H1N1) is evolving rapidly," the World Health Organization said on Monday in a prepared statement. According to the WHO on Wednesday, non-North American countries that reported laboratory-confirmed cases are as follows: - Austria (1) - Germany (3) - Israel (2) - New Zealand (3) - Spain (4) - United Kingdom (5) The majority of the confirmed cases are in North America, with 26 being in Mexico,13 in Canada and91 in theU.S. as of Wednesday afternoon. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 91 U.S. cases are in the following states: - 51in New York, - 14 in Southern California, - 16 in Texas -- including one death - two in Dickinson County, Kansas;Massachusetts andMichigan - one in Arizona,Indiana,Nevada andOhio The CDC offers interim guidelines for health professionals dealing with swine flu but warns the situation is constantly evolving. The CDC recommends using the specific personal protective equipment (PPE) when interacting with or treating people who have been within about 6 feet of a person with a confirmed or suspected case of swine flu, a person with acute respiratory illness who has been in an area with confirmed cases of swine flu, and a person with acute respiratory illness who recently came in contact with an animal suspected of having swine flu. The CDC defines relevant acute respiratory illness as recent onset of at least two of the following flu-like symptoms: rhinorrhea or nasal congestion, sore throat and a cough with or without a fever. "Do not jump on interim guidelines: They're interim; they will change," warns JEMS Editorial Board Member Katherine West, BSN, Med, CIC.Click here to read West's top 10 swine-flu recommendations for EMS providers. The CDC has released its EMS and 9-1-1 Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Infection Guidance, which is available at:http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance_ems.htm. EMS Guidelines in San Diego & New York San Diego County was one of the first areas to have confirmed cases of H1N1. "From the prehospital perspective, the county has made modifications to clinical protocols -- primarily at the ALS level -- to protect providers and mitigate spread of the virus," says JEMS technical editor Travis Kusman, and the manager and public information officer for San Diego County Operations of American Medical Response (AMR). According to the County of San Diego Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) Swine Flu Training for EMS Providers, swine flu has two characteristics that allow it to become a pandemic. These are that it is a brand-new, or "novel" virus, and that it is transmitted from person to person. Signs and symptoms are similar to those of seasonal influenza, and the county defines persons with an influenza-like illness (ILI) as ones who have afever greater than 100-degrees Fahrenheit WITH a cough and sore throat. The county states providers should begin their primary survey 6 feet away from the patient, ask if they have the above symptoms and ask if they have recently traveled to Mexico. If they suspect the patient to have an ILI, they should wear an N95 mask and other PPE. Modifications to prehospital ALS care for ILI patients in San Diego County include Minimizing suctioning of patients to only when necessary, - Avoiding CPAP (since the exhalation port isn't filtered), - Avoiding use of nebulizer treatments, - Limiting intubations to only when bag-valve masks and ETAD are not possible or effective, and - Expanding the use of Epinephrine for moderate to severe respiratory distress. Prehospital providers should alert the receiving hospital of the ILI patient, hold the patient in the ambulance until their destination is known, instead of immediately moving them into the emergency room. They should clean all equipment that came within 6 feet of the patient and place contaminated reusable patient-care equipment in biohazard bags. Across the country, New York City is the area of the country with the highest number of cases. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends that field providers do the following: - Request additional information from dispatch when sent to respiratory, sick person and fever related calls. - If limited initial dispatch information is provided, perform initial interview from at least 6.5 feet away to determine if PPE precautions are necessary. - Ask the patient to place a mask over their mouth and nose before approaching them if they have suspected influenza symptoms. Use a surgical mask or non-rebreather mask (when oxygen is required). - Avoid droplet-producing procedures whenever possible, including use of nebulizers and bag-valve masks, as well as suctioning or intubation. If bag-valve masks are needed, use BVMs with HEPA filters whenever possible. - Recommended PPE for taking care of ill/potentially infected patients includes: gloves, N-95 or better respirators, eye protection and gowns. PPE should be donned and doffed according to published guidelines to prevent cross contamination, including faceshield/eye and gown protection when splash or airborne contamination is possible. - Alert the receiving hospital personnel of the possibility of an infectious patient and hold suspected infectious patients in the ambulance until their destination in the hospital is known. - At the end of the call, place all PPE in a biohazard bag for appropriate disposal. - Maintain strict adherence to hand hygiene by washing with soap and water or using hand sanitizer immediately after removing gloves and other equipment and after any contact with respiratory secretions. - Perform a thorough cleaning of the stretcher and all equipment that has come in contact with or been within 6.5 feet of a potentially infected patient with an approved disinfectant. - Upon completion of the call, follow CDC interim guidelines for cleaning EMS transport vehicles. For further information, Harvard Health Publications (HHP), a Division of Harvard Medical School, has published "Swine Flu: How to understand your risk and protect your health," which is a report that explains what the illness is, how it's diagnosed and treated, and how families and businesses can protect themselves against it.Click here for more information, and to purchase and download it as a PDF. In addition to these guidelines, the International Association of EMS Chiefs has created guidelines for assessing existing response protocols and making command decisions on actions. These resources are available below. - "Swine Flu Top 10: Information points for EMS providers" by Katherine West , BSN, MSEd, CIC - Official swine flu updates from the CDC - Official swine flu updates from the WHO - JEMS Connect discussion on swine flu - Harvard Health Publications. "Swine Flu: How to understand your risk and protect your health."www.health.harvard.edu/SF - IAEMSC Recommended Planning for Pandemic Influenza Readiness - IAEMSC Pandemic Flu Reference Sheet - IAFC Guidance on Swine Flu

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June 17, 2013 Community-based Programs May Help Prevent Childhood Obesity When it comes to confronting childhood obesity, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conclude that community-based approaches are important. A systematic review of childhood obesity prevention programs found that community-based intervention programs that incorporate schools and focus on both diet and physical activity are more effective at preventing obesity in children. The results of the study appear online in Pediatrics. “In measuring the effectiveness of community-based programs that impact childhood obesity – more comprehensive interventions are definitely better,” said Sara Bleich, PhD, associate professor inof Health Policy and Management and lead author on the paper. “The research shows that in order to help prevent obesity among children, we must focus on both diet and exercise in the communities where children live and go to school since the environment is a key contributor to obesity risk. Focusing on the community is especially important for children since they generally have little or no control over their environment.” This shift toward a stronger community focus is echoed in a recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention, which recommends a comprehensive approach to childhood obesity prevention that includes the community. Researchers examined nine studies that featured community-based interventions and found that, among those, the two interventions that included a school component effectively prevented obesity or overweight in children. Common characteristics found across most of the nine studies included the use of multiple intervention components (e.g., health education and family outreach), the inclusion of settings other than just the community (e.g., school, home, primary care, child care), and a focus on children at middle school age or younger. “While additional research is needed to assess the full impact of community-based interventions on the prevention of childhood obesity, our conclusions indicate that more comprehensive approaches, which attempt to modify diet and exercise in the community with engagement from the schools, weigh in everyone’s favor,” said Bleich. The project was funded under contract 290-2007-10061-l from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health media contact: Tim Parsons at 410-955-7619 or email@example.com.

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statistics/ Ho and Ha? * I just wanted to know if I'm setting up the Ho and Ha correctly. An herbal supplement is advertised as producing an increase in strength and stamina. Sample of n=36 adults is obtained and each person is told to take the regulary daily dose of the herb for 30 days. At the... Jews fast to show God that they are sorry for their sins and to ask for forgiveness. Should the prisoners in the Holocaust fast? list three reason. oh, i think i get it. thank you. for the reaction: 4NH3+5O2=4NO+6H2O; 15.0g of NH3 and 27.5g of O2 were reacted. a). which is the limiting reactant? b).how many moles of NO are formed from the limiting reactant in the above reaction. i know how to do the moles but i couldnt figure out which one is the limitin... i know how to do the moles but i couldnt figure out which one is the limiting reactant. to do the moles first i figured out the molecular weight for NO(30.01). but i dont understand what the mass in grams will be. for the reaction: 4NH3+5O2=4NO+6H2O; 15.0g of NH3 and 27.5g of O2 were reacted. a). which is the limiting reactant? b).how many moles of NO are formed from the limiting reactant in the above reaction. what would be the first step in this problem? the number of molecules in 6.843*10^-2 kg of Al(NO3)3 is: and this is what i have done so far... 1st i converted the kg to g which is 6.843*10^-5. then i figured out the moles:6.843*10^-5/213.01 i got 3.21*10^-7. i then multiplied this number by avogadro's number(6.022*10^... ok, i got this for a)68.376 g and b) 0.064 Molars. is it correct? hi, i was wondering if anyone could help me with this problem? i am having some difficulty with it. thanks. a).how many grams of Al(NO3)3 are needed to prepare 300mL of a 1.071 M solution? b).if you further dilute this 300mL to a new final volume of 5.0L, calculate the final m... I have a assignment du and kind of confused after reading the text the assignment is write 700- to 1,050-word essay in which you compare and contrast the influence of heredity and hormones on human behavior. I am not sure exactily how to start this paper to me I believe that h... he lured her into the dark why won't anybody help me you put it in a typewriter We know that the source of a sound wave is a vibrating object. What is the source of an electromagnetic wave? Can an efficient transformer step up energy? Defend your answer. Why dosen't a transformer work with direct current? why is ac required? How dose the current in the secondary of a transformer compare with the current in the primary when the secondary voltage is twice the primary voltage? A length of wire is bent into a closed loop and a magnet is plunged into it, inducing a voltage and,consequently, a current in the wire. A second lenghtof wire, twice as long, is bent into two loops of wire, and a magnet is similarly plunged into it. Twice the voltage is indu... How does modernization manifest itself in U.S. society? Use one of the modern theorists introduced in Ch. 16 as a basis for your response. This is a homework question could someone explain to me what the teacher might be wanting manifest to me is how I see what modernization h... I need four examples of modernization I have two I believe any suggestions Examples of modernization the how the increased speed of communication through computer technology verses the Old fashion writing style. The way we used to have to ride a horse or even walk to where we ... two charged particles are projected into a magnetic field that is perpendicular to their velocities. if the particles are deflected in opposite directions, what dose this tell you about them? when preparing to undergo an MRI scan, why are patients advised to remove eyeglasses, watches, jewelry, and other metal objects? what is the magnetic effect of placing two wires with equal but oppositely directed currents close together or twisted about each other? a MAGNET CAN EXERT A FORCE ON A MOVING CHARGED PARTICLE, BUT IT CAN NOT CHANGE THE PARTICLE'S KINETIC ENERGY. WHY? manet A has twice the magnetic field strength of magnet B (at equal distance ) and , at a certain distance,it pulls on magnet B with force of 50n. with how much force, then dose magnet B PULL ON MAGNET a? the north pole of a compass is attracted to the north magnetic pole of the earth, yet like poles reple. can you resolve this apparent dilemma? A dip needle is a small magnet mounted on ahorizontal axis so that it can swivel up or down like a compass turned on it's side) where on earth will a dip needle point most nearly vertically? where will it point most nearly horizontally? a long distance runer started running a course, running at an average speed of 2 mph. 1.33 hrs later, a cyclist travelde the same course at an average speed of 4 mph. how many hrs after the runner started did the cyclist overtake the runner? round answer to the nearest tenth. Can someone explain to me how to do capacity name five benefits to health through physical trainning Human Resource Management I need to make a recommendation analysis of how large firms and small firms could utilize change management concepts to meet growing technology needs. I need to provide one example for a large company and one for a small company of necessary changes resulting from these growin... e r murrow who am i i am not a doctor ,but my name is surgen .from the bklyn aquarium what are the concepts of conflict theory? YOU DISCOVERED A NEW ATOM! WOW, EVERYONE AT YOUR LAB IS IMPRESSED!! SOME ARE SAYING YOU MAY BE NOMINATED FOR THE NOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE!!! IF THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN, YOU HAVE TO FIND OUT AS MUCH ABOUT THE ATOM AS YOU CAN, AND YOU DONT HAVE LONG TO DO IT. THE LAB WAS CL... Topics For A Ballad Does anyone have any ideas for a funny topic for a ballad? Thanks in advance :) discuss how the methaphor of death operate in james joyce's " the dead" and/or Chinua Achebe's "dead men's path" with specific reference to culture identity what is the significance of jack london's portrayal of the man and the dog in " to build a fire" and how does it relate to naturalism? Ecology help me please. Explain how the world would be different if C4 plants and CAM plants had not evolved. BIO HELP! Light Reactions + Calvin Cycle Explain why the light reactions and the Calvin cycle are dependent on each other. Human Resource MGT Write a paper recommending to a company's board of directors that affirmative action policies be implemented. It should be 700-1050 words in length and formatted according to APA guidelines. Include points supporting the recommendation and clearly address points that may b... Consider a firm that has a fixed cost of $60 a minute. output=1, Variable Cost= $10 what is the fixed cost?, Total Cost? Marginal cost?, AFC?, AVC? and ATC? Output is 2? Can't quite figue it out... thanks Try this formula P1(V1)/T1=P2(V2)/T2 If you are traveling 100 miles and the car you are driving has tires with a radius of 14in. How many revolutions of each tire occurred in your trip? Hi, I have trouble using my financial calculator, Texas Instrument BA II Plus. For the reason, the setting is messed up and it won't give me the right answer. For example, if I press: 100 PV 4 N 4 I CPT FV It's supposed to give me the anwer of 116.99, but I get -101.34... Finance; Stock Valuation Early in 2007, Inez Marcus, the chief financial officer for Suarez Manufacturing, ws given the task of assessing the impact of a proposed risky investment on the firm's stock value. To perform the necessary analysis, Inez gathered the following information on the firm'... Given mÐ 1 + mÐ2=90, what can we conclude? Well, if the angles are in a triangle, the other angle is 90 degrees, which makes the triangle a right triangle. What is the lowest value of economic profit that the firm must earn if it is to keep its resources in the current industry? sqrt 6 * sqrt 8 also sqrt 7 * sqrt 5 6.92820323 and 5.916079783 So you can see the steps — sqrt 6 * sqrt 8 = sqrt 48 sqrt 7 * sqrt 5 = sqrt 35 I hope this helps a little more. Thanks for asking. the square root of 3 times the square root of 15 also the square root of 18 times the square root of 3 To multiply square roots: sq rt of z times the sq rt of y It would be the square root of zy The first one is 3x15 = 45 So it's the square root of 45. Think you can figur... Solve each of the following quadratic equations. can some explain how to do these kinds of problems 4x^2=13x+12 i believe if i am understanding this i am supose to add to where i get =0 4x^2-13x+12=0 now what do i need to do I am thinking factoring but I am not sure how to do ... I,want to prepare a model of s.s.t about golden temple.I want to know how can I prepare it. Thank you for using the Jiskha Homework Help Forum. Please explain exactly what you mean by "s.s.t." because I'm sure you do not mean "Super Sonic Transport!" Is... How do you find surface area? well all you have to do is first find the pythagorom (if that is how you spell it)of the triangle then you have to find the area of everything else. ONce you are done then you have to add up all of the sides areas. After that you then get your ans... Joe won a lottery jackpot that will pay him $12,000 each year for the next ten years. If the market interest rates are currently 12%, how much does the lottery have to invest today to pay out this prize to Joe over the next ten years? Mary just deposited $33,000 in an account ... Compare a regular cash dividend with a periodic share repurchase. Which has greater appeal to you? Explain. Explain a stock dividend and further explain if you would prefer it to a cash dividend. What are stock splits and how desirable are they? In your own words, post a respo... Describe the mechanisms that permit the movement of each of the following substances into the cell water glucose oxygen protein http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/D/Diffusion.html Destribe the mechanisms that permit the movement of each of the following substances into the cell water gluteincose oxygen pro water glucose oxygen protein Anatomy & physiology Describe the passage of a protein molecule from its origin on a prtion of the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the secretion out of the cell. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoplasmic_reticulum The circumference of a sphere was measured to be 86 cm with a possible error of 0.2cm. Use differentials to estimate the maximum error in the calculated surface area. Please round the answer to the nearest tenth. What is the relative error in the calculated surface area? Pleas... Atmospheric pressure V decreases as altitude h increases. At a temperature of the pressure is 101.1kilopascals kPa at sea level, 86.4 kPa at h = 1 km, and 77.1 kPa at h = 2 km. Use a linear approximation to estimate the atmospheric pressure at an altitude of 3 km. Please round... Find an equation of the line through the point that cuts off the least area from the first quadrant. Please enter your answer in the slope-intercept form. What were the coordinates of the point? (4,16)... sorry about that.. thanks! the stock market crash weakened the nation's banks because of what? I THINK it is because people had borrowed money to buy stocks and when the market crashed people couldn't repay their debts. There was also a 'run' on the banks from people who had put money in... Explain America's foreign policy following the spanish-american war? http://www.google.com/search?q=foreign+policy+after+spanish+american+war&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7SUNA There are several websites in here that discuss thi... An automobile burns 65 grams of gasoline over 20 minutes. The gasoline combines with 100 grams of oxygen in this reaction, to form carbon dioxide and 47 grams of water. How much carbon dioxide is formed? do I use the heat capacity equation? How much oxyen is used to produce 47... could some please check to see if i got the right answers if not i will try again 1. Find the rate 392 feet/8 seconds A: 49 ft/s 2. Carlos works 8.25h and receives $102.30 pay What will he receive at the same rate if he worked 14 hrs? A: $173.60 3. A baseball team wins 11 of i... 3. Page 213 #18 6,-5 4. Page 222 #24 4x+3=4 5. Page 223 #54 The y intercept is -4 and the line whose equation is 2x+5=8 6. Page 233 #24 Passing though(-2,-5) 7. Page 233 #52 Passing though (-4,2) and perpendicular to the line whose equation y1/3x+7 8. Page 233 #54 Passing thou... 3y divided by 7 writing a memo when writing a memo in apa format do you use just citation in your memo and not havae a refernce page? I have never heard of the need for APA or MLA or any other citation guidelines needed in memos. For proper reference and citation, there are two elements needed: a Works Cite... Early Childhood Education Investigating the bugs the two children found on the playground and finding books to identify them instead of doing your scheduled science lesson for the day is an example of: integrated learning or relevant learning Would this be an example of relevant learning? Most likely s... I understand why they want us to work on the gist of this assignment. It is important to understand the diversity of the different races and ethnic groups in this nation and world. I do not, however, understand how they can expect us to understand specific groups within a week... how many years do 9 year old girls have iregular periods? at what age a woman's period stop? PLEASE HELP ME WITH THE HOMEWORK THANK YOU! i'm pretty positive there is not an exact age or amount of years-- are you supposed to have a time frame? Chemistry - Hybridization how to calculate the hybridisation of a molecule in simple and detailed way at 7:00am joe starts jogging at 6 mi/h. at 7:10 am ken starts after him. how fast must ken run to overtake joe at 7:30am? If Joe runs at 6 mi/hr for 30 minutes (7:00 to 7:30), his distance traveled is 6 mi/hr x 0.5 hr = 3 miles. Ken starts at 7:10 and runs until 7:30 for a tim... A 110g hockey puck sent sliding over ice is stopped by a frictional force on it from the ice a) if its intial speed is 6.0m/s, what is the magnitude of the frictional force? b) what is the coefficient of friction between the puck and the ice? I am unsure how to solve the first... Balloon- CO2 Balloon- O2 Balloon- He Balloon- N2 Balloon- CH4 Represented above are five identical balloons, each filled to the same volume at 25 degrees Celcius and 1.0 atmosohere pressure with the pure gases indicated. A) which balloon contains the greatest mass of gas? expl... When it requires de-emphasis, non-essential material in a sentence is set off by a what? pair of parentheses or a colon THANK YOU!!! Here are explanations for the uses of these marks of punctuation: Colon: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/colon.htm Parentheses: htt... making dot arrays i dont no HEY I SEE WHERE I CAN HANG A GET A GOOD LAUGH THANK YOU ALL ......AND HELLO TO ETH 125 WE HAVE TO HANG IN THERE can you help with this 100 s on a s and l b 0 p l h Please rewrite you question in mathematical form. its not maths it a saying or phrase. the letters represent words yes it is

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Prenatal alcohol exposure is an established risk factor for cognitive deficits. Adults with FASD also have deficits in their Adaptive Daily Living skills (ADLs) relative to age-appropriate norms, but the degree to which this can be attributed to cognitive deficits is unclear. To examine ADLs in adults with FASD and compare them to a group of clinic referred individuals with similar IQ scores but without FASD. Fifteen adults with FASD and 15 IQ matched controls were included. Wechsler Intelligence tests were used to measure IQ, and the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II (ABAS-II) was used to measure ADLs. Compared to IQ matched controls, individuals with FASD had significantly lower overall ADLs (p=.03). Mean scores across all sub-domains on the ABAS-II were lower for the FASD group. Mean standard scores for ADLs in the FASD group were 11 points lower than mean IQ. In the control group, the difference was only 2 points. Adults with FASD may have lower daily living skills than individuals with similar IQ scores. This suggests that IQ is not a good predictor of ADLs in adults with FASD. Key Words: Fetal Alcohol, FASD, daily living skills, adaptive behaviour, adult

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Technology isn't just changing the way you and I use a phone. It's opening up a whole new world of science through high tech microscopes that can take a picture and make it 10,000 times bigger than what the human eye can see. That's just part of an incredible tour KCBD took today at Texas Tech, where scientists unveiled their new research lab. The new 12,000 sq. ft. facility houses more than two-million dollars in state-of-the-art laboratory equipment. This is the most powerful microscope in the lab, and it's called the N-Storm, which can look deep into a cell to study a single molecule or the tiniest piece of DNA. It's a distinction that sets Texas Tech apart from all the rest since it is just one of three institutions in the country with this kind of research lab. Dr. Doug Stocco, Executive Vice President of Research at TTUHSC said, "Being able to improve what we do scientifically leads to us getting better data, publishing papers in better journals, getting more grants, talking at national and international meetings with our name on it, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. So all of this will ead to an increase in a prestige of our institution." This lab also offers a more compassionate way to study animals. After a light sedative, they are briefly placed in this box, so scientists can get images, which identify and color code tumors inside them. Dr. Stocco says he hopes the faculty at Tech will take advantage of this lab to perform more experiments and lead the way in new opportunities for study and research at Texas Tech. Copyright 2012 KCBD. All rights reserved.

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For Immediate Release KDHE Office of Communications The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) encourages Kansans to take part in an international event in recognition of World Water Monitoring Day, which is September 18. World Water Monitoring Day is intended to build public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging citizens. During the month-long event, Kansans will volunteer to conduct water monitoring activities by going out to their local streams, lakes and rivers. Volunteers can enter their test results into a global database that stores all information collected during the monitoring period, which is from September 18 through October 18. Data collected during this period can be entered at www.worldwatermonitoringday.org through December 18, 2008. “This is a good time to stop and think about the importance of water quality in our everyday lives – something most of us take for granted,” said KDHE Secretary Roderick L. Bremby. “We encourage groups and organizations in Kansas to participate, with thousands of others around the world, to volunteer to sample the water quality in their area.” In 2006, Kansas ranked first in the United States for the most monitoring sites registered, and took a close second place in 2007. The KDHE Watershed Management Section will be donating 100 water test kits to individuals, groups and organizations willing to test 15 sites during the monitoring month. Each kit can test up to 50 sites. Volunteers will perform four key water tests that come included in the kits. The tests are for dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity/clarity and temperature. KDHE staff will be available upon request to provide guidance to volunteers. World Water Monitoring Day organizers have identified Kansas as “a wonderful example of how the goals of World Water Monitoring Day can ignite the collaboration of local officials, volunteers and citizens and increase citizen awareness.” If you, your organization or your group would like to participate or would like more information, please contact Sondra Megrail at (785) 296-0051 or email@example.com, or visit the World Water Monitoring Day website at www.worldwatermonitoringday.org.

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The past is mother to the present, but the future is limited only by what we can imagine. The summit on the future of Eastern Kentucky that will convene tomorrow in Pikeville is the latest in a long line of conferences designed to address the economic problems of Appalachia. For over half a century, well-intentioned leaders have gathered to discuss the region's deficiencies and to promise action. Such meetings preceded the War on Poverty and the passage of the Appalachian Regional Development Act in the 1960s and the short-lived Kentucky Appalachian Commission in the 1990s. Sadly, the inequalities that generated these efforts seem to have persisted as well, perhaps because we have not learned from the successes and failures of earlier strategies or we have been unwilling to address the underlying problems themselves. The success of this current initiative depends upon our learning from past efforts and our willingness to imagine a different future. History doesn't leave us with a list of specific strategies and simple solutions, but it does provide some guidance. Without question, the improvements in infrastructure and human services resulting from government investment in Appalachia over the past five decades have benefitted the region, but Central Appalachia still suffers from social, political and economic inequality that runs deeper than the loss of coal jobs or reductions in federal funding. The failure to address fundamental inequalities in land ownership, access to economic opportunity and community decision-making has limited the success of past efforts. Short-term projects alone will not change economic and political inequality, and repeating the strategies of the past will not bring hope to a society worn down by powerlessness and dependency. As history indicates, building an economy on extractive resources and recruiting outside industry in a post-manufacturing world will only produce more of the same dependency. An alternative future demands new ideas and the courage to make deeper changes. Appalachia has never suffered from a lack of creative ideas. Libraries and archives are overflowing with proposals for development strategies and projects proposed by local residents and outside consultants alike. Successful rural communities across the United States and throughout other parts of Appalachia serve as models of effective community development, and today a passel of mountain young people are energized to try new directions in small business development, sustainable forestry, tourism, alternative energy, the arts and local food production. Thinking out of the box about land use and tax reform, reforestation, energy efficiency, the expansion of public places, water conservation, health care delivery and job training will generate needed employment opportunities and also build confidence, resourcefulness and hope. Policies that improve government accountability, institutional responsibility, civic leadership and environmental conscientiousness likewise nurture long-term thinking. Past efforts have often failed to tap the creativity of young people, women or minorities within the region. Too often development programs relied upon strategies that were narrow, outdated or served private/political interests. Despite calls for long-term planning, government and private initiatives have been short-lived and have often addressed symptoms rather than the sources of problems. Little has been done in the mountains to tackle issues of land ownership and use, environmental health, responsible governance, income inequality and political corruption. The absence of an inclusive and coordinated approach to regional development has left Appalachian Kentucky subject to the worst kind of political and economic self-interest. The best outcome of the Pikeville gathering, therefore, would be the creation of an ongoing process to sustain democratic change in the region. Transition to a new economy demands flexibility, creativity, patience, collaboration and a willingness to accept diversity and new ideas. Defense of old guard assumptions about power and economic growth, and suspicions of outsiders and minorities must give way to widespread participation in an open and transparent process, one that brings more and different people to the table. In the mountains, as in the rest of the world, the era of control by small groups of powerful white men is fading. The decline of coal-related jobs is only one of many profound changes that have occurred in the mountains in the past decades. The rise of materialism, dependency and the drug problem are all symptoms of a culture bereft of its foundations. This is our real crisis, but therein lays the opportunity to reassess our values along with our political and economic institutions. History tells us that democratic transformation is a multi-staged and ongoing process, but the first stage is the building of hope through voluntary participation in that process. Let us expect that the Pikeville meeting will not end with a conversation among the powerful but will energize deep change. Ron Eller is an Appalachian historian and distinguished professor of history at the University of Kentucky.

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Find out how creative play can boost your little one's imagination and let their inner artist break out. more Radiotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that uses x-rays to kill cancer cells. The radiation in the x-rays is concentrated specifically on the cancer cells. Radiotherapy might be used alone or in combination with other cancer treatments like chemotherapy or surgery. The combinations of treatments, and how long radiotherapy is used, depend on the type of cancer being treated and the area of the body where the cancer resides. Like chemotherapy, radiotherapy might be used before surgery to shrink the size of a tumor, or after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells. Radiotherapy might also be used to help lessen some of the side effects of chemotherapy. External vs. internal radiotherapy There are a lot of specialists that work together to administer radiotherapy to your child. Many people understand that radiotherapy can be given externally, as x-rays, but it can also be administered internally. When internal radiotherapy is used, hollow tubes or rods are placed in your child's body, close to the tumor. These tubes contain radiation which is released into the tumor to kill the cancer cells. This type of radiotherapy is called brachytherapy. Radiotherapy does have side effects, although most of them disappear when the therapy is discontinued. Side effects may include: - Loss of appetite - Dry, red, itchy, or blistering skin - Hair loss (called alopecia) usually around the areas being treated - Dry mouth, chewing problems, trouble swallowing, and tooth - Coughing and shortness of breath - Diarrhoea, rectal bleeding (rarely), a burning sensation when urinating, the urge to urinate more often, vaginal dryness and discomfort Managing side effects You'll need to help your child manage the side effects of radiotherapy. You can help her by encouraging her to rest, drink lots of water, eat healthy foods, and exercise whenever possible. You'll also need to pay special attention to her oral health because radiotherapy can cause dental problems. Anytime your child has a sudden fever, vomiting, or bleeding, call your doctor for advice since these symptoms can be a sign of something serious. Find more related articles - Understand chemotherapy cancer treatment - Learn more about Magnetic resonance imaging - Read about biopsies - Find more information about cancer treatments and tests Written by Rebecca Stigall for Kidspot, Australia's parenting resource for family health. Sources include Better Health Channel, NSW Health, and Health Insite. Last revised: Thursday, 29 April 2010 This article contains general information only and is not intended to replace advice from a qualified health professional. - Outsmarting the super nit - 7 ways to stay active with your kids this summer - 7 ways to keep your kids cool this summer - Germ busting your toddler - How to really clean your house - Simple stress busters for busy families - 10 delish juices and smoothies for healthy living - Why marriage is good for you - Six secrets of active families - Top tips to improve your family's health and happiness

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The Japanese Table Tai: Japan's King of Fishby Tomoya Akimichi As an island nation, much of Japan's cuisine reflects the ocean's bounty, while inland diets revolve around freshwater fish. These foods are an integral part of the Japanese menu, bound to the culture itself. In this first article of our new series, we take a look at the sea bream, Japan's most kingly fish. During the months of March and April, the sea bream, called tai in Japanese, turns reddish. Schools of bream move toward the coasts of Japan's Inland Sea to spawn, and when a school is caught up in the current and pushed near the surface, the waters swell slightly. The local fishermen call these swells uojima, or "fish islands"—a term also used to refer to the season itself, evoking the bounty of the sea. Those bream caught in early spring are prized for their bright color and rich flavor, and are sometimes called "cherry blossom bream," because the season coincides with the much-celebrated blossoming of the cherry trees. Bream propagate widely up and down the coasts of the long, narrow Japanese archipelago, which stretches from the northern shores of Hokkaido to southern Okinawa. Bream is a favorite fish throughout the country, but the tai caught off the coastal city of Akashi, on the Inland Sea, is considered superlative. Some attribute its excellent flavor to the abundant shrimp and squid on which the bream feed; others claim that the rapid currents in that area, against which the fish must swim, tighten their flesh. The species of sea bream most commonly referred to here is madai (Pagrus major), or "genuine tai," the leading species of the Sparidae family. Many other fish—more than 230 varieties—have names suffixed with -tai, suggesting sea bream, although some are not of this family. The Traditions of Tai The sea bream has long been considered king among fish in Japan. Excavations of ancient Neolithic shell mounds, the oldest of which date as far back as five thousand years, have yielded large quantities of tai bones, as well as fish hooks most likely used for tai angling. In the Nihon Shoki, or Chronicle of Japan, completed in 720 and one of the oldest extant documents in Japan, the word tai is written as akame, or "red woman." The Engishiki, completed in 927 to record court rituals and ceremonies of the Heian period (794-1185), relates the various ways in which tai was preserved, dried, salted and sliced, and how it was presented as an annual offering to the emperor, and to the government as tax in kind. Traces of these traditions are carried on even today. For example, the dried tai produced on Shino Island is presented to the Ise Shrine as an offering to the deities enshrined there. In the ancient and medieval periods, however, greater value was placed on the easily available freshwater carp than on tai. As soy sauce came into common use in the late medieval and early modern periods, fish began to be eaten raw, and sashimi was dipped into soy sauce for flavor. Fresh tai became the most sought-after variety of sashimi, and gradually became more highly prized than carp. An eighteenth century book records nearly one hundred types of tai dishes. During the Edo period (1603-1867), tai was one of the most highly prized seafoods presented as gifts to the shogun. Tai caught in the Inland Sea was transported to the fish markets in Osaka, where it was so popular that a special marketplace just for live tai was established in 1831. Even after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, as the country rapidly began to industrialize and adopt Western culture, tai continued to be a luxury commodity, sustaining the prosperity of fishing boats that transported live tai in onboard tanks. Fishing methods have changed over time. Thousands of years ago, tai was most commonly caught with lines; the use of nets became common in the Yayoi period (300 B.C.-A.D.300). During Edo times, the gochi-ami, or bottom-pull net—considered a symbol of male virility—was developed by fishermen around the Inland Sea. Today, more common techniques include drag and gill nets, and fishing with lines. Line fishing methods vary from place to place, but shrimp and squid are commonly used as bait. A well-known proverb, Ebi de tai o tsuru ("Fishing for tai with a shrimp"), is a metaphor for gaining large profit from a very small investment. Today, sea bream farming is a thriving business, producing about seven times the harvest from the seas. Many different species of sea bream are imported from overseas as well. Tai and Japanese Culture The Japanese word mede-tai means literally, "wanting of admiration, " or "auspicious" and "celebratory." Japanese are particularly fond of specific foods on auspicious occasions because of certain fortuitous plays on words, or the association of a name with words related to good fortune. During the New Year and on happy events such as weddings or the birth of a baby, salt-grilled tai is a special traditional fare throughout the country. In Kyushu, the traditional gift presented at a formal betrothal ceremony is a bottle of sake and fresh tai. In western Japan there is a custom of hanging a pair of tai tied with string at the entrance to a home or at a household shrine. This pair of tai is known variously as kake-dai ("hanging sea bream"), or nirami-dai, or "glaring sea bream," as the large, beady eyes of the fish are believed to be a potent force for driving away evil. Dried tai hung during the New Year is later eaten on the first day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. In various ways, tasty allusions to the distinguished tai have been incorporated into Japan's food culture. A confection in the shape of the sea bream is often given as a thank-you gift to guests at wedding parties. In the northeast Hokuriku region, tai-shaped fishpaste loaf is served at weddings. Popular among both young and old is tai-yaki, fish-shaped pancakes stuffed with sweet soybean paste. One very popular children's song, Oyoge! Tai-yaki kun ("Swim faster! Young tai-yaki") is about an intrepid pancake that escapes a shop owner and goes swimming in the sea until it is caught by an angler. Japan is a land where numerous deities have been worshipped since ancient times. Ebisu, one of the so-called seven gods of good fortune, has long been worshipped by fishermen who pray to him for a successful fishing haul and protection at sea. Ebisu, a portly fellow carrying a fishing rod and a huge tai under his arm, has countless shrines dedicated to him throughout Japan. Ebisu is also regarded as the god of commerce. Soon after the New Year, on January 10, the Tohka Ebisu festival is held. The most famous venues are the Imamiya Shrine in Osaka and the Ebisu Shrine in Kyoto, where the atmosphere pulsates with shouts of the ancient phrase, Shobai hanjo de sasa mottekoi! ("Business is thriving; fetch the bamboo grass!"). This refers to a small bamboo branch decorated with the image of a sea bream that is always sold at the Ebisu festivals. The branch is later displayed in homes and shops as a wish for prosperity. The prototype of Ebisu is a character in Japanese mythology referred to as the mountain bounty man. In one ancient tale, he borrows a fish hook from his elder brother, the sea bounty man, and goes fishing. A tai swallows the hook and swims away, and the god dives into the sea to retrieve the hook. This is just one of many examples of the tai as a commonly recurring theme in Japanese allegory and fable. Tai, thus a symbol of wealth and prosperity, also signifies high quality; it is the elite fish of the well-known proverb, Kusattemo tai, or "No matter how spoiled it may be, it's still tai"—the implication being that no matter how reduced in circumstances, someone of quality is still respected. The reality behind this proverb lies in the great quantity of inosinic acid contained in sea bream, a substance that helps the flesh resist spoiling. Thus even when tai is no longer completely fresh, its flavor lasts longer than that of most fish—a fitting and enduring symbolism for the fish that has come to epitomize the very finest in Japanese cuisine. Tomoya Akimichi is one of Japan's leading maritime anthropologists. He is currently a professor at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, where his main areas of study focus on Southeast Asia, Oceania and Japan. He is the author of various books and articles on fishing and maritime culture.

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King Nebkheperure Tutankhaten began his rule as Pharaoh at Akhet-Aten. It seems there was a dual coronation, one at Akhet-Aten and one at Waset (Thebes). While there, the young (and very likely frightened) couple would have probably stayed at the Malkata palace, where Ankhesenpaaten may have been born, which has had been hastily readied from royal use after so many years of abandonment. The couple had very little real power, of course, being but children. Ankhesenpaaten may have had some say in things, since she, at twelve or thirteen, often seen as the age of maturity, could have acted as regent. However, the real powers seem to have been Ay, the probably father of Nefertiti (hence Ankhesenpaaten's grandfather), a elderly -- but ambitious and experienced official -- and Horemheb, the Commander-in-Chief of the military. That was normally the job of Pharaoh, but Tutankhaten was just a little boy. In the second or third Regnal Year of Tutankhaten, the Restoration Stele was completed the royal couple abandoned Akhet-Aten for good, presumable traveling between the reinstated capitals of Egypt: the administrative capital in Mennefer (Memphis) and the religious capital, in Waset, where Amun ruled. Ankhesenpaaten and Tutankhaten also changed their names to Ankhesenamen and Tutankhamen, to honor the old gods that Akhenaten at abandoned. Just imagine -- leaving your city, your God, even your name behind. It is no wonder that Tutankhamen and Ankhesenamen clung to each other so -- who else understood what they had been through? Companions in childhood, the two became inseparable as teenagers. Their marriage had been arranged, but it is quite obvious from artifacts in Tutankhamen's tomb that there was a genuine love between the two (see "The King's Great Wife Whom He Loves" for more). She accompanied him when he went on hunts, they spend quiet hours together in the lush gardens of the Pharaonic palaces, they played board games like Senet or Hounds and Jackals together. Like the prince and princesses of fairy tales, they should have lived "happily ever after." However, that was not to be. Ankhesenamen miscarried their two children -- both daughters. They were both premature, the first born at about after eight months and had a rare condition called Spina Bifida -- had she lived, she would have been deformed. The teenage parents were devastated at the loss, and had the little girl mummified, even though this went against tradition. The second attempt was just as tragic. After only five months, Ankhesenamen miscarried again. The little girl was mummified like her sister. The two girls would eventually join their father in his now famous tomb. Ankhesenamen and Tutankhamen continued to be hopeful. After all, they were both young -- they had their whole lives ahead of them. Tutankhamen was becoming more involved in the running of Egypt, exercising his rights as Pharaoh more often, entering into adulthood and become more independent. The puppet king was cutting the strings, and the puppeteers were not pleased. Some time in his ninth regnal year, at about the age of eighteen, Tutankhamen died suddenly. His tomb was not ready, there was no heir, and Ankhesenamen was alone. Through all that she had faced, Tutankhamen had been with her. It seems that the young queen knew something that modern archaeologists do not. The twenty-one-year-old widow apparently did no believe that the death of her husband was an accident. After all, had he not just reached adulthood? Making his own judgments, quite possibly against the wishes of his advisors. Was Tutankhamen turning out to be a little too much like Akhenaten? It would take seventy days for Tutankhamen to be prepared for burial. Ankhesenamen had seventy days to save herself. Whoever she married would become the next Pharaoh, and she did not want to marry Ay or Horemheb -- really the only two choices -- if she could avoid it. So she took a controversial step: the grieving widow decided to find her own husband, and a royal one at that. She wrote to the Hittites (read the Hittite Letters!). She tells the Hittite king that she will never marry a "servant." She is not necessarily being haughty -- the Egyptians did not like foreigners either, but she was proposing marriage to one. It is her statement that "I am afraid!" that lends insight to her reasons. She fears for her life. She is quite possibly being pressured into marrying man that had a hand in the murder of her beloved husband, and she fears her own demise is imminent. A prince, Zannanza, is finally sent, but is murdered (most likely on Horemheb's orders) on the borders of Egypt. Her plan had failed, but at least Horemheb was temporarily out of the picture, on the borders of Egypt. She may have given in to the "lesser of two evils" and agreed to marry Ay and make him the new Pharaoh of Egypt. Tutankhamen was buried. Ay and Ankhesenamen married. Then she disappears. Tey, Ay's first wife, appears as queen in Ay's tomb -- not Ankhesenamen. She probably died sometime in Ay's brief rule (three to four years). She was in her early twenties. Murder? Suicide? No burial has been found for Ankhesenamen, not even a trace. Either it lies somewhere yet to be found (like that of her husband's until 1922, of course) or it never existed. Ankhesenamen may never have had a proper burial at all.

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Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African American civil rights activist. She was later called the "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement" by the U.S. Congress. On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks refused to obey bus driver James Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. She was arrested and challenged the segregation order in court. Although it failed, her action was not the first of its kind: Irene Morgan, in 1946, and Sarah Louise Keys, in 1955, had won rulings before the Supreme Court and the Interstate Commerce Commission respectively in the area of interstate bus travel. But unlike these previous individual actions of civil disobedience, Parks' action sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. "For a little more than a year, we stayed off those buses. We did not return to using public transportation until the Supreme Court said there shouldn't be racial segregation." Parks's act of defiance became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement, and Parks became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including boycott leader Martin Luther King, Jr. This helped launch him to national prominence in the civil rights movement. Parks eventually received many honors ranging from the 1979 Spingarn Medal to the Congressional Gold Medal, a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall, and the posthumous honor of lying in honor at the Capitol Rotunda. At the time of her action, Parks was secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP and had recently attended the Highlander Folk School, a Tennessee center for workers' rights and racial equality. Nonetheless, she took her action as a private citizen "tired of giving in." Although widely honored in later years for her action, she also suffered for it, losing her job as a seamstress in a local department store. Eventually, she moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she found similar work. From 1965 to 1988 she served as secretary and receptionist to African-American U.S. Representative John Conyers. She founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development to offer guidance to young African-Americans in preparation for leadership and careers. After retirement from this position, she wrote an autobiography and lived a largely private life in Detroit. "I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people," said Rosa Parks on the occasion of her 77th birthday. And so she is. Her death in 2005 was a front-page story in the United States' leading newspapers. Sources: National Women's Hall of Fame, Wikipedia.org Temporarily Unavailable - ID: 40543547

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(BPT) - As the medical community and many Americans come to accept the use of marijuana to treat a range of diseases and symptoms, state legislators are working to keep pace with laws concerning marijuana for medical use. Numerous polls have indicated that a growing majority of Americans believe that medical marijuana should be legal throughout the country. Yet among the states, and even at the federal level, the merits of marijuana as a medical treatment are far from settled. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have proposed or enacted legislation regarding medicinal and recreational use of marijuana, according to a study by WestlawNext, the nation’s leading online legal research service. While California made national headlines when the state legalized medical marijuana in 1996, Virginia was the first state to legalize marijuana for certain medical purposes in 1979, fully 17 years before California’s law was signed. Despite a shift toward public acceptance of medical marijuana use, only 24 states and the District of Columbia have made it legal. Legislation has been proposed in another 18 states, but not all have followed suit, with Idaho passing legislation reaffirming its stand against the legalization of marijuana altogether. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, an estimated 2.4 million U.S. citizens are medical marijuana patients as of December 2012. Where it is legal, medical marijuana is available as a prescribed treatment through a medical doctor, either in a smokeable or ingestible form (pill), and typically available through state-administered dispensaries. An inhalable form, which technically uses key chemical compounds of marijuana, is legal in the United Kingdom and many other countries, and is in clinical trials for use in the United States. Some of the more common, but very serious, medical conditions for which medicinal marijuana is being prescribed include: multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer, muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel disease (including Crohn’s disease), seizure disorder (including epilepsy), glaucoma, and HIV/AIDS, among others. In addition to legalizing medical marijuana for adults, 20 states have addressed the issue of offering medical marijuana, prescribed in pill form, for sick children. Seventeen states allow the use of medical marijuana for minors when prescribed by a doctor, according to the National Organization for the Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML). A law in New Jersey is currently being considered that would require the approval from both a doctor and psychiatrist. Connecticut and Illinois prohibit medical marijuana for sick children, while allowing its use by adults. Marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, making the distribution of marijuana, even for medical purposes, a federal crime, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, in October 2009, the Obama Administration asked federal prosecutors to stop prosecuting people who possess medical marijuana in accordance with local laws. “Many states adopt the same test for classifying a Schedule I substance as the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA),” said Michael Carlson, reference attorney at Thomson Reuters. “Generally, a Schedule I drug is said to have no accepted medical use but even a cursory review of proposed legislation shows that there's a general trend towards liberalizing marijuana laws especially for medical use. Authors of the first CSA-commissioned study were not persuaded by reports from organizations such as the New England Journal of Medicine, which recommended legalization in 1972. Clearly, legislators are rethinking the issue.” Carlson also noted that medical marijuana patients can be prosecuted if they possess marijuana on federal land, such as a national park or federally subsidized housing, even if the use of marijuana is legal in that state for medicinal purposes. Medical marijuana laws also vary considerably from state to state. For example, only a handful of states, such as Arizona, Delaware, Maine, Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island, offer medical marijuana reciprocity agreements, which allow qualifying patients to use medical marijuana between states that have legalized its use. Possession limits from state to state can vary greatly, too. For example, a person in California can possess up to eight useable ounces, six mature plants, and 12 immature plants, whereas in Oregon, the possession limit is 24 usable ounces and 24 plants (six mature, 18 immature). Even in California, regulations vary between counties as to how much marijuana can be grown for prescribed medical use, and when and how that marijuana is grown.

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Syringomyelia is a very rare condition that consists of a fluid filled sac, typically filled with cerebrospinal fluid, located within the spinal cord itself. You can think of cerebrospinal fluid as the cushion that your brain has so that it does not bang against the inside of the skull. The fluid helps to suspend the central nervous system, is made by the ventricles within the brain, and is absorbed back into the body. So the cerebrospinal fluid is constantly circulating throughout the central nervous system, bringing nutrients, immune cells, and oxygen, and removing wastes from our most delicate organ, the brain. This condition is one that hits close to home, in the fact that I manage a patient at the teaching clinic who has developed this condition, after having spinal meningitis. It can also occur from central nervous system trauma, spinal neoplasms, inflammation (particularly of the brain), or some type of neurological infection. Syringomyelia also occurs most often within the setting of an Arnold Chiari Malformation Type I. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is that? In general, there are four types of Chiari malformations, types I-IV, which can refer to structural problems between the cerebellum, brainstem, upper cervical cord, and cranial base. To put it simply, Type I, is a common adult malformation of the brain, which can push the mid-or-hind brain through the foramen magnum, which can reduce ability of the cerebral spinal fluid to be pushed back into the cranium, resulting in increased pressure, and possible cause of cyst formation. Types II – IV can be more common in children. Some signs and symptoms of Syringomyelia may include: > Numbness and weakness of the upper and/or lower extremity > Motor function loss of the upper and/or lower extremity > Muscle contraction or spasms > Uncoordinated gait > Extreme pain Overall, syringomyelia is a serious condition that should be managed by a licensed medical professional. Please consult a doctor in your area for appropriate diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

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10-16-06 - Nearly 90 years ago a small group of Choctaw men were credited with saving thousands of lives after helping end WW1. Now their tribe is going to Washington looking for an honor their ancestors never received. They are called the code talkers, Native Americans who used their native language as a code that the enemy couldn't crack, a tactic that remained a classified secret for most of the 20th Century, meaning no honors were given. Now all those men are gone while their families still fight for their proper recognition. In the midst of one of the bloodiest wars ever, the United States found victory in world war one thanks to a venture that would change warfare for several years to come, and it all began with eighteen Choctaw Indians serving in France. In 1917, German forces always had a leg-up on the battle field after American signals were regularly intercepted, until the unwritten and unheard of language of the Choctaws was used on the front lines. That secret has been de-classified and the Choctaw Nation along with Comanche and Sioux tribes are turning to congress for federal recognition with the code talker recognition act, an honor that would remember their dedication of life and language in the form of a specially minted medal the soldiers never got a chance to wear. The Choctaw Nation hopes to see the medals issued before losing a generation of code talker children. The Smithsonian has a code talkers exhibit that will travel to the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City on November 9 to honor Choctaw and Comanche code talkers. Choctaw Chief Greg Pyle will be one of the keynote speakers at that exhibit. The Code Talker Recognition Act died in the senate last year. But this year, the Senate has unanimously approved the bill, and it is now awaiting a vote in the house.

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The Invisible Neutron Threat A neutron produced by a cosmic ray and traveling at nearly the speed of light strikes a military C-141B Starlifter carrying over 100 troops at 37,000 feet over the Sea of Japan. Immediately the pilot notices something is wrong. Very wrong. The plane is suddenly banking to the right and is in danger of going out of control. What is happening? In this issue... - More on this article: LANSCE: Button-to-Boom - More on this article: Supercomputer Testing at the ICE House

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We are coming to the end of National Bullying Prevention Month, a good time to ask just how does the U.S. compare with other countries when it comes to bullying? Ranking countries on their bullying records isn’t easy. For one, the word “bully” has different connotations in different languages. For another, children are – for understandable reasons – not always forthcoming on the topic. - The Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey examined bullying among approximately 200,000 school-aged children in 40 countries (2005-2006). Still, this global survey on bullying behaviors across 40 countries reveals some fascinating and sometimes surprising facts. To explore the results yourself, launch the data explorer. - Boys reported higher rates of bullying in all countries. Girls are more likely to employ indirect forms of aggression. These include gossiping and spreading rumors. - Physical aggression tends to decrease as children age. Although verbal aggression–think insult and threats–increases as children get older. As to national differences… - The differences between countries can be pretty stark. Among Swedish girls, for example, fewer than 5 per cent reported any involvement in bullying activities, compared to nearly 36 per cent of Lithuanian girls. - The United States is bang in the middle of the rankings – not the best but certainly not the worst either. - Countries with the lowest reported incidents of bullying are Hungary, Norway, Ireland, and Finland. The highest rates are in Lithuania, Latvia, and Greece. Here are some more interesting facts and figures from around the world: In Japan and South Korea, bullying is more likely to focus on social exclusion rather than any beating up among classroom peers. An entire classroom might discriminate against one individual. In Japan, this form of social segregation is known as ijime. The prize-winning documentary below tells the story of one Japanese teacher determined to tackle bullying and other problems by making his students talk openly, in class, about their feelings. The general consensus among experts is that bullying is not on the rise. What’s changing is how it’s expressed because of new media technologies. Take Indonesia. It’s the fourth most populous country in the world and the largest Muslim country. And it’s also one of the most socially networked. Indonesia has the third-largest community of Facebook users in the world. It also produces 15% of the world’s tweets! A recent poll suggests that Indonesian children are among the most cyberbullied. In fact, more than 50 per cent of Indonesian adults reported that they know of a child who has been bullied online. The U.S. and Canada take a hard line with bullying: zero tolerance policies are more likely than not. That’s in contrast to Europe and Australia where policymakers have tended to see the problem as an education issue that requires training for both bullies and victims. Does zero tolerance work? Experts say not necessarily. McGill University’s Shaheen Shariff points to new legislation in Ontario that requires schools to punish offenders as well as to federal legislation that calls for “harsher and lengthier sentences for younger, and younger offenders.” Shariff warns: “If you’re going to expel these kids, or put them through the criminal justice system, where is the educational value?” Anti-bullying measures developed in the Nordic countries are broadly viewed as the gold standard. Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus [who has spoken exclusively with Latitude News] has developed one of the most popular intervention programs to date. Now, a new type of anti-bullying program out of Finland is generating significant interest among bullying experts worldwide. Known as KiVA, the program aims to involve all students and teachers in tackling bullying, including bystanders. The results have been so promising that 90 per cent of comprehensive schools in the Finland have implemented the program. This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared on February 20.

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Retribution and the Experience of Punishment In a prior article, we argued that punishment theorists need to take into account the counterintuitive findings from hedonic psychology about how offenders typically experience punishment. Punishment generally involves the imposition of negative experience. The reason that greater fines and prison sentences constitute more severe punishments than lesser ones is, in large part, that they are assumed to impose greater negative experience. Hedonic adaptation reduces that difference in negative experience, thereby undermining efforts to achieve proportionality in punishment. Anyone who values punishing more serious crimes more severely than less serious crimes by an appropriate amount — as virtually everyone does — must therefore confront the implications of hedonic adaptation. Moreover, the unadaptable negativity of post-prison life which is caused by the experience of imprisonment results in punishments that go on far longer than is typically assumed. Objectivist retributive theories that fail to incorporate these facts risk creating grossly excessive punishments. Certain retributivists have disputed the claim that adaptation is important to punishment theory, but their arguments are unavailing.

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At common law the defence of self-defence operates in three spheres. It allows a person to use reasonable force to: (a) Defend himself from an attack. (b) Prevent an attack on another person, eg R v Rose (1884) 15 Cox 540, where the defendant who had shot dead his father whilst the latter was launching a murderous attack on the defendant's mother, was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence. (c) Defend his property. In addition, s3(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1967 provides that: "A person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large." Both the common law and statutory defences can be raised in respect of any crime with which the defendant is charged, and if successful will result in the defendant being completely acquitted. However, if a defendant uses excessive force this indicates that he acted unreasonably in the circumstances. There will therefore be no valid defence, and the defendant will be liable for the crime. 1. REASONABLE FORCE The general principle is that the law allows only reasonable force to be used in the circumstances and, what is reasonable is to be judged in the light of the circumstances as the accused believed them to be (whether reasonably or not). In assessing whether a defendant had used only reasonable force, Lord Morris in Palmer v R AC 814, felt that a jury should be directed to look at the particular facts and circumstances of the case. His Lordship made the following points: * A person who is being attacked should not be expected to "weigh to a nicety the exact measure of his necessary defensive action". * If the jury thought that in the heat of the moment the defendant did what he honestly and instinctively thought was necessary then that would be strong evidence that only reasonable defensive action had been taken. * A jury will be told that the defence of self-defence will only fail if the prosecution show beyond reasonable doubt that what the accused did was not by way of self-defence. The issue of a mistake as to the amount of force necessary was considered by the Court of Appeal in R v Scarlett Crim LR 288: R v Scarlett - The defendant, a publican, sought to eject a drunk person from his premises. The drunk person made it clear that he was not going to leave voluntarily. The defendant believed that the deceased was about to strike him and so he put his arms around the drunk person's body, pinning his arms to his sides. He took him outside and placed him against the wall of the lobby. The drunk person fell backwards down a flight of five steps, struck his head and died. The jury were directed that if they were satisfied that the defendant had used more force than was necessary in the bar and that had caused the deceased to fall and strike his head he was guilty of manslaughter. The defendant was convicted and appealed on the ground that he honestly (albeit unreasonably) believed the amount of force he had used to evict the drunken man from his premises was necessary. In allowing the appeal, Beldam LJ gave the following direction for juries: "They ought not to convict him unless they are satisfied that the degree of force used was plainly more than was called for by the circumstances as he believed them to be and, provided he believed the circumstances called for the degree of force used, he was not to be convicted even if his belief was unreasonable." Note that in R v Owino Crim LR 743, the Court of Appeal firmly denied that Scarlett is to be interpreted as permitting a subjective test in examining whether force used in self-defence is reasonably proportionate. The true rule is that a person may use such force as is (objectively) reasonable in the circumstances as he (subjectively) believes them to be. 2. A DUTY TO RETREAT? There is no rule of law that a person attacked is bound to run away if he can. A demonstration by the defendant that at the time he did not want to fight is no doubt, the best evidence that he was acting reasonably and in good faith in self-defence; but it is no more than that. A person may in some circumstances act without temporising, disengaging or withdrawing; and he should have a good defence (Smith and Hogan, Criminal Law, 1996, p264). This statement was approved in: R v Bird 1 WLR 816 - The defendant had been slapped and pushed by a man. She was holding a glass in her hand at the time and she had hit out at the man in self-defence without realising that she still held the glass. The trial judge directed the jury that self-defence was only available as a defence if the defendant had first shown an unwillingness to fight. The Court of Appeal quashed the defendant's conviction saying that it was unnecessary to show an unwillingness to fight and there were circumstances where a defendant might reasonably react immediately and without first retreating. It was up to a jury to decide on the facts of the case. It is therefore, a matter for the jury to decide as to whether the defendant acted reasonably in standing his ground to defend himself, or whether the reasonable man would have taken the opportunity to run away. 3. IMMINENCE OF THE THREATENED ATTACK It is not absolutely necessary that the defendant be attacked first. As Lord Griffith said in Beckford v R AC 130: "A man about to be attacked does not have to wait for his assailant to strike the first blow or fire the first shot; circumstances may justify a pre-emptive strike." In Attorney-General's Reference (No 2 of 1983) 2 WLR 465, the defendant made ten petrol bombs, during the Toxteth riots after his shop was damaged and looted, "to use purely as a last resort to keep them away from my shop". The expected attack never occurred. He was then charged with an offence under s4(1) of the Explosive Substances Act 1883 of possessing an explosive substance in such circumstances as to give rise to a reasonable suspicion that he did not have it for a lawful object. It was a defence under the terms of the section for the defendant to prove that he had it for a lawful object. The Court of Appeal held that there was evidence on which a jury might have decided that the use of the petrol bombs would have been reasonable force in self-defence against an apprehended attack. If so, the defendant had the bombs for a "lawful object" and was not guilty of the offence charged. However, it was assumed that he was committing offences of manufacturing and storing explosives contrary to the Explosives Act 1875. The court agreed with the Court of Appeal in N. Ireland in Fegan NI 80, that possession of a firearm for the purpose of protecting the possessor may be possession for a lawful object, even though the possession was unlawful, being without a licence. Lord Lane CJ said: 'There is no question of a person in danger of attack "writing his own immunity" for violent future acts of his. He is not confined for his remedy to calling in the police or boarding up his premises. He may still arm himself for his own protection, if the exigency arises, although in so doing he may commit other offences. That he may be guilty of other offences will avoid the risk of anarchy contemplated by the Reference.' 4. DEFENCE OF PROPERTY It can rarely, if ever, be reasonable to use deadly force for the protection of property. Would it have been reasonable to kill even one of the Great Train Robbers to prevent them from getting away with their millions of pounds of loot, or to kill a man about to destroy a priceless old master? - even assuming that no means short of killing could prevent the commission of the crime (Smith and Hogan, Criminal Law, 1996, p266). In R v Hussey (1924) 18 Cr App R 160, the defendant was barricaded in his room while his landlady and some accomplices were trying to break down his door to evict him unlawfully. The defendant had fired a gun through the door, and wounded one of them. He was acquitted of the wounding charge on the grounds of self-defence. It was stated that it would be lawful for a man to kill one who would unlawfully disposes him of his home. Note: today it would seem difficult to contend that such conduct would be reasonable because legal redress would be available if the householder were wrongly evicted. Insofar as the householder is preventing crime, his conduct would be regulated by s3 Criminal Law Act 1967 which replaces the rules of common law. Thus, only reasonable force may be used. It would seem clear, for instance, that despite a common belief to the contrary, one is not at liberty to shoot dead a burglar wandering around one's house if one does not fear for one's own life (Clarckson and Keating, Criminal Law, 1994, p301). In Forrester Crim LR 792, it was held that a trespasser can plead self-defence if the occupier of the house uses excessive force to try to remove him. 5. MISTAKE AS TO SELF-DEFENCE It is possible that a defendant might mistakenly believe himself to be threatened or might mistakenly believe that an offence is being committed by another person. On the basis of R v Williams (Gladstone) (1984) 78 Cr App R 276 and Beckford v R AC 130, it would appear that such a defendant would be entitled to be judged on the facts as he honestly believed them to be, and hence would be permitted to use a degree of force that was reasonable in the context of what he perceived to be happening: In R v Williams (Gladstone) (1984), a man named Mason had seen a youth trying to rob a woman in the street, and had chased him, knocking him to the ground. Williams, who had not witnessed the robbery, then came onto the scene and was told by Mason that he was a police officer (which was untrue). W asked M to produce his warrant card, which he was of course unable to do, and a struggle ensued. W was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and at his trial raised the defence that he had mistakenly believed that M was unlawfully assaulting the youth and had intervened to prevent any further harm. The trial judge directed the jury that his mistake would only be a defence if it was both honest and reasonable. The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and held that the defendant's mistaken but honest belief that he was using reasonable force to prevent the commission of an offence, was sufficient to afford him a defence. Lord Lane CJ said: the jury should be directed first of all that the prosecution have the burden or duty of proving the unlawfulness of the defendant's actions; secondly, if the defendant may have been labouring under a mistake as to the facts, he must be judged according to his mistaken view of the facts; thirdly, that is so whether the mistake was, on an objective view, a reasonable mistake or not. * In a case of self-defence, where self-defence or the prevention of crime is concerned, if the jury came to the conclusion that the defendant believed, or may have believed, that he was being attacked or that a crime was being committed, and that force was necessary to protect himself or to prevent the crime, then the prosecution have not proved their case. * If however the defendant's alleged belief was mistaken and if the mistake was an unreasonable one, that may be a powerful reason for coming to the conclusion that the belief was not honestly held and should be rejected. * Even if the jury came to the conclusion that the mistake was an unreasonable one, if the defendant may genuinely have been labouring under it, he is entitled to rely upon it. In Beckford v R (1988), the defendant police officer shot dead a suspect, having been told that he was armed and dangerous, because he feared for his own life. The prosecution case was that the victim had been unarmed and thus presented no threat to the defendant. The trial judge directed the jury that the defendant's belief in the need to shoot in self-defence had to be both honest and reasonable. In rejecting this direction, the Privy Council approved the approach in Williams. Lord Griffiths commented that juries should be given the following guidance: "Whether the plea is self-defence or defence of another, if the defendant may have been labouring under a mistake as to facts, he must be judged according to his mistaken belief of the facts: that is so whether the mistake was, on an objective view, a reasonable mistake or not." The defendant therefore, had a defence of self-defence because the killing was not unlawful if, in the circumstances as he perceived them to be, he had used reasonable force to defend himself. 6. INTOXICATION AND SELF-DEFENCE One effect of alcohol can be to lead the drinker to interpret the words and actions of others as threatening, thereby increasing "defensive activity" (Clarkson and Keating, Criminal Law, 1994, p402). In other words, a drunken person may act violently, mistakenly believing himself to be under attack. What is the position where such a person makes a mistake as to a "defence"? The view now taken by the courts is that such a drunken mistake, however genuinely believed, is no defence to a criminal charge - not even to crimes of specific intent. The two leading cases are: R v O'Grady 3 WLR 321 - The defendant woke from a drunken stupor to find his equally drunk friend hitting him. In order to defend himself he retaliated with several blows and then returned to sleep. He awoke to find his friend dead. The defendant was convicted of manslaughter and appealed against conviction, relying on the defence of self-defence in the circumstances as he mistakenly believed them to be. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and said that a mistake arising from voluntary intoxication could never be relied on in putting forward a defence, whatever the crime. Lord Lane CJ also rejected the relevance of the distinction between crimes of basic and specific intent on this aspect of the matter. R v O'Connor Crim LR 135 - The defendant while drunk head-butted his victim, who died. He claimed he thought he was acting in self-defence. He was convicted of murder and appealed on the grounds that his mistaken belief was relevant. The Court of Appeal held that, following O'Grady, a drunken mistake as to the need for self-defensive action was to be ignored by the jury. However, in murder cases the drunkenness of the defendant could be taken into consideration in determining whether the defendant had the necessary specific intent (and on this basis a verdict of manslaughter was substituted).

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On this date in 1869, the Knights of Labor were founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The organization grew slowly, but by the late 1870s, the Knights had become the nation’s largest labor union, remaining so until 1886. Labor was at a crossroads in post-Civil War America. The Civil War helped spur the growth of large factories and capitalists like John D. Rockefeller began expanding their economic reach into what became the monopoly capitalism of the Gilded Age. Workers found the ground caving under their feet. Working-class people began criticizing the new economic system, but it took several decades for modern radicalism to become a common response for the working classes. All sorts of ideas were floated out there. Henry George had his single tax. Edward Bellamy wrote Looking Backwards and Americans were deeply taken with the work. As Leon Fink notes in his classic treatise on the Knights of Labor, Workingmen’s Democracy, labor was not in 1869 nor in 1885 at a point where revolutionary consciousness was really on the table for most workers. They were essentially pre-Marxist critics of the growing wage labor system. They rejected that system, but also called for the operation of “natural law” in the marketplace and did not reject the idea of profit. They believed in an idea of balance between employer and employee, but recognized that this balance had been thrown out of whack by the massive aggregation of capital into the hands of the few. These were people who had come of age during the Civil War and the rhetoric of slavery was strong with them. So terms like “wage slavery,” which the South had used effectively to critique northern labor relations in the 1850s, meant a lot to working people in the early Gilded Age. They felt they had become involuntary servants to wage labor and thus the system needed to be abolished like African slavery during the war. This does not mean that Knights were not radical for their time. Fink makes a strong case that they indeed were radical in their own terms, rejecting the fundamental economic relationship of their time for a vision of the “nobility of toil” and a respectable working-class life that encompassed everyone who “worked” in their view–which was basically all but bankers, speculators, lawyers, liquor dealers, and gamblers. These were the groups feeding off the blood of the working man either financially or morally. Capitalism itself meant not a system of economic gain based upon profit, but the systematic exploitation of working-class people. Which meant that you could be a business owner and be a workingman if you treated your labor with respect. The Knights were essentially a working-class fraternal organization in its first years. But in 1879, Terence Powderly took over the organization. The mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Powderly was as unclear as many workers on how labor should fight the growth of monopoly capitalism. He opposed strikes, even though he did occasionally engage in them as the Knights grew. He was however a superb organizer and could keep this unwieldly organization alive in the first years of its rapid growth, though his actual authority over what chartered locals did was very limited. Powderly eschewed electoral politics despite his own history, noting the failure of the Greenback-Labor party in the late 1870s and the extreme corruption of Gilded Age life. This led Powderly and other Knights leaders to believe that electoral politics was a dead-end for the working class. But the huge growth of the Knights after the Panic of 1883 led to a rethinking of this idea precisely because the organization grew so large that many wondered if it could take over American political life. By 1886, the Knights began running labor tickets for office around the country, winning many races. This fell apart soon after due to the Haymarket backlash and infighting, but suggested the power of labor to transform American life if it were organized. By the mid-1880s, new elements were entering the American working class. The rapid growth of European immigration after 1880 brought new ideas into the Knights, ideas that did not make people like Terence Powderly comfortable. The simple and eloquent platform of the 8 hour day galvanized working-class people across the country, many of whom joined the Knights for this reason but sought to make the organization their own. This included anarchists, a political ideology new to American shores at this time. These immigrants flocked to an organization that supported their dream of an 8-hour day. Given the decentralized nature of the Knights, anarchists could have significant power with workers even if Powderly directly opposed their ideas. In Chicago, the growing immigrant and anarchist communities played a major role in the 8 hour movement. In response to the killing of two striking McCormick Harvesting Machine workers, the increasingly radical Chicago movement called for a large demonstration. Although turnout was small, it became one of the most important events in American labor history when an unknown anarchist (still unknown today) threw a bomb into a crowd of police officers, killing 8. The police then fired into the crowd, killing 8 strikers. Leading anarchists were arrested, thrown in jail, convicted, and 4 executed. The Knights declined precipitously after Haymarket. Powderly was not ideologically prepared for mass violence nor for radical ideologies. The crushing of the Knights and the 8 hour movement after Haymarket left Powderly without much direction on where to take the organization and workers left it as quickly as they had joined the year before. The American Federation of Labor would soon rise to become the dominate working-class organization in America, but its conservative bent excluded the mass of unskilled and often foreign-born industrial labor that lent such immediacy to the 8 hour day campaign of 1886. These workers would fight and die for another half-century before successfully unionizing. Powderly remained active in labor issues throughout his long life. Although he had headed the first large radical organization in the United States and was mayor of Scranton on the Greenback-Labor ticket, he was fundamentally conservative and became a Republican. He opposed immigration and had supported the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. He and William McKinley became close; McKinley named Powderly U.S. Commissioner General of Immigration in 1897 and he remained a high-profile immigration official until 1921 with the exception of a few years in the mid 1900s.

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In the beginning well, what was the beginning? Is it the year one, or is it earlier? Let us say that is it earlier because the movement that got under way with Jesus of Nazareth rested solidly on the way of life that characterized his people, the Jews. Over the course of the early centuries, however, but slowly, the movement associated with Jesus as Messiah separated from the movement associated with other leaders of the people who survived the destruction of the Temple, defeat in the second Jewish War, and exile among the nations. Depending on where you look, a lot of interplay remained between the two movements as late as the fifth century. But eventually one became known as "Christianity" and the other as "Judaism." Christianity grew, with a lot of help from its friends and supporters, until it was the dominant religion throughout the Byzantine Roman Empire. There were two headquarter cities: Rome and Constantinople, one the western and one the eastern capitals of Empire. The church was then united except for those groups that remained outside what became known simply as Catholic Orthodoxy. Protestants, who arose in the 16th Century, have tended to think that not much happened between zero and 1500 when suddenly the church is re-invented in a pure form by people like John Calvin, Martin Luther, and John Knox. The Orthodox Church and what would later become Roman Catholicism "happened between zero and 1500." In the 11th Century the eastern and western churches suffered a tragic split, with the eastern church represented by Constantinople and three other major jurisdictions, the west represented by Rome. Over the course of the centuries between 700-1500, successive events placed Rome in a strategic position and Constantinople in a compromised position. The end for the Constantinople came in 1453 when the Ottoman Empire overtook the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. We have, however, never gone away. Orthodox lands suffered restrictions and persecution even into the 20th Century under Communism. Nonetheless, people found their way to America and built onion-domed churches you see in cities and towns especially in the eastern USA where industry and mining flourished. We in the Orthodox Catholic Church are still here. We are not the Roman Church, but we are Catholic. We have no historic relationship to the Protestant churches, which are an outgrowth of the division in the western church that stems from the time of the Reformation. Our long tradition dates from the very beginning of the church. We believe that history matters, that it is important to be in the flow of that history, and that in this church we fully experience the meaning of God. Many people have joined us, particularly in the last thirty years. So here's the invitation: The people of St Anthony of the Desert Orthodox Mission, 518 North Alameda, Las Cruces, invite the community to an open house Introduction to Orthodoxy along with a simple soup supper from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb.28. Please park in the lot at the corner of Hadley and Alameda. Friends who have been reading Father Gabriel's columns for years and listen to his podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio are invited. Those who don't know anything about the Orthodox Church are especially invited. Those who have come to our annual Pet Blessing in January are invited. We are especially interested in people who might be willing to give Christianity one more look. We promise not to insult your intelligence or your taste buds. All we ask is that you register in advance by calling 575-524-2296.

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Sylvia Wolf: The idea of what constitutes meaning, I think, is crucial in this discussion of art and the written word. If we look back at hieroglyphs or we look back at illuminated and illustrated manuscripts, they are utilizing language and words, but to provide information. And yet, that a scribe could beautifully and artfully lend some skills with painting to the work is something that we find so satisfying today. Steve Heller: Paul Rand, the designer who created the ABC logo, the UPS logo, IBM, etc., he wrote a book called From Lascaux to Brooklyn. And it was, essentially, an homage to his own work, but his own work derives from many sources. And the Lascaux caves were, indeed, our first written language. So the word, whether it is in a pictorial form or a letterform, has been part of our artistic understanding since the beginning of man. John Costello: One of the things that apparently makes our minds different from those of other creatures with intelligence is that as soon as there is a sequence, whether it be sound or visual, the human attempts to put them into a relationship with one another. And so, if you would put three strokes together and then put, lets say, a picture of a fish, it wasn’t three strokes and a fish but three fish. You see? And so the difference between art and writing is that in art the images will stand for something in the real world, in writing they are going to stand for something in language. Segment Title: Early Writing John Costello: The four oldest writing systems, the Chinese, the Egyptian, the Sumerian, and the Mayan, were used either for commerce or for what we would call generally religious purposes. The Egyptians believe writing was given to them by a goddess. The Chinese believe that there was this divine dragon that came from heaven and had characters written on its back. The Mayans believe that writing was given to them by twin gods. The Sumerians believe that writing was given to them by several gods. Marc Van De Mieroop: Around 3400 BC the earliest writing from Mesopotamia comes from this city of Uruk. The cuneiform tablet is impressed with a small piece of reed that has been carved in such a way that you can leave an impression on the soft clay. Each of the signs is made up of multiple impressions of this stylus that together form a sign and the sequence of the signs make up the words and the sentences. I personally believe that this is an incredibly important moment in the history of humanity because we have a written world out there that is recorded in a very esoteric way for the future to consult. John Costello: Hieroglyphics mystified people, almost through Western history. Hieroglyphics ceased to be written in the early centuries of our era. When Napoleon’s army was fighting in Egypt, they came across a stone inscription in a place called Rosetta. This was written in Greek, and in two forms of Egyptian—the hieroglyphic and the hieratic. And that basically was the key. One of the ways the Egyptians figured to represent something was by parts. Let’s say we have a word in English like “budget.” You can’t draw a picture of the word budget. But if you put a bud and, let us say, a jet, a picture of a jet, together, you could read it as budget. The Mayans had a writing system before the Spaniards ever arrived and the thing is, fortunately, three manuscripts were preserved. It’s not just writing, there are pictures throughout. And they are absolutely fascinating. There is a reciprocal relationship between what is written and what is drawn. Fortunately, some of the missionaries wrote a great deal about what their beliefs were and that makes the pictures much more meaningful and sheds light on the writing itself. Clearly, you know, within the Chinese culture, everything that had to do with early writing could easily be associated with art. Their characters came from pictures. To this day literate Chinese people can show you a Chinese character and show you the picture that it comes from. If you have hundreds, if you have thousands of characters, how can you possibly come up with an order? Count the number of strokes. The primary way that their dictionary is set up is all the characters that consist of one stroke go in one section, next section two, and so on. The Chinese were the first entomologists, long before Western entomology came along. And not only that, but they were graphic entomologists. Segment Title: Illuminated Manuscripts Sharon Liberman Mintz: Every manuscript is an artistic endeavor. It’s an adventure between the scribe, the source that he is copying from, the paper and the parchment, and the moment. So he sits down, he gets his materials ready, and there is a creation, there is an aspect of creation, which is very exciting. The art of Hebrew illuminated manuscripts really begins in the ninth and the tenth centuries of the Common Era. It is at that point where we begin to see beautifully decorated books and manuscripts being produced and they are sumptuously illustrated Bibles replete with all kinds of decorated techniques, gold, scribal lettering that enhances the text. They are very, very visual beautiful objects. Jews were not allowed into the guilds during the medieval period and a lot of the knowledge of how to decorate manuscripts, how to create these beautiful embellishments, how to grind pigment, how to make sure that the gold leaf is applied properly and will stay, was closely guarded trade secrets, and if you weren’t part of the guild, you weren’t going to be able to figure this out. So we believe, and we know in certain cases, that some of the very beautiful illuminated manuscripts of the later medieval period were probably done by Christian workshops. But there are several examples in this manuscript where the scribe appears to have decorated the word panels himself. This is scribal art, as opposed to the more elaborate gold and gouache that we saw on the opposite pages and this charming ink work is very typical of fifteenth century scribal decoration. Scribes in the medieval period often left small indicators of themselves within the manuscript, as a measure of how proud they were of the handiwork. Here we see that the scribe has added a beautiful little flourish and wanted you to realize that he was responsible for the creation. The Jews actually called their bibles Mikdash Yah, a small sanctuary, a portable sanctuary. They could take these beautiful, portable, little objects from place to place and think of them as an entrance in service to the worship of God. David Roxburgh: There are so many aspects of the written tradition that are rule-bound and convention- bound, and yet there is a place within that structure for an artist to find an individual expression. The teasing out that notions of authorship, what it means to be an author, an individual calligrapher within a tradition where there are rules that prescribe how you form letters, what kinds of proportional relationships should be made between letters, what the conventions are for joining letters or spacing letters on a page. We certainly do call it art, and it was considered to be art, but what is artful about it is another, something a little bit more challenging. The perception of Islamic art is that calligraphy has always played a fundamental role in it because of the value of the Muslim scripture, because of the value of the Qur’an as a text that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel by God. And so that understanding has always led people to believe that writing was already an art form from the very, very beginning. Adriana Posner: This is eighth-century Kufic script. It’s on, written on parchment, not on paper. This was before the beginning of the use of paper in the Islamic world. And what’s so incredible to me about this script are these long stokes of the pen that are just incredible. It’s very, very difficult to read. And, in fact, if you haven’t memorized the Qur’an, it’s almost impossible to read this, because there are no what are called diacritical marks. There is nothing in it to tell you where a sentence stops and starts, nothing to tell you where the stress goes in the word. But, but visually it’s incredibly bold and beautiful. This is the one of the earliest pieces that comes from a Qur’an in the world. It’s datable to mid-seventh century. So it may even have been written towards the end of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, maybe just a little bit after his death, so it’s just extraordinary. This is a script that is known as hijazi script. And you can see it’s a little bit more rounded, but, again there’s no punctuation, there are no diacritical marks, so it just flows and flows and flows and flows. This is what’s known as a bi-folio, two pages from a Qur’an, also a famous Qur’an known as the Nurses Qur’an. And it’s eleventh century. Here you just have fragments. This is from North Africa. Now you can see actually that the calligrapher has also put in these markings, these red, sort of comma-looking things, and dashes. So what we are seeing here is a kind of development of script types. David Roxburgh: There is a historical consciousness, there is an aesthetic consciousness develops and is elaborated around the act of writing, the culture of writing, the value of writing, what writing will give you. Adriana Posner: In the Islamic world calligraphy is considered the highest form of art. And this is interesting because in East Asia, in China and Japan and Korea, calligraphy is also considered the highest art form. There is a distinction, though, because in the Islamic world calligraphy has that very close tie with the word of God. It’s just so sacred in this part of the world and the embellishment that becomes associated with it is really very special and quite spectacular. Segment Title: Chinese Calligraphy Transformed David Cateforis: Xu Bing is one of the major contemporary Chinese artists of his generation. He was one born in 1955 and grew up in Beijing. Books, literature, language, calligraphy, writing are all central to his work as an artist. Xu Bing: (Chinese) Jesse Coffino Greenberg (translating): The sort of relationship that the people of my generation had with culture, with the written word, and with literature was really an awkward relationship. Xu Bing: Dealing with the Cultural Revolution, we can’t read. Everybody only read The Little Red Book. So after the Cultural Revolution I can read lots of books. Yeah, but when you read too much you feel really uncomfortable, like someone has a chance to overeat before you are really hungry. Jesse Coffino Greenberg: The idea of Book From the Sky sort of came forth at that time. Xu Bing: That work I started from 1987, and I finished by 1991. About four years. But when the people come into the space, they try reading the book. but no one can read it. They really, look really like real Chinese. But I created each letter, over four thousand nonsense characters. My idea is that I want to take away any meaning, even the style of the letter. But this letter is kind of funny, some Japanese people think, “Oh, that is Korean.” Some Korean people think, “That’s Japanese.” Some Chinese people, they think they are real Chinese that are used from the earlier time. But actually, no one can read it, not even myself. Look at that—beautiful. Each one I carved myself. David Cateforis: So Xu Bing leaves China in 1990 he is invited to be an honorary fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Now he has to confront a totally new language. Xu Bing: In the beginning I am really, really bad in studying English. I am really slow. So just working, I started back in 1993 because I live in between of the two cultures. “In the beginning, is the end.” David Cateforis: The innovation that Xu Bing comes up with is what he calls “square-word calligraphy.” And here what he is doing is using traditional Chinese calligraphic strokes that are used to write script to write English. So from across the room this looks like a set of traditional hanging scrolls written in Chinese. Traditionally Chinese was written vertically in columns and it was read from right to left, top to bottom. The Chinese reader, getting closer, will discover that these are not actually Chinese characters. You can’t read this if you only read Chinese. If you read English and you get closer, you may start to discover combinations of strokes that look like English letters, and indeed they are. This is an example of what Xu Bing calls square word calligraphy. Xu Bing: This is copy book, here, this is a red line tracing book. Looks like when I was little when my father lets me do one page, copy of masterpiece. This is a really traditional way of treating the calligraphy. So, you can see this, you can see this, this is a little: L-I-T-T-L-E. This is B-O. P-E-E-P. Little Bo Peep, Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep. And I want to use a children’s song to look like it’s an introduction class. Jesse Coffino Greenberg: So you can see what is detailed here is the stroke order for the English word king, which follows the same pattern for constructing a character with the first stroke and the second stroke and the third stroke, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and then finally the twelfth stoke. See how it goes from the outside, top to bottom, outside, inside, top to bottom, closing, and then interior. David Cateforis: So it is not only a way of writing, but when we look at it, we are encouraged into a new way of seeing. Seeing our own language written differently in ways that make it strange and wonderful and marvelous all over again. Here you can learn to read and write your own language again in a new way that is also introducing you to another cultural tradition. And it does, then, also make the verbal visual, which is one of the fundamental aspects of Chinese writing. Xu Bing: E-L-I-O-T. Okay. And good. “In the beginning is the end.” Adapted from T.S. Eliot. Yeah, that’s X B. It’s signed. Yoshiaki Shimuzu: You know, to talk about the Japanese calligraphy, we have to sort of understand that first Japanese saw the written characters from, written by the Chinese. They heard how the Chinese are pronouncing it. If a character like an, you know, which means “peace,” they thought this sound, this character an written this way sounds like a Japanese “a.” So they use that character to mean, to pronounce, as a sort of pronouncing, pronunciation symbol. So on one hand, the Japanese adopted the Chinese, some part of the Chinese writing system to suit their need. That is to create the written symbol for their sound. They also violated one of the functions of Chinese characters, that is to convey meaning. But, but the Japanese are rather quick-tempered, and when they transcribe they cut corners. So that instead of using one, two, three, they go one and three, you know. So there is a, I would say, a cultural eccentricity of how the Japanese simplify it, but once you do that, then you can talk about the artistic side. Now, why does the Japanese calligraphy look so thin? You know, they are like mosquito thin when you looking at. And the Chinese will not tolerate a very thin tone of ink. They would demand that in writing you must use the darkest ink. Certain architectonic quality is something that canonically is required in Chinese writing. Japanese looks almost anemic except there is a, there is aesthetics of that. Aesthetics of “trembling style,” you know, there is a word for it. And, also the Chinese calligraphy, if they are transcribing a poem, there are certain order in which the column, columnization and all these things are observed strictly. The Japanese would break this form and they begin to write the character in a scattered way so that even the scattered style becomes a canon of its own. Segment Title: The Modern Era Sylvia Wolf: If we are looking at the written word in art, we have to look at both technological innovation and the dispersal of information both pictorial and information as language. And in the twenties and the thirties, when you move through Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism—all of them heavily dependent upon language and words and the collision of what happens when you put these things together in a fashion that is out of the norm, they no longer become information in the manner in which we are used to. John Baldessari: I think the wonderful irony about this piece is that it’s text. But in fact it is a painting because it is paint on canvas. So I’m really being very slyly ironic here in saying well this is what painting is. Sylvia Wolf: In the 1960s the artists that were challenging the hierarchy of information and what made visual art, art. And by including words, for example, or everyday objects. And I am thinking about Kosuth, for example, and his piece One and Three Chairs from 1965, where you have an equal weight is given to the object, a chair, to the photographic reproduction of the chair, and to the dictionary description of the chair. Which is the correct chair? Ceci n’est pas une pipe? Is this a chair, is it a pipe? Lawrence Weiner, who did away with any visual symbolism and used words transcribed directly onto walls so that they take a form as content on the walls, but there is no actual graphic picture. The word becomes the picture. John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Sol Lewitt, a number of the Conceptualists who were working in the ’60s and ’70s were asking questions about where does the ideal begin and is the art the idea? If you think about Conceptualism as a form of art that privileges the idea more so than the form, that is a period that is very rich in visual arts that utilize words. Steve Heller: There are letterforms that will motivate and there are letterforms that will seduce, and there are letterforms that will just act in a nondescript manner, non-confrontational manner. All kinds of letterforms will have kind of effect on the viewer. John Costello: Writing is the graphic, symbolic representation of language. And so the creativity, the intellectuality of what people have done with language they can do in writing. And everything that had to do with writing could easily be associated with art.

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Ever heard of “The theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design?” Yeah, us neither. But besides being the work that earned the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics for Americans Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd S. Shapley this week, it’s also something that affects your daily life. Roth’s and Shapley’s work, carried out over six decades, isn’t only award-winning: It presents a more efficient solution for schools, for organ donation and even for marriage. So how exactly could economic theory have helped improve–and even predict–some major turning points of your life such as education or choosing a life partner? Read on. How Their Work Has Affected Daily Life These two economists work on the abstract-sounding ideas of market design and matching theory, which have to do with making marketplaces (say, the market for organs) more efficient. Their particular focus is on matching in markets without prices–that is, how do you pair a person with a position, or an organ with a donor, or make any match satisfy everyone involved when there’s no price tag to show they’re of equal value? For instance, kidney donations posed a tricky problem: Let’s say a person wanted to donate to a friend in need, but they weren’t matches. Across the country, another pair of friends were in the same position and the donor in the first couple was a match with the patient in the second couple, and vice versa. While the solution in this simple scenario is for the two donors to donate to the other’s friend, in real life, the probability of the problem being so neatly solved is low. Most likely, a solution would involve many pairs of willing donors and patients in need. Roth created a database for all willing donors and all patients that makes sure the maximum number of people in need receive kidneys using the minimum number of people. RELATED: Health Insurance 101 Roth expanded Shapley’s research to try and solve real-life issues, such as the following: School districts. Districts in New York City, Boston, Chicago and Denver use a system based on their research to assign students to high schools. Before Roth helped design the New York City high school selection process, about 30,000 students a year ended up in schools they had not even ranked as a preferred school. In the first year his design was used, the 2004-2005 academic year, the number of students who went to a school they had not requested was just 3,000. Medical Residencies. In the 1980s, Roth applied the research to create a system wherein medical students applying to hospital residencies were placed in more mutually beneficial positions. Before then, the system was designed in a way where students could be shut out of a residency completely. In order to prevent that, students were gaming the system by ranking less popular residencies high on their list, even if they did not want to go there. Roth’s system allows medical students to rank their residencies honestly without fear that they will not get in anywhere. And similar systems are being proposed and developed for the following: Internet Traffic. Right now, the sheer volume of internet traffic can lead to congestion and delays (otherwise known as “Why won’t this load?”). Researchers at MIT have proposed a revised algorithm to keep traffic moving as quickly as possible. Landing Airplanes. Anyone who has flown before knows that when there’s a storm, landings get tricky, which leads to all sorts of delays. A professor at the Kellogg School of Business is examining how to figure out which planes get landing priority in bad weather, using Roth and Shapley’s work. Could an Algorithm Predict Love? And then there’s a final way in which the work of these economists applies to our lives: love. Shapley’s original research in the 1950s was theoretical and based on marriage–in fact, he and David Gale created the Gale-Shapley algorithm, which addresses the Stable Marriage Problem, which asks how to create stable marriages among a group of people so that no two people in any couple would rather be with each other than with their current partner. Their solution was to have everyone rank their choices of partner from first to last. All the men would propose to their top choice woman, and any woman with more than one proposal would make her top choice. Men who don’t get their first choice would move on to their second choice and so on down the line until everyone is matched–not necessarily blissful, but happy enough to stick with it. (This cool site lets you test it out.) It sounds appealing, doesn’t it? The thought we could skip the dates in favor of an algorithm that could ensconce us in stable partnerships? Well, actually, this algorithm is exactly what happens in real life. (Well, sort of. You don’t get to skip the dating). Professor Dan Ariely (who researches dishonesty and told us how financial fibbing can help you) conducted research in online dating, and the results matched up with what was predicted by the algorithm. “Over time people figure out who is above their league and below their league and what is the basic level they can aim… This algorithm is not just a good predictor of economic efficiency, it’s a good predictor of what people do and when they have lots of experience and lots of time to figure out where they are in society.” Roth said at a press conference following the award that many of the milestones in people’s lives–getting into the school or program of your choice, marriage–are about forming mutually beneficial matches, and understanding that process is his and Shapley’s life’s work. So, next time you face a big life milestone that involves making a match, you can thank these Nobel Prize winners for coming up with the algorithm that explains how you did it.

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Best Practice for Vaccination of Livestock - Includes an Overview of Leptospirosis in New Zealand (commissioned by the NZVA) DAIRY ALERT: Has vaccination cleared Leptospira from dairy herds? In 2010/11, vaccine efficacy in dairy herds with a history of vaccinating their stock regularly was investigated in an observational pilot study (Parramore et al., 2011). Ten cows were selected for urine sampling in each of 44 dairy herds. Herd managers were asked for timing, schedule, age, booster and regularity of vaccination, type of vaccine, herd size, whether the herd was open or closed, biosecurity measures, previous leptospirosis history, and other animal species on farm. Urine samples were tested by dark-field microscopy (live Leptospira) and Real Time-PCR (live Leptospira or DNA) and shedding was defined as being positive to either test. No serological data were available from the sampled animals, information about vaccination inquired from farmers appeared somewhat uncertain, and tests employed may not be 100% accurate. Therefore, the results are preliminary and require confirmation at this stage. There was evidence of shedding in 30% of the herds and 13% in animals from positive herds (Table 2). Because animal prevalence was low and only 10 cows were sampled per herd, a number of herds might have been misclassified as ‘not-shedding’. Thus, the true percentage of herds harbouring shedders may well be higher, despite a long standing history of vaccination. On the other hand, PCR may detect small amounts of DNA from live or dead leptospira, thus the DNA-presence per-se may not have indicated that exposure reached an infective dose. Dairy herds and cows shedding leptospira testing 10 selected cows per herd Age at first vaccination was the only significant factor associated with the probability of shedding. The results suggest that Leptospira challenge of calves at an early age still exists on dairy farms using vaccines, for example through heifers returning from a contaminated rearing property. Vaccinating already infected animals may not be effective, as it is known that vaccination after natural challenge reduces vaccine efficacy. Neither vaccine type nor the number of serovars included (2 vs 3) altered the shedding probability. Risk of one or more shedders in the herd relative to age of calves at first vaccination

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LONDON (Reuters) - Exposing eggs to high levels of saturated fatty acids of the type commonly found in the ovaries of obese women and those with diabetes can harm the development of the embryo, according to research published Wednesday. The findings lend further support to health guidelines which recommend that women should strive to be a healthy weight before they start trying to become pregnant. Scientists from Belgium, Britain and Spain found that when embryos resulting from cattle eggs were exposed to high levels of fatty acids, they had fewer cells, altered gene expression and altered metabolic activity -- all factors likely to make them less viable or less able to develop normally. Although the study was done on eggs from cows, the researchers said the findings could help to explain why women suffering from disorders like obesity and type 2 diabetes can sometimes struggle to conceive. "In cows we can induce very similar metabolic disorders leading to reduced fertility...and compromised egg quality," said Jo Leroy from the University of Antwerp, who led the study. "This is one of the reasons that bovine eggs are a very interesting model for human reproductive research." Obese or diabetic people tend to metabolize more of their stored fat, leading to higher levels of fatty acids in the ovaries which research has shown can be toxic for the growing eggs before ovulation, the researchers explained in a paper in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS One. "We know from our previous research that high levels of fatty acids can affect the development of eggs in the ovary, but this is the first time we've been able to follow through to show a negative impact on the surviving embryo," Leroy said. The scientists tested the embryos eight days after fertilization, when they had developed into blastocysts containing around 70 to 100 cells. "Where eggs were exposed to high levels of fatty acids, the resulting embryos showed increased amino acid metabolism and altered consumption of oxygen, glucose and lactate -- all of which indicates impaired metabolic regulation and reduced viability," said Roger Sturmey from Britain's University of Hull, who also worked on the study. The researchers also found that the embryos had high levels of specific genes which are linked to cellular stress, suggesting they were less likely to survive or develop normally. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/mupo2z PLoS One, August 17, 2011. The #1 daily resource for health and lifestyle news! Your daily resource for losing weight and staying fit. We could all use some encouragement now and then - we're human! Explore your destiny as you discover what's written in your stars. The latest news, tips and recipes for people with diabetes. Healthy food that tastes delicious too? No kidding.

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Speaking the Truth “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”- Ephesians 4:25 Understanding the ninth commandment’s legal context and its prohibition against normal lies and any speech or act that harms another person helps us see how to apply this law properly. For instance, it helps us explain why individuals such as the Egyptian midwives and Rahab are praised in Scripture instead of condemned (Ex. 1:15–21; Josh. 2; Heb. 11:31; James 2:25). If the ninth commandment prohibits speech that harms others, it seems that these women actually followed the intent of this statute even when they deceived others. Knowing that the soldiers wanted to hurt the Israelites, they were not forthright when these men came calling. If they had been, the Israelite slaves and spies would have suffered harm. Of course, the settings in which such deception may be permissible are few, limited to times of war or times when one or more people are seeking to harm an innocent person. Nevertheless, knowing that the ninth commandment prohibits speech that inflicts harm on others does help us understand why lying in general falls under what is prohibited by this law. If I am caught in my wickedness and lie about it, I am first of all harming myself because God desires “truth in the inward being” (Ps. 51:6), and He remains angry with those who do not acknowledge the truth of their sin and repent (7:12–16). Moreover, my lies hurt other people. Failing to acknowledge my sin and lying to cover it up keeps fellow believers from being able to bear my burden with me and fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:1–2). My lies can also lead to trouble for others if they make decisions based on the falsehoods I have told them. Seeing that the ninth commandment prohibits speech that harms other people also explains why question and answer 112 of the Heidelberg Catechism list gossip as one of the sins that is contrary to this statute. Spreading incomplete information or unconfirmed rumors can destroy another person’s reputation, as can revealing secrets about an individual to others who have no reason to know said information. Indeed, the tongue is a powerful instrument that can cause great good or ill. There is little wonder, then, that God’s law restrains the small flames of our tongues in the ninth commandment. Used rightly, fire brings the blessing of warmth and well-being. Used wrongly, fire destroys lives. So it is with our tongues (James 3:1–12). Matthew Henry writes, “Truth is a debt we owe to one another; and, if we love one another, we shall not deceive one another.” Christians must be known for their love of the truth and the trustworthiness of their speech. When we lie and gossip, we bear false witness to the God of truth who has transformed our hearts to love and serve Him. May we seek to tell the truth to friends, family, fellow church members, and coworkers. May we also repent when we fail to do so. Passages for Further Study 2 Corinthians 12:19–21 Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 500 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred (where applicable). If no such link exists, simply link to www.ligonier.org. Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: From Ligonier Ministries, the teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul. All rights reserved. Website: www.ligonier.org | Phone: 1-800-435-4343

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A file is a named collection of related data that appears to the user as a single, contiguous block of data and that is retained in storage. Storage refers to computer devices or media which can retain data for relatively long periods of time (e.g., years or decades), such as disk drives and magnetic tape. This contrasts with memory, which which retains its contents only briefly and which physically consists of RAM (random access memory) chips. Executable files consist of instructions that have been translated from their original source code into machine code, also called machine language or object code through the use of a specialized program called a compiler so that the CPU can use them directly and without further translation. Machine code consists entirely of zeros and ones, which represent the off and on states of the CPU logic circuits and memory cells. The object code files and any other necessary files (e.g., library files) are then linked together using a linker to create the executable. Linkers are generally included in compilers, and the linking is performed automatically. Executable files are usually stored in one of several standard directories on the hard disk drive (HDD) on Unix-like operating systems, including /bin, /sbin, /usr/bin, /usr/sbin and /usr/local/bin. Although it is not necessary for them to be in these locations in order to be operable, it is often more convenient. When a program is launched, its executable file is copied into memory by the operating system so that its machine code will be immediately available to the CPU. In operating systems in which the type of file is indicated by appending an extension after its name, executables are indicated by extensions such as .exe, .com or .bin. Such extensions are generally not necessary in Unix-like operating systems. Although application programs usually come to mind when the term executable is used, this term also refers to scripts, utilities and even operating systems. A script is a small program written in a scripting language (i.e., a type of simplified programming language). Scripts are stored in plain text files that must be interpreted (i.e., converted on the fly into machine language) by a shell (a program that provides the traditional, text-only user interface for Unix-like operating systems) or other program each time they are executed, rather than being compiled in advance. Unix-like operating systems make extensive use of scripts for controlling the operation of the system. vmlinuz is the Linux kernel executable. A kernel is a program that constitutes the central core of a computer operating system. In addition to being an executable, vmlinuz is also bootable. This means that it is capable of loading the operating system into memory so that the computer becomes usable and other executables can then be run. Created July 9, 2005. Updated June 3, 2006.

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Beachhead - Education “How can I convince my professors to use free and open-source software (FOSS) in their classes?” asked Dennis, a former Pollywog that is now going to a university in Brazil. Dennis is old enough now to join me legally for libations at the Alideia dos Piratas, the beach-side restaurant and bar where I hang out, although he often hints that he had been “libating” much longer than the legal age limit allows. “The first thing you need to do”, I answered, “is create compelling arguments for the use of FOSS in the classroom. These arguments might include freedom from proprietary licensing and licensing's inherent costs and issues, the fact that the FOSS source code allows you both to use the software as a tool and to see how the software arrived at its answer. Publishing research results also is easier with FOSS, because you can freely publish source code for your work, not just talk about the work conceptually. FOSS allows schools to have better control over the software used on their systems, especially when they need to upgrade software and hardware. You should try to stick to practical reasons that are easy to defend, including the fact that FOSS is used in many commercial environments, which means that students will use it when they leave school. ” “Present these arguments to the faculty and administration in a calm, professional way. If they do not respond favorably, ask their reasons for using proprietary software and ask whether you can address those reasons in a follow-up meeting. ” “Second, make it as easy as possible for them to use FOSS. Remember that professors are like a lot of other people, and they are very busy just trying to keep up with all the other issues in their jobs and lives. Developing new courses and course material takes time and research, and although you can look at it as part of their jobs, you also can be assured that they are busy with other aspects of their jobs. ” “One tactic would be for you to take an existing course, such as compiler design or database theory and transform it to using FOSS. You could find (or create) a bibliography of all the open-source projects that you can locate on the Web having to do with that subject. See if there are any books that relate to teaching that topic, which are oriented toward FOSS rather than closed-source products. ” “In the case of the operating system, a wealth of projects using FOSS can be used to help teach a course in OS design—not only the Linux kernel, but the *BSD (OpenBSD, FreeBSD, NetBSD) kernels, FreeDOS, TinyOS and a variety of others. There also are several on-line talks and papers discussing aspects of FOSS OS design that can be useful, and for the more popular operating systems, specific books describe the kernel and the way it works. ” “In the case of database design, a series of different projects also are useful—everything from MySQL and PostgreSQL to Berkeley DB (although an Oracle product, it is still open source), Firebird, flat-file databases and libraries for other types of data accesses, such as ISAM. ” “Accumulating the bibliography for the course might be enough to gain the professor's interest. Many times professors have heard the terms free software or open source, but they have not had the time to investigate how much software and resources are out there with respect to their own courses. ” “If the professor still doesn't accept using FOSS to teach the course, you could take the next step of actually devising a set of notes for the course as you study the supplied material. Nothing helps you learn the subject matter as much as having to try to organize it and explain it to others, and creating a set of class notes and presentation slides based on FOSS would help you learn the underlying information very completely.” Dennis looked at me with a sort of horror on his face. “That sounds like a lot of work”, he said. “It could be”, I agreed. “Fortunately, you may not have to do all the work yourself, as Googling the Internet using the terms course notes and operating system turned up several editions of class notes that were under the GPL or copyable with attribution. You also might enlist some other students in the class to help by doing different chapters and then merge the work back into a single document. ” “I took compiler theory twice, once as an undergraduate and once for my MS in Computer Science, yet I feel that I really did not know compiler theory until I had to teach it to others. Now, more than 20 years after giving the last formal class on that subject, I feel I easily can explain fundamentals of how a compiler works. Knowing difficult material that thoroughly is kind of scary in a way.” Both Dennis and I sat in silence for a couple of seconds contemplating this thought, then we both ordered another libation. “Can other areas of the university also use FOSS methods to teach their courses?” asked Dennis. “Of course. There are thousands of FOSS programs that students and faculty can use in engineering, the sciences and other aspects of education. In addition, there are freely available pieces of information like Project Gutenberg, which houses more than 17,000 books and articles whose copyright have expired. I have a friend who teaches English as a second language but did not know of this treasure of on-line books that she could use for her students free of charge. ” “Some disciplines, such as civil engineering, use a lot of maps and mapping software. The use of software from projects, such as FreeGIS (www.freegis.org) and Open Source GIS (opensourcegis.org), allow these academic fields to use and understand mapping software. Hospital administration and management courses can benefit from the OpenVista Project, a complete hospital administrative system used by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs that was then made freely distributable. Management courses at universities can benefit from sophisticated FOSS project and portfolio management systems such as project.net (www.project.net), both to train students how to use such tools and show students how those tools work.” “What about the administration of our school, are there any FOSS programs that can help them?” asked Dennis. “Yes. Schools often spend huge amounts of money for administrative software that barely works. I know of one major university that was going to spend ten million dollars to buy and implement an administrative system. ” “Another university in Australia had spent 17 million Australian dollars on a commercial system, which (after five years) did not work at all. The Australian university was told that it would cost an additional five million Australian dollars and another three years of development to get a 'vanilla' system, one that was not tuned to their school, but at least worked. Maybe. ” “Compare all of that to SAGU, a system that was created in Brazil as a FOSS project, which is now used by more than 60 universities throughout the world, having been translated from its native Portuguese to Spanish and English. Another interesting project is that of the Kuali Foundation, in its effort to create FOSS financial software for universities. ” “Although not exactly an administrative program, the Sakai Project (www.sakaiproject.org) is a FOSS system that is being developed by a consortium of companies and educational institutions for learning and research collaboration. There's also Moodle, a well-known CMS system for use in education. All of these, and more, are available for use and can save huge amounts of money for budget-strapped schools and universities.” Dennis finished his drink, thought about what I had said, and asked the question, “What happens, if after all this work to try to convince my university to use FOSS, they still refuse to use FOSS?” “The efforts you take to research and make the argument about using FOSS software would not be wasted. Perhaps you will learn more about your subjects by making these efforts, and that can never hurt. I know a young man who started a FOSS project to write an operating system kernel when he was going to college in Helsinki, Finland....” Jon “maddog” Hall is the Executive Director of Linux International (www.li.org), a nonprofit association of end users who wish to support and promote the Linux operating system. During his career in commercial computing, which started in 1969, Mr Hall has been a programmer, systems designer, systems administrator, product manager, technical marketing manager and educator. He has worked for such companies as Western Electric Corporation, Aetna Life and Casualty, Bell Laboratories, Digital Equipment Corporation, VA Linux Systems and SGI. He is now an independent consultant in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Business and Technical issues. - diff -u: What's New in Kernel Development - Divx# Watch The Other Woman Full HD Online Streaming Viooz - Numerical Python - Use Linux as a SAN Provider - NSA: Linux Journal is an "extremist forum" and its readers get flagged for extra surveillance - Great Scott! It's Version 13! - RSS Feeds - Tech Tip: Really Simple HTTP Server with Python - Adminer—Better Than Awesome! - Download "Linux Management with Red Hat Satellite: Measuring Business Impact and ROI"

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About the Ledger Litchfield Connecticut holds a position of unique importance in the early history of America, and the Litchfield Historical Society has long held an incomparable collection of biographical information, manuscripts, and artifacts related to the two educational institutions that called Litchfield home. Until now, though, researchers needed to travel to Connecticut to take advantage of this material. With the advance of online resources and the increased availability of funding to make primary sources available online, the staff of the Historical Society conceived of The Ledger as a way to enhance knowledge about the Female Academy and Law School through encouraging new scholarship focused on these institutions and their students. This virtual collection brings together sources that are held in Litchfield with many others from across the country the country in various repositories and private hands. Generous Funding for The Ledger is provided by: The Council on Library and Information Resources. CLIR’s mission is to expand access to information, however recorded and preserved, as a public good. CLIR is an independent, nonprofit organization. Through publications, projects, and programs, CLIR works to maintain and improve access to information for generations to come. In partnership with other institutions, CLIR helps create services that expand the concept of “library” and supports the providers and preservers of information. The Connecticut Humanities Council. The Council is a public foundation incorporated in 1973 as a state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Our mission is to provide opportunities for all the people of Connecticut to rediscover the joy of lifelong learning, to see themselves in the full context of their history and heritage, and to explore the infinite varieties of human thought and experience contained in our literature and expressed in our arts that give shape and direction to our lives. Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. Seherr-Thoss Foundation. The Seherr-Thoss Foundation and Charitable Trust awards grants to various organizations in Litchfield and surrounding towns and supports the Litchfield Community Center, one of Mrs. Sonia P. Seherr-Thoss’ many projects in town.

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There are many theories on how dogs evolved as a species, including the view that they are mixed descendants of two or more wild species, such as wolves, dingoes and jackals. Credit: masonjar | sxc.hu The origin of man's best friend has been a source of wonder and heated debate for centuries. Even Charles Darwin was unsure whether the dog's true ancestry could be determined, because dog breeds vary so greatly. In fact, the domestic dog is far more variable in size, shape and behavior than any other living mammal, according to James Serpell, professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and editor of "The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behaviour, and Interactions With People" (Cambridge University Press, 1995). There are many theories on how dogs evolved as a species, including the view that they are mixed descendants of two or more wild species, such as wolves, dingoes and jackals. But newer evidence hasn't supported that theory. "Nowadays, based on a growing body of anatomical, genetic, and behavioral evidence, most experts believe that the dog originated exclusively from a single species: the gray wolf, Canis lupus," Serpell told Life's Little Mysteries. The similarities between wolves and dogs are great. In the 1960s, ethologist John Paul Scott tried to untangle the behaviors of these two species, and created a catalog of 90 behaviors of dogs. All but 19 of them, however, were also observed in wolves, and the missing behaviors tended to be minor activities that probably had not been recorded at the time but do occur in wolves, Serpell said. "Recent anatomical and molecular evidence has confirmed that wolves, dogs and dingoes are all more closely related to each other than they are to any other member of the family Canidae," Serpell said. The oldest skeletal remains of probable domestic wolf-dogs were excavated from the Upper Paleolithic site of Eliseyevichi in western Russia, close to the Ukrainian border, and date as far back as 19,000 years. Two skulls resembled those of Siberian huskies in their general shape, according to Serpell. Bones of ancient domestic wolf-dogs also have been found in central Europe, the Near East and North America, where they appear to have been deliberately buried with their human companions or in separate graves. The 14,000-year-old remains of a puppy and an elderly person were found buried together in Israel, Serpell said. The person's left hand was apparently positioned so that it rested on the dog's flank, which shows that the relationship between man and dog is one of the oldest and most durable of friendships, he said. So what allows for dogs to get along with humans so well? "Several biological and behavioral factors predisposed dogs to fit easily within human groups," said Leslie Irvine of the University of Colorado at Boulder. "They have a long primary socialization period during which they can become closely bonded with humans." Dogs are active during the same hours as their owners, as opposed to nocturnal animals, said Irvine, author of "If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection With Animals" (Temple University Press, 2004). Their loyal and obedient behavior allows them to be house-trained and to be taught to behave in return for little more than a treat and a pat on the head. In fact, a domestic dog considers its owner or owners to be its "pack," and the owners' home to be its territory, according to "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Dogs" (Fireside, 1980). "If a reciprocal understanding and affection have grown up between man and dog, it is because the domestication of the dog took place through an agreement on work and the division of food and lodging," according to "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Dogs." "This resulted in an affectionate and intelligent cooperation and the integration of the dog into human society." This article was provided by LifesLittleMysteries, a sister site to LiveScience.

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Start learning with our library of video tutorials taught by experts. Get started Viewers: in countries Watching now: Creating Textures and Shaders in Maya with Eric Keller shows how to create textures and materials, and then apply them to models to render realistic surfaces. The course covers working with the mental ray shading nodes, including the mental images architectural node, subsurface scattering nodes, occlusion, and car paint shaders, as well as how to incorporate these nodes into shading networks using the Hypershade editor. It also explores using textures, Maya software nodes, normal maps, and displacement maps for adding detail to models. Exercise files accompany the course. If you have access to the Exercise Files for this course, you can put them on your Desktop as I have or anywhere else you want. The Exercise Files have been organized into a typical Maya project directory structure. So the scene files are actually found in the scenes folder of the project. You'll see that there is a scene for the start and the ending of each exercise. The texture maps that are connected to the various shader networks are found in the sourceimages directory. It's important to remember that when you start working with the files, you want to make sure that the current project in Maya is set to the Exercise Files project. To do this, go to File > Project > Set and then choose the Exercise Files folder. If the project is not correctly set, Maya might not be able to find the file textures. Then when you render the scene, it may not render correctly. So it's very important to set your project when you start to work on this and keep the projects set to Exercise Files as long as you're following along. If you do not have access to these files, you can follow along with your own files as we proceed through the course. There are currently no FAQs about Creating Textures and Shaders in Maya. Access exercise files from a button right under the course name. Search within course videos and transcripts, and jump right to the results. Remove icons showing you already watched videos if you want to start over. Make the video wide, narrow, full-screen, or pop the player out of the page into its own window. Click on text in the transcript to jump to that spot in the video. As the video plays, the relevant spot in the transcript will be highlighted.

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Number theory has an important role in many branches of mathematics and in computer science, and even appears at times in physics and chemistry. Having a fundamental knowledge in this area will be fruitful for scientists in above mentioned areas. The book under review tries to provide such fundamental knowledge of number theory with its applications, mainly in computer science. All chapters of the book have lots of boxed parts including bibliographies related to the mathematical subjects, which this makes the book very interesting for studying. These bibliographies are very useful, particularly for the historical background. The first chapter includes fundamental topics like finite continued fractions and Fibonacci numbers, and basic theorems like Wilson's theorem, Fermat's theorem and the Chinese remainder theorem. The author introduces and proves these facts in terms of divisibility (without using the notion of congruence). The chapter also covers Lamé's theorem and Thue's theorem, which are seldom seen them in other texts on fundamental number theory. Following this process, in chapter two, which deals with congruences, Mollin studies some primality tests and gives an introduction in cryptography. The third chapter, on primitive roots, includes an introduction to the interesting topic of random number generation and discusses further topics in cryptography. In chapter four, on quadratic residues, Mollin also discusses algorithms for factoring. Chapter five is about simple continued fractions and uses them to analyze rational approximations of irrational numbers. The author goes briefly back to factoring in this chapter again. Then he studies Pell’s equation, which is a Diophantine equation; a more precise study of these equations is the subject of last chapter. The author tries to indicate some recent improvements briefly, in appendixes at the end of book. He focuses especially on the ABC conjecture, which has some consequences for Diophantine equations, and he studies the AKS algorithm, which is a primality test with polynomial running time. I think these are very useful for students to make them familiar with recent advances. All of the chapters have good exercises, both numerical and theorical; and the reader will find the solutions of the odd-numbered ones at the end of book. The book under review is a good text for undergraduates, suitable for a course in one semester or an extended course for two semesters, and it can be used in some courses in computer science as well. Mehdi Hassani is a co-tutelle Ph.D. student in Mathematics in the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Science in Zanjan, Iran, and the Université de Bordeaux I, under supervision of the professors M.M. Shahshahani and J-M. Deshouillers. Arithmetic of the Integers The Chinese Remainder Theorem Combinatorial Number Theory Partitions and Generating Functions True Primality Tests Distribution of Primes Arithmetic Functions: Euler, Carmichael, and Möbius Number and Sums of Divisors The Floor and the Ceiling Random Number Generation The Legendre Symbol The Quadratic Reciprocity Law Simple Continued Fractions and Diophantine Approximation Infinite Simple Continued Fractions Periodic Simple Continued Fractions Pell’s Equation and Surds Continued Fractions and Factoring Additivity—Sums of Powers Sums of Two Squares Sums of Three Squares Sums of Four Squares Sums of Cubes The Equation ax2 + by2 + cz2 = 0 Fermat’s Last Theorem Appendix A: Fundamental Facts Appendix B: Complexity Appendix C: Primes ≤ 9547 and Least Primitive Roots Appendix D: Indices Appendix E: The ABC Conjecture Appendix F: Primes Is in P Solutions to Odd-Numbered Exercises List of Symbols

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Lillian R. Lieber must have been a fascinating person. Beginning in the 1930s, she wrote (and her husband Hugh Gray Lieber illustrated) a sequence of "popular" books on mathematics. The books are all written in a unique style: sentences are broken into chunks that are supposedly easier to read and absorb. Like this, from the preface of the book under review: This is not intended to be Writing each phrase on a separate line facilitates rapid reading, is in a hurry The books were full of whimsical illustrations, words in ALL CAPS for emphasis, and moralizing commentaries about mathematics. And the topics ran all the way from quite technical (Galois theory, infinity, and Relativity Theory) to the kind of popular mathematics writing that we find, for example, in The Education of T. C. Mits, first published in 1942 and then, in a revised and enlarged edition, in 1944. "T. C. Mits" is "The Celebrated Man In The Street" (one can't help but comment that today he'd be "Pits"… though one should note that his wife, Wits, played a role in a later book, Mits, Wits, and Logic). His "Education" is really an attempt to argue the power and virtues of mathematical thinking. Along the way, Lieber discusses several interesting bits of mathematics. Some are standard recreational math problems (imagine a belt around the Earth…). Several, however, are quite interesting and unusual: a finite geometry, a finite field, a space that is "naturally" four-dimensional (the parameter space for the collections of all spheres in 3-space, an example that I learned from this book over 35 years ago and have used forever after). The main goal is to make two arguments: that mathematical thinking is both valuable and (in the long run) useful, and that it models ways of thinking that are applicable more widely. The first point is, of course, one that is still made in many popular mathematics books and in video programs such as PBS's Life by the Numbers. Today, writers in this vein prefer to show snazzy new applications of mathematics, often not saying much about the mathematical ideas themselves and certainly keeping "pure mathematics" well in the background. Lieber is more daring. She gives us the image of a "totem pole" of science, with technology at the bottom and mathematics at the top. (Applied mathematics, science, and engineering occupy the middle levels, and, since there are five levels, each is represented by one of the regular polyhedra!) Lieber's argument then is that each levels uses the products of the level above. As a result, any snazzy new technology depends, ultimately, on the pure mathematics at the top. This "trickle-down" approach to making a case for mathematics is now old-fashioned; Lieber's presentation is as effective as any I've seen. On the way to making her case for the value of mathematics, Lieber deals with a concern very much in evidence in the 1940s, namely the use of science and technology (and therefore, given the totem pole, of mathematics) in war. Her argument is that while it is true that science and technology can be so used, in their essential philosophies science and mathematics point in another direction. (It is remarkable that the morality of war itself is not part of the discussion. I think this is because, in the middle of World War II, the awfulness of war itself was more vivid to most people than the issue of whether the war was necessary.) This leads to the second argument, namely, the claim that mathematical thinking is a useful model for human thinking in general. This is where the book appears most old-fashioned. How often does one see it argued that the way mathematics is done supports both internationalism and democracy? The argument that logical thinking is useful everywhere is easier to make, but Lieber goes way beyond that. The preface by Barry Mazur captures well my reaction to this side of the book: The first thing that reading it does to me is to return me to the state of twelve year old, the authors coming at me like a loving, elderly aunt and uncle. They plunk me onto a chair which is a bit too high for my legs to reach the ground, and slide a large glass of chocolate milk and a home-baked cookie in my direction, all in preparation for showering me with exuberant lessons (of life, of math, of the world … stuff like that), each with its concomitant ulterior moral. Exactly! It's hard to say how today's readers — at least those who did not have such uncles and aunts — will react to that. Given this "improving" aspect of the book, it's not surprising to learn that it was also published in an "Armed Services Edition" for the use of American soldiers fighting in World War II. (There is an online exhibit dedicated to the Armed Services Editions, from which we obtained the image on the left.) Future science fiction writer Frederik Pohl reports that this edition of Mits represented his first exposure to the idea of formal logic. In his foreword, Mazur comments: What luck the Council on Books in Wartime had, to be able to offer the troops this educationally uplifting book, speckled with its bright cartoon drawings of T. C. Mits, who — in defiance of (or perhaps oblivious to) the ravening forces of destruction of the age — is often shown sporting a hyperboloid cap and contemplating, cheerily, his place in some vast setting of the mathematical sublime. Lieber seems to have something of a following. She has a Wikipedia entry, and there is also a web page specifically about her and her husband's work. Perhaps this interest will lead to others of her books coming back into print. To my mind, this is not the best of Lieber's books (I'd give that to her Infinity, at least partly out of nostalgia: it was the first one I read). Still, it's a delightful book that fights the good fight for the discipline we all have learned to love, mathematics. It's great to have it back. I'm planning to ask my calculus students to read it. Maybe we can have an interesting debate on whether mathematics really does serve as a guide to clear thinking in all of life. Fernando Q. Gouvêa is Carter Professor of Mathematics at Colby College in Waterville, ME, and the editor of MAA Reviews. He read his first Lillian R. Lieber book in junior high, and hasn't recovered yet.

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Written: Autumn 1970 Source: Militant International Review, issue 3, Autumn 1970 Transcription/Markup: Patrik Olofsson, 2006 Proofread: Patrik Olofsson, 2006 Political perspectives in Britain cannot be understood except on the background of the development of world capitalism. In the last quarter century, in the main industrialised countries, there has been an expanded growth of the economy. The so-called undeveloped areas, formerly colonial or semi-colonial, have fallen behind; capitalism in the present epoch has aggravated the contradictions between the growth of the countries in the West, including Japan, and the much slower growth or even relative decline of the underdeveloped countries. This period has also seen a steady increase in power of the economy of the deformed worker-States, China and the Russian bloc. Even though there has been a steady growth of the economy in the West, despite minor recessions or small slumps, the economy have been plagued with the illness of inflation. Continually rising prices, partly due to the enormous fictitious capital injected into the economy by arms production and other means have bedeviled the economy. In addition to arms, there has been the injection artificially into the world economy of dollars, without a backing in the balance of payments. At the same time, the enormous potential of world economy and the world division of labour has been shown even if in a distorted form, by the expansion of the world economy. The increase of world trade, particularly between the industrial powers, has given an added impetus to the development of all the industrialised capitalist economies. These factors interacting on one another, have given a boost to technology and invention, which in its turn has meant the development of new products and the intensive search for new resources of raw materials and minerals on all the continents. The discovery of such resources in turn has added to the expansion process. The growth of the economy in its turn has meant an increased power for the working class in numbers and cohesion. The demand for an increased share of the enormous wealth they have been producing is a feature of all the capitalist countries in the West. The wages offensives in Western Europe, Japan and American are an indication of this tendency. Thus the beginning of the revolution in France in May 1968 and the pre-revolutionary situation in Italy are an indication that the growth of the economy by no means solves the problem for the ruling class of relations between the classes. The very explosive development of the economy with all its effects acts as a stimulus to class conflict. This epoch has been one of preparing for new clash battles on the part of a generation of workers, who have never experienced the defeats, and the pessimism induced by these defeats, in the interwar years. British imperialism economically, diplomatically, militarily, has seen a slow decline in its world position in the last quarter century. Had it not been for the above mentioned factors of world economic growth and the world economic upswing, this would have resulted in a catastrophe. The British Empire has been slowly dissolving. The Commonwealth, from being a source of resources and tribute has become to some extent a burden on Britain. As a market, it has grown more slowly than the industrialised countries at any rate in the ex-colonial and colonial sections. The old Commonwealth has looked towards America rather than Britain, to a great extent, as an economic and military partner. Canada has become almost a province of the United States and New Zealand and Austrialia and South Africa show the same process at a slower pace. Thus the demands and burdens of the old Dominions and the New begin to outweight the connections of the past. In the past, British capitalist, of course, always looked towards Europe, but always with the policy of the Balance of Power. This has now been shattered by history. Britain has been reduced to just one of the European middle powers, similar to France and West Germany, in contrast to the enormous continental super-powers of America and Russia. The perspective of the development of a mighty China and the colossal development economically of Japan, further accentuates the process of the reduction of British power in the world. At the same time, of all the big powers, Britain's growth rate has been the lowest. This has meant a steady attrition of power in comparison with her rivals. Not only Japan, but West Germany, has outdistanced her, and France and Italy are rapidly catching up. The futile attempt to maintain British power by enormous arms expenditure has further drained the resources of British Imperialism in the last quarter century. Even so, this expenditure has been an expenditure in effect on scrap. It is this changed position of British capitalism which has dictated as a last desperate throw to attempt to enter the EEC. Coming late, it is a delusion of British imperialism that they will solve their problems thereby. It is a naked calculation in material gain that dictates the policies of all the Powers. As far as Britain is concerned, she has to balance up the loss and the gains of entering the EEC. On the one hand, for the great combines of chemicals, electronics, engineering, motor manufacturers, the market of nearly 60 million people in the British Islands (Eire is, in reality, an appendage), is too small. Consequently, they have to find a greater market if they are to expand at the maximum limit of their capacity. Britain has an advantage in scientific research and development, her expenditure alone being equal to two thirds of that of the six Common Market countries. It is in the development of these techniques that she lags behind. The ruling clique hopes that with the spur of the bigger single market enclosed in its own tariff walls, there will be an incentive to invest and thus a greater growth of the economy. The disadvantages lie in the common agricultural policy which would abolish the advantage of generations of cheap good. In its turn, it will cut off markets in the old Dominions and the New. Deprived of the British markets for food, they in their turn would look elsewhere for the exchange of manufactured and capital goods, and this; Britain would be deprived of certain markets. Thus whether they enter or not still remain in the balance. The inevitable increase in prices of food and other necessities, which entry would mean, would stimulate even greater demands for wage increases on the part of the working class. Consequently, it would provoke an increasing mood of resistance on the part of the workers. On the other hand, the inflation continues in Britain as in other countries, with steady increases in prices, unabated. Thus, staying out of the Common Market cannot solve the problems of British imperialism, while entry on the other hand, though in the interests of the most modern sections of the monopolies, could not solve these problems either. The victory of the Conservatives in the General Election was a reaction to the Tory policies of the Labour Government; policies adopted under the direct pressure of Big Business in the City. The burdens of increasing taxes, while subsidising the investments of the entrepreneurs; the whittling away of some parts of the Welfare State, with increased prices for school meals and charges for medical prescriptions; the Prices and Incomes policy with its attempt to limit wages while profits were increased, were all indications of this capitulation to Big Business. All this, plus the constant pre-occupation with the balance of payments syndrome, were all indications of the lack of vitality of British capitalism. While American with enormous production and power, can (of course temporarily) ignore her enormous deficits and still proceed financially and economically as the worlds" major power, Britain is immediately affected because of her now puny weight, in comparison with the past, in world affairs. She is a lesser power and has dropped from third position to fifth in her industrial output and capacity. France is now within challenging distance. This explains the feverish preoccupation with the balance of payments. The deficit in the balance of payments in its turn is caused by the competition in manufactured goods on Britain's home market, where despite the second highest tariffs in the world - America's are the highest - Britain is often defeated in price by her main rivals. All these factors are a demonstration of the fact that Britain has been pushed down to the level of the lesser powers. It is on this background that developments after the General Election must be viewed. The Tory program, leaving aside the demagogy about prices, can be compressed into that of "dealing" with the Unions and lowering taxes on companies, corporations and the rich. "The Banker", journal of finance capital, commenting in its July issue on the Conservative election victory, declared: "He Heath has been given a mandate to reverse the interventionist policies of the last six years, to restore incentives, at personal and commercial levels, and to instill greater competition through industry .... The failure of the economy, and particularly industry, to gear itself to a high-growth pattern. There are many strands to this: low investment, failure of industry to regroup, poor labour relations, a low savings ratio...." This, of course, was the real meaning of the Tory program. Coppers to the workers, millions to big business and the directors: a program operated by the Tory Government in Australia in boom conditions. This provoked the first mass political protest strike on August 25th of 14 million Australian workers. Any attempt to carry through the Tory program will provoke a storm within the Labour and T.U. Movement in Britain. It is the reaction to this significant strike which probably resulted in the changed attitude of the Financial Times against a "Hard" attitude to the workers dealt with further on in this article. It is significant that not a word about this strike appeared in the popular press: It obviously aroused apprehension that the British workers might follow this example, when and if the Tories as they intended, introduced a similar budget. The Tories came to power with a promise of a new style of government. Gone were to be the frantic scurrying of the Labour Government. Deliberate government would be the watchword. This government has reflected itself in inaction and "deliberate" enjoyment of the part of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Deliberate government has meant deliberate nothing, as the capitalist press has cautiously complained. In the light-mindedness and inaction of the bourgeois leaders are reflected the decay of capitalism itself. For fifty years, they have suffered one staggering reverse of fortune after another, in a monotonous and gloomy decline. The nitwit aristocrat Home is followed by the nitwit upstart Heath. The leaders of the bourgeoisie, in this period, reflect the impasse of the system. The only sections of the program of the Tories which are intended seriously, are those which intend to cut down on the expenditure of the nationalised industries. The Tories intended to hold down the price increases of the nationalised sector for the benefit in the main, of Big Business, the main consumers of transport, electricity, gas and fuel, giving only a marginal benefit to the individual consumer and housewife. Even in this, it is doubtful whether they can succeed in carrying it through to a conclusion. As far as the prices of general commodities are concerned, they have decided to do nothing. Thus, those housewives who were deceived into voting for the Tories on the issue of rising prices will be the hardest hit by the policies of the government. The defeat of the Labour Party in the election can be partially explained by the overweening confidence of the Labour leaders, who in statesmanlike fashion, hardly put forward any policies - let alone Socialist policies - in order to provoke the necessary enthusiasm and confidence of the rank and file. The defeat was more of a setback or a secondary defeat, rather than a debacle. It is due in the main to the apathy and abstention of the more politically backward layers. In the General Election, the Conservatives gained 13,106,965 votes; Labour got 12,141,676 and the Liberals 2,109,218. The Welsh and Scottish Nationalists, C.P. and various freak candidates received a total of 900,473. The Conservative vote rose by 1.600,000 and Labour's fell by 900,000. There was a 72% turnout in comparison with a 75.9% turnout at the last election. Labour's vote fell in spite of the increased electorate and the fact that youth of 18 voted for the first time. The organised workers are not at all demoralised by the political defeat. They have turned their attention to the industrial front and the struggle for higher wages and better conditions. This militant mood has already developed out of disillusionment with the policies of the Labour Government. The measures which the Tories have projected for the future can only strengthen this mood. The Jeremiah of the Tories on the question of strikes will merely provoke even bigger strikes on the part of all sections of the working class. The demands of the transport workers, of the miners, railway men, the engineers and public employees of anything from 15% to over 30% increases are an attempt to make up for the lost wages due to the prices and incomes policy. The dock strike was intended to mark a stand on the part of the government. The Conferederation of British Industry and the Government itself announced that the economy and the country could not stand further "wage inflation", i.e. an increase in the share of the wealth produced by the workers, or an attempt to catch up on the steadily increasing prices. Retail prices are steadily rising. They rose 3½ % in the first seven months of this year according to the official index which is artificially weighted not to show the extent of price rises. The poisoned argument of the capitalist press that increased wages cause increased prices is falsified by the admission of the financial press - not read by the workers - that devaluation and world inflation are having their effect in Britain. It is not prices that chase wages but wages that chase prices! The politically illiterate and savage journal of the right wing Tories, The Economist, was screeching for action and a firm stand to withstand the Dockers claim, even at the cost of a long strike. This, for the purpose pours encourager les autres (to encourage the others) as a lesson to the other sections of the working class. In more decorous terms, the Financial Times and the Times editorialised in the same vein. The actual strike of the Dockers was greeted with delight by The Economist - its effect on the balance of payments was considered secondary, from the point of view of these ruling class spokesmen, to that of teaching the working class a lesson, and thus helping safeguard an increased share of the profits for the ruling class. Thus we see it is not the 'country' and its interests that dictate the policies of these loud-mouthed representatives of the capitalists, but the naked and selfish interests of capital. The Economist, greeted with screams of pain the minor concessions to the Dockers which amounted to 7% increase on their wages. (Of course, this was a major "concession" in comparison with the cast guidelines of 3.5% increase of the Prices and Incomes policy). Mr. Michael Nobel, President of the Board of Trade, at Cumbernauld on 21st August, gloomily said that "Britain was not in a period of slump but we were very much on the borderline". He declared that number one priority to be the "curbing of inflation" even before solving the problem of economic growth". The Financial Times for 21st August points out editorially: "taking a half-yearly comparison (of industrial production) the rise in the first half of 1970 as against the second half of last year has been less than 0.5 per cent .... Even (consumer spending increase) is unlikely to bring the rate at which output is rising quickly into line with the underlying rate of increase in productive capacity even if the latter is now somewhat less than has been widely assumed." Thus even the miserable increase in productive capacity cannot be utilised because it would not help to increase the profits of the capitalists. Capitalists are not interested in producing goods because they are wanted but only for the purpose of increasing the mass of profits in relation to the capital laid out. The TUC and the Labour leadership, pointing out the slack capacity which is not utilised, are making the mistake of asking capitalists, their Government and system, to do things which are not possible. The contradiction of want and low wages, amid the possibilities of plenty, are result, and causes of the problem of the maximisation of profit under capitalism, which is interested in this and not maximum production. The mood of the working class to oppose attempts to cut living standards or even to prevent improvements in. the standard of living is almost universal throughout the industrialised capitalist countries. The working class in Britain is not prepared to tolerate a disguised version of a Prices and Incomes Policy from the Conservative Government. The Financial Times of 26th August presents the dilemma of the Government editorially: "The choice is in essence a simple one. The Government can either accept the argument of the National Institute (Economic Review) that there is little the Government can do about inflation one way or the other and that it, therefore, might just as well reflate. If incomes policy does not arrest the rise in British costs relative to those of our main competitors, then sooner or later the exchange rate must take the strain." The Government's alternative to this specter of a new devaluation, before adopting any new "stimulus" to the economy was first: "We would have to get to grips with wage inflation". It then argues on the National Institute premises that inflation and devaluation "could in time become a vicious circle, with one triggering off the other in turn. But the real argument against accepting inflation is a much more fundamental one. Inflation even at the present rate sets up considerable social, and therefore political, strains. If the rate were to accelerate these strains would become all the greater." Neither inflation, meaning steadily rising prices, nor deflation meaning depressing standards and leading to even higher unemployment, serve the interests of the working class. What then of the present impasse combining both deflation and inflation! Such is the result of so-called "planned capitalism" in America and Britain. All the high-flown theories which were supposed to have solved the problems of capitalism and explained the post-war economic upswing are shown in all their bankruptcy. (In the next issue we will deal with these questions). In the first seven months of 1970, more than a millions workers were on strike, about 1 in 25 of the labour force. This is the largest number since official statistics began in 1947. The number of working days lost amounted to 6.05 million. This is double the number of days lost during the-same period last year. As things are developing 1970 could record the highest number of industrial conflicts since the General Strike. The Government and the employers are set on a collision course with the Trade Union and Labour Movement. Because of the complete incapacity of the employers, and the virtual stagnation of the economy, not enough has been invested to put British capitalism in a strong position in relation to her competitors. Devaluation, an indirect attack on standards of living, gave them a breathing space which has not been used to retool. Now the workers are not prepared to accept passively attack: on their standard of living, or to accept the continuation of their present standards. Meanwhile, the Government, while not even pretending to limit prices, has demanded a virtual standstill on "high" wages increases. They have "asked" the chairmen of nationalised industries to resist "inflationary" wage increases. They have "asked" private employers to do the same - of course, in effect the message the employers "ordered" to be given to them. As the Daily Express of 28th August -outs it: "since the unions have made it clear that they will fight any interference in wage bargaining, mines, railways and local government services could all be disrupted before the year is out." The TUC reflecting the pressures of the working class, as shown by the election of left-wing leaders in the AEF and T&GWU, has announced in the mild words of Vic Feather, TUC General Secretary, that the Government's efforts to control wage rises were "a misguided and dangerous course of action". According to the Financial Times of 27th August, "members of the TUC General Council have clearly not yet decided how best to react to the Government's imprecise ideas on wages, and accordingly are not pressing forward to a premature confrontation ... The desire not to slide into a major wide-ranging battle was voiced especially by Sir Fred Hayday, of the G&RVU, who stressed that the TUC should not start on a path which could lead to a repetition of the 1926 General Strike". Thus the right-winger leader tried to scare the TUC with the apparition of the titanic battles of the past. By trying to be conciliatory and placate the Tory Government, they merely embolden it and increase its obstinacy. The only thing holding the employers and their Government back is the fear of the consequences of social conflict and its effect on their position both at home and in the world. The publicists of the ruling class are warning them of the consequences and advising restraint and comprise. Dealing with the inactivity of the Government, the political editor of the Financial Times, writes: "an all-out attempt at 'union-bashing' would simply produce more problems than it would solve". The policy of the Government is not "misguided" but dictated by the interests of the employers and the present difficulties of British capitalism. The only thing that would hold them back, at least for a period, is if they saw that it would cost the capitalists more than they would save by the strike struggles and their effect on the economy. The lack of resolution of the TUC can only lead to the employers and the Government believing they can "deal" with the workers with the minimum of damage to the capitalists" interests. Spinelessness always stiffens the resistance of the employers. If the Government and their publicists and tools in the Press and mass media are hesitating, it is because of the militant uncompromising attitude of the rank and file. Despite all maneuvers and the threats to take action against "wildcat" strikes by legislation, it is this mood which is being reflected in the attitude of the union leaderships, including that of the G&MWU. Since the Second World War, when it came to the issue of a "showdown" which would mean a confrontation between the classes, the ruling class representatives in the government preferred to retreat. Under Churchill, Eden and Macmillan, faced with shattering industrial struggles which would have exacerbated class relations and weakened the position of British capitalism abroad, they preferred to give increases. This they could afford to do even with Britain's slow growth, because of the development and expansion of world economy and world trade. Thus, at each stage, the ruling classes preferred to put off the decisions and the grueling struggle to the morrow. However, the government, under pressure of Big Business, has dutifully raised the question of a showdown with the workers. Meeting with the chairmen of the nationalised industries, Barber, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, 'offered' full support to their resistance to inflationary wage increases even at the expense of national strikes. 'Summoned' by the Chancellor, the CBI solemnly agreed to make the same recommendations to private industry. It is for this that Big Business piles up its contributions to the coffers of the Tory Party. There is only one shadow on this comedy of the servant "instructing" his master, of course, not in the interests of the latter, but "of the nation", and that is the attitude of the working class and its organisations. At the time, when he was speaking the strike which has now lasted five weeks, of four thousand building workers on the Shell site at Guesmere Port was taking place. They refused the offer of 1s6d per hour increase or £3 per week or more, demanding 3s6d. This is a symptom of the mood of the organised workers, and of the difficulties of operating an unwritten restraint on the wages of the workers. Particularly as after the Tories' coming to power, prices have continued to increase faster than before. In the past, the capitalist class could retreat as a lesser evil, because of the up growth of the economy - though this was shockingly low in comparison with its rivals. |Gross Domestic Product|| Average Rate ofGrowth The gross domestic product rose by only 0.5% between the first quarters of 1969 and 1970, according to the calculations of the National Institute Economic Review of May, 1970. Nevertheless, this increase was sufficient to allow concessions to the stronger sections and the highly organised. But in the last few years, the revolt of the low paid workers has reached the stage of increasingly bitter struggles and strikes. The strike at Pilkington glassworks, which is the first important one involving all its glass factories, was symptomatic of this. It was the first strike at the St. Helens glassworks for fifty years. It involved the right wing Labour town of St. Helens, and the G&MWU. (Partly owing to the intervention of a tendency which the workers referred to as having "socialist measles", in dubbing the G&MWU as a "scab union", they conduced to the formation of an independent union of Glassworkers, thus tragically separating sections of the militant workers from the more politically and industrially backward elements.) This played into the hands of the G&MWU leadership, which, of course was responsible for the situation, by its bureaucratic mishandling and remoteness from the rank and file. The split and the strike which followed helped the employers' and the G&MWU bureaucracy to crush opposition. The bureaucrats outmaneuvered the dissidents by carrying through some reforms in the organisation of the workers in the plants. The attitude of the ultra-lefts has helped in provoking the temporary demoralisation of the workers. It is no accident that after the experience of Pilkingtons, the Tories have announced that in their projected anti-union legislation, they will make provision for split unions and for the "Right" of workers to decide by ballot what proportions should be represented by different "unions". They understand the weakening and demoralising effect that split unions have on the organisations of the workers. Undoubtedly, had the militants stayed inside the G&MWU, they would have been elected as shop stewards and controlled the new union branches which had been set up.) There have been strikes of the dustmen, teachers, and other sections in recent months. The working class has remained firmly committed to the unions; even where these unions have been bureaucratically ran. In the recent period, the seamen's union has transformed itself from a semi-company union into one more responsive to the pressures and demands of the rank and file. This is the most dramatic expression of the process. The move to the left in the AEF and the T&GWU are indications of the same process. The radicalisation of the white collar unions is another sign of these developments. The process will continue and even be intensified in the coming year. There were 3,021 industrial disputes in 1969 as compared with 2,378 in 1968. The number of workers on strike was 1,619,600 (including 227,000 indirectly involved) compared with 2,257,000 in 1968 (including 182,000 indirectly involved). But the 1968 figure includes 1,500,000 in the one day engineering strike. In terms of days lost, the increase was significantly greater, rising from 4,690,000 in 1968 to 6,772,000 in 1969. This does not include the approximately quarter million in 1969 who struck in protest against the projected anti-trade union laws. The figures for 1970 bid to exceed the figures for 1969. The battles of the Australian workers at the present time are an indication of the process. Not dismayed at the election of a Tory Government, they swept aside anti-trade union legislation and engaged in militant strikes. They are demanding their share of the expanded profits of the Australian industrial boom. In the 1968-69 financial year, Australia lost 1.9 million working days in strikes. This was double the previous year, and that was almost double the year before that. Even the Financial Times (28th August, 1970) remarks that this year will be a record. 250,000 Australian workers struck as a demonstration against the vicious budget which gave millions to the upper income brackets in lesser taxes and pennies to the workers, while steeply increasing taxes on hardware moods such as cars, fridges, transistors, kitchenware, etc. Civil servants have worked to rule, and there have been strikes of oil workers, milkmen, teachers, brewery workers, container depot workers, electricity workers in Melbourne, gas workers in Brisbane, airline maintenance men, and even nurses in Canberra. Most of these have been local strikes but they indicate the trend. There have been strikes against inflation, or to put it in rude language, steadily rising prices. The bitterness and resentment of the ruling class at the strength of the unions was shown by the campaign of all the mass media for anti-trade union legislation. But bitterness has to be tempered with realism if it is not to lead to disastrous conflicts. The CBI has not wholeheartedly welcomed the commitment of the Tory Government to anti-union legislation. In meetings with the Minister, delegations of this body have actually asked for a watering down of anti-union legislation) And not at all from kind heartedness or philanthropy do these narrow-minded and faithful members and representatives of Big Business take this action. Their main pre-occupation is to aim at the funds of the unions, to try and frighten the bureaucrats of these unions into docility, at the same time, trying to enmesh the unions in the state machinery of arbitration and other 'conciliatory' machinery. The threats of the CBI and of the Government to the unions have met with a skeptical echo from the financial press. The Financial Times of 19th August has some very interesting material on the negotiations between the T&GWU and the giant oil and smaller oil distribution companies in relation to the wages of the lorry drivers of these concerns. It sourly comments on the fact that the employers were forced to grant, in full, the 33 1/3% wage increase demand of the workers. This, the Financial Times felt, showed the strength of the T&GWU and, in particular, the shop stewards. These negotiations, as the Financial Times wryly remarks, were taking place at the very time that the CBI and the Government were issuing their dour warnings on the effects of wage inflation, and the necessity of absolute resistance! The real tenor of the Government and the reactions of the workers to it, are shown in relation to the question of establishing a second line of air transport, apart from the State concerns BEA and BOAC. BUA, which was preparing to sell out to BOAC, as it was virtually bankrupt, has now seen the light and is trying to merge instead with Caledonian Airways. This is to be a reminder of the advantages of private (un)-enterprise. As a blessing to this marriage, the Tory Government wants to hand over air routes which would bring £7 million a year profit to the new airline at the expense of the State airlines. Even the chairmen of BEA and BOAC despite their increases of £2,500 a year, have protested strenuously at this racket. Naturally, the "progressive" press, such as the Observer, has enthusiastically welcomed this suggestion. None of the mass media have explained the repulsive character of the suggestion that the State hand over a new "license to print money", to monopoly concerns, without these having spent a penny of money, or forethought, to the development of such routes, which were created at great cost by the State airlines. This pleasant transaction, as was to be expected, has hardly been met with enthusiasm by the workers at the airports. The workers at Heathrow, Manchester, Glasgow, Gatwick and other areas, have responded indignantly by declaring that they not touch any of the aircraft of such a line, and will have it blacked by their brother unionists in all the airports of the world! They demanded that the original BUA-BOAC merger go through. Thus, whatever direction the rulers look, the prospect is that of stormy political weather. Any attempt by the Government to carry through their policy would provoke the biggest industrial storm of the postwar epoch. Yet in this weather, they have at the head, Heath, who may be good at sailing small crafts, but hardly has the stamina and the understanding to steer the ship of state through the stormy years that lie ahead. For more than two decades, the ruling class had constantly proclaimed through the mouth of its statesmen, the mass media and individual capitalists, that investment is the key to progress in the future. Yet it is precisely in investment in Britain that they are falling behind. Investment abroad totals up to £1,000 million in 1969. The investment of the nationalised industries is actually more than 50% the total of investments in Britain. At the same time, so-called private industry comprises 90% of manufacturing and productive industry in the country. In comparison with the colossal amounts invested in America and Japan and the proportion of national income which goes to investment in Western Europe, the sums put into new industry by British capitalism are puny. At the same time, the tendency of the falling rate of profit has begun to affect all sections of the capitalist world. Falling profits provokes a universal reaction of the capitalists, to try and limit wages as a means of insuring a bigger share of the wealth created by the working class. In Japan and Western Europe, this has partly been overcome by a higher growth rate, which, of course, ensures bigger profits. The chronic crisis and the measures of the government to overcome it, have added artificial impediments to the already slow rate of growth. The disparity between America, Europe and Japan on the one side and Britain on the other, in the rate of growth, was further accentuated by the higher investment in proportion to the national income in these countries in comparison with Britain. The industrial production figures of some important countries between 1957 and 1967 indicate the trend. Sweden increased at the rate of 6.1% annually, France 5%, West Germany 4.8%, USA 4.6% and Britain only 2.7%. In 1970, the level of investment will only be 3 to 4% higher than the miserable level of 1969, according to a forecast by the CBI after consulting their member firms. Under Wedgwood Benn the Ministry of Technology had forecast 7%. Even this abysmally low figure will not be reached. The level of fixed investment (including housing) fell by 1% in 1969. The increase in world trade was 14% by price but by volume only 10%. This increase disguised the slow rise of British exports. The exports of West Germany and Japan leaped ahead by contrast. In the field of machine tools, Britain's industry now stands fifth in size. This is the indispensable base for the re-tooling of industry. Deliveries of machine tools in 1969 reached the figure of £180 million. Exports were over £67 million, but in return £40 million worth was imported, leaving a favorable balance of only £27 million. In the field of electronics, exports increased from £140 million in 1965 to £255 million in 1969. An apparent success; but imports increased in the same period from £82 million to £241 million. The favorable surplus dropped from £57 million to £16 million. The trade is forecasting an actual deficit in 1970 in electronics. The Midland Bank Review also complains: "profit margins, if not generally falling, are at least rising less rapidly than previously, thus restricting the availability of internal funds, the main source of finance for capital development .... Interest rates (are) at high levels .... the amount of new money raised in capital issues was £1S9 million in the first half of 1970 (compared with) £469 million in the first half of 1969...." It expected a modest revival in consumer expenditure. The rate of interest has increases from 5,8% to 1960, already a high figure, to 9,1% in 1969. In the same issue of The Banker quoted above, it states baldly: "The international interest rate war has, of course, been very much a reflection of the economic times; a consequence of the pursuit of over-ambitious growth rates and employment levels, to the detriment of price stability and international payments equilibrium". Consequently, the Tory Government looks with equanimity at the prospective growth of unemployment to three-quarter million by the end of the year. It is afraid of "stimulating" production for fear of "stimulating" the workers' demand for an increased share of the wealth they produce. Rather a smaller "cake" of which the ruling class get a greater share. Production under capitalism is not for the sake of production but to increase the profits of the ruling class! According to The Banker, "Gross Domestic Product at constant prices fell by 1% up to the end of June. Consumption remained virtually unchanged, with exports leveling off. The fall in total spending reflected slightly lower levels of fixed investment and stock building. The estimate of fixed investment has since been revised to show little change on the previous quarter for manufacturing industry...Indeed the Treasury has since suggested...the outcome may be more in line with the lower estimate of 3%-4% reached for manufacturing industry by the CBI .... Investment plans seem to have been revised downwards because of the failure of the economy to expand, and also the severity of the liquidity pressures (lack of cash and banking limitations on lending) on the private sector..." Business failures in the first half of 1970 were 21% above that of the corresponding period of 1969. These figures are an estimation of the weakness of British capitalism. Nevertheless, there has been a growth of British industry to a far greater extent and far faster pace than in the inter-war period. Despite the limping character of its progression, Britain has seen more mergers and concentration of capital than any other country in the world. This concentration on the one side, with the development of mass industries, has not been confined to industry, but to the commercial side as well. While the industrial workers, because of their organisation, have defended and even extended their standard of living, the white collar workers have fallen behind. Relative to the organised industrial workers, their standards have declined. At the same time, the old paternal relationship between managers and staff has largely disappeared, the big commercial firms employing hundreds and even thousands of white collar employees have begun to be organised. Some white collar workers have taken militant action. Especially in the engineering industry, where the big firms are strongly organised, the staff side, which is close to the workers, has organised militant action involving DATA and the clerical workers' organisations. Layers of workers not reached by unionism in the past, and in which the employers have organised company unions to prevent genuine union organisation, have now been affected. Bank clerks and insurance officials have rejected company unions and joined unions affiliated to the TUC. Civil servants, post office workers, typists, clerks, among whom strikes had been unheard of, have conducted strikes for better wages and conditions. Many of these unions affiliated to the TUC as a symbol of solidarity with their blue-collared brothers. If they have not yet drawn a political conclusion by the dialectic of history, this has partly been because of the experience of the Labour Government. This has delayed the process but cannot prevent it. Any big movement of industrial workers will gain sympathy and in certain circumstances support by strikes by sections of the white collar workers which would have been considered impossible formerly. From a reactionary attitude, they have been won to the principles, in however vague a form, of Trade Unionism. On the fringes, in Northern Ireland there has been a struggle of the Catholic minority for equal rights and against the artificial partition of the island. (This raises a whole series of questions which have been dealt with in an article on Ireland in this issue.) However, the effects of the struggle of sections of Irish workers must have a powerful echo in Britain, where an important segment of the working class is of Irish origin. The problem of the coloured immigrants threatens to form an explosive issue in the next turn of events. Because of the whole background of rising militancy on the industrial field, the inevitable disillusionment of large sections that voted for the Tories will have a big effect. Above all because they will not be able to hold down rising discontent expressed in the waging of strikes or because they will be compelled to partially capitulate to such struggles on the part of the workers, it is unlikely that this government will last out its whole term. Even if they are able to, they will be compelled to retreat in face of working class strength. But the very continuous decline of Britain in her world power must mean at some stage a real showdown with the working class to try and compensate for the loss of positions abroad. The ruling class is probing and pressing and taking the line of least resistance, while they are capable of making concessions. This can continue so long as the upward swing of the economy hides the relative fall in the power of Britain. But even such an unhealthy process as inflation can better be cushioned by her rivals, than by Britain herself. Her margins are much less than those of her competitors. Only the great wealth that Britain has accumulated over a period of centuries helps her to alleviate the worst effects of the slow but continuous decline of capitalism. The defeat-of the Labour Government has had a big effect within the ranks of the advanced elements in the Labour and Trade Union movement. The anti-working class measures of the Labour Government were resented by large sections of the Labour Movement. Big sections have understood that the defeat was due to the adoption of capitalist policies by the Labour Government. The abandonment of any pretence of Socialist policies and the effect that that has had in the defeat of the Labour Party at the polls has aroused widespread criticism of the policies of the Labour Government. This has resulted already in the first signs of attempts by trade union militants to become active within the Labour Party in order to fight reactionary policies. In Liverpool, for example, trade unionists in some areas have gathered together a caucus to discuss policies and activities in their local parties. They are uncertain as to program and policy, but they are determined to change the Party policy on Socialist lines. The youth, which always is the most sensitive barometer of political developments, is moving towards the left. The section, however small at the moment, organised in the Young Socialists, is moving rapidly to the left. A big section is already convinced of the necessity for Marxist policies, as the only solution for the problems facing the working class. Critical protests against the lack of militant policies by the Labour leaders are increasing. Meanwhile, Wilson and the other members of the former government stand aloof from the attitudes of the working class. In the hot-house atmosphere of the House of Commons and the exotic atmosphere of government in the Cabinet, the class struggle seems far away and the rocking of the boat of the "national" economy, i.e. the vested interests and the privileges of private ownership and the status quo are accepted as the basis for the politics of the nation. It is in this atmosphere that after the post election defeat and following apparently severe strictures on Heath and the Tory Party, that Wilson declared that he always knew that Heath was a good and capable fellow. At the Macleod funeral, Wilson walked abreast of Heath and Macmillan. Thus, the class struggle in the comfortable atmosphere of Parliament seems an invention of foreigners like Karl Marx. It doesn't apply to Britain. The game of politics they view as if it were a game of cricket. Wilson in effect declares "it's your innings, fellows". The grim realities of life and the hard struggle of the working class to maintain and increase a little their standards of living; the necessary vigilance to maintain trade union and shop stewards organisations, with the endless pinpricks and provocations of the employers, see the working class, particularly the organised sections in the trade union and Labour movement, taking a different standpoint on the realities of the class struggle. In their daily life, and at work, they are constantly brought up before the necessities of a struggle for existence. Theirs are not the rosy, pleasant exchanges in the House of Commons and in the smoking rooms; theirs are not the port and whisky, caviar and limousine existence of the tops, but on the contrary, the matter of fact realities of fish and chips, and down to earth details in the struggle for wages and prices in the factories, plants and other undertakings where they work. Thus despite the Labour leaders, and even more, in spite of the threats of the Government and employers, pressures from below will force these leaders - at least in words - to the left. Barbara Castle is already edging her way over in the criticism of the employers and the suggested measures of the government. At this stage of the process, the bankruptcy of the reformist and Parliamentary Left is clearly shown in the feeble program they are putting forward. It really does not differ radically from the program put forward by thee right in the past. Yet the explosive possibilities that exist within the working class are shown by the general mood. Should the Tories cling to power and try and maintain this for the whole of this Parliament, big industrial struggles and even the possibility of a general strike, loom on the horizon. It is in this period that a slow, steady growth of the Marxist current in the Labour movement is taking place: a current not afflicted with infantile delusions and frivolous preening of themselves as the mass leadership of the working class. They have understood the sober realities of history. Events are moving in favour of Marxist ideas and a Marxist tendency if it knows how to work with the real currents of history as they really are and not in fantasy. In the last fifty years, it is in the Trade Unions and their political reflection in the Labour Party that the radicalisation of the working class has manifested itself. The mass of the workers, especially the organised workers, will never easily leave their traditional organisations, particularly in the early stages of mass radicalisation. They will seek to transform their unions, as they have partially pushed to the left the T&GWU and AEF into fighting organs of the working class. Over and over again, the Labour Party will be refreshed and renewed by the Trade Union branches sending militant and left delegates and the transformation of the wards in the constituency parties. New elements will push to the fore in the shop stewards' committees and in the trade union branches, and in the political labour organisations also. The process that has reached quite a high level in the youth organisations will be repeated in the adult organisations and trade union movement also. The white collar workers who are becoming unionised and union-conscious, will be politicised also, adding to the ferment in the movement. With the movement into action of big layers of the trade union workers, and the development of political crisis in Britain, the most oppressed and exploited, the most quiescent section of the working class will begin to awaken. The submerged, unskilled workers in catering, in small sweatshops which have succeeded in preventing union organisation, in clothing factories, retail shops and other sweated trades, the workers will move into action. The exploited workers, who have shown their capacity for struggle in the Tailors' and Garment Workers' Union in Leeds and other cities, are forerunners of real mass action on the part of the women. The clashes and struggles will harden and push out a layer of advanced political workers, convinced of the correctness of the ideas of Marx, Lenin and Trotsky. At the same time, at the opposite pole of politics, forces will be gathering for a struggle against the workers. Powell and the weapon of racialism is still only a reserve instrument in the hands of the ruling class. Discontent at the fumbling and hesitations of the government in the ranks of the Tory Party will be expressed in a drift to the right wing. They will know how to use the weapons of demagogy rather than the old fashioned Toryism of Powell, while using the powerful poison of racialism. In the Tory Party, the process will complement those taking place in the Labour Party but in the opposite direction. Opposition in the Labour Party will move towards the left, opposition in the Tory Party cowards the right. But these processes will not reach fruition till there is a change of government. A new Labour Government will come to power with the pressure of the workers demanding a radical transformation of society. The counter-pressures of Big Business, the City, the mass media, would far outdistance the mild pressures on the last Labour government. Thus, a new Labour Government would begin its activity with a far different atmosphere than that of the last. With a watchful, wary working class and an embittered ruling class, the stage should be set for explosive possibilities.

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If you are searching examples or an application online on Runge-Kutta methods you have here at our The Runge-Kutta methods are a series of numerical methods for solving differential equations and systems of differential equations. We will see the Runge-Kutta methods in detail and its main variants in the following sections. One-step Linear methods Are numerical methods whose to forward a step, only the previous step information is needed, ie step n+1 only depends on the step n. Or with more precision, are methods of the form is a Rn is the independent Real variable, h the size-step, and F is a vectorial function of var xn , h, ie F : Rn+2 Note that this problem, is really an equations system. There are other methods called multi-step, which for to forward a step is required two or more previous steps and there are not linear methods, we will not discuss them here. Runge-Kutta methods are a specialization of one-step numerical methods . Essentially, what characterizes Runge-Kutta methods is that the error is of the form Where C is a positive real constant, the number k is called the order of the method The Runge-Kutta method number of stages of is the number of times the function is evaluated at each one step i, this concept is important because evaluating the function requires a computational cost (sometimes higher) and so are preferred methods with ao minimum number of stages as possible. Runge Kutta Methods examples The Euler Method (Runge-Kutta method with order 1) xn+1 = xn + h f(xn, tn) The error is in the form e ≤ Ch and so this method has order 1 Note: The function is one-tme evaluation at each step, so the number of stages is 1. The middle point rule (Runge-Kutta method with order two) xn+1 = xn + h f ( xn + h/2 f (xn, tn), tn + h/2) The error is in the form e ≤ Ch2 and so this method has order 2 Note: function are evaluated two times at each step, so stage-number is 2. Standar fourth-order Runge kutta (Runge-Kutta method with order four) xn+1 = xn + h/6 (k1 +2 k2 +2 k3 + k4) k1 = f(xn, tn) k2 = f(xn + hk1/2, tn + h/2) k3 = f(xn + hk2/2, tn + h/2) k4 = f(xn + hk3, tn + h) Now the error is in the form e ≤ Ch4so the method has order 4 Observation: Stage-number: 4. Error grahp size-step h function Error/size-step Graph in logarithmic scale of the tree methods seen here: - In red, the Euler Method - In green color the middle point with order 2 - In black, the Runge fourth order Kutta classic Note the difference in slope, which increases with the order of the method. We adopt the following definition as Runge-Kutta Methods: A Runge-Kutta method with s-stages and order p is a method in the form xn+1 = xn + h(∑si=1 biki) ki = f( xn + ∑sj=1aijkk, tn + hci) and the error holds the condition Max | X( tt) - xi| ≤ Ch tp So, to give a Runge-Kutta Method is necessarily give the s2 + 2s numbers An interesting feature of the R/K -methods is not needed calculating derivatives of f to forward. The price to pay for it is to evaluate more times the function f with the consequent Convergence Theorem for Runge-Kutta methods Lipschitz at x Max | x(ti ) - xi | ≤ K (eLb - 1) / L where L is the Lipschitz constant of F and k is the truncation local method error. One method is more efficient if has a reduced number of stages, maintaining order, for example between a 3-stage method with order 3 and one 4-stages of order 3, is much more interesting first one because if we take a step h, the number of calculations to be done will be lower for it. Given a Runge-Kutta, we construct a board as Also it is possible to write as board Butcher Where A ∈ Msxs , b ∈ Rs , C ∈ Rs For example, the board Butcher for the Euler method is For the midpoint rule of order 2 And for the standard Runge-Kutta of order 4 A Runge-Kutta method is said to be consistent if the truncation error tends to zero when Gloval the step size tends to zero. It can be shown that a necessary and sufficient condition for the consistency of a Runge-Kutta is the sum of bi's equal to 1, ie if it satisfies 1 = ∑si=1 In addition, the method is of order 2 if it satisfies that 1 = 2 ∑sj=1 Similar conditions can be given for methods with orderers 3, 4, ... In a Runge-Kutta explicit, given in the ki the definition does not appear as a function of them themselves are clear The matrix a in the Butcher board is "almost inferior triangular" because it is inferior triangular and the diagonal elements are zero too. A Runge-Kutta explicit method with s-stages may nor have order higher than s. It is known that there are not Runge-Kutta explicit methods with s stages with order s for s greater than or equal to 5 And it is known that there are not Runge-Kutta explicit methods with s-stages and order s for s greater than or equal to 5. It is also known that there aren't Runge-Kutta explicit s-stage order s-1, for s greater than or equal that 7. More generally we have the following table That step size is necessary? The answer to this question is that depends on the specific problem and the desired degree of accuracy. One thing to consider is that Runge-Kutta methods lose some precision when the derivative of the function analysis is very large or frequently changing sign, such cases requires a very small step size to obtain an acceptable degree of accuracy At next section we will see the Fehlberg Pairs embebbed , are methods in which the step size will vary automatically depending on (among other things) of changes in the derivative of the function If you want to see now an example of how these methods works, access to where you will see the default problem y' = f(x, y) Whose exact solution is obviously y(x)=ex

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Perspective view of the Vance Seamounts, showing nested flat-topped calderas. Vertical exaggeration is 2x. Image © MBARI 1999 Seamounts erupted near mid-ocean ridges There are many linear chains of seamounts that originate near mid-ocean ridges and are somehow due to excess magmatic activity intermittently but profusely over extended periods at that same point of the ridge. They are especially common near fast spreading ridge segments, and seem to be preferentially located near bends or offsets in the ridge crest. The chains are often asymmetric, with many more seamounts located on one side of a ridge than on the other. The cones are often flat-topped with pronounced calderas. A new family, genus, and species of enteropneust worm from the President Jackson Seamounts is reported on the eclectic topics page. Go to the MBARI mapping program for more maps and information about these seamounts. Our research on near-ridge seamounts Tectonomagmatic relationship with ridge volcanism President Jackson Seamounts extend to the northwest from the Gorda Ridge (to right of this map) GORDA RIDGE - The President Jackson Seamounts are a 65km long, linear volcanic chain west of the northern Gorda Ridge. Dredged basaltic lavas and hyaloclastites are normal mid-ocean-ridge basalts (MORB). The seamount lavas are similar in many ways to those erupted at the adjacent ridge but have some important geochemical differences: they have more primitive compositions, with higher MgO than the ridge lavas; they have lower TiO2 and FeO and higher CaO, Na2O, and Sr at comparable MgO than the ridge basalts; they contain phenocrysts ("conspicuous crystals") in equilibrium with the melt; and they lack the compositionally diverse glass inclusions and compositional zoning common in phenocrysts of most ridge basalt. The seamounts have multiple, nested calderas or pit craters, stepping downward toward the ridge axis, indicating formation in the active, near-ridge, extensional environment. The predominantly primitive nature of the lavas suggests that they pass through crustal magma chambers underlying the calderas very rapidly. The lack of evidence for magma mixing suggests that batches of magma are delivered to the seamounts episodically and either solidify or are drained into ridge-parallel faults before the next batch arrives. In contrast, lavas from the ridge axis show evidence for magma mixing: they have more fractionated melts that show evidence for clinopyroxene fractionation. Despite a lack of seismic evidence for magma chambers under slow spreading centers, continuous melt zones must be present under the Gorda Ridge axis to give the ubiquitous imprint of magma mixing. Reference: Davis, A.S. and D.A. Clague (2000) President Jackson Seamounts, northern Gorda Ridge: tectonomagmatic relationship between on- and off-axis volcanism, Journal of Geophysical Research, 105(B12): 27,939-27,956. [Abstract] [Article] Geology from high resolution bathymetric data NORTHEAST PACIFIC - High-resolution bathymetry and side-scan sonar data of the Vance, President Jackson and Taney near-ridge seamount chains in the northeast Pacific were collected with a hull-mounted 30 kHz sonar. The central volcanoes in each chain consist of truncated cone-shaped volcanoes with steep sides and nearly flat tops. Several areas are characterized by frequent small eruptions that result in disorganized volcanic regions with numerous small cones and volcanic ridges but no organized truncated conical structure. Several volcanoes are crosscut by ridge-parallel faults, showing that they formed within 30-40 km of the ridge axis where ridge-parallel faulting is still active. Magmas that built the volcanoes were probably transported through the crust along active ridge-parallel faults. The volcanoes range in volume from 11 to 187 km3, and most have one or more multiple craters and calderas that modify their summits and flanks. The craters (<1km diameter) and calderas (>1km diameter) range from small pit-craters to large calderas over 8km across. Crosscutting relationships commonly show a sequence of calderas stepping toward the ridge axis. To form these calderas, the volcanoes must overlie crustal magma chambers at least as large as those under Kilauea and Mauna Loa Volcanoes in Hawaii, perhaps 4-5 km in diameter and ~1-3 km below the surface. The nearly flat tops of many of the volcanoes have remnants of centrally located summit shields, suggesting that their flat tops did not form from eruptions along circumferential ring faults but instead form by filling and overflowing of earlier large calderas. The lavas must retain their primitive character by residing in magma chambers for only short time periods prior to eruption. Stored magmas are withdrawn, probably as dikes intruded into the adjacent ocean crust along active ridge-parallel faults, triggering caldera collapse, or solidified before the next batch of magma is intruded into the volcano, probably 1000 to 10,000 years later. The chains are oriented parallel to subaxial asthenospheric flow rather than absolute or relative plate motion vectors, and models yield rates of volcanic migration of 3.4, 3.3, and 5.9 cm/yr for the Vance, President Jackson, and Taney Seamounts, respectively. The modeled lifespans of the individual volcanoes in the three chains vary from 75 to 95 kyr. Magma supply rates differ from chain to chain, as expressed by the size of calderas, infilling of calderas, and formation of late cones on volcano summits and flanks. Reference: Clague, D.A., J.R. Reynolds, and A.S. Davis (2000) Near-ridge seamount chains in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, Journal of Geophysical Research, 105(B7): 16,541-16,561. [Abstract] [Article]

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What is an anal fissure? An anal fissure is a small tear or cut in the lining of the anus, which can cause pain and/or bleeding. Fissures may be acute (recent onset) or chronic (long-term or recurring frequency). Almost always the tear results from a combination of two factors: - Irregular bowel patterns (either hard or liquid stools) and - Increased anal sphincter tone (usually associated with stress). When hard stools pass through a tight anal opening, a laceration or split may occur and that is referred to as a fissure. Fissures can also be caused by anal trauma, laxative abuse, childbirth trauma, diarrhea, inflammation of the anal area, or laceration by a foreign object. Chronic fissures may be caused by spastic anal sphincter muscles, scarring, or an underlying medical problem. Fissures are not cancerous. What are the symptoms of an anal fissure? Common symptoms include rectal pain that may be extreme with bowel movements, rectal burning, bleeding (especially blood on the tissue paper or red blood streaking the stool), itching and/or a tearing sensation. How is an anal fissure diagnosed? Fissures can often be identified through anal inspection and digital rectal examination. The anal examination includes the use of an anoscope to directly visualize the fissure. How is a fissure usually managed or treated? The goals of treatment are: - to regulate the consistency of the stools - relaxation of the anal sphincter tone - to avoid discomfort, bleeding and pain - healing of the fissure Most fissures can be treated symptomatically and heal over the course of several weeks (usually six). Conservative measures are taken to correct the problems that create the fissure. The consistency of the stools can be regulated with the use of increased fiber intake, stool softeners, and/or increased fluid intake. Fiber has the property of absorbing water in the case of diarrhea or releasing water into the stools in the case of constipation, producing a more paste-like consistency. The increase in fiber intake can be accomplished with diet modification, use of fiber supplements or both. Relaxation of the anal sphincter tone can be achieved with behavior modification. Also taking Sitz baths (soaking the anal area in warm water for 20-30 minutes several times daily) is an excellent way to relax the anal sphincter tone and increase the blood flow to the area to promote healing. Topical pain relievers, such as Lidocaine jelly or ointment, can be used to control the discomfort. If the six-week conservative approach has not successfully resolved the fissure(s) or if symptoms have worsened, testing for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or infection may be considered. Surgery to relax the internal anal sphincter usually relieves the symptoms. This procedure can generally be done on an outpatient basis. Following surgery, the fissure heals over a weeks, although the pain usually resolves after a few days.

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The lamellum or lamella (LM; plural lamellae) localizes behind the lamellipodium and is usually the broadest structure in motile cells (typically 10-15 µm wide). Consisting primarily of condensed linear actin bundles, the actin filament network of the lamella is more stable and less dynamic than that of lamellipodia and may also resist compression. Lamellae feature stronger and more mature adhesion sites (reviewed in ) and also contain myosin II, a motor protein that is essential in cell motility. In each model, rigidity sensing and cell motility is achieved through myosin II induced periodic contractions of the lamellipodial actin network. Signals detected by adhesions located at the leading edge are transduced by the actin network to the rear of the lamellipodium where myosin II-dependent contractile forces are generated . These forces subsequently pull at the lamellipodial actin network and result in variable migratory responses dependent on the strength of the adhesions. In the traditional model, when adhesions are strong and the leading edge is anchored to the substrate, the cell pulls itself against the adhesion and moves forward in the process. The lamellipodial actin network continues to be pulled backwards, over the lamella, until it is severed from the initial leading edge adhesion. The generation of new actin filaments ensures lamellipodial growth and protrusion continues and new adhesions can be formed . The retrograde movement of these filaments ensures myosin II remains in constant contact with the lamellipodial actin network. The duration of contraction is proportional to the width of the lamellipodium and in general, the more rigid the substrate, the stronger the signal, and the greater the contractile force generated . Conversely when adhesions to the substrate are weak, contraction of the lamellipodial actin filament network will cause the lamellipodium to bend upwards, detaching the leading edge from the substrate surface. This results in ruffling and transient retraction . Such events are characterized by an extension of the leading edge before retraction or ruffling occurs. Without strong adhesions for the cell to pull against the net forward movement is minimal. This type of pattern of migration has been noted in more slowly migrating cells, such as fibroblasts . In the alternative model where actin filaments are gathered in the lamellipodia as 'arcs' and pulled back into the lamella by Myosin II, adhesions, and adhesion strength, play important roles in the rate of migration. In this model, where it is proposed that a single arc may contact a number of nascent focal adhesions, the adhesions, which form over a wider region, act both as a break to slow the flowing actin arcs, and as the site of future protrusion. If the adhesions are weak, they will slip backwards further into the lamella without any net gain in forward movement. If they are strong on the other hand it is proposed that they will slow rearward flowing actin arcs and thereby mark the region where the subsequent protrusion phases will commence. A net gain in forward movement will be achieved so long as newly forming adhesions at the leading edge remain strong . In all models where adhesion strength determines the ability for mechanosensing and rate of cell motility, whether strong or weak, myosin-II is essential. How this protein is activated in this context is yet to be confirmed. MLCK (myosin light chain kinase) has been shown to be transported to the rear of the lamellipodium during the short window of time in between periodic contractions and so has been highlighted as a potential candidate for myosin II activation . It should be noted that some evidence indicates lamellipodia are not required for cell motility. For example, when the formation of lamellipodia in epithelial cells was inhibited by the microinjection of skeletal muscle α-tropomyosin, leading edge protrusions and rapid cell migration was still observed . A recent study supports such findings and suggests more complex mechanisms control cell motility. Specifically, the secretion of internalized components of the ECM via exocytosis, coupled to cortactin regulation of Arp2/3-mediated filament branching .

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Moderate drinking in a group is safer, reduces attraction to risk New research led by the University of Kent shows that individuals who have consumed moderate amounts of alcohol in social situations are likely to view risky situations with greater caution when considering them as part of a group. The research, by psychologists from the University of Kent and the University of East Anglia, produced the first evidence found outside of laboratory conditions that being in a group can reduce some effects of alcohol consumption. The findings could lead to the design of new interventions designed to promote safer recreational drinking. Researchers asked University of Kent students who were drinking in groups in bars and at a music festival at its Canterbury campus to decide what levels of risk they thought was acceptable before recommending someone should take various actions. They accepted a higher level of risk when they were drinking and deciding alone, rather than when they were drinking and deciding in a group of others. In the study, 101 participants aged 18-30 who were in groups were approached to take part. The researchers compared groups of people who were just under the drink-driving limit with groups that had not consumed any alcohol. The participants first gave their private judgements about how much risk they would accept before recommending a potentially risky action - for example, whether it would be acceptable to drive to collect a friend from an airport after drinking. They then re-joined the group and discussed a second problem and the group had to agree how much risk would be acceptable. Dr Tim Hopthrow, of Kent's Centre for the Study of Group Processes, said: 'When intoxicated, it is known that people are more likely to engage in risky behaviour, including the use of illicit drugs, engaging in violent and other criminal activity and driving at dangerous speeds. Our findings confirmed that individual risk decisions are increased by higher alcohol consumption. 'Our previous research, which had been conducted in laboratory conditions, showed that effects of alcohol consumption that affect people drinking alone, such as becoming riskier, are reduced or eliminated when people make judgements together with other drinkers in a group. We wanted to establish whether this would hold true in real drinking situations outside the laboratory, such as a bar or concert, where there are many other influences at work. 'Our findings showed that, even in these natural settings, social interaction in groups can reduce the tendency of individual drinkers to accept risks. Alcohol consumers accepted more risk when deciding alone but the least risk when deciding as a group. We think that this is because drinkers in groups monitor one another closely, becoming more cautious when directly asked whether to take a risk.' The research, titled Drinking in social groups: does 'groupdrink' provide safety in numbers when deciding about risk?, is published in the journal Addiction. The research team comprised: Dr Tim Hopthrow, Dr Georgina Randsley de Moura, Professor Dominic Abrams and Dr Hannah Swift of the Centre for the Study of Group Processes, School of Psychology at the University of Kent, and Dr Rose Meleady, of the School of Psychology at the University of East Anglia. Dr Meleady said: 'We know that individuals are more likely to engage in risky behaviour when they are intoxicated, whether it be having unprotected sex, or engaging in violent or other criminal activity. This research demonstrates that drinking as part of a social group may mitigate the effects of alcohol consumption on risk-taking. 'Rather than seeing groups as part of the problem, we need to see them as part of the solution. Groups over-compensate for alcohol consumption in the face of risk. When drinking moderately, there may be safety in numbers.'

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Hurricane Katrina Damage Brings Major Health Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr, MD, FACP, FACR Hurricane Katrina's devastation of parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast is the greatest natural disaster ever faced by the U.S. With tremendous loss of life and property, this catastrophe has resulted in serious and potentially life-threatening health and safety concerns. In the aftermath of a hurricane or other natural disaster, health and safety - Caring for those injured during the storm is a further burden on emergency facilities and hospitals who may have themselves sustained damage and may suffer from staff shortages (many people are unable to come to work) and inadequate food and water supplies. - Flood water can be contaminated by fecal material and serve as a breeding ground for infectious agents of all types. Typhoid fever cholera are examples of bacterial diseases caused by contaminated water. - The lack of safe food and water supplies is compounded by the inability of relief vehicles to reach many areas. - Heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke can occur in those deprived of shelter from the oppressive summer heat and dehydrated from the lack of safe water to drink. - An increase in mosquitos concentrated around flood waters constitutes a risk for mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile infection - Safety concerns include potential criminal and violent attacks against others perpetrated by individuals who have been rendered desperate and aggressive by their losses. - Those who need acute medical care or medical services such as dialysis or chemotherapy may not be able to receive these needed services. People who need medication may not have access to pharmacies and/or medication. If you are interested in helping the victims of this tragedy, please see the article "Katrina Hurricane Aftermath" , which provides a list of organizations who need your assistance in relief efforts. Last Editorial Review: 9/1/2005

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A new Food and Drug Administration report (pdf) found that 12 percent of spices imported to the United States contain "filth," that includes human hair, rat feces, bird feathers, and insect casings. In addition, 7 percent of the spices were found to be contaminated with the illness-causing pathogen Salmonella. That's twice as much filth and salmonella as have been found in any other imported foods. According to the American Spice Trade Association, most of the spices we use in the U.S. must be grown in tropical or subtropical conditions, which means they're coming from developing nations around the globe where sanitation and food-handling practices may be subpar. "All agricultural products, including spices, are commonly exposed to dust, dirt, insects, and animal waste before they are harvested, and there are additional opportunities for contamination during processing, storage, and transportation," says ASTA Executive Director Cheryl Deem. While the idea of eating bat guano and insect parts is revolting, experts insist that these fears are overblown. They say that these contaminants are sometimes found in raw materials, but they very rarely actually make it to your dinner table. "For this study, the FDA tested spices at ports of entry into the U.S. when they were raw agricultural products – before manufacturers cleaned, processed, and treated the spices to eliminate pathogens and filth," says Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association. "To get a more accurate safety assessment, you would have to test the finished spices that consumers actually use, which have been processed and cleaned." The truth is, very few Americans have actually gotten sick from contaminated spices. The FDA identified only three food-borne illness outbreaks caused by spices between 1973 to 2010. However, the FDA notes that people often don't consider spices when trying to figure out which food made them sick, and so spice-caused illnesses may be underreported. Deem doesn't brush off the possibility that spices are making people sick, but she doesn't think this news should spark widespread panic. "FDA should make it clear whether a product is ready to eat and should be clean and pathogen free or is essentially a raw agricultural product that will undergo treatment for microbial contamination, extensive cleaning, and further processing before it reaches consumers," she says. "These are essential steps that U.S. companies take to ensure that the spices that end up on consumers' plates are clean and safe."

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When you turn on your television, computer or cell phone, it’s enough that it works, right? Not so in chemistry. You have to know HOW it works. Clint Jones, Ph.D., chemistry department chair at Mercyhurst University, took a page from a CSI drama to explain: “You stick a sample in a black box and within minutes you have an answer. But if you are a professional scientist or an expert witness in a courtroom, that won’t be enough. You need to know the internal workings of the instrument to explain why its findings are valid.” Further, Jones said, “Learning these advanced details allows students to develop new techniques and perhaps invent new pieces of instrumentation.” Jones recently received a $6,000 grant from the College Equipment Grants Program of the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh to purchase an Ocean Optics JAZ spectrometer for faculty and student research. The first assignment for his students: take it apart. “I never want to have a student approach an analytical measurement by just placing his or her sample into a black box and waiting for an answer,” Jones said. “This often requires me to take instruments apart to show students why the individual components are arranged as they are and how the information is relayed from source to detector. The new spectrometer system is modular, which will help students see how the necessary components depend on each other.” Spectrometers have a variety of scientific uses. Essentially they determine information about an object or substance by analyzing its interaction with light, which may or may not be visible to us. In this way, scientists can analyze unknown materials then compare the results to known samples to determine the composition of a test subject. Mercyhurst undergraduates will use the spectrometer in research projects involving water and soil analysis, gold nanoparticle assays and enzyme kinetics. Jones said the spectrometer is portable, which will allow faculty and students more flexibility in gathering data in the field. Jones will be presented the award at the awards banquet of the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh on May 15 at Duquesne University.

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| Crew Historian The Crew Historian is a special crew officer that collects and preserves memorabilia, press releases, photo, and and other data of historical significance to the crew. - Collect and preserves memorabilia, press releases, photo, and and other data of historical significance to the crew. - Maintain information about crew activities and members - Set a good example. - Wear the uniform appropriate to the Venturing crew. - Learn and live by the Venturing Oath and the Venturing Code. - Approach Venturing in the spirit of fun, and seeks to reflect this spirit while preserving the crew's history. As a special crew officer: - Foster and develop an environment within the crew that has a true sense of community, that encourages growth and responsibility to one another. - Work in a spirit of partnership with the Crew Advisor. - Assist in developing a program of activities for the crew help carry them out. - Uphold the standards and policies of the chartered organization and the Boy Scouts of America. - Ensure that activities are conducted within BSA safety guidelines and requirements. - Cultivate the capacity to enjoy life - have fun and explore while leading. - The Crew Code and Bylaws of the Venturing crew may stipulate that this position is elected by the crew, or is appointed by the Advisor or President. - To apply Crew Historian as an Eagle position of responsibility, the Venturer must have earned Life Rank after January 1, 2007. The Crew Historian is the youth historian leader in its unit. Other youth historian leaders are:

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