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The word “hermeneutic” is often used to refer to a method or style of interpretation commonly associated with the interpretation of Scripture. No doubt there are any number of hermeneutical methods a person can use when approaching Scripture: hermeneutic of rationalism, historical critical method, hermeneutic of trust, etc. Any person can, regardless of personal belief, approach Scripture using any hermeneutic they see fit to use. However, not ever hermeneutic is equal and not ever hermeneutic is useful in fostering spiritual growth and developing a deeper relationship with Christ. The Catholic Church has never accepted many of the modern critical methods and hermeneutics used in biblical interpretation and biblical criticism in their totality; She has found them time and time again useful but inadequate in being able to give a complete interpretation of Scripture, for it is that each has their own pitfalls and stumbling blocks, which more often results in an emptying of meaning from Scripture than in a richer understanding of Scripture. Many of these modern critical methods fall under what scholars have named a hermeneutic of suspicion. In short, a hermeneutic of suspicion operates from the mindset that Scripture cannot be trusted in its current form. That the modern mind cannot and does not have access to the meaning of Scripture without first running it through certain textual and analytical filters. A hermeneutic of suspicion encourages the reader to suspect the credibility of Scripture and those who interpret Scripture operating from a different hermeneutic. A hermeneutic of suspicion stands contrary to what Dei Verbum, the document from Vatican II on divine revelation, states: “Holy Mother Church has firmly and with absolute constancy held, and continues to hold, that the four Gospels just named, whose historical character the Church unhesitatingly asserts, faithfully hand on what Jesus Christ, while living among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation . . . The sacred authors wrote the four Gospels . . . told us the honest truth about Jesus. For their intention in writing was that either from their own memory and recollections, or from the witness of those who “themselves from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word” we might know “the truth” concerning those matters about which we have been instructed (§19)."The Vatican II document even stands in union with Pope Benedict’s XVI’s utterance of “I trust the Gospels” in his recent book Jesus of Nazareth (xxi). In other words, both Vatican II and Pope Benedict XVI are promoting and encouraging faithful readers of Scripture to approach the text first with a hermeneutic of trust. Something the church has always encouraged, as it states in Psalm 4 to "put your trust in the Lord" (RSVCE). Further, it often benefits the believer to first believe and trust Scripture so that later the believer might understand what it is he or she believes. Saint Augustine said it best when he preached in a sermon: “I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe” (CCC 158). In the early church, biblical interpretation was done differently than how it is done in most present day critical settings. It is not that the early church was uncritical in their approach to Scripture, it was that the early Church was critical about Scripture in a different manner than most modern critical methods. The ancient method included and exemplified a hermeneutic of trust, and interpretation was done according to the rule of faith (the Creed). The historical critical method and other hermeneutics of suspicion do not acknowledge the rule of faith when interpreting Scripture. The early Church sought Christ in Scripture and were less concerned with authorship of the Gospels, the dates the texts were written and under what political hermeneutic the Gospel writers wrote, because the early Church trusted the texts and those who vouched for the authenticity of those texts. Unfortunately, the hermeneutic of suspicion is a method firmly entrenched in the minds of many scholars, students, church goers and the American public mind. It is a methodology taught and widely used in Universities of both secular and religious natures, high school, and in bible studies of nearly ever denomination. Priests and Deacons even preach the hermeneutic of suspicion from the pulpit at Sunday mass. To the unbeliever, a hermeneutic of trust is an unacceptable mode of operation towards Scripture. But what about the believer? What happens to a believer who uses solely a hermeneutic of suspicion when reading Scripture? How do you engage a believing Catholic in dialogue who approaches Scripture with a hermeneutic of suspicion? What do we do with these suspicious believers? There are three basic approaches in speaking with a believing Catholic who operates from a hermeneutic of suspicion. The first approach is direct and can be summed up in saying “Because the Church says so.” The other two approaches are geared more at demonstrating that the believing Catholic who approaches Scripture with suspicion often approaches Scripture with faulty logic. The first approach “Because the Church says so.” is and should be a sufficient reason as to why a Catholic should approach Scripture with trust. Though it is a sufficient reason it is not an adequate answer for the suspicious believer, and this approach is often best saved for a person who is trying to follow the Church’s teachings to the letter, but those people usually already trust Scripture and the Church. Too often a person who is already suspicious of Scripture will stop listening if they encounter the ‘because the church says so” answer because by virtue of not trusting Scripture this leads the suspicious believer to an inability to trust the party, namely the Church, who vouches for the accuracy of Scripture. In other words, to not trust Scripture is to not trust the Church and is akin to saying that the Church herself is untruthful and untrustworthy. This second approach aims at showing the suspicious believer that believing in Christ, His Church, and approaching Scripture with suspicion does not follow logically if a person is trying to grow in holiness. One of the goals of every believer is to grow closer to Christ. Some Saints would even say the Christian is to have the same mind as Christ. Undoubtedly the suspicious believer will agree that the Christian is supposed to grow closer to God and Christ. They will also normally agree that Scripture is a good means to grow closer in their relationship with Christ. This is where their logic begins to falter. One can begin by asking “What kind of relationship can you have with another person if you are always and already suspicious of the other person?” I have never met anyone who, when asked this question, has replied, “strong and healthy” to the kind of relationship that can be had when entered into with suspicion. This is because a strong and healthy relationship cannot be built upon suspicion. The relationship nurtured on suspicion is a relationship that is strained, tense, stressed and worrisome. It is like the wife who perpetually believes her husband is having an affair and is in bed with everyone except herself. To live in a relationship built upon suspicion is unhealthy in many areas of a person’s life and will likely end in a separation of the two parties because suspicion does not foster the growth of a close relationship. As it is, Scripture reiterates the point that it is necessary to trust God and that to not trust God, His Word and those who speak on His behalf results in disaster: e.g. "Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them" (RSVCE, Num. 20:21) The third approach also explores how the logic of the suspicious believer is fickle. No doubt, the suspicious believer will also normally agree that every believer can grow closer to God and Christ by conversing with Scripture. Here their logic falters again. Like with relationships, the question arises, “What kind of conversation can a person enter into with another person when one is already suspicious of the other person and one is suspect of the conversation that will follow before the conversation even begins?” I asked this very question to a group of graduate students in theology, and it was unanimous; they all agreed that to enter into a conversation with suspicion is to have a conversation that is hindered, hard going, awkward, embarrassing, and sometimes the whole conversation is dismissed. The students even shared personal stories of calls home and parents suspecting that their child was calling only to ask for money and how the suspicion of the parent not only hindered the conversation but also resulted in the child feeling insulted and betrayed because their parents did not trust them. When asked how a person should enter into a conversation, the students did not hesitate to chime in: “open minded” “non-judgmental”, and “tolerant of their views”, were just a few of their responses. Yet, when I applied the same question to Scripture: “What kind of conversation can we have with Scripture if we enter into that conversation already suspicious of that conversation we are about to have?” some of the students held that the Bible was exempt from the above approach. As it was, many of these students had Scripture professors who approached Scripture with suspicion and had passed on that suspicion to their students. So it was no surprise that the rules changed when applied to Scripture. This was a problem. For by being unable to converse freely, fully, and openly with Scripture and being only able to approach Scripture with suspicion turns Scripture into a kind of supermarket tabloid fit with aliens, biblical doomsday prophecy, and Bigfoot’s baby. Scripture becomes a book of hearsay akin to hearing a story from a friend who heard it from a friend who knows a fellow who says it’s true. Further by conversing suspiciously with Scripture, Scripture resembles a fisherman’s story about the ‘big one’ that got away. Where on the fisher’s first telling, the fish is a reasonable size about ‘ye big’ as he would demonstrate with his hands spread apart. While on the fisher’s last telling of the story, the fisher, equipped only with a rod and reel in a 8-foot skiff, with his wits alone to protect him, fights Moby Dick himself long through the night and into the wee hours of the morning until the fish finally tires and surfaces next to the vessel in time only for the fisher’s line or pole to break before a net sizable enough can be reached, and all the while his camera, on the other side of the boat, cannot be reached in time to document the story That is, only after exaggeration and misinformation have been stripped away can the real meaning be determined. This is a take on Scripture highly contrary from the recommendations of Vatican II, the Holy Father and is different from how the Saints conversed with Scripture. Finally, to approach Scripture with suspicion is to, by default, approach other parts of the doctrines of faith with the same suspicion, for much of Catholic theology is derived from Scripture. As mentioned earlier, to operate from a hermeneutic of suspicion is to be suspicious of not only Scripture but also the Church who vouches for it. Furthermore to not trust Scripture means that one does not trust the inspiration or the Person whom inspired the holy texts: the Holy Spirit. We know that wherever one person of the Trinity is present so are the other two and every act of God is always Trinitarian by virtue of the presence of all three Persons and the nature of who the Trinity is. So, therefore, to be suspicious of Scripture and to use only a hermeneutic of suspicion when interpreting Scripture is to be suspicious of God and all of His work, and it demonstrates a lack of faith in the Holy Spirit's guiding power given to the Church. In short, a hermeneutic of suspicion is contrary to the Catholic Church’s teaching, to Church Tradition, to what the saints and Popes have taught, to what is found in Scripture itself, and it makes God Himself suspect to the follies of Man.

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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Cryonics is the practice of preserving organisms, or at least their brains, for possible future revival by storing them at cryogenic temperatures where metabolism and decay are almost completely stopped. An organism held in such a state (either frozen or vitrified) is said to be cryopreserved. Barring social disruptions, cryonicists believe that a perfectly vitrified person can be expected to remain physically viable for at least 30,000 years, after which time cosmic ray damage is thought to be irreparable. Many scientists in the field, most notably Ralph Merkle and Brian Wowk, hold that molecular nanotechnology has the potential to extend even this limit many times over. To its detractors, the justification for cryonics is unclear, given the primitive state of preservation technology. Advocates counter that even a slim chance of revival is better than no chance. In the future, they speculate, not only will conventional health services be improved, but they will also quite likely have expanded even to the conquering of old age itself (see links at the bottom). Therefore, if one could preserve one's body (or at least the contents of one's mind) for, say, another hundred years, one might well be resuscitated and live indefinitely long. But critics of the field contend that, while an interesting technical idea, cryonics is currently little more than a pipedream, that current "patients" will never be successfully revived, and that decades of research, at least, must occur before cryonics is to be a legitimate field with any hope of success. Probably the most famous cryopreserved patient is Ted Williams. The popular urban legend that Walt Disney was cryopreserved is false; he was cremated, and interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. Robert Heinlein, who wrote enthusiastically of the concept, was cremated and his ashes distributed over the Pacific Ocean. Timothy Leary was a long-time cryonics advocate, and signed up with a major cryonics provider. He changed his mind, however, shortly before his death, and so was not cryopreserved. Obstacles to success Damage from ice formation Cryonics has traditionally been dismissed by mainstream cryobiology, of which it is arguably a part. The reason generally given for this dismissal is that the freezing process creates ice crystals, which damage cells and cellular structures—a condition sometimes called "whole body freezer burn "—so as to render any future repair impossible. Cryonicists have long argued, however, that the extent of this damage was greatly exaggerated by the critics, presuming that some reasonable attempt is made to perfuse the body with cryoprotectant chemicals (traditionally glycerol) that inhibit ice crystal formation. According to cryonicists, however, the freezer burn objection became moot around the turn of the millennium, when cryobiologists Greg Fahy and Brian Wowk, of Twenty-First Century Medicine developed major improvements in cryopreservation technology, including new cryoprotectants and new cryoprotectant solutions, that greatly improved the feasibility of eliminating ice crystal formation entirely, allowing vitrification (preservation in a glassy rather than frozen state). In a glass, the molecules do not rearrange themselves into grainy ice crystals as the solution cools, but instead become locked together while still randomly arranged as in a fluid, forming a "solid liquid" as the temperature falls below the glass transition temperature. Alcor Life Extension Foundation, the world's largest cryonics provider, has since been using these cryoprotectants, along with a new, faster cooling method, to vitrify whole human brains. They continue to use the less effective glycerol-based freezing for patients who opt to have their whole bodies preserved, since vitrification of an entire body is beyond current technical capabilities. The only other full-service cryonics provider in the world, the Cryonics Institute, is currently testing its own vitrification solution. Current solutions being used for vitrification are stable enough to avoid crystallization even when a vitrified brain is warmed up. This has recently allowed brains to be vitrified, warmed back up, and examined for ice damage using light and electron microscopy. No ice crystal damage was found. However, if the circulation of the brain is compromised, protective chemicals may not be able to reach all parts of the brain, and freezing may occur either during cooling or during warming. Cryonicists argue, however, that injury caused during cooling can be repaired before the vitrified brain is warmed back up, and that damage during rewarming can be prevented by adding more cryoprotectant in the solid state, or by improving rewarming methods. Some critics have speculated that because a cryonics patient has been declared legally dead, their organs are dead, and thus unable to allow cryoprotectants to reach the majority of cells. Cryonicists respond that it has been empirically demonstrated that, so long as the cryopreservation process begins immediately after legal death is declared, the individual organs (and perhaps even the patient as a whole) remain biologically alive, and vitrification (particularly of the brain) is quite feasible. Critics have often quipped that it is easier to revive a corpse than a cryonically frozen body. Many cryonicists might actually agree with this, provided that the "corpse" were fresh, but they would argue that such a "corpse" may actually be biologically alive, under optimal conditions. A declaration of legal death does not mean that life has suddenly ended—death is a gradual process, not a sudden event. Rather, legal death is a declaration by medical personnel that there is nothing more they can do to save the patient. But if the body is clearly biologically dead, having been sitting at room temperature for a period of time, or having been traditionally embalmed, then cryonicists would hold that such a body is far less revivable than a cryonically preserved patient, since any process of resuscitation will depend on the quality of the structural and molecular preservation of the brain, which is largely destroyed by ischemic damage (from lack of blood flow) within minutes or hours of cardiac arrest, if the body is left to sit at room temperature. Traditional embalming also largely destroys this crucial neurological structure. Cryonicists would also point out that the definitions of "death" and "corpse" currently in use may change with future medical advances, just as they have changed in the past, and so they generally reject the idea that they are trying to "raise the dead", viewing their procedures instead as highly experimental medical procedures, whose efficacy is yet to be either demonstrated or refuted. Some also suggest that if technology is developed that allows mind transfer, revival of the frozen brain might not even be required; the mind of the patient could instead be "uploaded" into an entirely new substrate. The biggest drawback to current vitrification practice is a costs issue. Because the only really cost-effective means of storing a cryopreserved person is in liquid nitrogen, possibly large-scale fracturing of the brain occurs, a result of cooling to −196°C, the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Fracture-free vitrification would require inexpensive storage at a temperature significantly below the glass transition temperature of about −125°C, but high enough to avoid fracturing (−150°C is about right). Alcor is currently developing such a storage system. Alcor believes, however, that even before such a storage system is developed, the current vitrification method is far superior to traditional glycerol-based freezing, since the fractures are very clean breaks that occur even with traditional glycerol cryoprotection, and the loss of neurological structure is still less than that caused by ice formation, by orders of magnitude. While cryopreservation arrangements can be expensive (currently ranging from $28,000 to $150,000), most cryonicists pay for it with life insurance. The elderly, and others who may be uninsurable for health reasons, will often pay for the procedure through their estate. Others simply invest their money over a period of years, accepting the risk that they might die in the meantime. All in all, cryonics is actually quite affordable for the vast majority of those in the industrialized world who really want it, especially if they make arrangements while still young. Even assuming perfect cryopreservation techniques, many cryonicists would still regard eventual revival as a long shot. In addition to the many technical hurdles that remain, the likelihood of obtaining a good cryopreservation is not very high because of logistical problems. The likelihood of the continuity of cryonics organizations as businesses, and the threat of legislative interference in the practice, don't help the odds either. Most cryonicists, therefore, regard their cryopreservation arrangements as a kind of medical insurance—not certain to keep them alive, but better than no chance at all and still a rational gamble to take. Brain vs. whole-body cryopreservation During the 1980s, the problems associated with crystallization were becoming better appreciated, and the emphasis shifted from whole body to brain-only or "neuropreservation", on the assumption that the rest of the body could be regrown, perhaps by cloning of the person's DNA or by using embryonic stem cell technology. The main goal now seems to be to preserve the information contained in the structure of the brain, on which memory and personal identity depends. Available scientific and medical evidence suggests that the mechanical structure of the brain is wholly responsible for personal identity and memories (for instance, spinal cord injury victims, organ transplant patients, and amputees appear to retain their personal identity and memories). Damage caused by freezing and fracturing is thought to be potentially repairable in the future, using nanotechnology, which will enable the manipulation of matter at the molecular level. To critics, this appears a kind of futuristic deus ex machina, but while the engineering details remain speculative, the rapidity of scientific advances over the past century, and more recently in the field of nanotechnology itself, suggest to some that there may be no insurmountable problems. And the cryopreserved patient can wait a long time. With the advent of vitrification, the importance of nanotechnology to the cryonics movement may begin to decrease. Some critics, and even some cryonicists, question this emphasis on the brain, arguing that during neuropreservation some information about the body's phenotype will be lost and the new body may feel "unwanted", and that in case of brain damage the body may serve as a crude backup, helping restore indirectly some of the memories. Partly for this reason, the Cryonics Institute preserves only whole bodies. Some proponents of neuropreservation agree with these concerns, but still feel that lower costs and better brain preservation justify preserving only the brain. Historically, cryonics began in 1962 with the publication of The Prospect of Immortality by Robert Ettinger. In the 1970s, the damage caused by crystallization was not well understood. Two early organizations went bankrupt, allowing their patients to thaw out, bringing the matter to the public eye, at which point the problem with cellular damage became more well known and the practice gained something of the reputation of a scam. During the 1980s, the extent of the damage from the freezing process became much clearer and better known, and the emphasis of the movement began to shift from whole-body to neuropreservation. Alcor currently preserves about 60 human bodies and heads in Scottsdale, Arizona. Before the company moved to Arizona from Riverside, California in 1994, it was the center of several controversies, including a county coroner's ruling that a client was murdered with barbiturates before her head was removed by the company's staff. Alcor contended that the drug was administered after her death. No charges were ever filed. - engineered negligible senescence - life extension, - Interstellar travel, - Immortality Institute, The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details

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Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Trier (French: Trèves), is Germany's oldest city. It is situated on the western bank of the Moselle River in a valley between low vine-covered hills of ruddy sandstone. It is located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate near the German border with Luxembourg. Trier had around 100,000 inhabitants at the end of 2002. There is also an important wine-growing-region nearby: Mosel-Saar-Ruwer. The Romans under Julius Caesar subdued the Celtic Treverans in 58 to 50 BC. When the Roman provinces in Germany were reorganised in 16 BC, Augustus decided that Trier, then called Augusta Treverorum, should become the regional capital. From 259 to 274 Trier was the capital of the break away Gallic Empire. Later for a few years (383 - 388) it was the capital of Magnus Maximus, who ruled most of the western Empire. Sacked by Attila in 451, it passed to the Franks in 463, to Lorraine in 843, to Germany in 870, and back to Lorraine in 895, and was finally united to Germany by the Emperor Henry I. The Archbishop of Trier was, as chancellor of Burgundy, one of the electors of the empire, a right which originated in the 12th or 13th century, and which continued till the French Revolution. The last elector removed to Koblenz in 1786; and Treves was the capital of the French department of Sarre from 1794 till 1814, after which time it belonged to Prussia. The city is well known for its well-preserved Roman buildings, among them the Porta Nigra, the best preserved Roman city gate north of the Alps, a complete amphitheatre, ruins of several Roman baths, and the huge Basilica, a basilica in the original Roman sense, being the 67m-length throne hall of Roman Emperor Constantine; it is today used as a Protestant church. Trier is the oldest seat of a Christian bishop in Germany. In the Middle Ages, the Archbishop of Trier was an important ecclesiastical prince, controlling land from the French border to the Rhine. He was also one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire. The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details

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BOSON OR BOGUS, BILLION-DOLLAR BULL? by Hank Mills Salt Lake City, Utah July 9, 2012 SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The universe is a mysterious place, and we understand very little about how it works. Sadly, the challenges our civilization faces such as war, poverty, pollution, economic turmoil, and "black swan" events may not allow humanity to exist long enough to figure it out before our species goes extinct. If we are to learn how the universe works, breakthrough technologies like cold fusion (LENR) need to be pursued, instead of multibillion dollar projects such as the search for the Higgs Boson that will have very few real-world applications in the short-to-medium term. What humanity needs at this moment are working technologies that can allow us to overcome the issues that threaten our civilization. The cold fusion-based Energy Catalyzer, known colloquially as the E-Cat, is just such a technology because it could allow for almost unlimited energy production utilizing only tiny amounts of cheap, non-polluting fuel. The home version of the E-Cat is expected to be available commercially in the next six months at a cost $600 or less. The Energy Catalyzer has cost Andrea Rossi, a successful and colorful Italian engineer, virtually everything he has - perhap smore than $1 million dollars in all. By contrast, it took $9 billion and 30 years of work and 9,000 scientists to build the Large Hadron Accelerator in Geneva that they say "may have" discovered the so-called "God Particle," the theoretical construct known as the Higgs Boson. The United States contributed $531 million of that, and it uses enough power FOR 120,000 homes or the entire Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It costs the United Kingdom enough to buy a beer for everyone in the country. With cold fusion technology, funded by less than $100 millioon, humanity could gain a tool that could allow for large-scale desalinization of water and the resulting transformation of deserts into productive farmland, along with a massive reduction in the CO2 pollution that fuels global warming. The E-Cat utilizes tiny amounts of nickel powder, hydrogen gas, and undisclosed (for proprietary reasons) catalysts to produce nuclear reactions, with the result being a massive release of energy in the form of heat. In every way, this technology matches what I had hoped for throughout my childhood and later on in my life: In addition, the millions of jobs created around the world by a cold-fusion revolution would galvanize the global economy and end the current global recession - and do it all safely, without Fukushima-like events. To be blunt, cold-fusion technology holds the potential to transform our world from a planet of poverty, war and self-destruction into a place of enlightened prosperity. On the other hand, the existence of the Higgs Boson offers no near-term benefits to humanity. It may give us a bit more knowledge about the universe, but no one claims that even one single technology that could be immediately developed using this knowledge. If the existence of the Higgs Boson could yield a warp drive, free-energy device, gravity-modifying device, or other breakthrough in a reasonable period of time, perhaps the billions of dollars spent would be worth it. But the truth is that just like hot fusion research, the search for the Higgs Boson is a boondoggle. Due to the lack of any near-term benefits, the funds could be better spent elsewhere. If a fraction of the money spent on the search for the Higgs Boson had been put into cold fusion research 20 years ago, there would be no energy crisis today. Instead, cold fusion devices that could produce kilowatts of power and very high temperatures - like the E-Cat - would have been quickly developed and commercialized. Instead of putting money into practical technologies that could benefit all mankind in the near term, the career scientists naysayed exotic technologies like cold fusion, and lobbied for billions of dollars in additional funding for giant hot fusion reactors and particle colliders. All these years later, we have seen little or no return on the investment in the form of technological advancement. We are still stuck with rockets for propulsion and burning fossil fuels for energy. Literally, we are still in a technological Dark Age when it comes to the most fundamental of technologies - energy and propulsion. (If you don't count the "black," off-budget projects that use taxpayer money with no taxpayer benefit, and actually have the agenda of making us all slaves.) I do not want to call the search for the Higgs Field or the Higgs Boson totally meaningless. However, I think Nicola Tesla's work (although still ignored by the mainstream) into the nature of the ether is much more meaningful. He worked for years to find ways of harnessing the ether to allow for practical applications. Some of these applications, such as wireless power transfer and superluminal communication via longitudinal waves in the ether, and his black box that provided electrical power (from the ether) to run an electrical vehicle - have been replicated. Others have not yet been replicated, so far as we know. But if a fraction of the billions of dollars spent on hot fusion and the search for the Higgs Boson were utilized to fund inventors with the open-mindedness of Tesla, knowledge of how the universe works would be opened up to us very quickly. My personal belief is that all the most important breakthroughs and discoveries will come from projects that can be performed in an ordinary lab, with a modest amount of funding. I think expensive multibillion- dollar projects that require monstrous reactors and miles-long particle accelerators belong in the future - if ever - after we have solved the more immediate issues facing our civilization. Once our civilization is stabilized and poverty is a thing of the past, after we stop fighting wars over oil and the destruction of our environment has been reduced, then it may be time for larger-scale projects. Of course, by that time, the smaller-scale projects may have figured almost everything out that the monolithic projects were designed to explore. By then, the commercialization of cold fusion, free energy, gravity modification, faster-than-light drives and other technologies may have provided us with a more complete knowledge of how the universe works. I think the E-Cat is a key example of a technology that was developed on a modest budget that will provide both solutions to the challenges our civilization faces and a huge wealth of information about how our universe works. In fact, cold fusion may end up telling us more about how our universe works than the existence of the Higgs Boson. In my opinion, once the world recognizes that cold fusion is a reality, it will turn the discovery of the Higgs Boson into a footnote in history. Also, it will expose how a field of study in which researchers are often forced to work on shoestring budgets can yield greater benefits for humanity than research that receives billions of dollars in funding. It will hopefully result in the end of "mainstream" and expensive hot-fusion research and projects like the Large Hadron Collider. My friend Sterling Allen of Peswiki.com recently said this to me: "I sat next to a guy on a flight to Amsterdam last February who resigned in protest from the Hadron Collider project because of how dangerous it is, having the potential of annihilating the local universe." Cold fusion is the real answer! This article first appeared in Pure Energy Systems News (Peswiki.com), and is republished here with the permission of the author.

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- Historic Sites Is Our Civic Life Really In Decline? VOTER TURNOUT MAY BE DOWN IN RECENT YEARS, BUT THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE COMMON CITIZEN HAS GROWN TO FAR SURPASS ANYTHING THE FOUNDING FATHERS EVER DREAMED OF October 1999 | Volume 50, Issue 6 Today we are at the tail end of the long Progressive Era. We know it has got us less than we hoped, but we don’t know how to picture a mode of citizenship that might give us more. Not that it is at all the whole story of citizenship in this century. Citizenship has changed again in the past fifty years, as the civil rights movement and the “rights revolution” broadly added the courtroom to the voting booth as a locus for civic participation. Social movements and political organizations that in the past could hope for change only through legislative action have found that the judicial system can offer a powerful alternative route to their goals. The civil rights movement opened the door to a widening web of constitutionally guaranteed citizen rights and state and federal laws that expanded citizens’ entitlements and the reach of due process. This affected not only the civil and political rights of African-Americans but the rights of women and of the poor and, increasingly, of minority groups of all sorts. A new notion of citizenship has thus overflowed the banks of electoral activity, opening a new channel in the courts and streaming on across the terrain of everyday life into schools, workplaces, and homes. The acts and avenues of citizenship today are a world away from anything Jefferson and Washington lived with or conceived of. Today we are left with the legacy of each of the past eras of citizenship. Our inheritance of the politics of assent, the politics of partisanship and loyalty, the politics of the informed citizen, and the politics of rights, together, in all their variety, gives us our historical resource for forging a new model of citizenship for the new century.

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Since we are constantly searching for new ways to help study abroad students learn languages before, during, and after their trips, we were delighted to find a new, extremely portable way to do so. Not only is PlaySay handy and portable, it is available in Japanese and Chinese as well as Spanish! The system consists of audio image flashcards that are available in audio files to learn each word pair in either language direction. You can put these on your iPod or cell phone to easily review vocabulary anywhere you happen to be. A really cool aspect of the PlaySay program is what is offered: - Chinese offers preparation for the HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) levels 1-4, as well as the Integrated Chinese textbooks, and the New Practical Chinese Reader series. While studying Chinese recently, my class used the Integrated Chinese textbooks and I painstakingly made hundreds of flashcards by hand… I wish I had known about PlaySay! - For Japanese, you can get vocabulary for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), grammar dictionaries, common phrase books, and several others such as Japanese for Busy People. - For Spanish learners, flashcards are available for learning and practicing verbs, as well as vocabulary and textbooks too. Since the flashcards are available through instant download, you can get started right away. We found PlaySay to be an easy to use, highly effective way to practice, learn, and retain relevant vocabulary for Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish.

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Use Project-Based Learning to Meet the National Educational Technology StandardsPosted by Andrew K. Miller on Apr 26, 2012 in Blog, Edutopia | 0 comments This post originally appeared on Edutopia, a site created by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by using digital media to document, disseminate, and advocate for innovative, replicable strategies that prepare students. View Original > The ISTE NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) are more than just simple content standards and learning objectives. If examined closely, they truly can foster an educational shift to engaging, relevant, technology-rich learning. In terms of project-based learning (PBL), the ISTE NETS, not only align, but can truly support a PBL environment. After my own examination, I felt we must have a #pblchat on the subject. Weeks ago, this was our topic. Feel free review the storify archive of the whole chat to get more ideas. Here are some of my ideas and take-aways as well as inspirations from others on how some the ISTE Student NETS can support PBL. We will focus on five of the Student NETS this time, but keep in mind there are more, as well as the NETS for teachers, administrators and coaches! Student NET #1: Creativity and Innovation Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Okay, I’m going to be a bit crass with this description. PBL requires that students create something new, innovate with content, and develop products that show this deeper learning. Students do not gorge on content and then throw it up in a pretty new genre or technology tool. This NET can help teachers ensure that they’re asking for products that require innovation of the content and not regurgitation. Through an innovative project idea and driving question, your students are not only learning content, but creating something new with it. Student NET #2: Communication and Collaboration Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, sometimes at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Two of the key 21st century skills in PBL are communication and collaboration. PBL projects balance the learning not only of content, but also 21st century skills that are transferable across disciplines and into life after K-12 schooling. Through this standard, students can communicate and collaborate, both in person with their teams and across the globe, giving an opportunity for global education. Using the right tools for the authentic purposes of collaboration and communication, students can engage in innovative PBL projects. Student NET #3: Research and Information Fluency Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate and use information. When we unpack this standard, one of the key words here is “inquiry.” Students are not simply doing research. PBL projects require students to engage in in-depth inquiry on a specific topic through posing questions, researching and interpreting data, and reporting it. However, as students move through this cycle of inquiry, they may find incomplete data, require further information or make mistakes. This NET lets students know that revision and reflection are critical to the inquiry process. In addition, it leverages higher-order thinking skills like synthesis and evaluation, which can ensure that PBL projects are stimulating deep learning. Student NET #4: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. PBL projects must engage students in critically thinking around content, and they often have students attempt to solve a problem. In addition, this standard really pushes for student-centered learning. It is on the students to manage themselves, make decisions and more. The teacher’s role is more of guide on the side, with “just in time” moments of instruction to help students with critical thinking and problem solving. PBL projects also leverage the 21st century skill of critical thinking and problem solving through assessment. Student NET #5: Digital Citizenship Students understand human, cultural and societal issues related to technology, and practice legal and ethical behavior. As students engage in technology-rich projects, it is important to model and practice digital citizenship. Explicit instruction, lessons and activities must take place to ensure that students are creating good “digital footprints.” In addition, this is a great theme inspiration for a PBL project. From a technology class to a language arts class, you can have students make recommendations about digital policy or teach other members of the school community and beyond how to be good digital citizens. As you build your PBL projects, consider how the ISTE NETS can support your work. The NETS will not only help to hone and refine a PBL project, but also serve as an advocacy piece to stakeholders and other “naysayers.” They can help you focus how to use the technology and keep that focus on student learning for the 21st century. Consider assessing these standards to leverage them! How are you using the NETS in your classroom?

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ANH Exclusive! Official EU data indicate lightning more likely to kill than herbs or vitamins Save the pictures within this news item to your computer so that you can spread them yourself via Twitter, Facebook and other social media networks. Following ANH-Intl’s release last month of UK data on some key causes of death, we’re now in a position to release data sourced from across Europe. These data, drawn from official European Union (EU) sources, reveals once more that natural health products are among the safest things we put into our bodies – confirming the UK data. The new figures show that EU hospitals are not only hundreds of thousands of times more likely to cause death than natural health products – they are twice as deadly as either cancer or smoking. So why are natural products under threat for ‘posing a risk to public safety’? Casting the net wider Just a few short weeks ago, we brought you exclusive data proving what natural health advocates have said all along: that products associated with natural forms of health management are among the safest substances that human beings put into their bodies. Compelling as they were, however, those data were for the UK only. Now we cast the net wider and bring you a comparable analysis using EU-wide data. And the new information paints a picture that is just as stark. Figure 1. EU relative risks of death bubble chart (click on image to open as a PDF, or save to your computer) Figure 2. EU relative risks of death bar graph (click on image to open as a PDF, or save to your computer) Exactly as with the UK data, the EU figures display the relative risks of death to an individual for a range of activities. A larger bubble on the bubble chart (Figure 1) represents a proportionately larger risk of death, as does a longer bar on the bar graph (Figure 2). Risk of death from food supplements has been assigned a value of 1 to allow calculation of the relative risk from other sources. The same clarifications apply here as to the UK data. The data only include risk of death from acute causes, and not from chronic, long-term exposure to any of the substances or activities we investigated. Also, the charts don’t include any data on adverse events that do not lead to death, i.e. sublethal acute effects. Where possible, all data are taken from official EU sources. The data were collated and presented by Ron Law, an independent New Zealand-based risk management consultant. Key points and comparison with UK data EU relative risk of death data UK relative risk of death data Preventable medical injury in EU hospitals poses the greatest risk of death to EU citizens – some 351,220 times the risk of consuming food supplements, and 206,600 times the risk posed by herbal medicines Preventable medical injury picked up during a stay in a UK hospital is 293,006 more likely to kill a UK citizen than taking a food supplement EU-wide, the risk of death from both smoking and cancer is around 173,000 times that of taking food supplements. Therefore, a hospital visit is over twice as likely as either smoking or cancer to take the life of an EU citizen Smoking is the riskiest activity for UK citizens, at 797,940 times the risk of taking a food supplement EU citizens taking pharmaceutical drugs run a risk of death from side effects that is 123,125 greater than the mortality risk experienced through taking a food supplement. Comparing pharmaceuticals with herbal medicines, meanwhile, the relative risk of death is multiplied 72,426 times The risk of death from pharmaceutical drugs in the UK is 62,000 times that of taking food supplements Food supplements and herbal medicines are ‘supersafe’, with a risk of death below 1 in 10 million EU-wide Food supplements and herbal medicines are ‘supersafe’, with a risk of death below 1 in 10 million in the UK Preventable medical injuries in EU hospitals are in the ‘dangerous’ category of risk, i.e. a greater than 1 in 1,000 chance of death. Also in this category are adverse pharmaceutical drug reactions, smoking, cancer, illicit drug use and overweight/obesity Preventable medical injuries in UK hospitals are in the ‘dangerous’ category of risk, i.e. a greater than 1 in 1,000 chance of death. The only activities with a similar level of risk are active military service in Iraq or Afghanistan and smoking In the EU, pharmaceutical adverse drug reactions pose double the risk of death compared with lung cancer Someone having a motorcycle accident in the UK is around half as likely to die as someone who has an adverse reaction to a pharmaceutical drug The closest comparisons with food supplements or herbal medicines, in terms of risk of death in the EU, are with lightning strikes and passengers who experience railway or aeroplane accidents. However, they are still 26–68 times more likely to result in death than taking food supplements UK residents are about as likely to be hit by lightning or to be killed on the London Underground than to die from taking herbal remedies or dietary supplements A blatant lie These figures emphasise once again that the public safety-based justification given by European regulators and governments for increasingly restrictive legislation on ingredients and health claims for natural products is hollow. If the authorities were genuinely interested in public safety, they would be promoting natural healthcare for all it’s worth, while clamping down on the many dubious aspects of mainstream medicine – starting with its over-reliance on poorly tested, unnecessary and dangerous pharmaceutical drugs that are greatly over-prescribed to the over-50s at risk of chronic diseases. Taking a long, hard look at how healthcare within hospitals is handled would also make the public a lot safer, but it’s difficult to see how this can be significantly achieved without a root-and-branch overhaul of the medical systems within which those hospitals operate. As with so many things, the first step toward change is for enough people to realise that change is needed. In this case, once the ‘public safety’ fiction that has been built up around natural healthcare is widely exposed, it will become impossible to maintain. Help us get the truth out there! Call to action - The most important thing with this information is to get the word out! Please share the charts and data sources on Facebook, Twitter and other social media, and email them to all your contacts – especially those in all corners of Europe! We can’t emphasise this enough: when enough people know the truth, it will become very difficult – if not impossible – for governments, regulators and others to tighten the screws on natural healthcare through the usual justification of ‘it’s a danger to public health’ - Both our UK and EU data sets show clearly that the last place you ever want to end up is in hospital. The best way to do this is to take responsibility for your own health and keep yourself healthy! Check our Food4Health campaign for some ideas on healthy eating and lifestyles

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Submitted to: International Journal of Food Microbiology Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: February 20, 2004 Publication Date: September 1, 2004 Citation: Liming, S.H., Bhagwat, A.A. 2004. Application of molecular beacon -- real-time PCR technology to detect Salmonella species contaminating fruits and vegetables. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 95:177-187. Interpretive Summary: Conventional methods in food may take up to one week to accurately predict the presence of human pathogens. Considering the limited shelf life of produce, rapid methods for pathogen detection are required. Real-time detection of Salmonella strains will broaden our ability to screen large number of samples in a short time. In this study, a DNA hybridization based detection method for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is developed to enable near-instantaneous detection and quantitative analysis. The modified protocol requires less than 24 hours and is compatible for future high throughput sample analyses requirements. Detection of human pathogens from fresh produce is a crucial step in implementing food safety. Both the fresh produce industry and consumers will benefit from the results of this research. An oligonucleotide probe that becomes fluorescent upon hybridization to the target DNA (Molecular Beacon; MB) was used in a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to detect the presence of Salmonella species. A fluorogenic MB-probe was designed to recognize the iagA (invasion associated gene), which is highly specific to all Salmonella species that we tested. As few as 1 to 4 colony-forming units (CFU) per PCR reaction could be detected. The capability of the assay to detect Salmonella species from artificially inoculated fresh-cut produce such as cantaloupe, mixed-salad, cilantro, and alfalfa sprouts was demonstrated. In addition, a comparison of two commercially available kits utilizing MB-PCR (iQ-Check, Bio-Rad Laboratories) and conventional AOAC-approved PCR (BAX, Dupont Qualicon) was performed on artificially inoculated produce. As few as 4 CFU/25 g of produce were detected after 16 h of enrichment in buffered peptone broth. These assays could be carried out entirely in sealed PCR tubes, enabling a rapid and high throughput detection of Salmonella species in a large number of food and environmental samples. This is the first report of the application of MB probe being used for real-time detection of Salmonella species in whole and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.

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MANAGING DISEASES AND PESTS OF HONEY BEES TO IMPROVE QUEEN AND COLONY HEALTH Location: Bee Research Title: Secreted and immunogenic proteins produced by the honey bee bacterial pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae | Antunez, Karina - | | Anido, Matilde - | | Zunino, Pablo - | Submitted to: Veterinary Microbiology Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: November 1, 2010 Publication Date: December 10, 2010 Citation: Antunez, K., Anido, M., Evans, J.D., Zunino, P. 2010. Secreted and immunogenic proteins produced by the honey bee bacterial pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae. Veterinary Microbiology. 141:385-389. Interpretive Summary: American foulbrood (AFB) remains an important and reportable brood disease of honey bees. Past work indicates that the bacterium causing AFB secretes proteins that then attack the bee gut. These proteins are poorly characterized, and we carried out these experiments to see which proteins are most important. Using data from the P. larvae genome project we were able to identify proteins that seem like good candidates to explain how this bacterium causes honey bee disease. The results from this work have bearing on bee immunity and the management and breeding steps bee breeders can use to reduce this and other bee diseases. American Foulbrood is a severe disease affecting larvae of honeybee Apis mellifera, causing significant decrease in the honeybee population, beekeeping industries and agricultural production. In spite of its importance, little is known about the virulence factors secreted by Paenibacillus larvae during larval infection. The aim of the present work was to perform a first approach to the identification and characterization of P. larvae secretome. P. larvae secreted proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and identified by MALDI-TOF. Protein toxicity was evaluated using an experimental model based on feeding of A. mellifera larvae and immunogenicity was evaluated by Western blot, using an antiserum raised against cells and spores of P. larvae. Ten different proteins were identi.ed among P. larvae secreted proteins, including proteins involved in transcription, metabolism, translation, cell envelope, transport, protein folding, degradation of polysaccharides and motility. Although most of these proteins are cytosolic, many of them have been previously detected in the extracellular medium of different Bacillus spp. cultures and have been related to virulence. The secreted proteins resulted highly toxic and immunogenic when larvae were exposed using an experimental model. This is the first description of proteins secreted by the honeybee pathogen P. larvae. This information may be relevant for the elucidation of bacterial pathogenesis mechanisms.

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ROME.- Roman churches, funerary monuments and museums where artistic treasures are housed have been damaged in the Italian region affected by the earthquake. Even though the extent of the damage has not been calculated, David Rijser, an expert in Classic and Renaissance antiquities has tried to calculate the losses. "It has been a true drama, there is a lot that has been lost, said David Rijser to Radio Nederland. In 1985 I visited the Abruzzo region for the first time. At that time there were no tourists, he told reporter Philip Smet by telephone. These days there are few art lovers in the region even though there are a lot of places that deserved to be visited. In L' Aguila and its surroundings there are many Roman and Gothic churches and other buildings from the XIII, XIV and XV centuries. Italy today lives the tragedy caused by the earthquake that hit a region that is the birthplace of art and civilization. No other catastrophe can ever erase the memory of those who, throughout the centuries, marked the identity of their cities. Among the masterpieces destroyed were the gothic church of Maria di Collemaggio, built in the 13th century in the mountainous region of Abruzzo that was the epicentre of the quake. Sources from the Italian Superintendency of Cultural Heritage have stated that the Caracalla Thermal Baths, in Rome, have suffered damages due to the earthquake. Other Roman monuments in Rome have not suffered damages.

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Adult General Education Career & Technical Ed. Information & Resources Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Adult & Career Technical Education programs are designed to prepare you to enter the career of your choice through our Career Technical Education training. Additionally, our courses can help you prepare to take the citizenship exam, learn English as a second language and/or help you prepare for the GED® or High School Diploma. Whether you decide to learn technical skills or get a college education, our Adult Basic Education Program will provide you with the foundation needed to begin your new career. Furthermore, our programs offer GED® Test preparation and high school completion courses. Programs are specifically designed to help adults boost their levels of understanding with reading, writing, arithmetic and the basic knowledge required to enter post-secondary education training. Our post-secondary training is designed to support the local workforce. The Adult & Career Technical Education programs will provide you pathways in the areas of Industrial/Technical, Health/Medical, Business/Computers, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Public Service. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is the fourth largest school district in the United States, comprised of 392 schools, 345,000 students and over 40,000 employees. Located at the southern end of the Florida peninsula, the school district stretches over 2,000 square miles of diverse and vibrant communities ranging from rural and suburban to urban cities and municipalities. A truly global community, district students speak 56 different languages and represent 160 countries.

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COUNTIES:BOUNDARIES FORMED BY RIVERS -- RIVERS: CHANGING COURSE OF, AS AFFECTING COUNTY BOUNDARY A sudden change in the course of a river which forms the boundary between counties does not change the boundary to conform to the new course of the river. - - - - - - - - - - - - - May 6, 1957 Honorable George W. Sibbald Prosecuting Attorney of Cowlitz County Cowlitz County Court House Kelso, Washington Cite as: AGO 57-58 No. 57 Attention: Mr. Richard L. Norman, Deputy By letter of April 15, 1957, previously acknowledged, you have requested the opinion of this office concerning the location of the boundary between Clark and Cowlitz counties. We quote from your letter: "Several years ago when primary state highway No. 1 (U.S. 99) was constructed, the Lewis River was diverted and a horseshoe bend was left high and dry. This diversion involves approximately 65 acres of land and a few home sites. Said property, before the diversion, was considered part of Clark County and is on Clark County assessment rolls. Our county commissioners feel that since the course of the Lewis River was moved that said property is now properly within the boundaries of Cowlitz County and should be on Cowlitz County's assessment rolls." Your question may be paraphrased as follows: [[Orig. Op. Page 2]] Is there any legal basis for the institution of an action by Cowlitz county to establish the boundary between Cowlitz and Clark counties along the present course of the Lewis River? We answer in the negative. The common law rule with regard to changes in the course of a river that forms a boundary of a piece of land is stated as follows in Hirt v. Entus, 37 Wn. (2d) 418, quoting fromHarper v. Holston, 119 Wash. 436: "'. . . when grants of land border on running water, and the course of the stream is changed by that process known as accretion‑-that is to say, the gradual washing away on the one side and the gradual building up on the other‑-the owner's boundary changes with the changing course of the stream. . . . "'On the other hand, it is equally the rule that, when a stream which is a boundary, from any cause, suddenly abandons its old channel and creates a new one, or suddenly washes from one of its banks a considerable body of land and deposits it on the opposite bank, the boundary does not change with changed course of the stream, but remains as it was before. This sudden and rapid change is termed in law an avulsion, and differs from an accretion in that the one is violent and visible, while the other is gradual, and perceptible only after a lapse of time.' . . ." Although our Washington cases dealing with this question have been concerned only with privately-owned property, rather than county boundaries as created by statute, this common law rule has been consistently applied by other courts in cases involving shifting river courses forming boundaries between counties. See, for example,Blair v. U. S. (Okla.), 32 F. (2d) 130;Witt v. Willis, (Ky.), 85 S.W. 223; Fitzsimmons v. Cassity (La.), 172 So. 824; Randolph v. Moberly Hunting & Fishing Club (Mo.), 15 S.W. (2d) 834;Nothstine v. Feldmann (Mo.), 8 S.W. (2d) [[Orig. Op. Page 3]] 912;Jacobs v. Stoner (Mo.), 7 S.W. (2d) 698; andState v. Huffman (Mo.), 2 S.W. (2d) 582. It is our opinion that the facts as you have related them present a clear case of avulsion, and that therefore the boundary between Clark and Cowlitz counties continues to exist, so far as the disputed 65 acres are concerned, along the course that the Lewis River followed prior to the construction of primary state highway No. 1. We trust this opinion will be of assistance to you. Very truly yours, JOHN J. O'CONNELL DAVID S. BLACK Assistant Attorney General

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Endometriosis is one of the most common causes of female fertility problems. And in the largest study to date on the link between diet and endometriosis, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston have found that fats in a woman's diet play a deciding role in whether or not she will develop the condition. Published online March 24, 2010, in the journal Human Reproduction, the study of over 70,000 women showed that women who ate the most trans fats—hydrogenated oils found in fried foods from restaurants, margarine, and some chips and crackers—had a 48 percent increased risk of developing endometriosis, compared with those who ate only small amounts of these "bad fats." On the flip side, women who ate the most omega-3 oils—"good fats" found in foods like salmon and tuna—were 22 percent less likely to develop the fertility-impairing condition. Endometriosis occurs when pieces of uterine lining (endometrium) grow outside the uterus. Some women experience no symptoms, but for many, the condition causes severe pain and infertility. As the study authors explained, the cause of endometriosis is poorly understood and there is no cure. Symptoms are usually treated with pain medication, hormone drugs, or surgery. Researchers hope next to investigate whether diet changes—reducing trans fats and increasing omega-3 oils—can alleviate symptoms in women who already have endometriosis. "Millions of women worldwide suffer from endometriosis. Many women have been searching for something they can actually do to reduce the risk of developing the disease, and these findings suggest that dietary changes may be something they can do," says Stacey Missmer, ScD, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital. You can take steps right now to boost your omega-3 fat intake by eating a few servings a fish each week, snacking on walnuts, or adding a little ground up flax seed to your morning yogurt. Other good sources of omega-3s include tofu, soybeans, shrimp, and winter squash. Eliminate trans fats by avoiding foods made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil and other hydrogenated fats. Check labels carefully and when eating out, avoid fried foods, which are the most likely to contain trans fats.

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Pterocarya Fraxinifolia (Wing Nut) |Common Name(s)||:||Wing Nut| |Seasons of Interest||:||Summer Interest| |Growth Rate||:||Fast Growing| |Mature Size||:||Large (over 20m)| |Soil Type||:||Moist Soil| The Wing Nut is a relative of the Walnut, originating from the Caucasus and Iran. The Wing Nut, a relative of the Walnut originating from Iran, was introduced into the UK way back in 1782. It is a brute of a tree with some specimens reaching over 38 metres high with a crown diameter of 35 metres so be sure to give it enough room! A fast growing, large and broadly oval tree, which does well in most fertile, moisture-retentive soils, but is especially good for use close to rivers and lakes in parkland setting. It has deeply furrowed bark and very long summer catkins, which produce two-winged nut fruits. Its deciduous dark green leaves can be up to 60 cm I length and separated by numerous toothed leaflets. Mature height: 20m+

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We are banishing darkness from the night. Electric lights have been shining over cities and towns around the world for a century. But, increasingly, even rural areas glimmer through the night, with mixed – and largely unstudied – impacts on wildlife. Understanding these impacts is a crucial conservation challenge and bats, as almost exclusively nocturnal animals, are ideal subjects for exploring the effects of light pollution. Previous studies have confirmed what many city dwellers have long noted: some bats enjoy a positive impact of illumination by learning to feed on insects attracted to streetlights. My research, however, demonstrates for the first time an important downside: artificial lighting can disrupt the commuting behavior of a threatened bat species. This project, using a novel experimental approach, was supported in part by BCI Student Research Scholarships. Artificial lighting is a global phenomenon and the amount of light pollution is growing rapidly, with a 24 percent increase in England between 1993 and 2000. Since then, cultural restoration projects have brought lighting to old docks and riversides, placing important river corridors used by bats and other wildlife at risk of disturbance. Studies of bats' foraging activity around streetlights find that these bats are usually fast-flying species that forage in open landscapes, typically species of Pipistrellus, Nyctalus, Vespertilio and Eptesicus. Such bats are better able than their slower cousins to evade hawks, owls and other birds of prey. For our study, we chose the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros), a shy, slow-?ying bat that typically travels no more than about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) from its roost to forage each night, often flying no more than 16 feet (5 meters) from the ground. The species is adapted for feeding in cluttered, woodland environments. Its global populations are reported decreasing and the species is endangered in many countries of central Europe. The United Kingdom provides a European stronghold for the lesser horseshoe bat, with an estimated population of around 50,000. These bats' slow flight leaves them especially vulnerable to birds of prey, so they leave their roosts only as the light fades and commute to foraging areas along linear features such as hedgerows. Hedgerows are densely wooded corridors of shrubs and small trees that typically separate fields from each other and from roadways. Such features are important commuting routes for many bat species, which use them for protection from predators and the elements. We suspected that lesser horseshoe bats would avoid illuminated areas, largely because of a heightened risk from raptors. We conducted arti?cial-lighting experiments along hedgerows in eight sites around southern Britain. We first surveyed light levels at currently illuminated hedgerows, then duplicated those levels at our experimental hedgerow sites, all of them normally unlighted. We installed two temporary, generator-powered lights – about 100 feet (30 meters) apart – that mimic the intensity and light spectra of streetlights. Each site was near a maternity colony and along confirmed commuting routes of lesser horseshoe bats. Bat activity at each site was monitored acoustically, with mounted bat detectors, during four specific treatments: control (with no lights); noise (generator on and lights installed but switched off); lit (full illumination all night for four consecutive nights); and another night of noise only. We identified horseshoe bat calls to species and measured relative activity by counting the number of bat passes per species each night. We found no significant difference in activity levels of lesser horseshoe bats between the control nights and either of the two noise nights, when the generators were running but the lights were off. The presence of the lighting units and the noise of the generators had no effect on bat activity. The negative impacts came when we turned on the lights. We documented dramatic reductions in activity of lesser horseshoe bats during all of the illuminated nights. In our study, 42 percent of commuting bats continued flying through the lights; 30 percent reversed direction and left before reaching the lights; 17 percent flew over the hedgerows; 9 percent flew through the thick hedgerow vegetation; and 2 percent circled high or wide to avoid the lights. We also recorded some strange behavior on one night when two bats flew over the hedge in a dark area between two lights, then flew up and down repeatedly, as though trapped between the lights. We examined the effects of light on the timing of bats' commuting activity. The bats began their commute, on average, 29.9 minutes after sunset on control nights, but 78.6 minutes after sunset when the lights were turned on. Light pollution significantly delayed the bats' commuting behavior. Interestingly, the activity began a few minutes earlier (23 minutes after sunset) on the first, but not the second, noise night. It is possible that some bats emerged early to investigate the generator noise. We clearly demonstrated how artificial lighting disrupts the behavior of lesser horseshoe bats. We found no evidence of habituation: at least on our timescale, the bats did not become accustomed to the illumination and begin returning to normal activity or timing. These results suggest that light pollution may fragment the network of commuting routes used by lesser horseshoe bats, causing them to seek alternate, and probably longer, paths between roosting and foraging habitats. For some bats, this increased flight time can increase energy costs and stress, with potential impacts on reproductive success. It is critical, therefore, that light pollution be considered in conservation efforts. Light pollution is an increasing global problem with negative impacts on such important animal behaviors as foraging, reproduction and communication. Yet lighting is rarely considered in habitat-management plans and streetlights are specifically excluded from light-pollution legislation in England and Wales. I plan to use these results as the basis for recommendations for changes in policy, conservation and management for bat habitat in areas that are subject to development. This knowledge is fundamental for understanding the factors that impact bat populations not only in the United Kingdom but around the world, and in developing effective bat-conservation actions. I hope these findings will also help guide further research. Scientists need to determine what levels of lighting particular bat species can tolerate, so we can take appropriate measures to limit the impact. These might include reducing illumination at commuting times, directing light away from commuting routes and constructing alternative flight routes. We sincerely hope this research and similar studies will cause both officials and the public to think more about the consequences of artificial lighting on bats and other wildlife. EMMA STONE is a Ph.D. student at the University of Bristol and a researcher at the university's School of Biological Sciences. This project earned her the national Vincent Weir Scientific Award from the Bat Conservation Trust of the United Kingdom. Visit her project website for more information: www.batsandlighting.co.uk. This research was originally published in the journal Current Biology, with co-authors Gareth Jones and Stephen Harris.

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How to protect your hearing and keep ears safe About 1 in 10 adults has damaged hearing which can be caused by loud music and noises. Here's Newsround's guide to keeping your ears safe. Why does loud music harm our ears? Our ears are sensitive instruments and loud music can damage tiny hairs inside the ear that help us hear properly. When the hairs are damaged they can't be fixed and a lot of people are left with a ringing or whistling noise in their ears. We call this tinnitus and people find it very annoying! How loud is too loud? Sound is measured in units called decibels. An electric drill makes about 100 decibels of noise - that's pretty loud! Some music players can go up to 120 decibels which is the same as a plane taking off. Sounds that loud can damage your ears. 80 decibels is thought to be the safe upper limit for listening to music. People who can't hear music at 80 decibels might need special noise-cancelling headphones. Top tips to keep ears safe - Use headphones at a sensible volume. Read any safety warnings that pop up on your music player. - Stand away from speakers at shows and events. - If you're going somewhere loud like a concert wear foam ear plugs to reduce the volume. - If you are worried about your hearing or have ringing in your ears tell a parent or teacher.

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NIH offers online advice for older drivers While many older people continue to drive safely into their 70s and beyond, age-related changes including declines in vision and hearing plus slower reaction times can impact driving ability. Certain health conditions and medications can also affect driving skills in older people, says the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). To alert older people about how aging can affect driving abilities, the NIH recently added the topic "Older Drivers" to its NIHSeniorHealth online guide to health and wellness. Among other things, the new resource offer safety tips and suggestions about choosing the safest travel lanes, braking, making left turns and advice on adjusting driving habits to compensate for physical problems or health changes. For complete information, visit www.nihseniorhealth.gov and click on Health Topics A-Z, then click on "O" for Older Drivers.

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Many people simply do not like to drink tap water. And would rather consume water in a more palatable form like vitamin enriched water or flavored water. Many sports enthusiast might insist bottled water is better. Dehydration is dehydration. And it is more important to focus on drinking the proper amount of water each day. Instead of debating over the virtues of plain vs designer water. Researchers find most people barely drink enough water to fight off de-hydration during the summer. And once the thirst strikes you are probably already dehydrated. And did you know that the average person should drink about 8 glasses of water a day to stay fully hydrated? This might seem like a lot of water to ingest for the person who can't bear to consume even one glass but it is important to one's overall health. What Happens If We Don't Consume Adequate Water Dehydration happens when a person does not consume enough water for their body to work properly. Dehydration slows down bodily functions. And the person suffering dehydration symptoms is usually very lethargic and tired. It helps to think of water as fuel that makes the body go. And without proper fuel the body simply fails to function properly. Who Requires More Water People who exercise a lot or have a job where a lot of energy is expended require more water. Also, those fighting an illness have higher water requirements. Usually consuming an extra 1 or 2 glasses per day is enough to make up for this loss. But requirements vary widely. One must take into consideration the individuals age, weight, general health. Other Water Sources Plain old water out of the tap is the best water source. But many vegetables also contain a tremendous amount of water. For example, watermelons and tomatoes are actually great sources for water. These vegetables are about 90 percent water according to researchers. And beverages like milk, juice, tea, coffee, carbonated beverages are good additional water sources. Still plain water is the best source because it is free of calories. How to Get Recommended Water Requirements Eat water packed fresh fruit. Double up on watermelon, cantaloupes, peaches. And other fresh fruit in season. Carry a 16 oz bottle of water with you when you are outside especially in the summer. If you start feeling dizzy, sluggish, tired. (Signs of dehydration) Find a shady spot. And take a quick cool drink of water. Drink a glass of water with each meal and between each meal to make sure you ingest adequate amounts of water daily. Hydrate before, during, and after strenuous exercise. And make sure you drink adequate amounts of water to replace water lost sweating, through exertion, and heavy breathing. Drink in moderation at social gatherings or substitute sparkling water. Alcohol has a tendency to rob thebody of water. Thus adding to dehydration. Water is good for the body but it can be over done. Reports have surfaced concerning athletes who overdosed on water after a strenuous workout. Water overdose occurs when the kidneys are not able to get rid of large amounts of water. The body's electrolytes are heavily diluted resulting in low sodium levels in the blood. A condition called hyponatremia develops. This is a very rare occurrence. In conclusion, consult your family doctor for more information on adequate water requirements for the body. "Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid." Hedy Lamarr

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History of Science Museum The History of Science Museum covers the highlights of the historical aspect of science in Egypt during the Pharaonic and Hellenistic eras, as well as, during the golden age of the Arab Islamic world. Press play for a virtual tour of the History of Science Musuem. Back to History Click on the presentations to view samples from the Museum content.

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I am learning astrology and wonder [in light of Pluto's reclassification to dwarf planet] – what would one do without Pluto?? I don’t know what one would do without Pluto, but I’d love to find out – maybe I can get a Pluto-ectomy! Oh, wait… I guess we all did. The short answer is that astrologers still overwhelmingly use Pluto in our work, regardless of what the International Astronomical Union has to say about its status. Of course, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are relatively recent additions to astrological lore anyway. Before their discoveries, astrologers assigned membership of Aquarius, Pisces, and Scorpio to Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, respectively. Some astrologers still observe these classifications, particularly in horary and electional work. But when you’re used to looking at things through a Plutonian lens, it’s almost impossible to stop; once you’ve opened Pandora’s Box, there’s no turning back. Pluto’s discovery was made within eight years of the discovery of nuclear fission. Quickly, violence and aggression took a leap beyond the bloody, but simple and comparatively individual experience symbolized by Mars. Mastering the psychological forces that compel us to violence became a collective responsibility, because the consequences of failing to do so are also shared. Pluto serves as an eloquent astrological symbol for this collective process. Of course, as Einstein said, “It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man.” Maybe Pluto’s demotion symbolizes the collective unconscious attempting to reverse progress and move to a psychologically simpler, less threatening time. But we’ve looked into the abyss, and it’s changed us… no matter what we call Pluto.

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We believe that textbooks should teach critical thinking. | About BJU Press What is “Critical Thinking”? Nearly everyone in educational circles uses the term “critical thinking”—in fact, it is so commonly used that it has become almost meaningless. Just what is critical thinking—and what is it not? Let’s start with what it is not. Although many educators use test scores, grades, and fact-recall activities to gauge educational excellence, none of these truly measure critical-thinking skills. All education consists of two essential elements: subject matter (“what to think”) and the correct way to understand and evaluate the subject matter (“how to think”). Memorization is key to the first element. Critical thinking is key to the second. In short, then, critical thinking is analyzing and evaluating thinking with the goal of improving it. According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking (found at criticalthinking.org), it is “that mode of thinking—about any subject, content, or problem—in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it.” Thinking critically is thinking in order to evaluate. It means making reasoned judgments. It is using criteria to judge the quality of something. And its ultimate goal is further improvement of thinking skills. Critical thinking goes hand-in-hand with creative thinking. Sound creative thinking requires both the intellectual discipline to judge and evaluate and the originality and productivity to create. Why Should Christians Be Concerned with Thinking Critically? The God of the Bible is a God of reason and order. God asks us to know truth (Ps. 46:10), but He also wants us to understand truth (Luke 24:45). Both knowing and understanding are key. But beyond both knowledge and understanding, is the quality of discernment (judgment or evaluation) that distinguishes the godly from the ungodly (1 Cor. 2:14–15). The Role of the Textbook in Teaching Critical Thinking Of course, a textbook provides the factual base for studying a subject. But its worldview, its methods of teaching, its depth of content, and its literary quality should promote critical and creative thinking that is foundationally biblical. Textbook content clearly plays an important role in what the teacher teaches, but the teacher’s edition of the textbook should offer help in promoting good thinking skills. That is why Teacher’s Editions from BJU Press provide you with key questions for discussion, discovery activities that complement your unique teaching style, and suggestions for writing (and other creative outlets) for using critical-thinking skills.

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The following glossary provides definitions for terms and descriptions for acronyms that are used in the AML Handbook. This glossary does not supersede definitions in relevant laws or regulations. Abandoned Mine: An abandoned hardrock mine on or affecting public lands administered by the BLM, at which exploration, development, mining, reclamation, maintenance, and inspection of facilities and equipment, and other operations ceased as of January 1, 1981 (the effective date of the BLM’s Surface Management regulations codified at 43 CFR Subpart 3809) with no evidence demonstrating that the miner intends to resume mining. For many abandoned mines, no current claimant of record or viable potentially responsible party exists. Abandoned mines generally include a range of mining impacts, or features that may pose a threat to water quality, public safety, and/or the environment. Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Program: A BLM program that focuses on reclaiming hardrock abandoned mine lands on or affecting public lands administered by the BLM. The primary goal of the program is to remediate and reduce actual or potential threats that pose physical safety risks and environmental degradation. The BLM applies risk-based criteria and uses the watershed approach to establish project priorities. The program also works to return mine-impacted lands to productive use(s). Applicable and Relevant and Appropriate Requirements (ARARs): ARARs are State, local, and Federal standards that are directly applicable or may be considered relevant and appropriate to the circumstances on the site. ARARs include clean-up standards, standards of control, and other environmental protection requirements, criteria, or limitations. These standards are an inherent part of the scoping process, but will affect the long-term remediation, especially in the setting of clean-up standards and meeting other land use regulations. Categorical Exclusion: A category of actions (identified in agency guidance) that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and for which neither an EA nor an EIS is required (40 CFR 1508.4). Environmental and Disposal Liability (EDL): An anticipated future outflow or other sacrifice of resources (e.g., costs) associated with cleanup due to past or current operations that have environmental closure requirements or a release of hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants on BLM lands or facilities. Geographic Information System (GIS): A computer system capable of storing, analyzing, and displaying data and describing places on the earth’s surface. Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA): The GPRA (Pub.L. 103-62, Aug. 3, 1993, 107 Stat. 285) holds Federal agencies accountable for using resources wisely and achieving program results. GPRA requires agencies to develop plans for what they intend to accomplish, measure how well they are doing, make appropriate decisions based on the information they have gathered, and communicate information about their performance to Congress and to the public. Hardrock: This term is used here strictly in the context of the AML program and has traditionally been used by the BLM and other agencies to apply to non-coal mining environments where environmental risks such as acid-mine drainage, heavy metal contamination, and threats to water quality and the environment are of concern. Hardrock minerals in this context, generally include, but are not limited to gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, magnesium, nickel, molybdenum, tungsten, uranium, and select other minerals where priority AML problems may occur. Most hardrock minerals are locatable under the Mining Law of 1872. Non-hardrock minerals include coal (which is addressed by the Office of Surface Mining and State coal reclamation programs) and some common-variety mineral materials, such as sand and gravel. Hazardous Substances: CERCLA term identifying those substances designated pursuant to section 1321(b)(2)(A) of Title 33, or 42 USC 9602, or listed in 40 CFR 302 or 355. Hazardous Substance Release: Any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment (including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, and other closed receptacles containing any hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant). Hazardous Waste: Refers to a solid waste, or combination of solid wastes, which because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may pose a substantial threat to human health and the environment. Mine: An underground opening or open pit used for the purpose of extracting minerals. Mines commonly include features, such as shafts, adits, pits, trenches, tunnels, waste rock dumps, tailings, and structures including, but not limited to, mills, buildings, head frames, hoists, and loading chutes. Potentially Responsible Party (PRP): Any individual or entity, including current and past owners, operators, transporters, arrangers, or generators who may be liable for clean-up costs for hazardous substances under CERCLA Section 107(a) or for injuries to natural resources on public lands from hazardous substance releases under section 311(f) of the CWA and CERCLA section 107(f). Project: The investigation, cleanup of safety risks, stabilization, or reclamation of an abandoned mine land site or sites. A project may include one or more individual abandoned mines. The project area may be based on geologic, geographic, hydrologic, watershed, ownership, or other legal boundaries, or based on practical or logistical convenience, and is often contiguous. Remedial Action: Permanent remedy taken to prevent or minimize the release of hazardous substances into the environment. Long-term actions (5-8 years) are necessary to return a site to its original conditions. Removal Action: Short-term actions necessary to remove or mitigate a release or threat of release of hazardous substances. Site: The area identified as being impacted by physical safety and/or environmental hazards. This can include any area where hazardous substances have been released or have migrated. The area size is influenced by the extent of the investigation, migration, evaluation, and past, current, and future clean-up activities. Special Status Species: Includes proposed species, listed species, and candidate species under the ESA; State-listed species; and the BLM State Director- designated sensitive species (see BLM Manual 6840 - Special Status Species Management Strategic Plan: A plan that establishes the overall direction for the BLM. This plan is guided by the requirements of GPRA, covers a 5-year period, and is updated every 3 years. It is consistent with FLPMA and other laws affecting the public lands. Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL): Pursuant to the Clean Water Act, an estimate of the total quantity of pollutants (from all sources: point, nonpoint, and natural) that may be allowed into waters without exceeding applicable water quality criteria. Watershed: This term, when used generically, is the land area that drains water to a particular stream, river, or lake. It is a land feature that can be identified by tracing a line along the highest elevations between two areas on a map, often a ridge. Watershed Approach: Refers to the methodology of working within the geographic boundaries of a watershed with partners (Federal, State, private, and Tribes) to jointly resolve problems that affect the physical, chemical, and biological quality of that watershed. A scientific approach is used to prioritize sites, develop clean-up action plans, and evaluate effectiveness of actions in the watershed. Partnering agencies and organizations share and exchange information, collaborate on project management, and reduce costs through fund leveraging and avoiding duplication of efforts and conflicting actions.

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Heart of Darkness Topic Tracking: Wilderness Imagery Wilderness Imagery 1: Marlow describes for his shipmates the wild state of nature that must have existed when the Romans first visited England. Wilderness Imagery 2: Marlow watched the jungle from his ship, seeing pure wilderness for the first time. Wilderness Imagery 3: Marlow describes the wild and varied vegetation he saw on his journey, and the oppressive impression it had on him. Wilderness Imagery 4: Marlow had an image, at the Central Station, of the surrounding wilderness waiting to outlast the invasion of the Company. Wilderness Imagery 5: Marlow imagined the forest looking back at the manager and his uncle--the wilderness is personified. Wilderness Imagery 6: The vegetation and wild natural state along the river overwhelmed Marlow--he imagined it observing him from all sides. Wilderness Imagery 7: Marlow looked back and could see no trace of where the ship had come from--it was as though the jungle was closing in behind them. Wilderness Imagery 8: Marlow says that the wilderness had taken control of Kurtz. Wilderness Imagery 9: When he leaves the ship to look for Kurtz, Marlow ends up in the midst of the living, wild jungle he had been fearing all along. Wilderness Imagery 10: Kurtz, cursing the wilderness, asked Marlow to close the shutters to keep him from seeing the "curtain of trees" around him.

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Both experts and upstarts claim to see unlimited potential in shared wisdom. Yet seasoned mentors too often advise clever cronies to operate much like themselves, with little regard for rapidly changing horizons. Mindguides Invite Mutual Mentoring Few would disagree – it’s time to shift tutoring approaches to reflect more balanced and reciprocal coaching. Guidance based on mutual brainpower potential, and experience from differences, rather than on entitlement, age or seniority. In my capstone management course, Lead Innovation with the Brain in Mind, one newly coined term – mindguiding – changes the management structure of any organization. How so? Mindguiding, defines a reciprocal learning-leading process, that highlights neural pathways to innovative results. It’s a new way to lead big ideas, and learn new talents at the same time. It sidesteps moodiness of a few senior players, but supports serotonin-led innovations at many levels. Using 10 brainpowered tools below – mindguides set a mutual stage for clever results across diverse teams. New neuro-discoveries change the roles of mentors from sage-on-the-stage mentality into more of a mindguide to the side, who comes to teams in learning or discovery roles. Just as mindguides see their role less as lecturer or talker, they also listen with their brains – in ways that open new opportunities for those they support. 1. Focus on gender preferences and interests: According to researcher Dr. Michael Phillips, a neuroradiologist at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, brain scans showed that men listen to language which is located in the left brain, for instance, while women use both sides, including the right brain’s more creative capabilities. Dr. Robyn McMaster points out that women or men lead better – when they focus in novel ways, on engaging others’ interests. Mindguides value men, value women – and facilitate both – while mentors tend replicate old boy practices to include female brainpower. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Vary communications – seek out people who differ from you – so that novelty enters the mix in ways that teach both genders. New research about novelty’s power for mental growth shows how original ideas offer positive experiences to those who take advantage and learn from differences. 2. Technology changes how brains learn and how mindguides lead: Digital sound bites shift topics frequently, and allow for specific searches on multiple topics. These new learning practices also rewire brains to catch brief bits of significant information, rather than remain focused for long periods on any one detail. Technology, however, offers challenges to mindguides not familiar with digital approaches and their impact on brainpower. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Sketch diagrams to link abstract or boring technology ideas onto something already known or experienced. New mechanical ideas make more sense to you when mindguides hook complex concepts onto familiar or concrete experiences. Links and bridges help mindguides to advance from difficult or boring digital information in ways that accommodate new innovations. 3. New digital imaging devices prove that listening changes the brain when acted upon. Imaging such as PET, fMRI, and magnetoencephalography (MEG) generate interactive images to show the anatomy of the brain. They also show brain operations involved in listening. Listening operates from three regions of the brain that support how we listen and how we learn to listen better by acting on what we hear. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Brainpowered tool: Apply one technical insight learned so that brainpower increases and multiple intelligences expand in the interactive mindguide active listening process. 4. Mindguides identify familiar features to highlight big picture: By observing cortical activity when people hear words researchers are beginning to see how people categorize words they hear. The back half of the brain’s cortex is devoted to recognizing familiar patterns, such as a cat’s meow, a baby’s cry or a familiar business brand. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Brainpowered tool: Ask, ask, ask! Question with two feet to draw out unique contributions, that become doable big picture solutions for stubborn real life problems. 5. Mindguides apply what’s learned, with more focus on listening: while mentor hearing differs- is more automatic, and can be less effective. Modern brain images show that when you really focus on listening, you engage areas in the prefrontal cortex. This area of your brain organizes and prioritizes what you hear, and stokes actions that as Fuster (2003) points out, allows you to use what you hear to interact with the world. Focus helps you to create meaning by holding what you hear in your working memory, match it up with what you already know, and predict what to do with what you hear. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Mindguides apply what’s learned in ways that embrace differences, such as gaps between genders, or differences between an ethical and unethical worker. It may simply be distinctives between different rhythms in background music at work. Mindguides capitalize on differences to discover and lead innovative directions for renewed results. 6. Music or speech impacts emotions, impact moods in ways that motivate people, and can add to focus for mindguiding. Great music, such as baroque stimulates the brain to listen more effectively. To ensure good attention, it’s important to offer multiple ways for people to recognize parts of what is communicated. When print dominates a culture, for instance, learning skills can begin to fade. With new social media, variety however, has escalated. New media and technologies such as ipods or even the web – have increased people’s listening capabilities, and raised its importance. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Mindguides seek advice about ideal learning settings from diverse leaders you admire, and act on advice received. In so doing, mindguides engage the plasticity that reshapes human brains to advance in multiple ways. 7. Mindguides communicate with tone that connect growth to emotions so that new insights stick. Other advantages are given when interactivity is possible, so that mindguiding experiences link to people’s unique preferences. Learning depends on levels of commitment and also on developing expertise and talent to communicate with tone often seen in innovative mindguides. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Mindguides step back from heated situations, tame an amygdala, and hear heated issues through the other person’s perspective. 8. Awesome rewards come from mixing in different communication approaches. Researchers found that some music genres offer the same kind of pleasurable learning experiences as food, drugs or sex, for instance. The enjoyable act of engaging music – releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter connected to pleasurable rewards. The key is to create a pleasant setting for every mindguiding session. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Mindguides laugh at themselves– yet run from cynicism, that brings cortisol. They focus more than most mentorships – on spreading serotonin chemicals. Serotonin and other neurotransmitters for well being support mindguides’ learning and leading skills. Do you see similar approaches in typical mentor programs? 9. Social media offers more integrated views on mindguiding topics. For that reason, a wider and more integrated approach has altered what people come to crave in the kind of opposing views presented by radio stations such as NPR in the US or CBC in Canada. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Mindguides invite personal stories to respectfully create curiosity for multiple sides of issues. Mentors, in contrast, often tend to hear only what they already believe, until they apply altered dynamic neuro discoveries for mutual learning. 10. Mindguiding improves the brain’s hardwiring. Each time a person interacts with others and with new insights that interest, they strengthen their capabilities to interact with additional new ideas and with different approaches. Suggested Brainpowered tool: Repeat or do one key nugget learned. Lack of doing or applying, creates passivity habits operated from the brain’s basal ganglia. Each time people act on what they learn, they rewire brain cell connectors and reshape mental ability. Ready to reshape learning abilities stored in your brain? You’ve likely noticed that – in each brainpowered tool above, diversity and rawboned talent become mental assets for more than what mentoring views as minions’ benefit. In mindguiding approaches – both sides learn in all sessions, and both sides also lead at times. How could typical mentoring practices in former teams – morph into mutually beneficial learning opportunities from mindguiding where you work? |Mita Window Words and Brainpowered Tool Distinctives for Mindguides| |1. Question||-possibilities as a way to aha solutions that add cognitive boosts to others.| |2. Target||- improvements from others’ perspectives, rather than critique results| |3. Expect||- quality differences so people become capital & knowledge is shared| |4. Move||- multiple intelligences into action as tools for team problem solving| |5. Reflect||- with innovation celebration that engages the wider community| |6. Risk||- building goodwill across differences to cultivate caring & curious setting| |7.Laugh||- at self to increase serotonin & decrease cortisol that comes from stress| |8.Stack||- people’s decks in ways that add mutual profitability in all stages of work| |9.Play||- in ways that stretch multiple intelligences into innovative possibilities| |10.Integrate||- diverse backgrounds, soft and hard skills, ages, genders, specialties|

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Educator Resources for Treefrog Treasure Treefrog Treasure is a platformer game that allows students to practice math concepts as they explore different worlds as a frog character. When certain obstacles are reached, students must properly identify a target symbol, whole number, or fraction on a number line to collect gems and complete the level. Hints are provided to help students reach the correct answer when mistakes are made. The game is a great differentiation tools, as it automatically adjusts to students’ performance to provide appropriate levels of mathematical complexity. For teacher resources, visit Space Science Institute In this lesson plan which is adaptable for grades 2-5, students will use BrainPOP resources and an online math game to explore fractions and match and/or compare fractional amounts. Common Core State Standard Alignment: CCSS.Math.Cont.3.NF.A.2a Represent a fraction 1/b on a number line diagram by defining the interval from 0 to 1 as the whole and partitioning it into b equal parts. Recognize that each part has size 1/b and that the endpoint of the part based at 0 locates the number 1/b on the number line. CCSS.Math.Cont.3.NF.A.2b Represent a fraction a/b on a number line diagram by marking off a lengths 1/b from 0. Recognize that the resulting interval has size a/b and that its endpoint locates the number a/b on the number line.

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Children with low muscle tone often have delayed motor skills, muscle weakness, and / or coordination and balance problems. (Essentially the muscles lack stamina. The muscles don't have the energy to keep working at a normal level.) Children diagnosed with hypotonia can have varying degrees of severity of muscle weakness. For instance a child may seem to initially do everything just fine, but keep the same muscles working for any length of time and they will tire faster than a normal child's muscles. Muscle tone also comprises a second feature, which is the speed of the muscles' responses. The speed is slower in those with hypotonia. Due to the slower speed of the muscle response a child with hypotonia may have trouble keeping up with similarly aged children. Hypotonia can occur in every muscle, so any movement that requires muscle activity and strength is likely to be impaired. Muscles are tied to every physical endeavor, from eating, to talking, our facial gestures, getting dressed, sitting, and walking. Our Physical Therapists provide an individualized evaluation and treatment program to improve a child's strength and overall function. If needed, our Physical Therapist can work in conjunction with our Occupational Therapist on Fine Motor/Upper Body Coordination and with our Speech and Language Therapist on delayed speech, Articulation, Oral Motor or any other Feeding/Swallowing Issues that a child my have.

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What is cancer of breasts? Breast cancer is the most prevailing forms of cancer these days that is found within the American women more than anything else and it’s the third most found cancer types all over the world which is why it’s such a threat and dangerous condition for almost every female who lives on the planet. There is always a risk for a woman to induce breast cancer symptoms and outcomes readily even if there isn’t any genetic factor involved within and there are many consequences which are relatable. The rate of breast cancer is increasing with every passing day and you should know that this is a condition very serious and something that awareness must be created about. See what causes breast cancer, most important breast cancer facts explained here. Breast cancer facts and risk factors Breast cancer factors included which enhance and additionally increase the results and outcomes of the ailment and diet being one of them is quite helpful and useful. You must know that there are many things that you do in the regular routine which could prevent or even affect the formation of cancerous cells and cause breast cancer. Breast cancer is a cancer type of the glands that are found within the female breasts known as the mammary glands. Any form of lymphatic or infectious drainage could readily block and cause adverse effects of the gland causing tumor to develop. How to diagnose breast cancer? Breast cancer initially develops like all kinds of cancers do. The division and multiplication of abnormal and haphazard cells causes the condition to develop in the first place which then acquires the lymphatic tissue and organs. The body starts taking care of the problem right away but there is an extent to which that mechanism might be involved and anticipated and after that everything is simply out of time and order. Breast cancer when spread to different organs and lymph nodes is really serious and it is most likely that it could spread easily within minutes fractions of days. There are many things producing the cancer in the first place. Genetics could play an important role because many females whose mothers, grandmothers or aunts have gone through the problem suffer through it. It could also be the result of smoking, alcoholism and exposure to radiation for a considerable time span could also be the cause. You should know that using artificial products such as deodorants of insignificant types could increase the risk of an individual getting the cancer too. Breast cancer prevention methods Here is a few breast cancer prevention facts explained. Doctors still don’t know what causes breast cancer, however information about what increasing breast cancer health risks is available now. It includes foods, diets, list of diseases which can lead to breast cancer, etc. Also some diagnosis methods explained, few of them you can use right in your home. Also yearly mammogram for females after 20 years is very important. Here is few ways of breast cancer treatment, it includes chemotherapy, hormone therapy and radiotherapy. At initial stages it more easy to treat breast cancer, it why early diagnosis of breast cancer is very important. Hope that breast cancer facts will help you to prevent or to fight with this evil cancer disease! That girl was diagnosed with breast cancer at 2007. She has a hormonal therapy and chemotherapy and she survive! Now you can ask breast cancer question to Helen and she will respond you here. She helped us a lot providing her personal experience about her fight with breast cancer and many breast cancer facts.

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Surface area is a two-dimensional property of a three-dimensional figure. Cones are similar to pyramids, except they have a circular base instead of a polygonal base. Therefore, the surface area of a cone is equal to the sum of the circular base area and the lateral surface area, calculated by multiplying half of the circumference by the slant height. Related topics include pyramid and cylinder surface area. If you want to calculate the surface area of a cone, you only need to know 2 dimensions. The first is the slant height l and the second is the radius. So what we're going to do, we're going to separate this into two pieces the first is the base which is a circle with radius r and the second is this slant height l. So if I cut, if I took a scissors and cut the cone part and I fended out it would look like a sector. Well what I could do here is I could rearrange this sector into a parallelogram. So again if I cut this into really tiny pieces then I'll be able to organize it into a parallelogram where I would be able to calculate its area. And the way that we'll calculate its area, is first by saying well what are these lines that are going out? Well those lines are going to be your l, your slant height and this side right here is going to be half of your circumference and half of a circumference is pi times r because the whole circumference is 2 pi r. So this down here is pi times r, so if our height l and our base is pi times r then the area of this is equal to pi times r times l. So the surface area of a cone which I'm going to write over here is equal to the base pi r squared plus this lateral area which is found using your slant height. So that's going be pi times r times l, so you only need to know 2 dimensions the radius and the slant height and you can calculate the surface area of any cone.

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Pacific's brawn drain is world rugby's gain Back then ... the 1961 Fijian team in Australia. Photo: Australian Rugby Union Archives Some call it modern-day blackbirding. Australia stopped using Pacific islanders in sugar fields 95 years ago but they are back, on the playing fields this time carrying the hopes and dreams of four of the six nations competing in this weekend's Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. One fifth of all World Cup players are of Pacific island background, from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. Pacific islanders are playing for the Wallabies (seven), All Blacks (eight), England and Wales (one each). The United States field seven, Japan three. What caused such a brawn drain? The rise of the islanders is a happy confluence of supply and demand: In Australia, the private school systems that once served as player humidicribs have let the side down with sport taking a backseat to academic success; New Zealand has been swamped by Polynesian immigration and they have forced their way into national teams by talent and sheer numbers; the globalisation of rugby has suddenly made Pacific islanders bigger, stronger and faster than almost any other peoples, the men of the match. Robert Dewey, assistant professor of history at DePauw University in Indiana, has made a study of rugby in the Pacific. He says the sport is segregated and played outside formal coaching structures , developing an exciting style of ''our own game'' that revitalised rugby across the world. Rugby, he says, was appropriated as a ''national game'' among Tongans, Samoans and indigenous Fijians. ''Early rugby played an important role in expressions of village pride and masculinity, partly because so many of the traditional institutions into manhood had disappeared,'' he says. ''In more recent times, cast in the role of perpetual underdog, the successes and occasional upsets provided by island teams on the pitch went a long way to popularising rugby at home, beyond the elite groups which had initially played the game … It became the national game as well as a catalyst for regional connections.'' Rugby was borne into the Pacific by God and Queen Victoria. Marist Brothers took the game to Samoa, while in Fiji, colonial administrators established a ''Native Union'' in 1913 that continued until World War II when local teams started to outnumber colonial sides and they ran out of grounds. In Tonga, locals returning from Newington College in Stanmore introduced the code but acceptance was boosted when royal patronage arrived thanks to the interest of Prince Tugi and then his son, subsequently King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV. Pacific islanders proved so talented on the rugby field that there are some who believe this might be the reason they were put on Earth. If African DNA travelled across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the US to produce the world's best sprinters and boxers, some football tragics believe it is not too big a stretch to believe the Polynesian DNA must have started out of south-east Asia three millennia ago to embrace its manifest destiny - rugby. Yet, the powerful nations of the Pacific resisted Polynesian domination, even after rugby union embraced professionalism and abandoned amateur status in 1995. Professor Dewey says the truth is that the island nations are too small and too poor to be treated as equals. ''Lacking television revenues and significant sponsorship, barred from the executive decision-making, excluded from the repeated expansion of what became the Super 14 competition … increasingly in debt and on the wrong end of lopsided score lines against the game's top teams, Pacific rugby's administrators faced a bleak set of circumstances.'' He says Pacific administrators were nearly unanimous in allowing players to seek their fortunes overseas, even if it meant donning Wallaby or All Blacks jerseys. They flooded the ranks of rugby league and even started showing up in US gridiron teams. Over the years the likes of Lote Tuqiri, Joe Rokocoko, Sione Lauaki, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Chris Masoe, Jerry Collins and Willie Ofahengaue left their island homes. Tonight, Samoan-born centre Manu Tuilagi takes the field for England against France. His brother Alesana represented Samoa until they were knocked out but usually plays for Leicester Tigers in England. How long before an Island of Origin series?

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Simply begin typing or use the editing tools above to add to this article. Once you are finished and click submit, your modifications will be sent to our editors for review. course through Hamburg ...the southeast of the old city, the Elbe divides itself into two branches, the Norderelbe and the Süderelbe, but these branches meet again opposite Altona, just west of the old city, to form the Unterelbe, which flows into the North Sea some 65 miles downstream from Hamburg. Two other rivers flow into the Elbe at Hamburg—the Alster from the north and the Bille from the east. hydrology of Elbe River The estuary proper of the Elbe (Unterelbe) extends from Hamburg to Cuxhaven, a distance of about 55 miles. It varies in width from one to two miles, but much of it is occupied by mud flats and sandbanks. The main channel is buoyed and dredged. At high tide the channel has a depth of some 53 feet (16 metres). The south or left bank is low and marshy and the river has sandbanks; the right bank is... What made you want to look up "Unterelbe River"? Please share what surprised you most...

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William IIIArticle Free Pass King of England An invitation, signed by a representative selection of James’s opponents, was dispatched on July 10 (Old Style), and on November 5 (November 15, New Style) William and his army landed at Brixham on Tor Bay in Devon and proceeded almost unopposed to London. James fled to France, and the so-called Convention Parliament, summoned in January 1689, declared that James had abdicated and offered the vacant throne, with an accompanying Declaration of Right, to William and Mary. They were proclaimed in February and crowned on April 21. The crown of Scotland was offered to them in the same month. The revolution in England had been accomplished almost without bloodshed, but in Scotland and Ireland there was armed resistance. This collapsed in Scotland in 1689, but the country remained troubled and unsettled throughout William’s reign. In 1692 Alexander MacDonald of Glen Coe and some of his clansmen were murdered in cold blood for tardiness in taking the oath of allegiance to William. William ordered an inquiry but took no further action until in 1695 the Scottish Parliament demanded a public investigation. He then showed culpable leniency to the offenders, merely dismissing from his secretaryship Sir John Dalrymple, on whom responsibility for the massacre was finally placed. In Ireland war formally broke out in 1689, when James landed there with French support. But the successful defense of Londonderry and of Enniskillen, and William’s own victory at the Battle of the Boyne on July 1, 1690, ensured the reconquest of Ireland and freed him to turn his attention to the European continent. Here, after a series of minor attacks on the empire, Louis XIV had invaded the Palatinate in 1688. The Dutch and the emperor concluded the Treaty of Vienna (May 1689) and declared war on Louis; over the next 18 months William’s rare diplomatic skill brought into the alliance Brandenburg, Hanover, Saxony, Bavaria, Savoy, and Spain, as well as England, which became its linchpin. From 1691 William spent much time campaigning on the continent with varying degrees of success; but by 1696 a number of factors made both sides anxious for peace, and the Treaties of Rijswijk were signed in 1697. The question, vital for a European balance of power, of who was to succeed the childless king Charles II of Spain remained unsettled, however, and William had good cause to fear that the peace would be no more than a truce. The English Parliament, on the contrary, was convinced that it would be lasting, insisted on cutting down the size of the army, and resolutely turned its back on foreign affairs. William, in the hope of averting a new war, entered into two Spanish Partition treaties (1698–99) with Louis—measures that involved him in serious frictions with Parliament. But when the Spanish king died on Nov. 1, 1700, Louis, ignoring his agreements, accepted the crown of Spain for his grandson and soon showed that he had not relinquished his plans for French aggrandizement. William, though hampered by English apathy, set himself to rebuilding the Grand Alliance and to preparing his two countries for the now inevitable conflict. In September 1701 the exiled James II died, and Louis XIV proclaimed his son king of England, contrary to his agreement in one of the Rijswijk treaties, and thus roused the English to an enthusiasm for war. William did not live to see this war declared. His health had long been declining, and in March 1702 he died. His plans for a European settlement were largely carried out by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). His ideal, which he had pursued doggedly for 30 years, was an international order in which no single power was able to tyrannize the rest. What made you want to look up "William III"? Please share what surprised you most...

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Antônio de Castro AlvesArticle Free Pass Antônio de Castro Alves, (born March 14, 1847, Muritiba, Braz.—died July 6, 1871, Salvador), Romantic poet whose sympathy for the Brazilian abolitionist cause won him the name “poet of the slaves.” While still a student Castro Alves produced a play that brought him to the attention of José de Alencar and Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian literary leaders. Having studied for the law, he soon became a dominant figure among the Condoreira (Condor) school of poets, likened, for their dedication to lofty causes and for their preference for elevated style, to the highest flying birds in the Americas. His romantic image was heightened by his sense of being foredoomed by a wound incurred in a hunting accident. He lived and wrote at fever pitch while the wound worsened and eventually led to amputation of his foot. Tuberculosis set in, and he died at 24. Espumas flutuantes (1870; “Floating Foam”) contains some of his finest love lyrics. A cachoeira de Paulo Afonso (1876; “The Paulo Afonso Falls”), a fragment of Os escravos, tells the story of a slave girl who is raped by her master’s son. This and Castro Alves’ other abolitionist poems were collected in a posthumous book, Os escravos (1883; “The Slaves”). What made you want to look up "Antonio de Castro Alves"? Please share what surprised you most...

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On the bicentennial of the War of 1812, What So Proudly We Hailed looks at this formative yet misunderstood period in American history through the lens of 21st century America. This provocative book asks, among other questions: What did America learn—and what did it not learn—from the experience? How did it help shape a nation? With Congress divided along party lines, the U.S. government went to war without adequately preparing either the means to finance the conflict or the capabilities needed to achieve its aims. Like the United States two hundred years ago, the executive branch still suffers from in-fighting. The military invades a foreign nation, expecting to be treated as liberators. The entire endeavor winds down to a seemingly inconclusive ending. Sound familiar? By 2003, America was waging two wars at once, at vast expense. Neither was financed by tax increases, but instead with borrowed money—much like in 1812, when the “Republican” party’s reluctance to use the government’s taxing power led to expanded debt and inadequate funding for the war effort. In What So Proudly We Hailed, the contributors look at how Partisan animosity in 1812 surpassed today’s rancor, teaching us the danger of hyperpartisanship as well as the less obvious tendency of the party system to adapt and realign: The Federalist-Republican competition that dominated early U.S. politics dissipated in the war’s aftermath. We take today’s partisan divide as a given, but in time that too is likely to pass. - Pulitzer-winning historian Alan Taylor (The Civil War of 1812) examines the war’s sectional tensions and the implications for American nationalism. - Historian Peter J. Kastor discusses how 1812–15 affected state-federal relations. - Author Stephen Budiansky (Perilous Fight) explores the military legacy. - Pietro Nivola assesses the keen partisan rivalry of the early 1800s and what it can tell us about today’s strife. - Benjamin Wittes and Ritika Singh of Brookings investigate constitutional frictions, particularly regarding presidential power and civil liberties.

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How many times have you typed a wrong internet address into your web browser? It must have happened to you at least once. Maybe instead of “Facebook” you typed “Fcebook” while rushing to access your Facebook profile? You’d think that such an honest mistake doesn’t cost you anything. After all, you do no harm. But with all the cybercriminals out there looking for new opportunities to make some easy money, mistyping the name of a popular website might cost you your internet security. If you mistype the address of a website into your browser, you could end up on a malicious website. Once landed, you might get tricked into downloading malicious software to your computer or handing over personal information, such as credit card details. Cybercriminals set up these fake websites, hoping to “capitalize” on your mistakes. What is typosquatting? The fraudulent web practice mentioned above is called “typosquatting”. It is a form of cybersquatting, an illegal web practice also known as “domain” or “URL squatting”. The US and other countries even have a law against it. In the US it’s called “the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act”. Cybersquatting basically refers to the action of registering, trafficking in, or using the name of an existing website to profit from the goodwill of a trademark that belongs to someone else. Sometimes, the ill-intended third-parties behind this kind of fraud – cybersquatters – register misspelled versions of popular trademarked names that coincide with common misspellings made by web users. In such cases, if you happen to type one of those versions into your browser, you’re directed to their site (for example: www.example.com may be used as www.exmple.com). At this point, your internet security might be greatly compromised. This is typosquatting and has happened with popular brands like: Twitter – www.twtter.com, Wikipedia – www.wikapedia.com, Craiglist – www.craigilist.com, Apple – www.pple.com, Google – www.goole.com and more. What do typosquatters want? - Compete with the popular sites in question for web traffic and earn money through advertisements; in this case, typosquatters are not putting at risk your internet security, but they are taking advantage of your good faith. Their real victims are the companies whose names are used as bait. - Trick you into downloading spyware or other type of malware to your computer. If you don’t have proper antivirus protection, they might breach your internet security. For example, once you get on the respective site, a pop-up window might warn you that your computer is infected and urge you to download an antivirus program they provide. If you fall for the scam, what you actually download is malware. - Get hold of your personal information – usernames, passwords, credit card details, as part of a phishing scam. The site you land on might offer you fake discounts or giveways, in exchange for your personal details. - Direct you to adult, dating sites, or other sites you had no intention of visiting. How to avoid typosquatting dangers: - Be very careful with what you type in to your web browser. Always type in the correct names of the sites you want to visit and make sure your kids do the same. You don’t want them ending up on dating sites or downloading some form of malware that can compromise your entire family’s internet security. - When you’re not sure of the correct spelling of the website name, do not type it in the browser address bar directly. Use a trusted search engine instead, like Google, Bing and Yahoo!, to get a thorough list of search results. In this case, it’s best you have an effective Safe Browsing tool, like the one in BullGuard Internet Security 12, to flag out phishing, virus-infected and other types of malicious websites. - Get a genuine and comprehensive internet security suite to protect you from phishing attempts, viruses, spyware and other types of malware. BullGuard’s internet security software comes with a dual antivirus engine that spots known and yet unknown malware, as well as an antiphishing tool and a bunch of other cool internet security features.

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This is an introductory level presentation exploring the various definitions of the term "environmental sustainability" and the connection between climate change and human population growth and its impact on the viability of the earth's systems. To explore the various perspectives of the term "environmental sustainabilty". “Environmental Sustainability” has different meanings to different people • “Environmental Sustainability” extends beyond human existence • Intelligence is not a good predictor of species longevity • Longevity within species is tied to metabolic rate • Environmental factors affect human migration, distribution, endeavors • Structures made by humans are not sustainable • Growth of human populations and economic systems are accelerating CONTEXT FOR USE This presentation can be used as an introduction to the topic of Climate Change or an introduction to Environmental Sustainability. It could also be used for many interdisiclinary courses to incorporate population growth, sustainability and climate change issues. It could also be used for informal education. ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION AND TEACHING MATERIALS Download the Pdf of the presentation. Assessment at at the discretion of the educator and how the presentation is used. REFERENCES AND RESOURCES Produced by the faculty of University of North Carolina, see authors.

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Book Description: By encouraging students to explore the challenges and opportunities managers face in the business environment, the sixth edition of this successful text provides students with a solid foundation from which to build upon their business knowledge. This thought-provoking book helps students to understand how business organisations operate in economic, political, social, technological, and legal environments. It introduces and analyses the business environment model, enabling students to understand how it can determine business strategy. The following online resources support the text: For students: additional resources to enable learning, including a companion website, an online glossary and updated weblinks. For Instructors:updated teaching resources available including a comprehensive instructors manual, PowerPoint slides and additional multiple choice questions with answers.

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Focusing on Cancer Stem Cells Many solid tumors appear to have a small population of stem cells that are partially resistant to chemotherapy and can perpetuate themselves indefinitely. These cancer stem cells thus far have been isolated from breast and brain tumors as well as blood. The exact origin of these cancer stem cells remains to be defined. With mounting evidence to support the hypothesis that genetic alterations in tissue stem cells may represent the origins of some cancers, the time is right to more vigorously explore the properties, mechanisms, and vulnerabilities of this subset of cells. The presence of such cells, first demonstrated in acute myeloid leukemia patients, provides a different and exciting model with which to further explore cancer biology. As a result, NCI is establishing a trans-NIH group of scientists interested in embryogenesis and cancer stem cell biology to advance the study of the underlying mechanisms in these processes. Establishing this group will facilitate the sharing of data, reagents, and animal models, and also provide a meaningful scientific interface with similar groups of extramural scientists. Isolating and studying cancer stem cells should give us new insights into cancer and therapies. A defining characteristic of cancer stem cells is their ability to self-renew while giving rise to a diverse population of cells. In this respect, cancer stem cells are like embryonic stem cells, and the lessons of embryology, in which the role of stem cells are well defined, are crucial to understanding their role in carcinogenesis. The mechanisms that allow controlled growth and migration of cells during the development of complex organisms from a single cell may be the same genetically programmed signal pathways that, when left unregulated in the adult organism, allow the development of tumors. Tumors are, in essence, complex "organs" complete with neovasculature and phenotypically altered supporting tissues. Relatively little is known about the mechanisms of self-renewal, but researchers are beginning to identify potential genes and pathways involved. This could eventually lead to targets for intervening in the process, but without disrupting the behavior of normal tissue stem cells. Some good news in this regard was reported last month. Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found differences between genetic signatures associated with self-renewal in cancer stem cells and in normal blood stem cells in mice. This suggests that it may be possible to target cancer stem cells in humans. So where do cancer stem cells come from? One theory says they start out as normal stem cells until they become altered and start producing cancer cells. Another says that some more mature, differentiated cells may regain the ability to self-renew through genetic changes - a process of de-differentiation as they become malignant. There may be evidence for both theories. It's important to remember that these rare cells have only recently been discovered. To answer fundamental questions about them, we need to develop more efficient techniques for isolating the cells and maintaining them in culture, and we need to draw on our knowledge of embryogenesis. Single-cell analyses will likely be needed to distinguish events present in cancer stem cells from the more differentiated cells that make up the majority of the tumor. I am excited about the formation of this group. We have seen the success of another trans-NIH group in which NCI plays an integral role. The Trans-NIH Angiogenesis Research Program has improved the exchange of information and resources for angiogenesis researchers focused on diverse topics such as macular degeneration, cancer, and heart disease. Likewise, the new group has the potential to advance the science around stem cell biology and bring us closer to new and potentially highly effective therapies in cancer and other diseases. Dr. John E. Niederhuber

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Garden Guide '10: The Right Tools The Easy Bloom Plant Sensor shows which vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, shrubs or houseplants will grow where, indoors or out. There are so many different types of gardening tools available. How do you know which ones you'll really need? For starters, you'll need something to dig with—shovel or a spade. A shovel is typically a scoop for mixing or moving material from one place to another. A spade is designed for digging. The blade is straighter than a shovel's and is made to be pushed into the soil. Long-handle tools usually offer better leverage and reach and allow working from a standing position. The handle may be either straight or have a D-shaped grip. With some long-handle pruners, extensions may be available. Short-handle tools are lighter, usually less expensive and more compact to store. They let you work in confined spaces or while kneeling. Common short-handled tools include hand pruners and clippers, hoes, garden trowels and cultivators. Using short-handle tools means spending time low to the ground. A good, firm foam pad or strap-on kneepads can help prevent aches and pains. Choices range from simple pads to foldable seats. Basic and not-so-basic tools - Garden knives. Useful for cutting twine and plant ties and opening bags and plant root balls, the safer ones have non-collapsible fixed blades. - Garden rakes. A heavy rake with short, stiff tines supported by a flat or bow-shaped metal frame is useful for raking heavy materials, removing rocks and other debris and smoothing the soil for planting. - Leaf rakes. A light rake with long, thin, flexible tines designed to gather leaves or other light materials. - Hand pruners and shears. Used for removing flowers, lightweight foliage and small branches. - Hoes. For weeding and scraping the soil's surface, hoes include the traditional flat scraping or chopping types and the loop, scuffle and stirrup styles. - Long-handled pruners and loppers. These long-handled versions of hand pruners provide greater reach and leverage, allowing for larger items to be cut. - Mattocks. A heavy, flat-bladed tool designed to dig or grub in the soil on one end, with a sharp point to break up heavy or rocky soils on the other. - Spading forks. Used to open up the ground, dig bulbs, incorporate soil amendments and turn compost, they have heavy, flat tines and often a D-shaped handle. - Tillers. A power tool that breaks up large areas of compacted soil and incorporates soil amendments. - Cultivators. A tool with heavy curved or bent tines or sometimes multiple spinning blades designed to open up and aerate the soil. Styles with tines are also used to mix materials and effectively loosen weed roots. - The Weed Wrench, a manually-operated, all-steel tool designed to remove woody weeds by uprooting them. - The Easy Bloom Plant Sensor shows which vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, trees, shrubs or houseplants will grow where, indoors or out. Storing your tools Avoid clutter and damage by keeping your tools organized and dry. There's a tremendous selection in stores and online of storage racks, systems, tool organizers, outdoor closets and sheds. A basic, simple storage idea is to use a bucket caddy with cloth pockets that wraps around a 5-gallon bucket. It's convenient for storing small tools and you can dump weeds in the bucket. Another idea for keeping small tools, seeds, sunscreen and other items handy is to mount a jumbo mailbox on a post near the garden.

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Scientists find trick to reverse moral opinions (CBS News) A new study finds that a person's moral compass is surprisingly easy to throw off. With nothing more than a clipboard, a survey and a small patch of glue, researchers were able to get participants to not only subconsciously change their minds but even argue the opposite of their original opinions. The study, led by Lars Hall of Sweden's Lund University, asked 160 volunteers to fill out a quick 2-page survey on moral principles and the morality of current events - such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unbeknownst to the participants, a patch of glue was stuck to the back of the survey clipboard. When flipping to the second page, the top set of statements would stick to the back of the clipboard, revealing a different set of questions but leaving the responses unchanged. Published in the journal PLoS One, the study slightly altered the hidden statements to mean the opposite of what they said originally. One example used in the study: "Large-scale governmental surveillance of e-mail and Internet traffic out to be forbidden as a means to combat international crime and terrorism." When the hidden statements were revealed, the original had been reworded from "forbidden" to "permitted." Participants then read the statements aloud, including the ones that had been altered, and explain their opinions. Researchers found that half of participants did not detect any changes to the statements, and a full 69 percent accepted at least one of the altered statements. Not only were the volunteers unlikely to spot the changes, 53 percent argued in favor of the altered statements rather than their original opinions. Hall and his team have studied this phenomenon previously, calling it "choice blindness." "I don't feel we have exposed people or fooled them," Hall told the journal Nature. "Rather this shows something otherwise very difficult to show, [which is] how open and flexible people can actually be." The study may have ramifications concerning the accuracy of self-report questionnaires. Hall believes that standard surveys "are not good at capturing the complexity of the attitudes people actually hold." Liane Young, a psychologist at Boston College who was not involved in the study, called the results "intriguing." "These findings suggest that if I'm fooled into thinking that I endorse a view, I'll do the work myself to come up with my own reasons," she told Nature. © 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Mexico scrambles to cope with egg shortage A city worker sells eggs at government subsidized prices as people line up outside the city truck in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. The Mexican government is battling an egg shortage and hoarding that have caused prices to spike in a country with the highest per-capita egg consumption on earth. About 11 million chickens were slaughtered after a June outbreak of bird flu. / AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini (AP) MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government is battling an egg shortage and hoarding that have caused prices to spike in a country with the highest per-capita egg consumption on Earth. A summer epidemic of bird flu in the heart of Mexico's egg industry has doubled the cost of a kilo (2.2 pounds), or about 13 eggs, to more than 40 pesos ($3), a major blow to working- and middle-class consumers in a country that consumes more than 350 eggs per person each year. That's 100 more eggs per person than in the United States. Egg prices have dominated the headlines here for a week, spurring Mexico City's mayor to ship tons of cheap eggs to poor neighborhoods and the federal government to announce emergency programs to get fresh chickens to farms hit by bird flu and to restock supermarket shelves with eggs imported from the U.S. and Central America. The national dismay over egg prices has revealed the unappreciated importance of a cheap, easy source of protein that's nearly as important to Mexican kitchens as tortillas, rice and beans. Added boiled to stewed chicken, raw to a fruit-juice hangover cure and in every other conceivable form to hundreds of other foods, the once-ubiquitous egg has disappeared from many street-side food stands and middle-class kitchens in recent days. "Eggs, as you know, are one of Mexicans' most important foods and make up a core part of their diet, especially in the poorest regions of the country," President Felipe Calderon said Friday as he announced about $227 million in emergency financing and commercial measures to restore production and replace about 11 million chickens slaughtered after the June outbreak of bird flu. Calderon said he was sending inspectors to stop speculation that he blamed for high egg prices, which have almost single-handedly driven up the national rate of inflation. He said that the government had already begun large-scale importation of eggs and that about 3 million hens were being sent to farms hit by the flu outbreak. The Mexico City government has sent a refrigerated trailer-truck of eggs into working-class neighborhoods over the last three days, selling kilo packets for less than half the current market price. Several thousand people lined up for about two hours Friday morning to buy eggs from the truck in southeastern Mexico City's Iztacalco neighborhood. Isidro Vasquez Gonzalez, an unemployed 43-year-old cook, waited with his niece and nephew to buy three kilos of eggs that they said they would eat almost immediately in a lunch of meatballs with chopped eggs. "You can make eggs with anything scrambled eggs, with pork rinds, eggs with beans, green chiles, poached eggs, green beans with eggs, eggs with tomato sauce, " Vazquez said, with a wistful look in his eyes. "People here eat a lot of eggs. They were the cheapest, but now they're the most expensive. They're more expensive than meat." The crisis began with the June detection of bird flu in the western state of Michoacan, which produces roughly half of Mexico's eggs. Some 11 million birds were killed to prevent the spread of the disease, sharply cutting into the national supply of more than 2 million tons of eggs a year. Government officials blame speculators in the wholesale egg business for driving up prices beyond the hike resulting from bird flu. After existing stocks of eggs ran out, prices rose sharply in August. "Eggs are what we eat the most these days," said Gertrudis Rodriguez, 68. But with the higher prices, she said, "if we eat beans, we don't eat eggs, or if we eat eggs, we don't eat beans with them." Mexico City's public Food Supply Center, which provides government-subsidized fresh food to low-income residents, dropped other ingredients from its truck this week in favor of eggs, and will distribute 18 tons by the time its current stocks run out Monday, director-general Raymundo Collins said. Calderon said more than 150 tons of eggs had already crossed the border from the U.S. and 100 trailers carrying 500 more tons would arrive in the country over the weekend. "The federal government will keep using every tool in its power to keep family's quality of life from being eroded by unfair increases in the price of eggs," the president said. Popular on CBSNews.com - U.K. official: London attack suspects probed before - Mexico's drug war 20 Photos - London soldier slaying homegrown Islamic extremism? - Man dead in "truly shocking" London attack 230 Comments - Graphic video: Man dead in "truly shocking" London attack Play Video - Who were the 4 U.S. citizens killed in drone strikes? 88 Comments - Mexican volcano on verge of eruption 15 Photos - Man, 80, becomes oldest to climb to top of Mount Everest

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Strategic Plan - Disabilities & Disparities Priority: Identifying and reducing disparities in key health indicators, including obesity, among children, youth and adults with disabilities. What is the Problem? - Obesity rates for children and adults with disabilities are 38 percent and 57 percent higher than rates for children and adults without disabilities. - Adults with disabilities engage in physical activities on a regular basis approximately half as often as adults without disabilities (12 percent vs. 22 percent). - Disparities have been found in access to health care, with 29 percent of people with disabilities showing unmet need compared to 12 percent of people without disabilities. What Do We Know? The growing body of research on the link between obesity and disability indicates that, for both children and adults, those at greatest risk for obesity have mobility limitations, intellectual/learning disabilities, or both. Whether obesity is the result of disability or a contributing factor to disability, children, youth and adults with disabilities are an important subgroup to address in reducing obesity in the United States. Reasons for these disparities include: - Lack of healthy food choices for many people with disabilities living in restrictive environments; - Difficulty with chewing or swallowing food; - Use of medications that can contribute to changes in weight and appetite; - Physical limitations that can reduce a person’s ability to exercise; - Pain and/or lack of energy; - Lack of accessible environments such as sidewalks, parks, and exercise equipment; and - Lack of resources such as money, transportation, and social support from family, friends, neighbors, and community members. What Can We Do? Now is the time for action. Evidence shows that regular physical activity and good nutrition provide improved cardiovascular and muscle fitness, enhanced mental health, and a better ability to perform tasks of daily life for people with disabilities. We need: research to build the evidence for interventions; effective communication to inform stakeholders; and implementation of public health programs, policies, and practices to reduce the disparity in obesity and other health indicators such as health care access. With our partners, we are integrating disability into national efforts that address obesity and other health conditions, and identifying and measuring outcomes for persons with disabilities to evaluate effectiveness and monitor change. Learn more about disabilities Learn more about NCBDDD’s strategic plan and priorities. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities 1600 Clifton Road Atlanta, GA 30333 TTY: (888) 232-6348 New Hours of Operation

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Asthma is a lifelong disease that causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. It can limit a person's quality of life. While we don't know why asthma rates are rising, we do know that most people with asthma can control their symptoms and prevent asthma attacks by avoiding asthma triggers and correctly using prescribed medicines, such as inhaled corticosteroids. The number of people diagnosed with asthma grew by 4.3 million from 2001 to 2009. From 2001 through 2009 asthma rates rose the most among black children, almost a 50% increase. Asthma was linked to 3,447 deaths (about 9 per day) in 2007. Asthma costs in the US grew from about $53 billion in 2002 to about $56 billion in 2007, about a 6% increase. Greater access to medical care is needed for the growing number of people with asthma. Asthma is increasing every year in the US. Too many people have asthma. - The number of people with asthma continues to grow. One in 12 people (about 25 million, or 8% of the population) had asthma in 2009, compared with 1 in 14 (about 20 million, or 7%) in 2001. - More than half (53%) of people with asthma had an asthma attack in 2008. More children (57%) than adults (51%) had an attack. - 185 children and 3,262 adults died from asthma in 2007. - About 1 in 10 children (10%) had asthma and 1 in 12 adults (8%) had asthma in 2009. Women were more likely than men and boys more likely than girls to have asthma. - About 1 in 9 (11%) non-Hispanic blacks of all ages and about 1 in 6 (17%) of non-Hispanic black children had asthma in 2009, the highest rate among racial/ethnic groups. - The greatest rise in asthma rates was among black children (almost a 50% increase) from 2001 through 2009. Asthma Action Plan Stages Green Zone: Doing Well No cough, wheeze, chest tightness, or shortness of breath; can do all usual activities. Take prescribed longterm control medicine such as inhaled corticosteroids. Yellow Zone: Getting Worse Cough, wheeze, chest tightness, or shortness of breath; waking at night; can do some, but not all, usual activities. Add quick-relief medicine. Red Zone: Medical Alert! Very short of breath; quick-relief medicines don't help; cannot do usual activities; symptoms no better after 24 hours in Yellow Zone. Get medical help NOW. Full Action Plan: http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/actionplan.html Asthma has a high cost for individuals and the nation. - Asthma cost the US about $3,300 per person with asthma each year from 2002 to 2007 in medical expenses. - Medical expenses associated with asthma increased from $48.6 billion in 2002 to $50.1 billion in 2007. About 2 in 5 (40%) uninsured people with asthma could not afford their prescription medicines and about 1 in 9 (11%) insured people with asthma could not afford their prescription medicines. - More than half (59%) of children and one-third (33%) of adults who had an asthma attack missed school or work because of asthma in 2008. On average, in 2008 children missed 4 days of school and adults missed 5 days of work because of asthma. Better asthma education is needed. - People with asthma can prevent asthma attacks if they are taught to use inhaled corticosteroids and other prescribed daily long-term control medicines correctly and to avoid asthma triggers. Triggers can include tobacco smoke, mold, outdoor air pollution, and colds and flu. - In 2008 less than half of people with asthma reported being taught how to avoid triggers. Almost half (48%) of adults who were taught how to avoid triggers did not follow most of this advice. - Doctors and patients can better manage asthma by creating a personal asthma action plan that the patient follows. Asthma by age and sex US, 2001-2009 Percentages are age-adjusted SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics; 2010. Asthma self-management education by age, US, 2008 SOURCE: National Health Interview Survey, 2008, asthma supplement. Adults with asthma in the US, 2009 SOURCE: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2009 Federal, state, and local health officials can: - Track asthma rates and the effectiveness of control measures so continuous improvements can be made in prevention efforts. - Promote influenza and pneumonia vaccination for people with asthma. - Promote improvements in indoor air quality for people with asthma through measures such as smoke-free air laws and policies, healthy schools and workplaces, and improvements in outdoor air quality. Health care providers can: - Determine the severity of asthma and monitor how much control the patient has over it. - Make an asthma action plan for patients. Use this to teach them how to use inhaled corticosteroids and other prescribed medicines correctly and how to avoid asthma triggers such as tobacco smoke, mold, pet dander, and outdoor air pollution. - Prescribe inhaled corticosteroids for all patients with persistent asthma. People with asthma and parents of children with asthma can: - Receive ongoing appropriate medical care. - Be empowered through education to manage their asthma and asthma attacks. - Avoid asthma triggers at school, work, home, and outdoors. Parents of children with asthma should not smoke, or if they do, smoke only outdoors and not in their cars. - Use inhaled corticosteroids and other prescribed medicines correctly. Schools and school nurses can: - Use student asthma action plans to guide use of inhaled corticosteroids and other prescribed asthma medicines correctly and to avoid asthma triggers. - Make students' quick-relief inhalers readily available for them to use at school as needed. - Take steps to fix indoor air quality problems like mold and outdoor air quality problems such as idling school buses. Employers and insurers can: - Promote healthy workplaces by reducing or eliminating known asthma triggers. - Promote measures that prevent asthma attacks such as eliminating co-payments for inhaled corticosteroids and other prescribed medicines. - Provide reimbursement for educational sessions conducted by clinicians, health educators, and other health professionals both within and outside of the clinical setting. - Provide reimbursement for long-term control medicines, education, and services to reduce asthma triggers that are often not covered by health insurers.

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Announcements: World Stroke Day — October 29, 2012 Monday, October 29, is World Stroke Day 2012. Approximately 795,000 strokes occur annually in the United States. One of the leading causes of disability, stroke occurs among all age groups, including newborns, children, young adults, and older adults (1). One in six persons worldwide will have a stroke in his or her lifetime, and every 6 seconds someone will die from a stroke (2,3). Although stroke is a common disease, it can be prevented. In addition, with timely care and support, most stroke survivors can recover and regain their quality of life. Everyone should take the following actions to reduce their likelihood of having a stroke: 1) know your personal risk factors, including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, high blood cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, and a history of having a transient ischemic attack or previous stroke; 2) engage in physical activity regularly; 3) maintain a healthy diet high in fruits and vegetables; 4) limit alcohol consumption; 5) avoid cigarette smoke (if you smoke, seek help to stop now); and 6) learn to recognize the warning signs of a stroke,* and call 9-1-1 right away if you think someone is having a stroke. CDC addresses stroke prevention through state-based programs to prevent heart disease and stroke, through the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry, and through many partnerships. Information on stroke prevention is available at http://www.cdc.gov/stroke, and additional information about World Stroke Day is available at http://www.worldstrokecampaign.org. - Roger VL, Go AS, Lloyd-Jones DM, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics–2012 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2012;125:e2-e220. - Seshadri S, Beiser A, Kelly-Hayes M. The lifetime risk of stroke: estimates from the Framingham Study. Stroke 2006;37:345–50. - World Health Organization. The atlas of heart disease and stroke. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2004. Available at http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/resources/atlas. Accessed October 16, 2012. * Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; and sudden severe headache. Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from typeset documents. This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr) and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices. **Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to email@example.com.

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- PDF (392 kb) - Full Text with Thumbnail Figures - Full Text with Large Figures - Cited by in Scopus (51) - Request permission - Transitioning from malaria control to elimination: the vital role of ACTs Trends in Parasitology, Volume 29, Issue 2, 1 February 2013, Pages 60-64 Heiner Grueninger and Kamal Hamed AbstractArtemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have been instrumental in reducing malaria burden. Many countries report geographical areas with reduced levels of endemic disease. As the transition is made from malaria control to elimination, new ways of using existing treatments are being considered. In this opinion paper, the requirements for the continued success of ACTs, their role in this transition, and possible new ways of using these drugs in an elimination setting are discussed. ACTs have an important role to play in maintaining the current success of control programs, and may also drive these successes forward into the widespread elimination of malaria. Abstract | Full Text | PDF (569 kb) - Combating malaria in Africa Trends in Parasitology, Volume 18, Issue 5, 1 May 2002, Pages 224-230 Jean-François Trape, Gilles Pison, André Spiegel, Catherine Enel and Christophe Rogier AbstractThe spread of antimalarial drug resistance has major consequences for malaria control in tropical Africa. Here, the impact of chloroquine resistance on the burden of malaria is analyzed and its implications for the Roll Back Malaria initiative are examined. Malaria mortality has increased at least twofold during the past two decades. Combination therapy should be available for home treatment of young children. The potential toxicity of most antimalarials will require special surveillance programs. The main contribution to malaria control using methods to reduce the entomological inoculation rate is expected in areas with low or unstable transmission. Classic vector-control methods could potentially eliminate malaria in most urban areas and such programs deserve high priority. Abstract | Full Text | PDF (67 kb) - Plasmodium vivax transmission: chances for control? Trends in Parasitology, Volume 20, Issue 4, 1 April 2004, Pages 192-198 Jetsumon Sattabongkot, Takafumi Tsuboi, Gabriela E. Zollner, Jeeraphat Sirichaisinthop and Liwang Cui AbstractPlasmodium vivax is a growing public health problem in many regions of the world as a result of re-emergence and increased transmission. This article reviews the unique biology related to P. vivax transmission and addresses potential problems associated with the control of this parasite, which depends on an in-depth knowledge of malaria transmission. The success of comprehensive control measures will require advanced laboratory and field research on this parasite, international awareness of the problem, and co-operation by members of the international malaria community to implement new knowledge and improve the management of transmission in each endemic area. Abstract | Full Text | PDF (162 kb) Copyright © 2003 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved. Trends in Parasitology, Volume 19, Issue 10, 452-460, 1 October 2003 Mass administrations of antimalarial drugs 1 International Vaccine Institute, Kwanak, PO Box 14, Seoul, 151-600, Korea 2 Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London, UK, WC1E 7HT Administration of antimalarial drugs to whole populations has been used as a malaria-control measure for more than 70 years. Drugs have been administered either directly as a full therapeutic course of treatment or indirectly through the fortification of salt. Mass drug administrations (MDAs) were generally unsuccessful in interrupting transmission but, in some cases, had a marked effect on parasite prevalence and on the incidence of clinical malaria. MDAs are likely to encourage the spread of drug-resistant parasites and so have only a limited role in malaria control. They could have a part to play in the management of epidemics and in the control of malaria in areas with a short transmission season. To reduce the risk of spreading drug resistance, MDAs should use more than one drug and, preferably include a drug, such as an artemisinin, which has a gametocidal effect.

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We seek the solution to the linear system of equations Iterative methods, unlike direct methods, generate a sequence of approximate solutions to the system that (hopefully) converges to the exact solution. After k iterations, we obtain an approximation to the exact solution as: where is the residual after k iterations. as the difference between the exact and approaximate solution, we obtain The purpose of iterations is to drive this residual to zero. Stationary Iterative Methods Iterative methods that can be expressed in the simple form when neither B nor c depend upon the iteration count (k), the iterative method is called stationary iterative method. Some of the stationary iterative methods are - Jacobi method - Gauss-Seidel method - Successive Overrelaxation (SOR) method and - Symmetric Successive Overrelaxation (SSOR) method The convergence of such iterative methods can be investigated using the Fixed point theorem. Nonstationary Iterative Methods When during the iterations B and c changes during the iterations, the method is called Nonstationary Iterative Method. Typically, constants B and c are computed by taking inner products of residuals or other vectors arising from the iterative method. Some examples are: - Conjugate Gradient Method (CG) - MINRES and SYMMLQ - Generalized Minimal Residual (GMRES) - BiConjugate Gradient (BiCG) - Quasi-Minimal Residual (QMR) - Conjugate Gradient Squared Method (CGS) - BiConjugate Gradient Stabilized (Bi-CGSTAB) - Chebyshev Iteration

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Could the Pap smear, which is already commonly used to detect cervical cancer, also be used to find endometrial and ovarian cancers? A small study suggests that may be possible in the future. Scientists at Johns Hopkins have found that cervical fluid collected during a routine Pap smear can be used to detect both types of cancers by using a genome sequencing test called the "PapGene." Researchers administered the test on a small group of samplings, and found the procedure accurately detected all 24 endometrial cancers, or cancer of the lining of the uterus. However, they were only able to find nine of 22, or 41%. of ovarian cancers. According to the American Cancer Society, only 20% of ovarian cancers are found early. Survival chances increase dramatically when cancers are caught early, before they have spread. The Pap test is designed to collect cervical cells that are examined for cancer. It is the gold standard for cervical cancer screening. Yet, there is no good screening method available for ovarian or endometrial cancers. Because the pilot study was small, investigators say this genetic test is not ready for general practice. They emphasize larger studies still need to be conducted and the test may even have to be refined, particularly to improve finding ovarian cancers. Scientists involved in the initial research are already recruiting patients for the next trial phase. But doctors are still excited, especially since the test would be easy and convenient since the Pap test is already available. When cells are taken in a Pap test, there is excess fluid that accumulates on the smear. Those are the fluids the test would examine for the other cancers. And investigators say the procedure would eliminate a lot of "false positive" results that previous tests for these cancers have caused. "The lack of false positives is a real advantage, because they often lead to anxiety and worry in the patient," says Dr. Luis Diaz, the lead investigator of the study and an associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins. "And the follow-up tests are expensive and can be invasive. We are hoping this test will take away those worries." Results of the experiments are published in the January 9 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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To use all functions of this page, please activate cookies in your browser. With an accout for my.chemeurope.com you can always see everything at a glance – and you can configure your own website and individual newsletter. - My watch list - My saved searches - My saved topics - My newsletter Peroxisomes are ubiquitous organelles in eukaryotes that participate in the metabolism of fatty acids and other metabolites. Peroxisomes have enzymes that rid the cell of toxic peroxides. They have a single lipid bilayer membrane that separates their contents from the cytosol (the internal fluid of the cell) and contain membrane proteins critical for various functions, such as importing proteins into the organelles and aiding in proliferation. Like lysosomes, peroxisomes are part of the secretory pathway of a cell, but they are much more dynamic and can replicate by enlarging and then dividing. Peroxisomes were identified as cellular organelles by the Belgian cytologist Christian de Duve in 1967 after they had been first described in a Swedish PhD thesis a decade earlier. Occurrence and evolution Peroxisomes are found in virtually all eukaryotic cells and stem cells. Peroxisomes contain enzymes for certain oxidative reactions, like the beta-oxidation of very-long-chain fatty acids. Prokaryotes lack peroxisomes. The enzymatic content of peroxisomes varies across species, but the presence of certain proteins common to many species has been used to suggest an endosymbiotic origin; that is, peroxisomes evolved from bacteria that invaded larger cells as parasites, and very gradually evolved a symbiotic relationship. However, this view has been challenged by recent discoveries. For example, peroxisome-less mutants can restore peroxisomes upon introduction of the wild-type gene, and peroxisomes have been observed to be formed from the endoplasmic reticulum. An evolutionary analysis of the peroxisomal proteome found homologies between the peroxisomal import machinery and the ERAD pathway in the endoplasmic reticulum, along with a number of metabolic enzymes that were likely recruited from the mitochondria. These results indicate that the peroxisome does not have an endosymbiotic origin; instead, it likely originates from the ER, and its proteins were recruited from pools existing within the primitive eukaryote, as quoted in the science textbook Biozone. Peroxisomes contain oxidative enzymes, such as catalase, D-amino acid oxidase, and uric acid oxidase. Certain enzymes within the peroxisome, by using molecular oxygen, remove hydrogen atoms from specific organic substrates (labeled as R), in an oxidative reaction, producing hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, itself toxic): This reaction is important in liver and kidney cells, where the peroxisomes detoxify various toxic substances that enter the blood. About 25% of the ethanol we drink is oxidized to acetaldehyde in this way. In addition, when excess H2O2 accumulates in the cell, catalase converts it to H2O through this reaction: A major function of the peroxisome is the breakdown of fatty acid molecules, in a process called beta-oxidation. In this process, the fatty acids are broken down two carbons at a time, converted to Acetyl-CoA, which is then transported back to the cytosol for further use. In animal cells, beta-oxidation can also occur in the mitochondria. In yeast and plant cells, this process is exclusive for the peroxisome. The first reactions in the formation of plasmalogen in animal cells also occurs in peroxisomes. Plasmalogen is the most abundant phospholipid in myelin. Deficiency of plasmalogens causes profound abnormalities in the myelination of nerve cells, which is one of the reasons that many peroxisomal disorders lead to neurological disease. Peroxisomes also play a role in the production of bile acids and proteins. Proteins are selectively imported into peroxisomes. Since the organelles contain no DNA or ribosomes and thus have no means of producing proteins, all of their proteins must be imported across the membrane. It is believed that proteins do not transit through the endoplasmic reticulum to get to the peroxisome. A specific protein signal (PTS or peroxisomal targeting signal) of three amino acids at the C-terminus of many peroxisomal proteins signals the membrane of the peroxisome to import them into the organelle. Other peroxisomal proteins contain a signal at the N-terminus. There are at least 32 known peroxisomal proteins, called peroxins, which participate in the process of importing proteins by means of ATP hydrolysis. Proteins do not have to unfold to be imported into the peroxisome. The protein receptors, the peroxins Pex5 and Pex7, accompany their cargoes (containing a PTS1 or a PTS2, respectively) all the way into the peroxisome where they release the cargo and then return to the cytosol - a step named recycling. Overall, the import cycle is referred to as the extended shuttle mechanism. Evidence now indicates that ATP hydrolysis is required for the recycling of receptors to the cytosol. Also, ubiquitination appears to be crucial for the export of PEX5 from the peroxisome, to the cytosol. Little is known about the import of PEX7, although it has helper proteins that have been shown to be ubiquitinated. Peroxisomal disorders are a class of condtions that lead to disorders of lipid metabolism. One well-known example is Zellweger syndrome. Peroxisomes matrix proteins are synthesized on free ribosomes in the cytosol and that these proteins are imported posttranslationally in pre-existing peroxisomes. This article contains material from the Science Primer published by the NCBI, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. |This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Peroxisome". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia.|

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Hydrates are crystalline solid compounds formed from water and smaller molecules in hydrocarbon fluids such as methane, ethane, propane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Hydrates are a nuisance, since they can block pipelines leading to stoppage of pipeline transportation operations and hence are an important aspect of pipeline flow assurance that needs to be addressed. Hydrate formation in pipeline requires three conditions to exist: 1. The right combination of temperature and pressure. Hydrate formation is favored by low temperature and high pressure. 2. A hydrate former must be present. Hydrate formers are the hydrocarbons mentioned as above. 3. A sufficient amount of water – not too much, not too little. Certain other conditions in the pipeline enhance the formation of hydrates and are listed below: This can be either due to high velocity or agitation of the process fluid. High velocities in pipelines can occur at any sudden restrictions in the line such as a choke valve. In gas flow a large pressure drop across the choke valve causes the temperature to drop due to the Joule-Thomson effect which favors hydrate formation B. Nucleation Sites: In general terms, a nucleation site is a point where a phase transition is favored, and in this case the formation of a solid from a fluid phase. Good nucleation sites for hydrate formation include an imperfection in the pipeline, a weld spot, or a pipeline fitting (elbow, tee, valve, etc.). Silt, scale, dirt, and sand all make good nucleation sites as C. Free Water: Free-water is not necessary for hydrate formation, but the presence of free-water certainly enhances “HYSYS” has a utility called “Hydrate Formation Utility” which predicts the hydrate formation temperature of any defined stream for a given stream pressure and the hydrate formation pressure for a given stream temperature. Most process engineers having access to “HYSYS” would find it convenient to use this utility to determine hydrate forming conditions. In addition to “HYSYS” an old DOS based program with the name “CSMHyd” developed by the “Colorado School of Mines” also predicts the hydrate formation pressure for a given temperature. This program is available for free download at: In addition to "HYSYS" and "CSMHyd", I had done some of my own investigation and compilation on the subject of hydrate formation conditions in natural gas. The focus of this investigation was to find out whether there were some empirical methods to determine the “hydrate formation temperature” given only the natural gas pressure and the molecular weight / specific gravity of the gas. My investigation was successful considering that I found not one but several empirical methods to determine the “hydrate formation temperature” given only the natural gas pressure and the specific gravity or molecular weight of the gas. An important point to note is that while both “HYSYS” and “CSMHyd” require that the gas composition be known, whereas the empirical methods I investigated do not require natural gas composition as such. Just the natural gas molecular weight or the natural gas specific gravity allow the determination of the “hydrate formation temperature”. The end result of this detailed investigation resulted in the generation of an excel workbook where these empirical methods have been represented with example calculations. This blog entry shares the excel workbook. Download the MS Excel Spreadsheet here Any comments and observations would be welcomed from the readers and members of “Cheresources”. References for the hydrate formation mechanism are as follows: Natural Gas Hydrates – A Guide for Engineers by John Carroll Section 20- GPSA Engineering Data Book, 11th Ed.

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In On Becoming Childwise, the authors urge us to parent all four general capacities of our children. The four general capacities are as follows: 1. Physical. It is our duty to nurture and provide for our children’s physical growth and well-being. This includes not only basic food, clothing and shelter, but also healthy eating habits, regular exercise, good hygiene, and all other things related to their little bodies. 2. Intellectual. The authors say that we are required to provide “basic skills, logic, and useful knowledge.” But I would extend this to say that we need to determine how our children learn best. Whether our kids are educated in preschool, private school, public school or homeschool, we need to do more than simply accept the cultural norm. Find the education solution that works best for the individual child (within the context of the family situation, of course). 3. Emotional. I’m a little troubled by what the book says in regard to this capacity: “Parents help their children establish internal controls over both positive and negative emotions,” (p. 66). Maybe I’m misreading it, but it sounds to me like they’re saying our children need to learn to suppress their emotions. I think parenting our children’s emotional capacity is all about accepting our children’s emotions, no matter what. If my child is physically hurt, I’m going to let him cry. Or if a friend intentionally excludes my child in play, I’m going to acknowledge the sadness that it caused. It’s all about showing that emotions are a normal, acceptable part of life. Parenting in this area is also about showing patience and empathy for others. This can be done through modeling this for them, teaching through direct instruction, and correcting behaviors that go against this goal. 4. Moral. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement: “The duty of a parent is to help his or her child internalize virtues that reflect the values of the family and society,” (p. 66). But ultimately, no matter how we address each area of parenting, we must find a balanced approach. There are some kids who may need more attention in one capacity than another, but we must still address all areas. To spend all of our time and effort helping the child’s intellectual growth while neglecting any moral teachings represents unhealthy, unbalanced parenting. The same holds true for focusing on moral teachings over emotional attention. The book sums it up nicely: “All four facets receive attention. None should be neglected, underdeveloped, or overemphasized. Why is that? Because competence and character go hand in hand. You do not want to raise a smart child who lacks integrity. Nor do you want a great athlete with a shallow intellect. Academic skills without values, values without healthy emotions, happy feelings without productivity, and physical stature without moral wisdom all represent developmental imbalances,” (p. 66). Stop for a minute to think about how balanced your parenting may be. Do you tend to favor one capacity over another? Does your child require more attention in one area than another? If so, are you able to balance out the other areas? Is any imbalance caused by you, society around you, urgings from family members or friends? If so, don’t be afraid to go against the grain and stand up for a whole child parenting approach.

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Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT)Definition: Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) is episodes of rapid heart rate that start in a part of the heart above the ventricles. "Paroxysmal" means from time to time. PSVT; Supraventricular tachycardia Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Normally, the chambers of the heart (atria and ventricles) contract in a coordinated manner. - The contractions are caused by an electrical signal that begins in an area of the heart called the sinoatrial node (also called the sinus node or SA node). - The signal moves through the upper heart chambers (the atria) and tells the atria to contract. - After this, the signal moves down in the heart and tells the lower chambers (the ventricles) to contract. The rapid heart rate from PSVT may start with events that take place in many different areas above the lower heart chambers (ventricles). PSVT can occur with digitalis toxicity and with conditions such as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome . The condition occurs most often in young people and infants. The following increase your risk for PSVT: Symptoms usually start and stop suddenly, and can last for a few minutes or several hours. They can include: Other symptoms that can occur with this condition: Signs and tests: A physical examination during a PSVT episode will show a rapid heart rate. It may also show bounding pulses in the neck. The heart rate may be over 100, and even more than 250 beats per minute (bpm). In children, the heart rate tends to be very high. There may be signs of poor blood circulation such as light-headedness. Between episodes of PSVT, the heart rate is normal (60 to 100 bpm). An ECG during symptoms shows PSVT. An electrophysiology study (EPS) may be needed for an accurate diagnosis and to recommend the best treatment. Because PSVT comes and goes, to diagnose it patients may need to wear a 24-hour Holter monitor . For longer periods of time, another tape of the rhythm recording device may be used. If you do not have symptoms or any other heart condition, PSVT may not need treatment. If you have an episode of PSVT, there are techniques you can try on your own to interrupt the fast heartbeat. - One is called the Valsalva maneuver. To do this, you hold your breath and strain, as if you were trying to have a bowel movement. - Another technique you can try is to cough while sitting with your upper body bent forward. - Some people find that splashing ice water on the face is helpful. You should avoid smoking, caffeine, alcohol, and illicit drugs. Emergency treatment to slow the heartbeat back to normal may include: - Electrical cardioversion , the use of electric shock - Medicines through a vein Long-term treatment for people who have repeat episodes of PSVT, or who also have heart disease, may include: Cardiac ablation -- a procedure used to destroy small areas in your heart that may be causing the rapid heartbeat (currently the treatment of choice for most PSVTs) - Daily medications to prevent repeat episodes Pacemakers to override the fast heartbeat (on occasion may be used in children with PSVT who have not responded to any other treatment) - Surgery to change the pathways in the heart that send electrical signals (this may be recommended in some cases for people who need other heart surgery) PSVT is generally not life threatening. If other heart disorders are present, it can lead to congestive heart failure or angina. Calling your health care provider: Call your health care provider if: - You often have a sensation of feeling the heart beat quickly and symptoms do not end on their own in a few minutes - You have a history of PSVT and an episode does not go away with the Valsalva maneuver or by coughing, or other symptoms occur with the rapid heart rate - Symptoms return often - New symptoms develop Olgin JE, Zipes DP. Specific arrhythmias: diagnosis and treatment. In: Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, Libby P, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 9th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2011:chap 39. Zimetbaum P. Cardiac arrhythmia with supraventricular origin. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 64. |Review Date: 6/18/2012| Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Michael A. Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc. The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

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|Curiosity about fire is normal, but playing with fire is dangerous. Whether it is the result of a curious child or the intentional setting of a fire by a troubled teen, juvenile firesetting is a serious problem that may escalate. By recognizing the problem early and taking corrective measures the risk of fire setting incidents can be greatly reduced. WHY DO KIDS SET FIRES? Most children express a natural and normal curiosity about fire in their early life. Their interest can be expressed in a number of appropriate ways: asking fire related questions, playing with fire related toys such as a fire engine and for older children, participating in adult supervised activities involving fire, such as lighting a BBQ or fireplace. When a child’s interest and experimentation with fire are unsupervised, the potential for disaster exists. Some children however, set fires deliberately. Reason for this may include: peer pressure, boredom, anger, a cry for help, or a significant crisis such as a divorce or death of a family member. For these children, fire setting can become an outlet for their feeling and require intervention. - Arson is the leading crime committed by kids and it is the fastest growing crime in the U.S. - Over 55% of all arrests for arson are kids & ½ of those are 4-9 years old. - Fire is the leading cause of accidental death in the home for kids 5 & under; many are the victims of fires set by an older sibling. WHAT CAN PARENTS DO TO PREVENT FIRE SETTING? Supervise for safety Provide appropriate and effective supervision for children. Supervision requires frequent visual contact so that children’s activities can be monitored. Supervision also includes previewing what children are watching on TV, DVD, and the internet. Restricting access to some internet sites is recommended. Remove the temptation Keep matches and lighters out of reach of kids. Better yet, remove all unnecessary matches and lighters from your home. Most children are only involved with fire because it is available. Remember, child resistant lighters are not childproof, not even for a 2 year old. Teach children about fire Teach young children that fire is a tool used to heat our homes and cook our food – it is not a toy! Fire is not magic; it is hot and can cause devastating consequences. Teach match and lighter safety Matches and lighters are tools for grown-up NOT toys for children. If children find matchers and lighters, young children (under the age of seven) should TELL & SHOW a grown-up, and children older than seven should GIVE them to a grown-up. Older children 12 and up should be taught the safe and responsible use of matches and lighters, under direct adult supervision. These children can be provided with an opportunity to light the fireplace, campfire or candles on a birthday cake. Always reward or praise children for demonstrating fire safe behavior. Set a good example Children don’t always hear what you say, but they certainly see what you do. Young children learn by exploring, experimenting and mimicking adult behavior. Model fire safe behavior in your home at all times. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MYTHS & REALITIES OF FIRE? MYTH: It is normal for children to play with fire. FACT: While curiosity about fire is common, playing with fire and setting fires is not normal and can be deadly. MYTH: Fire setting is a phase children will outgrow. FACT: It is NOT a phase. You must deal with it immediately or it will continue and progress. MYTH: If the fire is small there is no problem. FACT: All fires start small. However, fires spread quickly and can easily get out of control, endangering lives and property. MYTH: Children who start fires are pyromaniacs. FACT: Almost every child has some curiosity about fire. But progression from mere interest in fire to fire setting is a problem. Occasionally fire setting can be a symptom of a more widespread problem. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU KNOW A CHILD WHO NEEDS HELP? - Keep all lighting materials out of reach – lock them up! - Make sure the child is appropriately supervised. - Install smoke alarms throughout your home, including in the bedrooms. - Get help from Hillsboro Fire Department. Call 503-681-6166 to set up an appointment with our Juvenile Firesetter Interventionist. We provide early intervention that evaluates, educates, and refers kids & families to services to stop firesetting behaviors.

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Using flow cytometry to compare the dynamics of photoreceptor outer segment phagocytosis in iPS derived RPE cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci Light entering the eye activates photoreceptor neurons that convert the stimulus into electrical impulses. These impulses are passed back through the eye and into the brain where they form the basis ofvision. The rod and cone photoreceptors are highly dependent on other retinal cell types to function properly. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are especially important; these protect the photoreceptors from light-induced toxicity by consuming the tips of the photoreceptor cells that are routinely damaged by intense light exposure. RPE cells perform this essential task (named phagocytosis) on a daily basis. If RPE cells die or become dysfunctional, i.e. by not effectively performing phagocytosis, photoreceptors will invariably die. This phenomenon occurs in human diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly. A promising potential therapy is to implant RPE generated from stem cells into the back of the eye to replaced diseased patient cells. Several groups, including our own, have shown that this therapy works very well in rats with spontaneous retinal degeneration, but several technical questions remain about how well the implanted cells function compared with actual RPE cells. Since phagocytosis is such a critical function we developed a unique way to test how well RPE cells can phagocytose the tips of the photoreceptor cells before implantation. We utilized a method named flow cytometry that is used to measure fluorescence in single cells. RPE cells can become fluorescent if they are “fed” photoreceptor outer segments that are treated with green fluorescent biomarkers. We waited several hours after feeding the cells and then measured the amount of green fluorescence they were emitting. In this study we were able to demonstrate that RPE cells we generated from stem cells chronologically phagocytosed equal numbers of photoreceptor outer segments as well as actual human RPE cells do. We also showed using flow cytometry that the stem cell derived RPE generated the correct cellular machinery required for efficient phagocytosis. We suggest, therefore, that this technique be employed in the field to determine if stem cell derived RPE cells are ready for transplantation. The results of this study add to mounting evidence that stem cell derived RPE function as well as real RPE cells, and are realistic therapeutic options for treating AMD. Purpose: Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) autologous grafts can be readily derived from iPS cells (iPS-RPE). It is critical to stringently characterize iPS-RPE using standardized and quantifiable methods to be confident that they are safe and adequate replacements for diseased RPE before utilizing them in clinical settings. One important and required function is that the iPS-RPE phagocytose photoreceptor outer segments (POS). Methods: We developed a flow cytometry-based assay to monitor binding and internalization of FITC labeled POS by ARPE-19, human fetal RPE (hfRPE), and two types of iPS-RPE. Expression and density of alphavbeta5 integrin, CD36, and MerTK receptors, which are required for phagocytosis, were compared. Results: Trypsinization of treated RPE cells results in the release of bound POS. The number of freed POS, the percentage of cells that internalized POS, the brightness of the FITC signal from the cells, and the surface density of the phagocytosis receptors on single RPE cells was measured using flow cytometry. These assays reveal that receptor density is dynamic during differentiation and this can affect the binding and internalization dynamics of the RPE cells. Highly differentiated iPS-RPE phagocytose POS more efficiently than hfRPE. Conclusions: Caution should be exercised to not use RPE grafts until demonstrating that they are fully functional. The density of the phagocytosis receptors is dynamic and may be used as a predictor for how well the iPS-RPE cells will function in vivo. The phagocytosis dynamics observed between iPS-RPE and primary RPE is very encouraging and adds to mounting evidence that iPS-RPE may be a viable replacement for dysfunctional or dying RPE in human patients.

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Beginning with the establishment of a glass factory at Jamestown in 1608, manufacturing grew slowly during the colonial era to include flour mills and, by 1715, an iron foundry. During the 19th century, the shipbuilding industry flourished, and many cotton mills, tanneries, and ironworks were built; light industries producing a wide variety of consumer goods developed later. The strength of the Commonwealth's diversified manufacturing sector is shown in its 10.2% employment increase between 1970 and 1993. During this time period, national manufacturing employment declined by 8.3%. Richmond is a principal industrial area for tobacco processing, paper and printing, clothing, and food products; nearby Hopewell is a locus of the chemical industry. Newport News, Hampton, and Norfolk are centers for shipbuilding and the manufacture of other transportation equipment. In the western part of the state, Lynchburg is a center for electrical machinery, metals, clothing, and printing, and Roanoke for food, clothing, and textiles. In the south, Martinsville has a concentration of furniture and textile-manufacturing plants, and textiles are also dominant in Danville. The total value of manufacturing shipments in 1997 totaled $87 billion, or 15th in the nation. In 1997, Virginia was the headquarters for 16 Fortune 500 companies. Earnings of persons employed in Virginia increased from $129 billion in 1997 to $138.3 billion in 1998, an increase of 7.2%. The largest industries in 1998 were services, 29.6% of earnings; state and local government, 10.5%; and retail trade, 8.7%. Of the industries that accounted for at least 5% of earnings in 1998, the slowest growing from 1997 to 1998 was federal civilian government (7.0% of earnings in 1998), which increased 0.4%; the fastest was finance, insurance, and real estate (7.0% of earnings in 1998), which increased 9.9%.

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What Is It? Social Studies, History, Information Technology Change, Ways of life - Mail-order catalogues on this site - Photographs of artifacts from Eaton's catalogues (links - Teacher hints (below) - Ask students to select an object from the list of photographs below. - By using the historical catalogue pages from this site, and with the help of the indexes, students must find out it was used, what it was used for, and what it cost. - Foot warmer - Shoe and harness repair kit - Pair of sad iron handles and bases - Meat grinder - Foot-powered sewing machine - Electric toaster - Electric washing machine. Foot warmer, ca ? On a cold winter's night in a home heated by a a stoneware foot warmer filled with hot water would have been a welcome to a bed. Foot warmers were also used in carriages and in early didn't have heaters. Shoe and harness repair kit, ca 1900 This "Combination Family Cobbler/Tinker & contained the tools required to perform repairs to shoes and horse in this kit were children- and adult-sized lasts, or shoe forms, a hammer, a tack hammer, a leather punch, and a variety of nails. Pair of sad iron bases and handles, ca 1900-50 Before women used electric irons to press clothes and they used sad irons. Sad irons were usually sold as sets with one wooden handle and three cast iron bases. Women heated two or three bases wood stove at a time. They attached the handle to one preheated base, used to iron until it cooled down, and then replaced it with a heated base from Meat grinder, ca 1910-50 At a time when people raised their own livestock and did own butchering, many people made their own sausages and ground meats by a hand-powered meat grinder. After clamping the grinder to a table, they drop chunks of meat into the funnel-like hopper and turn the handle. An blade inside would grind up the meat and the resulting ground meat would out through the opening on the side into a sausage casing or a bowl. Foot-powered sewing machine, ca 1910-50 Eaton's offered its own brand of sewing machine in catalogues. This Eatonia sewing machine would have been fastened to a cabinet with a foot-pedal underneath. By pumping the pedal with her foot guiding the fabric with her hands, a woman could have sewn clothing that modeled on the latest catalogue fashions. Electric toaster, ca 1920 This electric "turn-over" toaster was used to one piece of bread at a time. When one side was toasted, the user flipped bread over so the other side could be toasted too. Electric washing machine, 1926 "All the old, wearying, back-breaking rubbing and of wash-tub days done away with for you," boasted the advertisement this electric washing machine in the Eaton's spring-and-summer 1926 However, most Canadian homes did not yet have electricity in 1926 and continue to do the laundry using washtubs, washboards, and their own for a few more decades.

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Next: Measuring Rotation Previous: Angles of Elevation and Depression Right Triangles, Bearings, and other Applications Back to the top of the page ↑ You need to be signed in to perform this action. Please sign-in and try again. Oops, looks like cookies are disabled on your browser. Click to see how to enable them.

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Last August, a 3,000-pound, eight-by-22 foot-robotic platform was launched into the Hudson River just north of Denning’s Point Peninsula in Beacon, N.Y. On board the floating platform are state-of-the-art sensors that will provide continuous air and water monitoring including barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, water depth, temperature, salinity and flow rate. The sensors will also measure the levels of hydrogen contaminants, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll-a (a green pigment found in algae). The data will be transferred in real time to researchers who can track fluctuations in these measurements. The information provides a detailed record of the overall health of the river. This will alert scientists and environmentalists to escalating pollution levels or to episodic events that can be problematic, such as algae blooms, which can lead to hypoxia. Hypoxia is characterized by a low concentration of oxygen that is exacerbated by increases in nutrients or a particular set of physical conditions. It is associated with fish kills among other problems. This technology, which promises to revolutionize the way bodies of water are monitored, was developed by a team of scientists and researchers headed up by James Bonner ’85, professor of civil & environmental engineering and director of Clarkson’s Center for the Environment (CCE). “Our goal is to eventually cover the entire 315-mile river from Mt. Marcy to New York City with a network of sensors,” explains Bonner. “The technology will allow us to create a cyber-infrastructure that stores and processes a great deal of data about the Hudson River. Scientists and engineers around the world will be able to access this information via the Internet.” Bonner began the development of this real-time monitoring technology at the Shoreline Environmental Research Facility at Texas A&M University where he served as founding director. While in Corpus Christi, Bonner and fellow researchers developed sensing systems that they used to monitor the Gulf of Mexico. Since joining the Clarkson faculty in 2007, Bonner (who holds a Ph.D. from Clarkson) has continued his NSF-funded research program with an eye toward transferring the technology to map and monitor the ecological health of the rivers, Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Hudson River monitoring project is a joint partnership between Clarkson University; the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, a not-for-profit environmental research organization; and IBM. Last year, Bonner was named the Beacon Institute’s REON Director of Research and will lead the development and implementation of the River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON). The Hudson River project is the first step in a larger plan to develop technology-based monitoring and forecasting network for rivers and estuaries. “Tremendous human impact occurs in the regions where rivers and estuaries meet the ‘coastal margin’ — coastal wetlands, bays and shorelines,” explains Bonner. “In the United States, this region is home to 70 percent of the population and 20 of its 25 largest cities. It is also where most industry and ports are found. Damage to these ecosystems comes from this increased density of anthropogenic activity associated with pollution from industry, farms and the surrounding communities.” For example, hypoxia generally occurs in aquatic systems where the water is poorly mixed excluding oxygen and trapping pollutants in the “hypolimion” — the dense bottom layer in a stratified body of water. Chemical reactions within the hypolimion and with bottom sediments depletes the benthic oxygen so aerobic organisms such as fish, oysters, clams and other bottom dwelling organisms perish. “This problem is a growing national concern, for example increasing areas of the Gulf of Mexico (thousands of square miles), portions of the Great Lakes, embayments such Corpus Christi Bay and other near-shore areas are experiencing hypoxia,” says Bonner. IBM is working with Bonner and the Beacon Institute to develop the cyber framework that will store the data and provide assessment tools, which researchers around the world will be able to use. “Scientists will be able to analyze data and develop models on any environmental parameter of interest.” For Bonner, one of the most exciting aspects of the project is the way it will transform environmental science and engineering. “The old-fashioned method of retrieving data by collecting samples at discreet locations at only a few times gives a static, incomplete and aliased view or understanding. With this technology, we’ll be able to get real-time data that reflects the constantly changing, dynamic environment of the river. The information will be far more reliable.”

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Reading through Demetria Lucas’ ‘Not African Enough for Africa,’ prompted a few questions for me as an African woman. What exactly does being African mean? Is it a cultural thing? A color thing? Why do African Americans believe they would feel at home in Africa despite having no tangible link to the continent? As I read through the comments it was obvious, that to a lot of African Americans, Africa is a vital piece of the identity puzzle. And I get it. Think about it for a minute. Many Black Americans have often identified as African first and an American later. So, it makes sense that they would expect acceptance in Africa, especially since their existence in America has been difficult. African Americans were not willing visitors to America. You were torn away from what you knew to help grow a foreign economy and were never compensated for your labor. Even now, despite your contributions, you are not really welcome, and everyday there is another reminder that you are not the same. Add to that the fact that Marcus Garvey’s Back to Africa movement made returning to the continent seem like the solution to the problems affecting Blacks in the Diaspora. In Africa, you would never be ‘the other’. You would be fully accepted and embraced for you were once again the majority. And while things did not go quite as planned, many African Americans passed that idea down through generations. Africa became a place where you would not be the other, not a minority. It became a place where nearly everyone looked like you. You would not have to be stopped because you were black, get tagged with the Angry Black woman stereotype because no one would notice….seeing as everyone was just as black as you. Unfortunately, the reality—as Lucas pointed out—is very different. Skin color is not enough to make you fit in, and when selling the African dream someone forgot to tell you a couple of things. Culture trumps color. The ability to speak local languages is just one aspect. Honestly, even if you made the effort to learn the language, there are still the social cues and the slang that many would probably miss. Unfortunately, a white African would be seen as more authenticly “African” than an Black American in many instances, because in the space of two generations, the term ‘White African’ has become acceptable. In my grandparents’ days, if you were white, you were either a missionary or a colonizer. You were a stranger, never African. The fact that African-born Whites can now claim Africa as their home is proof that culture is dynamic. In less than a hundred years, White Africans are a legitimate part of the continent. So, if such a huge change has occurred in that short span of time, how could African Americans–who are separated by hundreds of years of differences–think they will just immediately mesh into one of Africa’s many cultures? It is almost impossible. As a child, my father had a friend–a former Black Panther–who moved to Tanzania in the late seventies. During that time, Tanzania was practicing African Socialism and he was very excited to live and farm among his people. Over 30 years later, he is still seen as a foreigner, even though he speaks Kiswahili with great fluency and has assimilated as best as he knows how. I sympathize with wanting to know who you are, with being a child of two worlds who doesn’t quite fit into either one. I know Blacks in the Diaspora want a place where they can just be themselves, but sadly, Africa isn’t it. Here, you are American; you have been away for five hundred years. We do not have the same experiences to bond us, the same languages to help us bridge the gap, the same memories of how things were. Please come visit and walk the paths your ancestors walked. But that is all we can give you.

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(CNN) -- Months after rescuers found them struggling and covered in oil, 33 endangered and threatened young sea turtles are finally going home to the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Audubon Nature Institute freed the turtles Thursday in waters about 40 miles southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana. This marked the latest mass release of turtles since about 500 were rescued in the weeks and months after the massive months-long oil spill. "We were able to release these turtles because they're now healthy, and we're seeing recovery in the surface habitats of the Gulf of Mexico," NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said in a news release. The spill began after an April 20 explosion on the offshore drilling platform Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 men. Two days later, the platform sank and oil started gushing into the Gulf. In early August, owner BP used cement and mud to plug the damaged Gulf of Mexico well. Officials formally declared an end to the oil spill disaster on September 19, though considerable efforts remained to clean up area waters and revive wildlife affected by the spill. Earlier this month, NOAA reopened federal waters off the Louisiana coast to fishing. Thursday's release marked another milestone in the area's recovery, according to those involved. "Returning this group of sea turtles to their home waters is ... a sign that Louisiana is on the path towards recovery," said Randy Pausina, an assistant secretary for Louisiana's office of fisheries. The 33 turtles had been rescued more than three months ago by federal officials and state wildlife authorities from Louisiana, Florida and Georgia, as well as the Riverhead Foundation and the In-Water Research Group. They were rehabilitated at the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans. They included green, Kemp's ridley and hawksbill sea turtles, which are classified as endangered species. There also were loggerheads, which are a threatened species. With 270 turtles having been cleaned, nursed back to health and released, there are more than 200 still in rehabilitation sites around the area. Scientists did extensive aerial and shipboard tests earlier this week on the waters near the release point, making sure the sargassum algae was clean. Young turtles thrive in such areas, which provide protection from predators and ample food, including small crabs, snails and other creatures. "Six months ago, it was nearly impossible to imagine this day would ever come," said Ron Forman, the Audubon Nature Institute's CEO and president.

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An Introduction to ASP.NET Web API Microsoft recently released the ASP.NET MVC 4.0 beta and along with it, the brand spanking new ASP.NET Web API. Web API is an exciting new addition to the ASP.NET stack that provides a new, well-designed HTTP framework for creating REST and AJAX APIs (API is Microsoft’s new jargon for a service, in case you’re wondering). Although Web API currently ships and installs with ASP.NET MVC 4, you can use Web API functionality in any ASP.NET project, including WebForms, WebPages and MVC or none of the above. You can also self-host Web API in your own applications. Please note that this article is based on pre-release bits of ASP.NET Web API (pre-RC) and the API is still changing. The samples are built against the latest snapshot of the CodePlex ASP.NET Web Stack Source and some of the syntax and functions might change by the time Web API releases. Overall concepts apply, and I’ve been told that functionality is mostly feature complete, but things are still changing as I write this. Please refer to the latest code samples on GitHub for the final syntax of the examples. What’s a Web API and Why Do We Need It? Most mobile devices, like phones and tablets, run apps that use data retrieved from the Web over HTTP. The .NET stack already includes a number of tools that provide the ability to create HTTP service backends. There’s WCF REST for REST and AJAX, ASP.NET AJAX Services purely for AJAX and JSON, and you can always use plain HTTP Handlers for any sort of response but with minimal plumbing. You can also use plain MVC Controller Methods or even ASP.NET WebForms pages to generate arbitrary HTTP output. Although all of these can accomplish the task of returning HTTP responses, none of them are optimized for the repeated tasks that an HTTP service has to deal with. If you are building sophisticated Web APIs on top of these solutions, you’re likely to either repeat a lot of code or write significant plumbing code yourself to handle various API requirements consistently across requests. A Better HTTP Experience ASP.NET Web API differentiates itself from these other solutions in that it was built from the ground up around the HTTP protocol and its messaging semantics. Unlike WCF REST or ASP.NET AJAX with ASMX, it’s a brand new platform rather than bolted-on technology that is supposed to work in the context of an existing framework. Web API is meant to handle any kind of HTTP input and produce output and status codes using the full spectrum of HTTP functionality available. There’s much-improved support for content negotiation based on HTTP Accept headers, with the framework capable of detecting content that the client sends and requests and automatically serving the appropriate data format in return. Many of the features favor convention over configuration, making it much easier to do the right thing without having to explicitly configure specific functionality. Although previous solutions accomplished this using a variety of WCF and ASP.NET features, Web API combines all this functionality into a single server-side HTTP framework that intrinsically understands the HTTP semantics and subtly drives you in the right direction for most operations. And when you need to customize or do something that isn’t automatic, there are overrides for most behaviors, and even many low-level hook points that allow you to plug-in custom functionality with relatively little effort. ASP.NET Web API differentiates itself from existing Microsoft solutions in that it was built from the ground up around the HTTP protocol and its messaging semantics. Web API also requires very little in the way of configuration so it’s very quick and unambiguous to get started. To top it all off, you can also host the Web API in your own applications or services. - Above all, Web API makes it extremely easy to create arbitrary HTTP endpoints in an application without the overhead of a full framework like WebForms or ASP.NET MVC. Because Web API works on top of the core ASP.NET stack, you can plug Web APIs into any ASP.NET application. By: Rick Strahl Rick Strahl is president of West Wind Technologies in Maui, Hawaii. The company specializes in Web and distributed application development and tools, with focus on Windows Server Products, .NET, Visual Studio, and Visual FoxPro. Rick is the author of West Wind Web Connection, West Wind Web Store, and West Wind HTML Help Builder. He’s also a C# MVP, a frequent contributor to magazines and books, a frequent speaker at international developer conferences, and the co-publisher of CoDe Magazine. For more information please visit his Web site at www.west-wind.com or contact Rick at firstname.lastname@example.org.

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LONDON - Britain's children are being poisoned by a "junk culture" of processed food, computer games and over-competitive education, an influential group of authors and experts warned on Tuesday. In an open letter to the Daily Telegraph, 110 teachers, psychologists and children's authors -- including the internationally acclaimed Philip Pullman and Penelope Leach, a leading childcare expert -- called on the government to act now to prevent childhood being killed off altogether. Forced "to act and dress like mini-adults", children are becoming increasingly depressed and experiencing growing levels of behavioral and developmental problems, they said. Schoolchildren in a cafeteria. Britain's children are being poisoned by a "junk culture" of processed food, computer games and over-competitive education, an influential group of authors and experts warned on Tuesday. REUTERS/File "Since children's brains are still developing, they cannot adjust as full-grown adults can, to the effects of ever more rapid technological and cultural change," the letter said. "They need what developing human beings have always needed, including real food (as opposed to processed "junk"), real play (as opposed to sedentary, screen-based entertainment), first hand experience of the world they live in and regular interaction with the real-life significant adults in their lives." The letter was circulated by Sue Palmer, an ex-head teacher and author of a book entitled "Toxic Childhood", and Dr Richard House, a senior lecturer at the Research Center for Therapeutic Education at Roehampton University in London. "Children's development is being drastically affected by the kind of world they are brought up in," Palmer told the Daily Telegraph. "It is shocking." "A child's physical and psychological growth cannot be accelerated. It changes in biological time, not at electrical speed. Childhood is not a race." The experts condemned Britain's increasingly "target-driven" education system and urged the government to recognize children's need for more time and space to develop, demanding an urgent public debate on child-rearing in the 21st century. Award-winning children's author Michael Morpurgo, who also signed the letter, said there was a "drip, drip, drip effect" of academic pressure and marketing which was killing childhood. "It's gradually soaking like a poison into the culture," he told BBC radio. "There is less room for reading, for dreaming, for music, for drama, for art, and simply for playing." © Reuters 2006

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According to a team of scientists at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, despite previous research finding that nanoparticles do not penetrate the skin, it remains debatable as to whether this remains true under normal conditions of using sunscreen. At a Global Nanomaterials Safety workshop in London earlier this month, Dr Maxine McCall showcased her team’s progress on ‘Dermal absorption from sunscreens containing zinc oxide particles’ revealing that two special sunscreens were made especially for a human study whereby one contained nanoparticles of zinc oxide and the other larger (non-nano) particles to determine if there was a dependence on particle size for dermal absorption. According to Dr. McCall, most in vitro studies to assess dermal penetration of nanoparticles are conducted for a period of up to 24 hours, and that the OECD WPMN is currently assessing whether a number of test guidelines, developed for chemicals, are applicable to nanomaterials. “Our results imply that longer study periods may need to be considered when assessing dermal penetration and absorption of nanoparticles and we are communicating this information to the OECD WPMN,” the expert told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.com. The human study involved the team of scientists applying sunscreen twice daily for five days as well as obtaining numerous blood and urine samples before, during, and after the period at the beach. "The method we used to detect the traceable zinc is highly sensitive," explains McCall. "The first detection of traceable zinc from ZnO particles in the sunscreens were found in the blood at the end of the second day at the beach and after a total of 4 sunscreen applications, levels continued to increase after sunscreen application ceased," she adds. The expert went on to further reveal that the blood and urine samples from the females with the sunscreen with nanoparticles had slightly higher levels of traceable zinc than those of the sunscreen with larger particles. However, Dr. McCall concludes by informing this publication that the total amounts of traceable zinc detected from the sunscreens were very small when compared with amounts of natural zinc normally present in the human body. SCCS view on the matter.. The EC's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety recently announced it had reviewed its toxicological evidence and found no evidence that ZnO nanoparticles are absorbed through skin and or via the oral route. And concluded that the use of zinc oxide nanoparticles, at a concentration up to 25 percent as a UV-filter in sunscreens, “can be considered not to pose a risk of adverse effects in humans after dermal application." However, it did note that this did not apply to other applications that might lead to inhalation exposure to zinc oxide nanoparticles, such as sprayable products. “In view of the lung inflammation induced by ZnO particles after inhalation exposure, the use of ZnO in cosmetic products which may result in inhalation, is of concern.”

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Plotting Pre-emptive Strikes As a teacher of literature I am struck by the dearth of literary, historical or philosophical works that celebrate or even sanction pre-emptive strikes. Most great plots in history are scripted in moral favor of the people who have resisted invading or occupying forces. I recall Leonidas, the leader of ten thousand Spartans, who withstood King Xerxes’ hundreds of thousands of invading Persians at the narrow pass at Thermopylae. Or I remember Michelangelo’s statue of young David with his slingshot, waiting easy in his naked silence and ready to hurl a stone from his slingshot at the heavily armed giant, the braggart Goliath. Both of those figures, one Greek and the other Judaic, feature fighters central to the tradition of Western civics, who are poised in potential energy, ready to fight, but awaiting the right timing. They are icons of readiness. They await with certainty the exact time for action. Hamlet’s dilemma, however, is just the opposite of those two heroes. For Hamlet cannot seem to find the right time to act. He vacillates indecisively, even when faced with fairly clear evidence that his uncle had murdered his father. Yet he later says, at a crucial moment in his tragic plot, "If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all." The historian and civil libertarian, Bernard DeVoto, thought the last phrase to be the "greatest statement in English." Later, in his most sublime tragedy, Shakespeare has King Lear say poignantly, "Ripeness is all." In Shakespeare’s plays there is something of fatefulness in seeking the mature time in which to act. I recall, furthermore, the statue of the Minute Man, lightly armed like David, ready to withstand the first shots of the invading Redcoats at Concord Bridge. Does pre-emptive action, in itself, violate the principle of guarded readiness that symbolizes the Concord statue of American liberty? Do Americans act out of character when we are told by our leaders that we must invade before violence is expected to be taken against us? Do unto others before they do unto you? Not just the timing of a violent action is the issue. Not simply action, but right action, seems the stake. When you act, where you act, and above all, whether you act, all seem tied up in the justice of a violent action. Why do most pre-emptive strikes violate one’s moral sense? An act of pre-emption interrupts the expected sequence of events by turning the tables. It is like the unfairness of jumping in at the head of long a line of patiently waiting ticket buyers. A pre-emptive strike first depends for its legitimacy on quickly passing time, on seizing the day, the same sense of urgency as a news show that pre-empts the normal schedule in favor of breaking news. Pre-emptive strikes and breaking news seem to go together. But the planners’ judgment had better be extremely important if it is to violate one’s habitual sense of the normal order of things. We hate to be interrupted, especially if we have been waiting patiently for the outcome of an action. This kind of pre-emption bears on the conduct of life, one’s own as well as the conduct of our leaders. Was theirs a right action or was it immoral, or was it something in between? Did they manipulate evidence or did they use the preponderance of data available to them at the time? How were they inclined to act? What should we learn from the pre-emptive action taken against Iraq? What are the ethics of pre-emptive strikes? What issues surround the timing, the right time, for taking action? What was the larger end or purpose, both the apparent end and the real reason only gradually revealed? How was the plan for pre-emptive strikes plotted or scripted? What were the reasons given for taking action now? What were the descriptions of the sorts of things that might happen if we were not to take action? What outcomes seemed probable, and what seemed necessary? These questions will certainly be debated in coming months and years. As a teacher I am convinced that education may be devoted to many disciplines, but above all it should prepare us to act rightly for our futures. Readiness is all. One of the purposes of literature, in theory, is to enlighten a future. Indeed the oldest form of interpretation was divination. One hoped to interpret the design of things. Cicero said in his essay on divination, "Thus, in the beginning the world was so made that certain signs come before certain events." Shelley said cryptically in his "Defence of Poetry": " Poets are the heirophants of an unapprehended inspiration; the mirrors of the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the present." The European social philosophy called phenomenology lays out a "horizon of expectation" as the basis for hermeneutics, the study of interpretation as intentionality. Interpretation is a projection forward, said Martin Heidegger. As he asserted in Being and Time, "the basic tense of existentialism is the future." Ernst Bloch taught that art and literature latently exhibit what he called an "anticipatory illumination" (Vor-schein, "to shine before"). Karl Popper, the philosopher who featured the social science of unexpected consequences, spoke of a "searchlight" metaphor for the very act of knowing. To know is to conjecture forward, to project a light in a dark direction Some works of literature are specifically designed to warn against what might happen in the near future. For instance, Margaret Atwood’s recent sci-fi novel Oryx and Crake warns against bioengineering and global plagues wrought by mad scientists. In Aristotle’s "Poetics" there is a remarkable definition of literature as being a kind of hypothetical action that bears on future acts: "the poet’s function is to describe, not the thing that has happened, but the kind of thing that might happen, for example, what is possible as being probable or necessary." Perhaps most importantly, Aristotle describes a kind of recognition that forestalls, at the last moment, a violent act about to happen that would lead to tragic consequences. His word for that kind of forestalling action that avoids a violent pitfall is anagnorisis. Pre-emptive strikes assume a certain kind of interpretation of facts and events that depends upon a point of view of story telling that lays out future events as a kind of projection forward into a future that is not hypothetical but that is fixed like fate. But good writers script whole sequences of expectations that turn out to be surprises. Then as possibilities are modified by actualities, the projections forward are corrected by retractions backward. Take the example of Frankenstein. Like Atwood, Mary Shelley was worried about contemporary experiments in the artificial creation of life, such as those of Galvani and Erasmus Darwin. The mad scientist, Victor Frankenstein, has succeeded in creating life, but in fleeing from his monster and by avoiding his own responsibility as creator, he has created a serial killer. Nevertheless, having heard the monster’s moving narrative, Victor agrees to construct a female companion. As he assembles the female being, he frets that the female has not been party to their social contract: that the pair of beings will leave Europe and hide out in the wilds of America. He fantasizes that the female and her future progeny might not consider themselves bound to the original agreement. This question of binding future generations by a dated social contract is Tom Paine’s main argument in The Rights of Man, that future generations are not bound for eternity by their progenitors’ written laws. So Victor passionately dismembers the female monster. Is his interpretation an anagnorisis that avoids a future threat of violence? Or is it a pre-emptive violence that forestalls a peaceful future? Was it an action that had come to maturity, or was it premature? Mary Shelley leaves the issue up in the air. Was the Bush team’s interpretation an act of prudence that forestalled the imminent action of Saddam Hussein’s use of weapons of mass destruction? Or was it instead a premature violence that forestalled the gradualism of the United Nations’ deferential restraint? Now the country is in a period of interpreting backward, of second guessing, and taking stock. It is not yet clear whether we are concluding a tragedy, where there will only be dead bodies all over the stage of events; or whether we can imagine a reconciling comedy, where all the participants can gather in the end at some kind of reconciling feast. What we do know now and always is that any decision to act is based upon imperfect evidence. To choose is to select among alternative possibilities. Were the evidence overwhelming, no choice as such would be necessary or indeed possible. The decision would be self evident. Before the invasion the Bush administration overwhelmed us with evidence of nuclear weapons of mass destruction and the insidious technology of bio- warfare in the semblance of our own anthrax fears. It seemed as if we had no choice but to strike then. The weapons issues were coupled with the overwhelming prognostications of imminent attacks on American people, like those that happened on 9/11. All members of the administration spoke as with one voice of warning. Now the retractions and extenuations are taking place, and the moral of the narrative shifts with the latest disclosures. Now the script is changing. Now the argument is that Saddam had killed overwhelming numbers of his own people over the years. Was he not an imminent killer preparing to massacre Americans? If not, what right does an American president have to pre-empt the role of the United Nations in handling these kinds of massive but vague perils? Did the Bush administration conflate technological readiness to pull the trigger with moral readiness? David stands ready to hurl his stone. The Minuteman leans into action, ready to fire in a minute. But the projection of a moral choice about the future should not be confused with the technical projection of a Minuteman missile. The aircraft carriers that converged in battle groups from around the global oceans, the long-range bombers re-positioned on perimeter bases, the missiles programmed, all those silent men and women, were mobilized into an enormous potential energy, all leaning into action. The confluence of energies and forces all seemed so overwhelming as inevitable movements that moral choices between alternatives were lost in the univocal argument of a world power, its finger already tightening on the trigger. Did the overwhelming technological readiness make the moral reason seem self evident in the mind of the Bush team? The readiness is all mobilization? In Greek tragedies the voice of the chorus provides running commentary on the plot. The chorus asks questions and makes assumptions during the action that are sometimes stupid, sometimes insightful, and sometimes wrong. The chorus admits to being puzzled by the actions of their leaders. Did the univocal voice of the administration script a fiction for our consumption? Was the plot a piece of noble propaganda? If the script was a fiction, it was not good literature, nor was it good ethics. For though literature may warn about the possibility of a coming event, it doesn’t preach a single course of action as solution. Literature works by indirections, expectations and surprises, oppositions, and multiple voices. Hence Hamlet’s indecision; the choice is agonizing. Right now, I am part of the bewildered voice of the chorus who represents the puzzlement of the audience. But once we decide, then we become the voice of judgment, of eventual sanction or condemnation. At the end of a play the chorus may at last choose to express future fears and hopes. For instance, I fear that if this pre-emptive strike into Iraq turns into a tragedy, its moral may be T. S. Eliot’s: The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason. from Murder in the Cathedral

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In July 2004, the Cranfills Gap Independent School District (Cranfills Gap ISD), located in Hamilton County, Texas, was identified as one of 54 school districts in the state meeting the criteria that initiate an Appraisal Standards Review (ASR) of the county appraisal district that served them. In April 2005, the Comptroller's Property Tax Division (PTD) began an Appraisal Standards Review of the Hamilton County Appraisal District (Hamilton CAD). Appraisal Standards Reviews The 78th Legislature, Regular Session, directed the Comptroller's office to conduct appraisal standards reviews of county appraisal districts if the Comptroller's office finds in its annual Property Value Study (PVS) that the appraisal district has one or more "eligible" school districts. Eligible school districts are those that meet all of the following conditions: - the district's values are invalid in the most recent property value study; - the district's values were valid in the two studies preceding the most recent study; and - the district's local value is above 90 percent of the lower threshold of the margin of error. In Texas, public education is paid for by a combination of state and local funds. Local funding comes from local property taxes. The chief appraiser of each county appraisal district (CAD) determines local property values, and school districts set tax rates that determine the amount of local tax revenue. Appraisal districts, under most circumstances, are required by law to appraise property at or near market value. Market value, in simple terms, is the price for which a property would sell under normal conditions. State funding is based on the total taxable property value within each school district as determined by the PVS. The PVS independently estimates the taxable property value in each school district to ensure that state values reflect market value, which in turn ensures that school districts have approximately the same number of dollars to spend per student, regardless of the school district's property wealth or lack of property wealth. School districts with less taxable property value per student receive more state dollars for each pupil than districts with more value per student. The state's fair distribution of school funding depends largely on the Comptroller's taxable value findings. By conducting appraisal standards reviews, the Comptroller's office helps school districts to understand the reason for the invalid finding so they can effectively work with the appraisal district to correct the problems and achieve market values. ASRs identify problems and recommend changes in procedures or methods to improve appraisal accuracy. An ASR examines and evaluates a county appraisal district's appraisal practices, including appraisal planning, appraisal procedures and methodology, and application and adherence to appraisal standards. The Tax Code and Comptroller rules are the major criteria used to measure the appraisal district's performance. The evaluation of the appraisal district's appraisal methods are based on a comparison of local methods and procedures to those generally accepted by the mass appraisal industry in Texas. The Tax Code dictates certain appraisal procedures or standards such as the Uniform Standards for Professional Appraisal Practices (USPAP), specifically Standard 6: Mass Appraisal and Standard 7: Personal Property. Also the International Association of Assessing Officers Standards (IAAO) Standards on Assessment are used as guidelines on the operation of an assessment office. The two principal focuses of the review are to determine why a school district served by the CAD was deemed eligible and to make recommendations to improve appraisal practices so the school district's values can be determined valid in future studies. The review evaluates five broad functional areas of CAD operations: information processing systems, district staffing, property mapping and discovery, appraisals and appraisal standards. The review methodology includes a self-assessment completed by the CAD, staff interviews, reviews of written policies, procedures, plans, financial and management audits, and assessments of manual and automated records systems. As the result of the review process, the Comptroller's office is issuing this report of its findings that includes recommendations for change and commendations for exemplary district appraisal practices. The appraisal district is required by law to comply with the recommendations within one year of the release of this report. If the Comptroller determines that the appraisal district board of directors failed to take remedial action within one year after the issuance of the review, the Comptroller shall notify the district judges serving in the county, who shall appoint a five-member board of conservators to implement the recommendations. The board of conservators shall exercise supervision and control over the operations of the appraisal district until the Comptroller determines pursuant to the annual property value study, Section 403.302, Government Code, that in the same year the taxable value of each school district for which the appraisal district appraises property is the local value for the school district. The appraisal district shall bear the costs related to the supervision and control of the district by the board of conservators. While the review team found several commendable practices implemented by dedicated and hardworking district employees, Hamilton CAD is facing a number of challenges in achieving and maintaining consistent valid findings, including: - improving the management of office operations; - documenting procedures; and - enhancing reappraisal tools and appraisal methods. Key Findings and Recommendations Improve the Management Office Operations Expand the detail of the budget presented to the board of directors for adoption to include the benefits for each position and a detailed list of each proposed capital expenditure. The district's budget lacks the detail necessary to comply with Section 6.06 of the Tax Code. The budget does not outline each set of benefits associated with each employee position. With 60 percent of the CAD's budget going to salaries, it's important for taxing units to understand where the money is being spent and ensure the district hires sufficient staff to perform appraisal functions. Develop board procedures to evaluate the chief appraiser, insert a line for the chief appraiser's signature on the evaluation tool and use the newly developed tool to evaluate the chief appraiser annually. The board has not historically evaluated the chief appraiser in writing. After the onsite visit by the review team, the district developed an evaluation tool to allow the board to collectively evaluate the chief appraiser. The chief appraiser had not been evaluated with this tool. Setting annual expectations and evaluating the chief appraiser allows the board to communicate more effectively with the chief appraiser. The district should develop procedures to support the evaluation of the chief appraiser and begin annually assessing the chief appraiser's performance using the new tool. Develop a comprehensive written policy and procedures manual for district operations. Hamilton CAD lacks well-documented policies and procedures to guide the day-to-day operations of the district in areas such as payroll processing, accounting, purchasing and related functions. Written procedures help guarantee tasks are performed correctly and provide useful training tools for new employees. By having a written policy and procedures manual for district operations, the district ensures consistency in performing daily functions and the procedures act as an internal control mechanism. Continually update and review the personnel manual against current employment law. Hamilton CAD's personnel manual is currently being updated and is ready for the board of director's approval. The current manual is the board's by-laws and lacks information on the American with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act, among more recent personnel law changes. An updated personnel manual protects management and staff from arbitrary employment practices and guarantees CAD employees are aware of their rights and responsibilities. Enhance Reappraisal Tools and Appraisal Methods Adopt and implement a detailed reappraisal plan. Hamilton CAD lacks a detailed reappraisal plan to ensure the execution of timely and accurate reappraisals. The CAD's reappraisal plan does not outline staffing requirements, a detailed work plan, a budget or how the district's ratio studies will be used in establishing reappraisals. A detailed plan assures management is aware of the process that the district will use in conducting reappraisals, ensures resources are available for conducting reappraisals and provides a roadmap for completing the reappraisals. Develop and implement effective appraisal maintenance programs based on ratio studies to identify and correct market value deviations. The 2003 PVS results indicate that Hamilton CAD's appraisal maintenance programs for at least one of its school districts did not achieve the desired result of identifying market areas whose values no longer reflect the market, so adjustments can be made. Cranfills Gap ISD's 2003 PVS eligibility was primarily attributed to under valuing rural residences while other property categories were inconsistently valued, or consistently over- or under-valued. Appraisal districts use ratio studies to plan appraisal maintenance programs. The ratio study results indicate those market areas in the appraisal district whose values no longer reflect the market. Frequent ratio studies and the appraisal maintenance that follows enable an appraisal district to keep its values at or near the market. The review team identified commendable practices in Hamilton CAD that other county appraisal districts may do well to review and implement where appropriate. Hamilton CAD backs up appraisal data and stores it in a secure location. The district has an established process for storing daily backed up appraisal data. In the event of a disaster, the district would be able to get back to work quickly because its records are stored offsite and only a small amount of data would be potentially lost.

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I saw some tutorial pages on the internet about how to read files using C++ But I'm kind of confused because there isn't anything in code indicate where the file is from. So I think I need some explanation. It will open file in current (working) folder. If you want to open file which is in another folder you may write full path: ofstream ofs("C:\\some_folder\\some_file"); There is version of the constructor (and open() function) which takes std::string, if you use them. What you pass is actually the file path, so you can give a full path, or a relative path. If you just specify the filename that is a relative path. Relative paths are relative to the working directory of program. If you start your program by double clicking on the executable file the working directory will be the directory where the executable file is located. If you start your program from the command line the working directory will be the directory that you set using the cd command. If you start your program from an IDE the working directory is often set to the project directory (not the source directory) but this can differ between IDEs.

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Use the Activities Putting It All Together All the events prior to and during the American Revolutionary War in central New York are interrelated, and these had profound effects on the people who lived there. In these activities, students will compare their lives in their community to what it would be like to live in central New York during this time. Students will also explore what it was like to be at the Battle of Oriskany. Activity 1: Where Do I Stand? Ask each student to select one of the historical people who participated at the Battle of Oriskany and create a report in the character of that person about the experience. The report may be written or oral. Once the student has identified what person they are portraying and explained why that character was selected, the student should answer the following questions in character: 1. What do you (the person you are roleplaying) believe in? What do you support? 2. What do you oppose? 3. What are your hopes and dreams? 4. What are you feeling before this battle? Are you angry, sad, happy or a mixture of these? Are you worried or anxious about yourself and your family? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the outcome of the battle? 5. Place yourself in the battle. Where are you located, in the ravine or on the hilltop? What do you see, hear, smell and feel? Who do you see? What are you doing? What are your feelings? Are you afraid, angry, or confused or a mixture? 6. After the battle, how do you feel? Are you worried or anxious about your family? What do you see in your immediate or long-term future? Has your outlook changed? Have your hopes and ambitions changed? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future? Activity 2: The Lost Battlefield The Oriskany Battlefield has been lost over time. The land is still there, however, the old Military Road is gone, the virgin woodland forest has been clear cut, and exact placements of everyone on the battlefield can not be reproduced. Except for letter and journal entries, some written shortly after the battle and others collected long after the battle (which sometimes are conflicting) there is little to tell us exactly where and how the battle was fought. There is also little physical evidence available to help researchers evaluate the reliability of these accounts. Students are going to be asked to recreate the Battle of Oriskany. They should keep a written journal or recorded oral log about the investigative and production phases of the project. After students have completed studying the quotes in the readings, looked at maps of the area or colonial illustrations depicting military clothing and weapons, and completed additional personal research, ask them to complete one of the following activities: 1. As an historical cartographer, find the ravine and high ground, and then draw a map or series of maps of Oriskany battlefield during the battle's different phases. 2. As an historical illustrator, sketch or paint a picture or series of pictures of the Battle of Oriskany. 3. As a re-enactor or documentary film-maker, create costumes, re-enact the battle, and videotape the re-enactment. Edit the tape and add voice-over narration for final presentation. Activity 3: In the Grip of Fear Ask the students to produce a written, pictorial, or video report describing a controversial issue which has divided their community. Point out that community can be interpreted in many ways and may be their school, sports teams, parent groups, school board, local government, or state government as well as the nation or world. The students will have to use investigative research techniques and questioning strategies to find the answers through review of local newspapers, committee reports, and personal interviews. Students may want to record their data on a chart like the one used in Reading 1. Ask them to identify what the controversy is, and then answer the following questions: 1. Is there only one central issue that is causing the controversy, or are there several issues? 2. What was the history of the community before the controversy? Are there events in the past which affect the issue(s) today? 3. Who are the key leaders on both sides of the issue? Why have they taken the stand they have taken? 4. What is the general social make-up of the followers of these leaders? Where are they from? In which part of the community do they live? What is their social, political and economic standing? What are their race, ethnicity, and sex? What types of jobs do they have? Where do they stand on the issue and why? After the students have completed this activity, have them ask the same questions about the Mohawk Valley civil war and then compare and contrast the contemporary controversy they have studied with the Mohawk Valley civil war. Alternatively, the students may want to compare the controversy they have studied with the U.S. Civil War, regional civil wars in the U.S. (such as in "Bleeding Kansas"), or civil wars on the international scene (such as in Rwanda and Kosovo in the 1990s or China in the 1940s).

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Pune has an abundance of water from the Khadakwasla dam but its intra-city distribution is extremely uneven. Some areas get as much as 600 litres per capita per day (lpcd) while others get barely 100. This results in enormous quantities of waste water and sewage and despite having an installed capacity to treat 599 million litres a day (MLD) of sewage, its two main rivers, the Mula and Mutha, remain severely polluted. This was one of the main outcomes of the workshop to launch CSE's 7th State of India Environment Report, Excreta Matters, in Pune on 8th June. The meet was attended by 90 people, including the state Irrigation Department, representatives from the Pune Municipal Corporation, as well as civil society representatives and concerned citizens. |(near to far) Dr Himanshu Kulkarni, Nitya Jacob, Prof Madhav Gadgill and Naresh Zurmure| The Citizens report, which provides a detailed analysis of the water-sewage profile of 71 cities across India, including Pune, was released by Professor Madhav Gadgill, himself a citizen of Pune and well known ecologist who has held several positions including being member of the Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister in the late 1980's. The Mula-Mutha River water in Pune had deteriorated in quality. Its biological oxygen demand, an indicator of organic pollution, has risen to over 30 mg/l, more than ten times the permissible limits for bathing. Reason: Pune is a classic case of over consumption; the Municipal Corporation is currently supplying water sufficient for the projected population in the year 2050. More water, means more sewage, beyond the quantum its sewage treatment plants can treat. As a result there is greater pollution loads discharged in to the Mula-Mutha, two rivers that confluence within city limits and serve to flush away Pune's excreta. The Pune Municipal Corporation has a waterworks capacity to treat and distribute 1292 MLD. It is however currently supplying 1222 MLD of water at a staggering average supply rate of 321 LPCD, more than double the standards set by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation, a technical wing of the Ministry of Urban Development. The actuals, after leakages in the piped network, work out to 866 MLD, or 228 LPCD. There is inequity in water supply in the city; hours of water supply vary from less than 2 hours a day to round the clock water supply in some parts of the city. On average there is 6-8 hours of water supply across the city, say PMC officials. Although citizens claim there is an interplay of power-politics in supply, municipal officials say that the city's topography is solely to blame. Low lying areas receive 600 LPCD versus less than 100 LPCD in topographically disadvantaged colonies. The piped network is 2,450 km in length and 100 % of water is officially supplied sourced from surface sources, the Khadakwasla lake. There are 4,500 private tubewells servicing parts, yet to be connected to the piped network. |Naresh Zurmure, additional commissioner (PMC) speaking on the occasion| Pune is attempting water for all, but can it deal with waste of all? We are not protecting the natural recharge areas, said Himanshu Kulkarni, head of ACWADAM, a non-profit organsation based in Pune. We need to look beyond biodiversity, and understand the 'litho-diversity' of India, where 85 per cent of the world’s rock types are found. There are 1.5 billion urban dwellers dependent on groundwater, says Kulkarni, and looking to sustain yields is a major challenge often overlooked in city water supply management. In Pune, groundwater levels have reduced marginally, but the quality has altered over the years due to poor sanitation practices. The sewage generated by the city's 3.7 million inhabitants is 756 MLD, 33 percent of which is untreated and mixes with treated sewage before entering in the river, also percolating into aquifers. The flagship scheme of the Pune Municipal Corporation is river front development and canalisation. The corporation is seeking to strengthen and line the Mula-Mutha river banks, remove encroachments, create retaining walls, resettle slums, dredge the river and develop the river as a water highway to de-congest the city centre. This project has been in the pipeline for several years, has escalated in cost, and is being contested in the High Court. CSE questioned these plans stating that Pune is a moderate rainfall area, although it is prone to spells of heavy rain June thru September. Hence modifying flows could possibly lead to backflows and flooding in the city, interfere with ecological flows and increase flow velocity, leading to scouring of the banks downstream. This seems ambitious for a corporation that until 2010 – 11, had an outstanding of Rs 306.47 crore from consumers, that it is finding difficult to collect. Also water tariffs have remained static at Rs 3 per kilo-litre since 2000 for domestic users, and Rs 16 per kilo-litre for commercial and industrial connections. There is a 48.37% shortfall in collection of water charges in 2009-10 (budget estimates and actual revenue), while 60% of total expenditure is on energy. Diversion to urban conurbations and utilising more than allocated amounts is leading to conflicts in the state. “Since 2003, 1500 million cubic metre of water has been diverted from agricultural allocations to urban or industrial use in Maharashtra. This has implications for 357,600 hectares in the state or 3 lakh families at an average of 1 hectare land holding. This diversion is now a fait accompli,” says K J Joy, convenor of the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India. Maharashtra had published the state water policy in 2003, which controversially gave industry a higher allocation priority versus agriculture. While this has now been reversed due to widespread protests in the state, this has implications as articulated in the CSE study on water quality, since it is not only important to gauge how much you use, but what also monitor the quality of used water as return flows. For more details: N itya Jacob, Bharat Lal Seth

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Wikipedia: Paul the Apostle Paul the Apostle (Greek: Παῦλος Paulos), original name Saul of Tarsus (Greek: Σαῦλος Saulos), was a Christian missionary who took the gospel of Christ to the first-century world. He is generally considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age and one of the greatest religious leaders of all time. In the mid-30s to the mid-50s, he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe. Being a Jew and a Roman citizen were ideal pedigrees for his ministry to both Jewish and Roman audiences. A native of Tarsus, the capital city in the Roman province of Cilicia, he wrote that he was "a Hebrew born of Hebrews", a Pharisee, and one who advanced in Judaism beyond many of his peers. He zealously persecuted the early followers of Jesus and violently tried to destroy the newly-forming Christian church. Paul's dramatic conversion experience with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus dramatically changed the course of his life. He did not know Jesus during his lifetime as did the Twelve Apostles, but he was the first apostle whose only experience with Jesus was after the Resurrection and Ascension. After his conversion to Christ, he began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and the Son of God. His leadership, influence, and legacy led to the formation of communities dominated by Gentile groups that worshiped the Lord, adhered to the "Judaic moral code", but relaxed or abandoned the ritual and dietary teachings of the Law of Moses. He taught that these laws and rituals had either been fulfilled in the life of Christ or were symbolic precursors of Christ, though the exact relationship between Paul the Apostle and Judaism is still disputed. Paul taught of the life and works of Jesus Christ and his teaching of a New Covenant, or "new testament", established through Jesus' death and resurrection. About half of the New Testament stems from Paul and the people whom he influenced. Thirteen of the 27 books in the New Testament have been attributed to Paul, and approximately half of the Acts of the Apostles deals with Paul’s life and works. However, only 7 of the 13 letters can be accepted as being entirely authentic. The other 6 letters are believed to have come from followers writing in his name, using material from Paul's surviving letters and letters written by him that no longer survive. Today, his epistles continue to be deeply rooted in the theology, worship, and pastoral life in the Roman and Protestant traditions of the West, as well as the Orthodox traditions of the East. Among the many other apostles and missionaries involved in the spread of the Christian faith, his influence on Christian thought and practice has been characterized as being as "profound as it is pervasive". Augustine of Hippo developed Paul's idea that salvation is based on faith and not "works of the law". Martin Luther's interpretation of Paul's writings heavily influenced Luther's doctrine of sola fide. The Bible does not record Paul's death. Acts of the Apostles Some believe that through this work, Luke intended to show the Roman Empire that the root of Christianity is within Judaism so that the Christians “may receive the same freedom to practice their faith that the Roman Empire afforded the Jews.” Those who support the view of Luke’s work as political apology generally draw evidence from the facts that Christians are found innocent of committing any political crime (Acts 25:25; 19:37; 19:40) and that Roman officials’ views towards Christians are generally positive. Also, Luke mentions a few Roman officials that believe in Jesus Christ (Acts 10:1-11:18; 13:12). The magistrates even apologize to Paul and Silas for wrongfully putting them in prison (Acts 16:38-39). By painting the Roman-Christian relations in this light, Luke hopes to persuade Rome that Christians are not enemies of the government and should not be looked upon with suspicion or even fear. Apology on behalf of Rome addressed to the church: Whereas the claim above suggested that Luke was writing to Rome, this view proposes that Luke may be writing to the church in order to convince the saints of his own view that Rome is not a threat to the church. This claim presupposes that early Christians were suspicious of Rome or feared Roman authority as a threat to their faith. Also, supporters of this view would characterize Luke’s portrayal of the Roman Empire as positive because they believe Luke “glosses over negative aspects of the empire and presents imperial power positively.” For example, when Paul is before the council defending himself, Paul says that he is “on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23:6). Some believe that this appeal “thereby shows Christian’s of Luke’s day both that their predecessors were innocent before the state and that Paul had no political quarrel with Rome” but rather with the Jews who were accusing him. Other scholars have even said that Luke wrote this apology in order to support Christians who were becoming allies with local Roman officials. Some scholars believe that the apologetic view of Luke’s work is overemphasized and that it should not be regarded as a “major aim of the Lucan writings.” While Munck believes that purpose of Luke’s work is not that clear-cut and sympathizes with other claims, he believes that Luke’s work can function as an apology only in the sense that it “presents a defense of Christianity and Paul” and may serve to “clarify the position of Christianity within Jewry and within the Roman Empire.” Pervo disagrees that Luke’s work is an apology and even that it could possibly be addressed to Rome because he believes that “Luke and Acts speak to insiders, believers in Jesus.” Freedman believes that Luke is writing an apology but that his goal is “not to defend the Christian movement as such but to defend God’s ways in history.” Mr. K- Yes, the conversion of the Pharasee Sal to the Apostle can be found in the Book of Acts (of the Apostles after the assention of Christ). While incarsentated, Apostle Paul wrote the Epistles that are for the born again Christian Church. Acts 22: starts his telling of his conversion, Acts 28:17- His trail. As a citizen he had the rights listed below, and if he was harmed by any of the guards, they would receive the same but times two. Roman citizenship Rights Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to freeborn individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. • The right to have a legal trial (to appear before a proper court and to defend oneself). • The right to appeal from the decisions of magistrates and to appeal the lower court decisions. • A Roman citizen could not be tortured or whipped, nor could he receive the death penalty, unless he was found guilty of treason. • If accused of treason, a Roman citizen had the right to be tried in Rome, and even if sentenced to death, no Roman citizen could be sentenced to die on the cross. TejonTech, you write, "...typical liberal emotional defense of a position contrary to nature..." According to theologists, that is. Scientists do not find homosexual activity to be "contrary to nature." At one time anything other than missionary position was labeled contrary to nature (even though no animal, other than humans, practice it). gurudori, you wrote, "Not only did Apostle Paul use his Roman Citizenship to have a fair trail when the Jews wanted him excuted for converting to Christianity and blaspheme again OT..." Is this @#$% actually in the Christian Bible? Zen...again boring...typical liberal emotional defense of a position contrary to nature...and not true. Yeah well I think you've proven you know neither "love" nor "peace", TejonTech. What I read is the vitroil of an isolated and fearful man. It's sad really, because you drive far more people away than you'll ever attract. What is prophesized in the Bible can't be stopped, even the New World order. Don't you think that maybe God has a backup plan for those who accepted Christ as Lord and Savior (not believing in the Pope, TT) called...... The Hope of the Return of Christ! Haven't you ever read 1 Thessalonians? It's all about how Christ returns FOR the born again believers, then Armageddon & book of Revelations happens, then Christ returns WITH the saints to reclaim earth from Satan, the god of this world, and re-establishes Eden when he got from Adam disobeying Gods commandment not to eat the fruit of knowledge. Bet you didn't know that! Yeah, that's another one of those books in the NT most don't know of. Romans 5:9-Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through him. This gives me much comfort when knowing how that state of the world is in modern times. Something to think about. I also thought of another great example of why we need to have the separation of Church and State: Not only did Apostle Paul use his Roman Citizenship to have a fair trail when the Jews wanted him excuted for converting to Christianity and blaspheme again OT ( He was the Father to the born again Christian Church whereas Apostles Peter and James started the Catholic Church on the grounds of sticking to traditional pagen holidays- Easter is the holiday for the goddess Ester, not the Final Passover as it actually should be.) You are going to love this TT.... Martin Luther also used his German citizenship to save his life when the Catholic Church summons him to Rome as a Jesuit priest for heresy, but he petitioned the German King for his trail to be held in a German city so he could be protected because he knew he would be assinated if he traveled to Rome. Remember him? He's the guy with the 96 thesis against the abominations within the Catholic Church? He left the Catholic Church and started the Reformation Church... got married to a former nun and lived another 30 years as the main Biblical Scholar for the King at a University in Germany. Remember indulgences? Remember if you don't accept Jesus we will kill you period in European history? That is why the French and American constitutions added this clause in 1780s just so that any governing Church could never pull this crap again. Remember the Inquisition? How they used church doctrine to kill thousands of pegans to take their land, indigenous people in South and North America and other believers like wicca and keltic and such? No, you seem to like to hold a rosey colored view of Catholic Church history. CLICK HERE TO PLAY THE GAME "VOTE FOR A MORON!" If you agree with Tejon Tech last statement on "think they are voting in a new truth as if they could reverse God's creative decisions." click like, but if you do not agree with TT, click dislikes. If TT gets more dislikes than likes..... then he is a MORON! LMAO!!! I love on this list how people clicking like and dislike think they are voting in a new truth as if they could reverse God's creative decisions. That is what Broadbent is attempting...he makes it up to be like he would have done if he were God, even though what he would have done is simply contrary to God's obvious will and purpose. You can't change the truth by popular vote, as Colorado is now destined to see. This pastor is just one of the false prophets that will come in the last days. The Californication of Colorado is moving at full steam. Jesus warns us against idolatry, fornication, and murder...seems like the secular agenda claims all three...unquestioned tolerance is idolatry, fornication is any sex outside marriage (to include all gay etc. sex and this sort of adolescent sex advocated by the morning after pill) and murder, which is what abortion is pure and simple...so Guru and Zen...the final judgment is going to be calling you to repentance and amendment of life big tie...as well as me for my sins. Secularism isn't new, TT, it was how our country was originally founded with Seperation of Church and State, so don't try to re-write history. It has only been since the 1980's when the evangical churches started a movement to insert Christian morality into our governmental laws. So why can't each and every person govern themselves instead of having to follow your brand of religion? Just because we don't want it in our governing laws doesn't mean we don't practice morality and personal spirituality in our homes. From Wikepedia: Seperation of Church and State: Thomas Jefferson: In English, the exact term is an offshoot of the phrase, "wall of separation between church and state", as written in Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church and State." Jefferson reflected his frequent speaking theme that the government is not to interfere with religion. The Bill of Rights was one of the earliest examples in the world of complete religious freedom (adopted in 1791, only preceded by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789) but it was interpreted as establishing a separation of Church and State only after the letter of Jefferson (see section United States for more details). At the time of the passage of the Bill of Rights, many states acted in ways that would now be held unconstitutional, some of them with official state churches. All of the early official state churches were disestablished by 1833. Milligan's primary goal is to advance the new world order in her own image without a God to interfere with her reign of political correct totalitarianism...it is to turn Colo Spgs upside down, and that sort of radical transformation will not bring peace and stability, but strive and division. Zen...Denver Seminary? That explains why you are an advocate for the new secularism and not the Christianity of the Apostles. Your education is faulty and doesn't serve you well. The religion of Jesus is one where God's love directs and rules our hearts toward peace now and eternity ultimately. Your religion of permissiveness and self affirmation is a direct path to pain now and dysfunction in the future...not something a loving God would wish for his children. God, as scripture says, has a special place for wolves in sheep's clothing like you. If "Milligan is a far left whack job" then how far off the right edge of the map are you? Geez TT .. some days you make Pinochet look like a centrist. Another 14 jobs and more young people gone. Good job blue hairs. As for Pico, he's a egotistical hack. I used to debate that guy on the Gazette, and he wouldn't know good science from a pile of sh*t. Like most of the council, he's a slave to ideology and blind to on the ground reality. TejonTech, speaking as one with a degree in Religious Studies, who studied theology and ministry at Denver Seminary, and has worked in Protestant and Catholic church and para-church organizations, I can confidently and authoritatively say that you my friend are no Christ follower. You're a Pharisee. And a milk fed one at that. It's time to take back the church from people like you ... people who have overseen the largest single decline in US church attendance in history. If Jesus were to return today, I have zero doubt you'd be first to pick up a hammer and nail. You genuinely have no idea what you do. And for that, I just feel sorry for you. Grow up milk fed ... before it's too late. Good luck with all that self-righteous rage. TejonTech it is truly sad to see a person so tied up in knots as you. All content © Copyright 2013, The Colorado Springs Independent Website powered by Foundation

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Introduction: Liver cancer Liver cancer: Cancer of the liver. Researching symptoms of Liver cancer: Further information about the symptoms of Liver cancer is available including a list of symptoms of Liver cancer, other diseases that might have similar symptoms in differential diagnosis of Liver cancer, or alternatively return to research other symptoms in the symptom center. Misdiagnosis and Liver cancer: Research more detailed information about misdiagnosis of Liver cancer, failure to diagnose Liver cancer, underlying causes of Liver cancer (possibly misdiagnosed), or research misdiagnosis of other diseases Statistics and Liver cancer: Various sources and calculations are available in statistics about Liver cancer, prevalence and incidence statistics for Liver cancer, and you can also research other medical statistics in our statistics center. Last revision: June 2, 2003 Medical Tools & Articles: - Risk Factor Center - Medical Statistics Center - Medical Treatment Center - Prevention Center - Medical Tests Center

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what is Roller chains Roller chain is a steel linked chain that utilizes roller bushings at each connecting link. The bushings aid the chain in riding smoothly around a sprocket and give the chain long life as well as strength. Roller chain is commonly found on bicycles and farming machinery and is also a primary component in automobile transmissions and transfer cases. Some high-performance types of roller chain use small rubber O-rings at each end of the bushings to aid in the retention of oil, which helps keep the chain in peak condition. There are many types of roller chain, each intended for a specific purpose. In the U.S., roller chain is sized by the American National Standards Institute or ANSI with the most common sizes being 40, 50 and 60. The size of the chain is reflective of the pitch of the chain in eighths of an inch (0.3175 centimeters), this is denoted by the first digit, and the final digit noting the strength of the chain. While 0 represents standard chain and 1 represents lightweight chain, 5 is used to show bushed chain with no rollers. This means that a standard bicycle chain with a half-inch (1.27 centimeters) pitch would be a size 40 chain. The typical roller chain is comprised of links that are fused together by pins. The pins are driven through the ends of each link and held in place by friction. Each chain is connected at the ends to form a complete circle or chain loop by a master link. The master link is a link of chain that uses a clip to hold the sides in place rather than being a friction fit. Roller chain can be shortened by removing links with a chain breaking tool and lengthened by adding whole or a half links. Lubrication and proper tension is critical to assure long life for any roller chain. A chain should never be run tight. There should always be a slight amount of slack in a properly adjusted chain. The school of thought is approximately 2 percent to 4 percent of the distance between the centers of the sprockets. Clean, light-weight oil should be used to keep the chain properly lubricated. The various uses for roller chain include not only bicycles, but conveyors, automobile timing chains and chain saws. By attaching tiny cutting teeth to a chain, a chain saw is able to cut its way through a tree in a rapid manner. In another application, small lengths of chain are attached to a handle, allowing plumbers to grip and twist pipe sections.

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And become a Defender of Wildlife Animal Planet Mountain Goat Fact Sheet Height: Males up to 3.5 feet; females are smaller.Length: Males up to 5.5 feet; females are smaller.Weight: 100-300 pounds; females are lighter.Lifespan: 12-15 years Defenders of Wildlife has been working to protect our nation's wildlife since 1947. Understand the threats facing our treasured wildlife and what Defenders is doing to help. Learn more about the amazing animals that make up our nation's wild heritage. Your contribution will help us save something wild. Learn what you can do to make a difference for our wildlife and wild places.

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Definitions for wageweɪdʒ Random House Webster's College Dictionary wageweɪdʒ(n.; v.)waged, wag•ing. (n.)Often, wages. money that is paid or received for work or services. Ref: Compare living wage , minimum wage. 1 wages, recompense or return: The wages of sin is death. Obs. a pledge or security. (v.t.)to carry on (a battle, argument, etc.): to wage war. Obs. to stake or wager. to pledge. (v.i.)Obs. to contend; struggle. Origin of wage: 1275–1325; ME: pledge, security < AF; OF guagegage1< VL *wadium < Gmc (see wed ) wage, pay, earnings, remuneration, salary(verb) something that remunerates "wages were paid by check"; "he wasted his pay on drink"; "they saved a quarter of all their earnings" carry on (wars, battles, or campaigns) "Napoleon and Hitler waged war against all of Europe" An amount of money paid to a worker for a specified quantity of work, usually expressed on an hourly basis. To wager, bet. To employ for wages; to hire. To conduct or carry out (a war or other contest). to wage war Origin: from wage, a northern variant of gauge, gage, from *waddi, wadja (cognate with wedd), from wadjō, from wadh-. Akin to veþja "to pledge", wadi. More at wed. to pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake; to bet, to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar to expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to venture; to hazard to engage in, as a contest, as if by previous gage or pledge; to carry on, as a war to adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out to put upon wages; to hire; to employ; to pay wages to to give security for the performance of to bind one's self; to engage that which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or danger; prize; gage that for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for service performed; hire; pay; compensation; -- at present generally used in the plural. See Wages Translations for wage Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (alsoˈwages noun plural) a regular, usually weekly rather than monthly, payment for the work that one does He spends all his wages on books; What is his weekly wage? - salárioPortuguese (BR) - der LohnGerman - μισθός, (οικονομικές) απολαβέςGreek - salario, sueldoSpanish - mjesečna plaćaCroatian - laun, kaupIcelandic - 임금, 급료, 삯Korean - darba algaLatvian - gaji, upahMalay - lønn, gasjeNorwegian - lön, avlöningSwedish - ค่าจ้าง; ค่าแรงThai - 報酬，薪資Chinese (Trad.) - заробітна платаUkrainian - lương tuầnVietnamese - 工资，报酬Chinese (Simp.) Get even more translations for wage »

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Early in his career, James McNeill Whistler submitted Symphony in White, No.1:The White Girl to two esteemed annual European exhibitions—the Royal Academy in London, England, and the Paris Salon in France. The painting was rejected at both. It was shown in a less notable exhibition in 1863 and received tentative reviews. While the painting’s white tones and the lily held by the woman imply purity, her morning dress and disheveled hair suggest impropriety. This ambiguity baffled the European critics and public: “Folk nudged each other and went almost into hysterics; there was always a grinning group in front of [The White Girl].”—Emile Zola, novelist, 1886; “It is one of the most incomplete paintings we have ever met with. A woman, in a quaint morning dress of white, with her hair about her shoulders, stands alone, in the background of nothing in particular.”—F.G. Stevens, critic, June, 1862. Critics tried to create a story behind the painting’s subject, interpretations. They called the model a “sleepwalker," "a newly deflowered bride," and an "apparition.” Whistler left no clues as to how the painting should be read. He said, “My painting simply represents a girl dressed in white standing in front of a white curtain.” The real “story” was Whistler’s manifestation of art for art’s sake—his focus on color, line and composition—not the subject matter of the painting. When the painting was shown in the United States 10 years later, the public generally reacted differently. The model was described as “attractive and even fascinating” with a “singular and an indescribable face, full of the strangest and subtlest expression.” American artists soon imitated the work, creating their own paintings in the manner of Whistler’s White Girl.

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Abstract: Early diagnosis and rapid initiation of treatment remains a key strategy to control both HIV and tuberculosis (TB). However, HIV and TB control programs have had completely contrasting successes, especially with the development and deployment of point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. Clinicians, researchers, and public health staff who work at the frontlines of HIV care and control have had access to an outstanding array of POC diagnostics at their disposal, including those used for screening, initial diagnosis, staging, treatment monitoring, and early infant diagnosis. The field has also advanced to consider over-the-counter, self-testing options for HIV and the use of multiplexed platforms that allow for simultaneous detection of infections associated with HIV. In sharp contrast to HIV, suboptimal and delayed diagnosis of TB has perpetuated the epidemic in many high-burden countries. Although the TB diagnostics pipeline is substantially better today than it was even five years ago, absence of a simple POC test continues to be a gaping hole in the pipeline. In this review, we compare the POC diagnostics landscape and pipelines for these two important infectious diseases, and highlight gaps and unmet needs. Low-cost, point-of-care (POC) tests have completely transformed the management of several major infectious diseases (e.g., malaria and HIV) (Yager et al., 2008), especially in resource-limited settings where healthcare infrastructure is weak, and access to quality and timely medical care is a challenge. These tests offer rapid results at the point-of-care, allowing for rapid initiation of appropriate therapy, and/or establishment of linkages to care (Peeling and Mabey, 2010). Most importantly, POC tests can be simple enough to be used at the primary care level and in remote settings with no laboratory infrastructure. POC tests are often more cost-effective for the healthcare delivery system (Peeling and Mabey, 2010), and can potentially empower patients to self-test in the privacy of their homes and make informed decisions. The synergistic epidemics of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) have had a huge adverse impact on many populations, especially in high prevalence, resource-limited settings such as sub-Saharan Africa and Asia (Lawn and Churchyard, 2009). Early diagnosis and rapid initiation of treatment remains a key strategy to control both infections. However, HIV and TB control programs have had completely contrasting successes, especially with the development and deployment of POC diagnostics (Denkinger and Pai, 2011). Indeed, there are many lessons to be learnt by comparing the POC diagnostics landscapes and pipelines for these two important infectious diseases. HIV Diagnostics: Current Landscape and Pipeline Clinicians, researchers, and public health staff who work at the frontlines of HIV care and control have had access to an outstanding array of POC diagnostics at their disposal (Table 1), although uptake of these tests has varied across countries. POC tests for HIV include those used for screening, initial diagnosis, disease staging, treatment monitoring, and early infant diagnosis. The field has also advanced with the development of over-the-counter (OTC) self-testing options for HIV, and multiplexed platforms that allow for simultaneous detection of infections associated with HIV, such as hepatitis B and C, and syphilis (e.g., Multiplo®, MedMira Inc., Nova Scotia, Canada). An excellent survey of the current HIV diagnostics landscape has been published recently (Murtagh, 2011). For initial screening and diagnosis, simple, accurate, whole-blood, finger-stick, and oral mucosal fluid-based rapid tests are widely popular and have been successfully scaled-up via voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) programs in many countries, supported by agencies such as PEPFAR, UNITAID, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. Dozens of inexpensive POC HIV tests are available commercially, and quality-assured kits can be procured via the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification program for diagnostics (World Health Organization, 2011f). A recent evaluation of all FDA-approved rapid HIV tests on finger stick specimens documented their high accuracy (sensitivity and specificity exceed 99%) in controlled laboratory settings (Delaney et al., 2011). Rapid oral mucosal fluid tests have comparable accuracy to blood tests (Pai et al., 2012). While the vast majority of rapid HIV tests are based on antibody detection, the most recent fourth generation immunoassays simultaneously detect HIV p24 antigen as well as antibodies to HIV-1 and HIV-2 in serum, plasma, and whole blood. Although confirmatory testing is required for all first line screening tests, even oral fluid rapid HIV tests have been found to have high accuracy in high risk populations such as sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic attendees, and unregistered pregnant women that present at the time of delivery (Pai et al., 2007; Pant Pai et al., 2007). In addition to high diagnostic accuracy, these POC tests have also been shown to have clinical impact in resource-limited settings (Pai et al., 2008; Pai and Klein, 2009). For example, use of a simple oral-fluid test in a labor ward was successful in reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission in a rural hospital in India (Pai et al., 2008; Pai and Klein, 2009). In fact, oral fluid based HIV rapid tests may be simple enough to be potentially useful for home-based HIV self-testing (Pai and Klein, 2008), as shown in a recent study in Africa (Choko et al., 2011). Over-the-counter (OTC) versions of oral mucosal fluid-based tests are now available (e.g., Aware Oral OTC, Calypte Biomedical Corporation, Portland, OR, USA). Although self-testing is a promising approach to expand HIV screening programs, several issues related to self-testing are unresolved, and the ideal public health strategy that can safely and effectively offer this option is yet to be determined. With the impending FDA approval of an OTC oral HIV test, some of these logistical issues may get addressed, although infrastructural and logistical barriers for linking self-testers to follow-up care will require work (Pai and Klein, 2008). For disease staging and for making decisions about anti-retroviral therapy (ART) initiation or monitoring, there are qualitative and quantitative CD4 POC tests that are now available (Figure 1 shows the pipeline). These are a significant advance over the traditional, expensive, laboratory-based, flow cytometry assays (Boyle et al., 2011; Murtagh, 2011). Efforts are also underway to develop more affordable (and disposable) POC tests for CD4 counts and several such technologies are expected to reach the market within the next few years (Figure 2) (Murtagh, 2011). Lastly, HIV diagnostics have benefited from the growing momentum towards simple, multiplexed tests that can diagnose multiple infectious diseases at the point-of-care. There are now POC options available for multiplexed detection of HIV, hepatitis B and C, and syphilis (Figure 2). Although evidence on their test performance in real world settings is limited, they offer promise of simultaneous detection of several infections, with greater convenience for patients and providers. The convergence of fields such as nanotechnology, microfluidics, proteomics, and genomics has inspired the development of novel platforms, including POC and nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), which enable the detection of multiple biomarkers at the point of care. Also, integration of smartphone technology with such novel platforms might lead to the development of novel testing platforms that can also use mobile telephones for delivering results quickly and efficiently. HIV Diagnostics: Gaps and Needs A key gap has been lack of simple, affordable POC options for early infant diagnosis and for viral load determination (Murtagh, 2011; Usdin et al., 2010). While conventional NAATs are accurate and commercially available for early infant diagnosis and viral load, they are expensive and require sophisticated laboratory infrastructure that is not available in many resource-limited settings. Thus, most ART programs in resource-limited settings have no access to these technologies. This leads to treatment failure, impacting quality of clinical management. Viral load testing that could be conducted at the POC will reduce the need for laboratory infrastructure and lower the cost for ART programs (Murtagh, 2011). Resistance assays that are currently prohibitively expensive and run only as part of clinical studies will have tremendous potential in expediting linkages to care if offered at POC. Although there are currently no POC viral load assays that are commercially available, there are several technologies in development (Figure 3 shows the pipeline) (Murtagh, 2011). For epidemiological and surveillance purposes, there is a felt need for an accurate, inexpensive, and easy-to-use kit that can be used to estimate HIV incidence at the population level (Incidence Assay Critical Path Working Group, 2011). A recent report by the Incidence Assay Critical Path Working Group outlines the challenges in developing such an assay, and the work that is ongoing to overcome the challenges (Incidence Assay Critical Path Working Group, 2011). Lastly, although the HIV diagnostics portfolio is impressive, there remains a concern about inadequate uptake of good tests and insufficient scale-up in many settings. An unacceptably large proportion of HIV patients (50-70%) continue to be unaware of their status in developing country settings, posing a problem for timely detection of HIV infection. Early detection and initiation of ART hinges on knowledge of serostatus, which is the key step in bringing people to treatment and care. Thus, efforts that are currently being made to link POC tests with more efficient, decentralized counseling and treatment services may have an impact. For example, research is now ongoing to combine oral fluid OTC HIV tests and mobile-phone based counseling into comprehensive HIV self-testing strategies that can be used to scale-up testing in underserved areas where trained counselors may not be available, and to overcome stigma and logistical challenges associated with conventional voluntary counseling and testing approaches (Pai and Klein, 2008). These approaches if carefully planned may leverage the growing interest in mHealth and mobile telemedicine, and further build on the phenomenal growth of mobile telephony in many developing countries and emerging economies (Estrin and Sim, 2010). TB Diagnostics: Current Landscape and Pipeline In sharp contrast to HIV, suboptimal and delayed diagnosis of TB continues to perpetuate the epidemic in many high-burden countries, especially those with a high prevalence of HIV infection (Wallis et al., 2010). The need for an instrument-free, laboratory-free, POC test for TB has been articulated by many groups, including patient advocates and civil society (Batz et al., 2011; Lemaire and Casenghi, 2010; Weyer et al., 2011). Although the TB diagnostics pipeline is substantially better in 2011 than it was even 5-10 years ago, absence of a dipstick type of POC test continues to be a gaping hole in the pipeline (Figure 4 shows the current pipeline) (World Health Organization, 2011b). Table 2 summarizes the diagnostic options for TB that can potentially be used at the point-of-care. Sputum smear microscopy, in principle, can be done at the point-of-care in a primary care setting, provided a basic microscopy facility and a trained technician are available (Steingart et al., 2007). Unfortunately, smear microscopy is an insensitive technique and misses nearly half of all TB cases. To compensate for this, at least two sputum smears need to be stained and read, and this makes the test difficult to implement as a genuine POC test. On the positive side, smear microscopy is inexpensive, and a trained microscopist can identify several disease conditions (e.g., malaria, filariasis, urinary tract infections). Conventional, direct Ziehl-Neelsen microscopy can be optimized using LED fluorescence microscopy, and by using two spot sputum smears to ensure same-day diagnosis. Indeed, these approaches are now endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) (World Health Organization, 2011a; World Health Organization, 2011e). The recent WHO endorsement of Xpert MTB/RIF (Cepheid Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA), an automated, cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), has greatly stimulated resurgent interest in using molecular tests for rapid diagnosis of active TB and drug-resistance (World Health Organization, 2011c). While the Xpert MTB/RIF assay is accurate and can potentially be used outside of a laboratory setting by a minimally trained health worker, it falls short of meeting the ideal POC requirements on two important grounds: at current prices, it is expensive and unaffordable in many settings, and it requires sophisticated equipment that cannot be deployed at the community level (Pai, 2011b). Also, the pricing of Xpert MTB/RIF assay in the private sector in developing countries is substantially higher than the pricing for the public sector, imposing additional barriers for scale-up. For decades, researchers and the industry had pinned their hopes on serological antibody-detection methods for POC test development. Indeed, dozens of serological rapid (lateral flow assays) and ELISA tests got commercialized, even though no international guideline recommended their use. Today, these tests are on the market in at least 17 of the 22 highest tuberculosis burden countries, and millions of patients in the private sector undergo serological testing (Grenier et al., 2012). Unfortunately, TB serological tests are neither accurate nor cost-effective (Dowdy et al., 2011; Steingart et al., 2011), prompting the WHO to issue a strong negative recommendation against their use (World Health Organization, 2011d). The WHO policy, announced on July 20, 2011, states that, since the “the harms/risks [of commercial serodiagnostic tests] far outweigh any potential benefits (strong recommendation) …these tests should not be used in individuals suspected of active pulmonary or extra-pulmonary TB, irrespective of their HIV status” (World Health Organization, 2011d). It is important to clarify three points regarding this WHO recommendation. Firstly, the WHO policy encourages research to develop new serological tests for TB based on antigen/antibody biomarkers. The negative recommendation only applies to existing commercial tests. Secondly, the WHO policy does not include commercially available blood-based tests (interferon-gamma release assays) for latent TB infection. It only applies to antibody-based (serological) tests for active TB. Thirdly, the WHO policy does not call for a ban on the technology platforms used for antibody or antigen detection (ELISA or rapid immunochromatography). They are excellent for many diseases, just not currently for TB. The failure of antibody-based approaches spurred interest in antigen-detection methods (Flores et al., 2011). While many candidate antigens have been evaluated, urine lipoarabinomannan (LAM) detection assay was the first and, to date, the only antigen detection test to be commercialized, based on promising results from early studies (Boehme et al., 2005). Unfortunately, subsequent research showed that the urine LAM ELISA assay had suboptimal accuracy for routine clinical use in unselected patients (Minion et al., 2011; Peter et al., 2010). Two recent studies have evaluated the Determine® TB-LAM (Alere Inc., Waltham, MA, USA), a low-cost, POC version of the urine LAM test (Figure 5), in HIV-infected persons in South Africa (Lawn et al., 2011; Peter et al., 2011). Consistent with previous studies, the overall sensitivity of Determine® TB-LAM was low in patients with culture-confirmed TB. However, these studies showed that a combination of POC LAM test and sputum smears may offer value in screening for TB among severely immune-compromised HIV-infected patients (e.g., CD4 counts <50), a subgroup of high-risk patients for whom diagnostic delays can be fatal (Lawn et al., 2011; Peter et al., 2011). Further research is necessary to assess the clinical impact of using this POC LAM test and its role in improving case management (Denkinger and Pai, 2011). Because the Determine® TB-LAM test may have value only in those with low CD4 counts, the test must be evaluated as part of an algorithm which includes, ideally, HIV and CD4 testing at the point-of-care. TB Diagnostics: Gaps and Needs Tests such as Xpert MTB/RIF and Determine® TB-LAM are not the ideal POC tests that are desperately needed for TB control. But they have shown us a glimpse of what the future holds, and give us hope that an ideal POC TB test may be within reach. Clearly, if we want to replicate the successes achieved in HIV diagnostics, renewed efforts must be made to develop laboratory-free, POC tests for all forms of active TB, regardless of HIV status or CD4 counts. Mathematical models suggest that such POC tests can have a huge impact on TB case detection rates as well as TB incidence (Abu-Raddad et al., 2009; Dowdy et al., 2008; Keeler et al., 2006). The target product profile for such an ideal TB POC test has been recently published (Table 3) (Batz et al., 2011). However, because of insufficient progress in biomarker research and because of lack of strong industry interest in TB, progress has been much slower than anticipated. In fact, efforts are being made to develop incentive prize models for successful POC tests for TB (Wilson and Palriwala, 2011). Incentive prizes are large cash rewards for achievement of specified objectives, and can be an approach to spur development of novel health technologies (e.g., diagnostics) for diseases of poverty and neglected diseases (Wilson and Palriwala, 2011). While two prizes have been proposed for POC TB tests, neither has been successfully launched (Wilson and Palriwala, 2011). While a simple, dipstick type of POC test for TB might not be ready in the near future, the landscape is looking more promising for a more decentralized, field-friendly, affordable molecular test, which can be used at the point-of-care to reduce diagnostic delays (Figure 6) (Niemz et al., 2011). These include hand-held or portable platforms, based on DNA chips and/or disposable cartridges (Figure 7). Many of the technologies under development are capable of detecting many different infectious diseases, and that makes them very attractive for scale-up. For example, a platform that can detect TB, drug-resistant TB, as well as HIV viral loads could be very helpful in a clinic setting. Bridging the Chasm Between HIV and TB Control While TB is an ancient disease, the HIV epidemic has been a problem for only 30 years. Yet, a comparison of the HIV and TB diagnostics landscapes clearly suggests that research & development (R&D) in TB has greatly lagged behind HIV, and there may be several explanations for this big gap (Harrington, 2010). Patients, providers, and activists have played a major role in pushing for innovations in HIV diagnosis and treatment and in lobbying for price reductions and generic products. Funders, researchers, industry, and governments have responded to this pressure by supporting R&D efforts on all fronts (drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines). Because the HIV epidemic historically began as a disease of the developed world, much of activism generated in the West helped translate the R&D into products that ultimately benefited the developing world. Private pharmaceutical industry has played a big role in developing products in part because HIV is now a chronic disease that requires lifelong management and this ensures a large market. These factors partly explain the interest of pharma and biotech industries in enhancing and expanding on the ever growing HIV diagnostics and antiretroviral drugs portfolio. In contrast, advocacy for R&D in TB has been weak, and private industry and donor interest has been low (Harrington, 2010). The revised Global Plan to Stop TB 2011-2015 estimates that at least US$9.8 billion is needed in TB R&D over the next 5 years to reach the targets of 50% reduction in TB prevalence and mortality by 2015 (World Health Organization, 2010). But according to analyses by Treatment Action Group (TAG) and Stop TB Partnership (STP), TB research globally remains grossly underfunded — the total funding gap for the next five years (2011-2015) is estimated at US$6.4 billion (64%). A 2011 funding analysis report by TAG and STP showed significant funding declines in basic science research on TB, which dropped 27% and 29% to $126.6 million and $78 million, respectively (Treatment Action Group & Stop TB Partnership, 2011). This is worrisome because progress in the area of POC test development will require major investments in biomarker and basic research. Given the flat-lined funding trends and lack of strong industry interest in TB, the attention is now shifting to Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) and the leadership they can provide in the context of the global economic slowdown. There is a lot of excitement over the potential of BRICS in the development of affordable health-care technologies (Frew et al., 2008). This is especially true for diseases of poverty, such as TB, that may not be of great interest to rich countries or to industry, which do not see a market to justify investments (Engel et al., 2012). Although these countries have a large TB burden, they also have the technical resources and intellectual capital to invest in solutions and are capable of addressing the funding gap by infusing more resources into R&D for diseases such as TB (Small and Pai, 2010). Countries like China and India have a strong and growing biotechnology industry, and these countries may support the next wave of innovations in drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics (Frew et al., 2008). There is also potential for philanthropic initiatives from high-net-worth individuals and companies in these growing economies. A recent conference in India highlighted its potential in taking the lead on TB diagnostics innovations (Engel et al., 2012; Pai, 2011a). The Stop TB Partnership and WHO have set 2015 as the deadline for developing a simple POC test for TB (World Health Organization, 2011b). Clearly, this goal will not be met without the greater engagement of industry, funders, governments, and researchers. Most importantly, the lessons from the response to the HIV epidemic must be used to step up the intensity of advocacy efforts to demand better tools for TB care and control, and to raise the level of ambition. The battle against TB cannot be won with century-old, antiquated tools. Both authors are recipients of the CIHR New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Canadian Rising Stars in Global Health Award from Grand Challenges Canada. The authors report no conflicts of interest. Abu-Raddad LJ, Sabatelli L, Achterberg JT, Sugimoto JD, Longini IM, Jr, Dye C, Halloran ME. Epidemiological benefits of more-effective tuberculosis vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(33):13980-13985, 2009. Batz H-G, Cooke GS, Reid SD. Towards Lab-free Tuberculosis Diagnosis. pp. 1-36. Treatment Action Group, Stop TB Partnership, Imperial College London, and Médecins Sans Frontières, New York, New York, USA, 2011. Boehme C, Molokova E, Minja F, Geis S, Loscher T, Maboko L, Koulchin V, Hoelscher M. Detection of mycobacterial lipoarabinomannan with an antigen-capture ELISA in unprocessed urine of Tanzanian patients with suspected tuberculosis. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 99(12):893-900, 2005. Boyle DS, Hawkins KR, Steele MS, Singhal M, Cheng X. Emerging technologies for point-of-care CD4 T-lymphocyte counting. Trends Biotechnol 30(1):45-54, 2012. Choko AT, Desmond N, Webb EL, Chavula K, Napierala-Mavedzenge S, Gaydos CA, Makombe SD, Chunda T, Squire SB, French N, Mwapasa V, Corbett EL. The Uptake and Accuracy of Oral Kits for HIV Self-Testing in High HIV Prevalence Setting: A Cross-Sectional Feasibility Study in Blantyre, Malawi. PLoS Med 8(10):e1001102, 2011. Delaney KP, Branson BM, Uniyal A, Phillips S, Candal D, Owen SM, Kerndt PR. Evaluation of the performance characteristics of 6 rapid HIV antibody tests. Clin Infect Dis 52(2):257-263, 2011. Denkinger CM, Pai M. Point-of-care tuberculosis diagnosis: are we there yet? Lancet Infect Dis, epub ahead of print, Oct. 17, 2011. Dowdy DW, O’brien MA, Bishai D. Cost-effectiveness of novel diagnostic tools for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis 12(9):1021-1029, 2008. Dowdy DW, Steingart KR, Pai M. Serological testing versus other strategies for diagnosis of active tuberculosis in India: a cost-effectiveness analysis. PLoS Med 8(8):e1001074, 2011. Engel N, Kenneth J, Pai M. TB diagnostics in India: creating an ecosystem for innovation. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 12(1):21-24, 2012. Estrin D, Sim I. Health care delivery. Open mHealth architecture: an engine for health care innovation. Science 330(6005):759-760, 2010. Flores L, Steingart K, Dendukuri N, Schiller I, Minion J, Pai M, Ramsay A, Henry M, Laal S. Antigen detection tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Vaccine Immunol 18(10):1616-1627, 2011. Frew SE, Kettler HE, Singer PA. The Indian and Chinese health biotechnology industries: potential champions of global health? Health Aff (Millwood) 27(4):1029-1041, 2008. Grenier J, Pinto LM, Nair D, Steingart KR, Dowdy DW, Ramsay A, Pai M. Widespread use of serological tests for tuberculosis: data from 22 high-burden countries. Eur Resp J 39(2):502-505, 2012. Harrington M. From HIV to tuberculosis and back again: a tale of activism in 2 pandemics. Clin Infect Dis 50(Suppl 3):S260-S266, 2010. Incidence Assay Critical Path Working Group. More and better information to tackle HIV epidemics: towards improved HIV incidence assays. PLoS Med 8(6):e1001045, 2011. Keeler E, Perkins MD, Small P, Hanson C, Reed S, Cunningham J, Aledort JE, Hillborne L, Rafael ME, Girosi F, Dye C. Reducing the global burden of tuberculosis: the contribution of improved diagnostics. Nature 444(Suppl 1):49-57, 2006. Lawn SD, Churchyard G. Epidemiology of HIV-associated tuberculosis. Curr Opin HIV AIDS 4(4):325-333, 2009. Lawn SD, Kerkhoff AD, Vogt M, Wood R. Screening for HIV-associated pulmonary tuberculosis prior to antiretroviral therapy: diagnostic accuracy of a low-cost, urine antigen, point-of-care assay (Determine TB-LAM Ag): a descriptive study. Lancet Infect Dis, epub ahead of print, Oct. 17, 2011. Lemaire JF, Casenghi M. New diagnostics for tuberculosis: fulfilling patient needs first. J Int AIDS Soc 13:40, 2010. Minion J, Leung E, Talbot E, Dheda K, Pai M, Menzies D. Diagnosing tuberculosis with urine lipoarabinomannan: systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Respir J 38(6):1398-1405, 2011. Murtagh M. UNITAID Technical Report. HIV/AIDS Diagnostic Landscape. UNITAID, Geneva, Switzerland, 2011. Niemz A, Ferguson TM, Boyle DS. Point-of-care nucleic acid testing for infectious diseases. Trends Biotechnol 29(5):240-250, 2011. Pai M. Diagnosing tuberculosis: Can India take the lead? In: PloS Medicine Speaking of Medicine. 2011a. http://blogs.plos.org/ speakingofmedicine/2011/09/28/diagnosing-tuberculosis-can-india-take-the-lead/. (Accessed Oct. 31, 2011.) Pai M. Improving TB diagnosis: difference between knowing the path and walking the path. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 11(3):241-244, 2011b. Pai NP, Balram B, Shivkumar S, Martinez-Cajas JL, Claessens C, Lambert G, Peeling RW, Joseph L. Head-to-head comparison of accuracy of a rapid point-of-care HIV test with oral versus whole-blood specimens: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis, epub ahead of print, Jan. 24, 2012. Pai NP, Barick R, Tulsky JP, Shivkumar PV, Cohan D, Kalantri S, Pai M, Klein MB, Chhabra S. Impact of round-the-clock, rapid oral fluid HIV testing of women in labor in rural India. PLoS Med 5(5):e92, 2008. Pai NP, Klein MB. Are we ready for home-based, self-testing for HIV? Future HIV Therapy 2(6):515-520, 2008. Pai NP, Klein MB. Rapid testing at labor and delivery to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in developing settings: issues and challenges. Womens Health 5(1):55-62, 2009. Pai NP, Tulsky JP, Cohan D, Colford JM, Jr, Reingold AL. Rapid point-of-care HIV testing in pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Trop Med Int Health 12(2):162-173, 2007. Pant Pai N, Joshi R, Dogra S, Taksande B, Kalantri SP, Pai M, Narang P, Tulsky JP, Reingold AL. Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy, feasibility and client preference for rapid oral fluid-based diagnosis of HIV infection in rural India. PLoS One 2(4):e367, 2007. Peeling RW, Mabey D. Point-of-care tests for diagnosing infections in the developing world. Clin Microbiol Infect 16(8):1062-1069, 2010. Peter J, Green C, Hoelscher M, Mwaba P, Zumla A, Dheda K. Urine for the diagnosis of tuberculosis: current approaches, clinical applicability, and new developments. Curr Opin Pulm Med 16(3):262-270, 2010. Peter J, Haripesad A, Mottay L, Kraus S, Meldau R, Dheda K. The Clinical Utility Of Urine Lipoarabinomannan And The Novel Point-Of-Care Lateral Flow Strip Test (Determine® TB) For The Diagnosis Of Tuberculosis In Hospitalised Patients With HIV-Related Advanced Immunosuppression. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 183:A5313, 2011. Small PM, Pai M. Tuberculosis diagnosis–time for a game change. N Engl J Med 363(11):1070-1071, 2010. Steingart KR, Flores LL, Dendukuri N, Schiller I, Laal S, Ramsay A, Hopewell PC, Pai M. Commercial serological tests for the diagnosis of active pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med 8(8):e1001062, 2011. Steingart KR, Ramsay A, Pai M. Optimizing sputum smear microscopy for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther 5(3):327-331, 2007. Treatment Action Group & Stop TB Partnership. Tuberculosis Research and Development: 2011 Report on Tuberculosis Research Funding Trends, 2005-2010. Treatment Action Group, New York, New York, USA, 2011. Usdin M, Guillerm M, Calmy A. Patient needs and point-of-care requirements for HIV load testing in resource-limited settings. J Infect Dis 201(Suppl 1):S73-S77, 2010. Wallis RS, Pai M, Menzies D, Doherty TM, Walzl G, Perkins MD, Zumla A. Biomarkers and diagnostics for tuberculosis: progress, needs, and translation into practice. Lancet 375(9729):1920-1937, 2010. Weyer K, Carai S, Nunn P. Viewpoint TB Diagnostics: What does the world really need? J Infect Dis 204(Suppl 4):S1196-S1202, 2011. Wilson P, Palriwala A. Prizes for Global Health Technologies. Results for Development Institute, Washington, D.C., USA, 2011. WHO. Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis 2011 - 2015. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2010. WHO. Fluorescent light-emitting diode (LED) microscopy for diagnosis of tuberculosis: policy statement. 2011a. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/978924150 1613_eng.pdf. (Accessed Oct. 31, 2011.) WHO. Global Tuberculosis Control 2011. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2011b. WHO. Policy Statement: Automated Real-time Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology for Rapid and Simultaneous Detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampicin Resistance: Xpert MTB/RIF System. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2011c. WHO. Policy Statement: Commercial Serodiagnostic Tests for Diagnosis of Tuberculosis. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2011d. WHO. Same-day diagnosis of tuberculosis by microscopy: policy statement. 2011e. http://whqlibdoc.who. int/publications/2011/9789241501606_eng.pdf. (Accessed Oct. 31, 2011.) WHO. WHO prequalification of diagnostics programme. 2011f. http://www.who.int/diagnostics_laboratory/ evaluations/en/. (Accessed Oct. 27, 2011.) Yager P, Domingo GJ, Gerdes J. Point-of-care diagnostics for global health. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 10:107-144, 2008. [Discovery Medicine; ISSN: 1539-6509; Discov Med 13(68):35-45, January 2012. Copyright © Discovery Medicine. All rights reserved.]

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Cardiovascular Fitness and Diving, Diet and Exercise Go A Long Way But Watch Your Medications, Too By Laurie Gowen We all do when it comes to diving: it’s why we dive. Our hearts are figuratively in our diving because we enjoy our sport. But our hearts are literally in it as well. Your cardiovascular health can play a formidable part in the safety of any dive you make. So, how’s your own heart health? Checking the Numbers When DAN dive researchers look at the injury and fatality cases in our database, they glean a great deal of varied information. One of the most important facts they offer is that high blood pressure and heart disease have consistently been the most frequently reported chronic health conditions contributing to dive fatalities in the 15 years DAN has formally compiled fatality statistics. In the 2004 DAN Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration, more than 14 percent of the fatalities reported had a chronic history of high blood pressure and / or heart disease. Obesity, another factor reported in 55 percent of fatalities, is connected to heart disease and hypertension, with resulting links to poor health and poor exercise tolerance. In combination with other contributing factors, poor cardiovascular health can increase the risk of a severe or fatal dive incident. Lowering the Odds These issues can compromise your cardiovascular health: high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, congenital heart disease, cigarette smoking and a family history of heart disease. What, then, can help improve cardiovascular health? What medications for cardiovascular disease can influence someone’s ability to dive safely? Stop smoking. Cigarette smoking compromises heart and lung function, and nicotine can constrict blood vessels resulting in hypertension. Exercise regularly. Even a moderate increase in activity will improve physical fitness and increase exercise tolerance. This, in turn, will improve stamina and endurance while diving. Eat sensibly. A diet low in saturated fats and cholesterol will naturally reduce the risk of obesity and heart disease. While a family history of heart disease cannot be changed, controlling diet and increasing exercise can reduce the risk of health-related accidents and injuries. In understanding the risks, divers can make choices that positively affect their diving. With increasing age and declining cardiovascular health, Americans lead the way in using medications for help controlling high blood pressure and coronary disease, and other First-World nations see a similar trend. Chronic hypertension is associated with damage to the heart, kidneys and an increased risk of stroke. Antihypertensive medications, however, can help reduce the risk of serious illness. A common question to the DAN Medical Information Line asks about the safety of diving while taking these medications. Here are some of the more common medications and their possible adverse reactions for divers: Commonly used to treat hypertension, beta blockers have a big drawback: they can reduce the heart’s capacity for exercise and therefore affect your exercise tolerance. In addition, if medication restricts the heart’s function during exercise, then there is an increased risk of loss of consciousness, which could prove fatal underwater. Because of this effect on divers, doctors often recommend a stress test. According to Dr. Alfred Bové (Bové and Davis’ Diving Medicine, 4th Ed.), divers who use beta blockers and who can achieve a strenuous level of exercise without severe fatigue may be cleared for diving. Bové also mentions that although diving does not usually represent the maximum workload on the heart, divers taking beta blockers should avoid extreme exercise because their maximum capacity for exercise may be reduced. ACE (Angiotension-converting enzyme) inhibitors have less effect on exercise than beta blockers, so doctors prescribe them for people who exercise more often. Although ACE inhibitors seem to have fewer adverse effects on divers, they can produce a cough and airway swelling: both conditions can cause severe problems underwater. Most people can usually tolerate a mild cough on land, but if a cough due to the drug persists, many physicians will change medications. In the presence of kidney disease, ACE inhibitors should be avoided. Calcium Channel Blockers Calcium channel blockers don’t typically pose problems for divers: they relax the walls of blood vessels, reducing blood flow resistance and thus lowering blood pressure. In some cases, especially in moderate doses, a change in position from sitting or lying down to standing may cause excessively low blood pressure and a subsequent momentary dizziness. This postural blood pressure change may be a cause for concern with divers, but calcium blockers appear to have no other adverse reaction for diving. Diuretics reduce the amount of excess water and salt in the body, thus lowering the blood pressure. Divers seem to have very little trouble with diuretics, although in very warm environments, they may cause excessive water loss and dehydration. Because dehydration seems to be a contributing factor to the risk of decompression sickness, divers may want to reduce the dosage on the day of diving. Before changing dosages, however, check with your doctor. Antiarrhythmics are designed to help maintain a stable heart rhythm. Dr. Bové warns that some of the antiarrhythmics, when combined with exercise and a loss of potassium, could increase the risk of injuring the heart. Although these medicines normally do not interfere with diving, the dysrhythmia, or abnormal heart rate, for which the medication is being taken may be a contraindication to diving. Through consultation, a cardiologist and a dive medicine physician should evaluate anyone who has an abnormal heart rate and requires medication. A diver who has been prescribed an anticoagulant, e.g., Coumadin® or Warfarin®, should be warned of the potential for bleeding: excessive bleeding can occur from even a seemingly benign ear or sinus barotrauma. There is a potential risk that, if decompression illness occurs, it may then cause significant bleeding in the brain or spinal cord Get in the Know Cardiovascular disease can contribute to dive injuries as well as fatalities. Both are preventable. With increased information about cardiovascular health and fitness, divers can make better choices and increase the opportunity that every dive will be accident- and injury-free. Read all you can about your medications, consult with your doctor, and when you have questions about diving and drugs, call DAN. (c) DAN - Alert Diver November / December 2005

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|Effects of Inputs and Outputs on a Region| The purpose of this resource is to identify what enters and leaves the regional system, and how changes in the input or output of one component can affect other components. Intended for grade levels: Type of resource: Adobe Acrobat reader Cost / Copyright: For science/educational use consistent with the methodologies of the GLOBE Program. DLESE Catalog ID: GLOBE-276 Resource contact / Creator / Publisher: Author: University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) The GLOBE Program

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THE FRAGILE FAUNA OF ILLINOIS CAVES by Steven J. Taylor and Donald W. Webb Illinois has several hundred caves, many of them in nearly pristine condition. This unique and fragile environment is home to a diverse array of creatures, including organisms that are completely limited to the cave environment, species that may be found in similar habitats above ground, and the many animals that accidentally wander, fall, or are washed into caves. Many cave animals are highly adapted for the unique and harsh living conditions they encounter underground. caves can be found in four distinct karst regions: in the Mississippian limestone of the Shawnee Hills, in the Salem Plateau and in the Lincoln Hills, and in the Ordovician limestone of the Driftless Area. These caves have been forming though the interaction of geology vegetation, and rainfall for the past 300 million years. Shallow seas covered much of Illinois during the Mississippian Period. When the seas receded, forests grew over the exposed sedimentary rocks; and rainwater-which had become slightly acidic through interaction with carbon dioxide from both the atmosphere and the bacterial breakdown of organic material-then seeped into cracks and bedding planes. As the limestone dissolved, conduits formed. These conduits eventually developed the geologic features characteristic of karst terrain-caves, sinking streams, springs, and sinkholes. INTO THE TWILIGHT ZONE Caves can be divided into three ecological zones. The entrance zone is similar in light, temperature, and relative humidity to the surrounding surface habitat, and the creatures that live there resemble the animals that live in the moist shaded areas near the cave. Hear we find the eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), a small gray bird whose nest is constructed on bare bedrock walls out of mosses and other debris. In the leaf litter, we find many animals of the forest floor: redbacked salamanders, harvestmen (or daddy-longlegs), snails, earthworms, millipedes, centipedes, beetles, ants, and springtails. Cave entrances are often funnel shaped or have sheer vertical walls, and organisms and organic debris tend to concentrate at the bottom. The entrance zone also provides a highly protected environment for overwintering organisms. Deeper inside the cave, in the twilight zone, there is much less light, and photosynthesizing plants are no longer able to grow. The temperature and relative humidity fluctuate here, but the environment is usually damp and cool. Many animals from the entrance zone wander into the twilight zone, but most of these creatures must eventually return to the land above. Several species of cave crickets are common in this part of the cave, sometimes appearing in large numbers on walls or ceilings. In larger caves, there is a dark zone characterized by constant temperature (about 54-58*F in Illinois) and the absence of light. Here, the relative humidity approaches the saturation point. Many animals in the dark zone are capable of completing their entire life cycles without leaving the cave although food is scarce in the absence of photosynthesis. In this zone, there are fewer species of organisms. Creatures who live here eat primarily organic debris-wood, leaves, and accidental animals. Dark-zone dwellers get some of their nutrients from the feces of bats and cave crickets, animals that leave the cave at night to feed on the surface. Raccoons, common cave explorers in Illinois, also leave their waste behind. A wide array of bacteria and fungi feast upon these nutrient-rich items. Other animals then feed upon the fungi and bacteria. Springtails, minute insects typically overlooked by the casual observes, are important fungus feeders, and a variety of beetles, flies, and millipedes get their nourishment this way as well. These organisms may then become the prey of cave-inhabiting spiders, harvestmen, predacious fly larvae known as webworms, and an occasional cave salamander. In the winter, pickerel frogs, mosquitoes, and some moths move into cave to wait for warmer weather. ADAPTING AND SURVIVING Common Cave inhabitants include (left to right) the moth, Scoliopteryz libatrix, which does not have a comon name; the cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga); and the monorail worm (Macrocera nonilis). Animals that live in caves vary greatly in their degree of adaptation to the cave environment. Accidental animals live there only temporarily; they will either leave or die. Animals that frequent cave but must return to the surface at some point in there life cycles are know as trogloxenes. Bats and cave crickets are two examples. Troglophiles are animals that can complete their entire life cycles within a cave, but they may also be found in cool, moist habitats outside of caves. Tow troglophilic vertebrates found in or near Illinois caves are the cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga) and the spring cavefish (Forbesicthys agassizi). Diane Tecic, district heritage biologist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, looks for cave-adapted organisms in organic debris with Illinois caver Tim Sickbert. Most cave animals are trogloxenes and troglophiles; only 20 to 30% of the animals in North American caves are troglobites. Troglobites are animals that live exclusively in caves; they are especially interesting because of their unique morphological, physiological, behavioral, and life-history adaptations. Many troglobites, for example, lack body pigment. Because they live where there is no light, there is no evolutionary advantage for them in maintaining the colors that might be characteristic of their relatives and ancestors that live above ground. In cave-adapted species, the evolutionary pressure to maintain functional eyes is also greatly reduced, and these species have been under strong selective pressure to evolve other means of sensing their surroundings. Their legs and antennae usually have more sensory nerve endings than related above-ground species. These appendages serve important tactile functions and are often greatly elongated in cave-dwelling creatures. Adaptations that allow species to exist in an environment with very low nutrient input are not as obvious. Many cave-adapted species produce fewer offspring than their surface-inhabiting relatives, but individual eggs may contain more nutrients. In some species, timing of reproduction may be synchronized with spring flooding and its new supply of nutrients. Other species, lacking the above-ground seasonal cues of temperature and photoperiod, may reproduce year-round. Cave adaptations may include a reduced metabolic rate, allowing animals to live on limited food resources for long periods of time. Illinois has many troglobitic invertebrates but no troglobitic vertebrates. As cave-adapted species become specialized, they also tend to become geographically isolated. The geological and hydrological history of some areas may divide species into isolated populations, and these populations, over time, may evolve into distinct species. During glacial periods, caves, as serve as refugia for some aquatic, soil-, and litter-inhabiting animals. These species may become "stranded" in caves when glaciers retreat surface conditions are not suitable for recolonization. VULNERABITLIY OF CAVE ENVIRONMENTS Human disturbance affects cave ecosystems just as it affects other ecosystems. As a result of changes we make on the surface, we unknowingly alter cave environments, destroying unique and valuable organisms before we even know of their existence. The public knows very little about caves and the organisms that inhabit them. Small wonder then that the importance of protecting groundwater, caves, and cave life is not fully appreciated. It is not uncommon to find sinkholes filled with trash, serving as natural garbage cans for rural waste disposal. Visitors sometimes permanently damage caves with graffiti, break stalactites and stalagmites, and carelessly The very adaptations that allow troglobites to survive in the harsh cave environment make these animals more vulnerable to changes made by humans. The reduced metabolic rates that allow these animals to survive in a nutrient-poor environment also make them less competitive when organic enrichment is introduced in the form of fertilizers, livestock and agricultural waste, and human sewage. In Illinois, this effect is commonly seen in stream-inhibiting amphipods (small shrimplike animals) and isopods (small crustaceans related to terrestrial pillbugs or sowbugs). These groups contain troglobites that are highly adapted to cave environments; they also contain more opportunistic troglophilic species, which have a competitive advantage in the presence of high levels or organic waste. Amphipods and isopods feed on small particles of organic debris and on decomposers such as bacteria and fungi. Because they ingest large quantities of this material, they are exposed to contamination from a variety of pollutants. In Illinois, samples of these animals collected in 1992 were found to contain dieldrin and breakdown products of DDT. They were also found to contain moderate levels of mercury, although mercury was not detected in any water samples from the same sites. Sedimentation also threatens aquatic species. Topsoil run-off from rural development and agricultural fields enters caves readily when vegetative buffers around sinkholes are too small or nonexistent. This sediment fills the spaces in gravel streambeds, eliminating the microhabitats that allow many cavedwelling species to exist. As a result, cave streams with high sediment loads ten to contain few species. Sometimes, humans can't easily see the value of these subterranean systems, especially when their own interests conflict with the health of cave communities. Such a conflict is occurring now in our most biologically and hydrologically significant karst area, the Salem Plateau of Monroe and St. Clair counties. As part of the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, the Salem Plateau is experiencing rapid population growth. Scientists can estimate the level and types of threats that this growth brings to the biological integrity of the region, but it's much more difficult to develop protected areas, educational programs, and new regulatory mechanisms within the existing political, social, and geographic framework. Illinois caves are a high priority for conservation because cave organisms face serious threats from agriculture and increasing urbanization. Also, the unique and fragile cave and environment provides a home for organisms found nowhere else in the world. It is not usually possible to include the entire drainage basin of significant caves within nature preserves or other conservation easements. To manage a cave effectively, scientists must understand the hydrology of a cave's subterranean conduits. This knowledge is gained by doing extensive dye tracing studies and cave mapping. Both of these activities are time- and labor-intensive. Already, the drainage basins of some of our largest cave systems are being compromised by agriculture and rural housing projects. Educating the public-particularly politicians, farmers, and children-about land use and the impact of human activities is key to the long-term health of cave communities. We must also enact appropriate regulations for rural residential development-especially wastewater treatment-and for agricultural activities in a karst landscape. For more information on cave conservation and management, contact the National Speleological Society, 2813 Cave Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35810-4431, or Steven Taylor or Donald Webb at the Center for Biology, Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL 61820. Steven J. Taylor is an aquatic entomologist in the Center for Biodiversity at the Illinois Natural History Survey in Champaign. Donald W. Webb is an insect systematist, also at the Center for Biodiversity. A GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY In a few caves in Monroe and St. Clair counties, you can find a small shrimplike creature that exists nowhere else in the world. The Illinois cave amphipod has made our corner of the world its home, but it may not be here long unless humans take steps to protect its environment. This unassuming cave creature has been proposed for listing as a federally endangered species. Cave amphipods inhabit the bottoms of pools and riffles in large cave streams, where they creep among cobbles and under stones, feeding on decaying leaf litter and organic debris. Food is scarce in this environment, and the amphipods have developed chemosensory structures that detect the odor of food sources, such as dead or injured animals. Injured or dying amphipods are vulnerable to such predators as flatworms, cave salamanders, and even other amphipods. But the greatest threat these vulnerable creatures face is the deterioration of the environment. The Illinois cave amphipod lives near the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, a region that has been experiencing dramatic population growth for the past 10 years. Continued urbanization without appropriate sewage treatment and disposal is especially threatening to the amphipods existence. Other serious threats are siltation and the presence of agricultural chemicals in subterranean Fortunately for the amphipod, the quality of life for people on the land above depends on water quality in streams below. Because agricultural chemicals and bacteria associated with sewage have been found in well water, springs, and cave streams in this area, a concerted effort is being made to improve the water quality in this karst region. Efforts to provide communities with safe drinking water could also provide a healthy cave environment and help ensure the further existence of our underground neighbor, the Illinois

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Prin. of Digital Logic & Comp. Org. A study of the computer as a physical device. Uponycompletion of the course, students will understandythe basic principles of digital logic and how ityis used to build useful hardware components,yunderstand the basic organization of a computerysystem in terms of digital hardware components andyhow instructions are executed using thoseycomponents, and have the knowledge and skillsynecessary to implement high-level languageyconstructs in assembly language. Prerequisite:yInformation Science and Technology 146 orypermission.

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|Uploaded:||January 6, 2013| |Updated:||January 7, 2013| This tutorial is aimed to teach how to draw an accurate dromaeosaur, the family of theropods often called raptors, using a Velociraptor as example. The tut is divided in two parts. The first part is a basic explanation of what is and what is not a dromaeosaur: the difference between the movies/pop culture blood thirsty beasts, and the real animal (or at least an aproximation). The second part is a step-by-step to draw your own Velociraptor in a dynamic pose. Again, I simplified enough so everyone can do it easily, omiting certain details that you only can achieve by study and understanding the anatomy of the animal. Ask me if you have any doubt. Hope you like it!!

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|News by industry| |Coffee, tea, soft drink, water| |Friday, July 20, 2012||10:45| Sugary Drinks’ Contribution to Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease Warrants Call to Action from Nation’s Top Doc, Groups Say WASHINGTON - (drinks media wire) – Nearly 100 national and local health, medical, and consumer organizations, several municipal public health departments, and more than 20 prominent individuals are calling on the Surgeon General of the United States to issue a report on the health effects of soda and other sugary drinks. Citing the importance of the 1964 landmark Surgeon General’s report on tobacco use, the groups and individuals say a report on soda would appraise the health-damaging effects and alert health professionals, government officials, and consumers to the public-health impact of over-consuming sugary drinks. “Soda and other sugary drinks are the only food or beverage that has been directly linked to obesity, a major contributor to coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, and a cause of psychosocial problems,” the groups wrote in a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. “Yet, each year, the average American drinks about 40 gallons of sugary drinks, all with little, if any, nutritional benefit.” The groups say that soda and sugary drinks have a devastating effect on the health of young people in particular. Each extra soft drink consumed per day was associated with a 60-percent increased risk of overweight in children, according to one important study. Type 2 diabetes, which used to occur primarily in middle-aged and older adults, is now becoming more common among teens. Though soda consumption has declined somewhat in recent years, consumption is still dangerously high, according to the letter. Even almost half of two- and three-year-olds consume sugary drinks every day, according to the group. “Previous reports and calls to action from the Surgeon General, on topics as varied as tobacco, underage drinking, and obesity, have helped galvanize policymakers at all levels of government,” said Center for Science in the Public Interest executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “Unlike just about any other product in the food supply, sugar-based drinks are directly connected to obesity and diet-related disease. Reducing their consumption should be one of the main pillars of the government’s prevention strategy.” The call for a Surgeon General’s report on soda and sugary drinks was organized by the CSPI, and included the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, Consumer Federation of America, National Hispanic Medical Association, Prevention Institute, the Trust for America’s Health, and Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. Public health departments in Boston, El Paso, New York City, and Philadelphia also signed the letter to Sebelius. # # # The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, DC, that focuses on nutrition and food safety policies. CSPI is supported by the 900,000 U.S. and Canadian subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter and by foundation grants. |Name: Communications Department| |Company: Center for Science in the Public Interest| |Address: 1875 Connecticut Avenue - 20009 Washington| |Country: UNITED STATES| |Phone: +1 202 332 9110| |Fax: +1 202 265 4954|

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Eight new grants administered by NIDA aim to channel students' natural fascination with their behavior and their brains into appreciation and enthusiasm for neuroscience. Grantees are developing K-12 education programs that will engage young people in learning about the brain, inspire some to pursue careers in biomedical science, and increase teacher knowledge of neuroscience. The 5-year grants are funded by the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research Science Education, a cooperative effort among the 16 NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices that support neuroscience research and the Science Education Partnership Award Program of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health. Dr. Susanna Cunningham of the University of Washington, Seattle, will develop two programs in the neuroscience of learning and cognition for middle school science teachers, students, parents, and community groups. Teachers will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge by participating in a Summer Institute and online Professional Learning Community. An online project for students will be designed to broaden their knowledge of the brain and learning processes, scientific research processes, and neuroscience careers. Dr. Eric Chudler heads a University of Washington project that will teach middle school students how chemicals in plants and herbs influence health and behavior. A supplementary educational resource kit will supply teachers with inquiry-based, hands-on science activities. Students may attend a summer camp to learn more about neuroscience, mental health, neurological fitness, and careers in the biomedical sciences. Dr. Michael Kavanaugh of the University of Montana, Missoula, will collaborate with the Exploratorium in San Francisco to create the Brainzone, a neuroscience learning center. Designed for K-12 students and adults, the Brainzone will feature four exhibits, a computer learning laboratory to teach neuroscience lessons, and a working laboratory with research-grade electroencephalogram (EEG) instrumentation and materials for the study of fruit fly neurobiology. The Brainzone will open in a high-profile retail mall that tallies 7 million annual visits and will also travel to isolated, underserved, rural, and tribal schools throughout the state. Dr. Dina Markowitz of the University of Rochester in New York will develop, field test, disseminate, and evaluate hands-on activities that focus on key concepts of neuroscience for high school biology students. The activities, designed so that teachers can easily integrate them into existing curricula, will also educate students about the ways in which neuroscience research directly applies to their lives as well as about careers that require neuroscience knowledge. This project will also recruit, train, and support a network of teacher-presenters who will lead professional development workshops for their peers throughout New York and the United States. Dr. Leslie Miller of William Marsh Rice University in Houston will develop a game-based Web site to help high school students understand the role of clinical trials in the research process. Players will assume various professional roles in clinical trial simulations, learning about scientific discovery and the testing and adoption of new treatments based on neuroscience research. Dr. Nancy Moreno of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston leads a group that will develop, evaluate, and disseminate an inquiry-based science and health curriculum to enhance students' neuroscience knowledge and understanding in grades K-5. Teachers will be able to implement the curriculum, which will include elements of reading and language arts, in school or informal learning settings. Major educational Web sites—including BioEd Online (www.bioedonline.org) and K8 Science (www.k8science.org—will offer the curriculum, student activities and materials, and resources for teachers. Dr. Steven Snyder of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia will collaborate with the University of Pennsylvania to engage K-12 students and teachers in learning about the importance of neuroscience in their world through the development of programs at the Institute, a high school course, and a digital toolkit of educational materials for K-12. The programs will help students understand how the brain interacts with the rest of the body to shape responses to the environment. The activities will emphasize personal aspects of health and behavior. Dr. Louisa Stark of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City will develop inquiry-based, multimedia educational applications for touch-interface devices to teach students the neurophysiology of the five senses. The applications will demonstrate how research can lead to improved treatments for sensory impairments. Local, state, regional, and national workshops will prepare middle school and high school teachers to use the applications, which will be disseminated without charge via the Internet.

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Doctors Urge Parents to Lower Volume Controls on Holiday Electronics MONDAY Dec. 21, 2009 -- If you're giving your teenager an iPod or other music player this holiday season, consider a bonus present to help their hearing: Preset the top volume level to one-half or two-thirds of the actual maximum. That's the advice from specialists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They warn that sound over 85 decibels -- well short of the volume limit some music players carry -- can cause hearing loss. People are also at risk when they listen to music for too long. "As parents, we can't hear how loud their music is when they have the earbuds in, so this is an important step," Dr. Ron Eavey, chair of the medical center's Department of Otolaryngology, said in a Vanderbilt news release. "I can tell you that if you hear the music coming from their headphones, it is too loud, but an easier way to know for sure is to preset the device. This will still allow them to listen to and enjoy their music but will safeguard against ear-damaging volume levels." Many music players can be programmed to not allow their volume to go beyond a specified level. Anne Marie Tharpe, professor and chair of hearing and speech sciences at Vanderbilt, said in the same release that hearing loss isn't always obvious, especially in kids. "The symptoms can initially be subtle and include difficulty hearing when there is background noise. Such losses can result in significant challenges for children in classroom settings." Learn more about hearing loss from MedlinePlus. Posted: December 2009

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April 30, 2009 Dear Child Care Provider, As the number of cases of H1N1 (swine flu) virus continues to increase across the country, we wanted to make sure you had important information as a child care provider about steps you might consider taking to help keep the children in your care healthy. If a child at your facility becomes ill with flu-like symptoms, please send that child home immediately and disinfect your child care environment thoroughly. The child should be tested by their local physician to determine if they have the H1N1 virus. The child should not return to the facility until they are cleared by the doctor. Dismissal of students should be strongly considered in schools with a confirmed or a suspected case linked to a confirmed case by disease investigation (epidemiology). This determination should be made in conjunction with your Regional Office of Pubic Health Medical Director. If other facilities, such as schools, close because of a confirmed case of H1N1 virus you should resist taking these children into your center temporarily. Accepting these children into your center only negates the reason of why the facility closed in the first place - to keep the virus from spreading to others. In addition, if parents of children at the facility travel to Mexico, they should isolate themselves upon return and is up to the child care center if they will let the child return. Below are additional steps provided by the Centers for Disease Control that you should consider taking at your facility to help prevent the spread of disease, as well as share with parents. Remind children and care providers to wash their hands or use alcohol-based hand cleaners, and make sure that supplies are available to prevent the spread of germs. - Encourage care providers and children to use soap and water to wash hands when hands are visibly soiled, or an alcohol-based hand cleaner when soap and water are not available and hands are not visibly soiled. - Encourage care providers to wash their hands to the extent possible between contacts with infants and children, such as before meals or feedings, after wiping the child's nose or mouth, after touching objects such as tissues or surfaces soiled with saliva or nose drainage, after diaper changes, and after assisting a child with toileting. - Encourage care providers to wash the hands of infants and toddlers when the hands become soiled. - Encourage children to wash hands when their hands have become soiled. Teach children to wash hands for 15-20 seconds (long enough for children to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice). - Oversee the use of alcohol-based hand cleaner by children and avoid using these on the sensitive skin of infants and toddlers. - Rub hands thoroughly until the alcohol has dried, when using alcohol-based hand cleaner. - Keep alcohol-based hand cleaner out of the reach of children to prevent unsupervised use. - Ensure that sink locations and restrooms are stocked with soap, paper towels or working hand dryers. - Ensure that each child care room and diaper changing area is supplied with alcohol-based hand cleaner when sinks for washing hands are not readily accessible. Alcohol-based hand cleaner is not recommended when hands are visibly soiled. Keep the child care environment clean and make sure that supplies are available. - Clean frequently touched surfaces, toys, and commonly shared items at least daily and when visibly soiled. - Use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered household disinfectant labeled for activity against bacteria and viruses, an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant, or EPA-registered chlorine bleach/hypochlorite solution. Always follow label instructions when using any EPA-registered disinfectant. If EPA-registered chlorine bleach is not available and a generic (i.e., store brand) chlorine bleach is used, mix ¼ cup chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of cool water. - Keep disinfectants out of the reach of children. Remind children and care providers to cover their noses and mouths when sneezing or coughing. - Advise children and care providers to cover their noses and mouths with a tissue when sneezing or coughing, and to put their used tissue in a waste basket. - Make sure that tissues are available in all nurseries, child care rooms, and common areas such as reading rooms, classrooms, and rooms where meals are provided. - Encourage care providers and children to wash their hands or use an alcohol-based hand rub as soon as possible, if they have sneezed or coughed on their hands. In addition, CDC recommends that if a child, parent or care provider becomes ill and experiences any of the following warning signs, emergency medical care should be sought. In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include: - Fast breathing or trouble breathing - Bluish skin color - Not drinking enough fluids - Not waking up or not interacting - Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held - Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough - Fever with a rash During this health crisis, please continue to monitor the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) website for the most up to date and relevant information related not only to your personal health but also to the operation of your child care facility. The Department of Social Services follows the recommendations of DHH regarding community health issues. A special web site regarding the H1N1 virus has been set up by DHH at http://www.flula.com. In addition, below are some additional links that provide information that might be useful. Information for Child Care Providers: Preventing the Spread of flu Thank you for your continued service to Louisiana's children and families. Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education

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The chart said the patientís problem today was a painful spider bite. It seemed a little unlikely to me, because I donít see too many of the creepy critters in mid-January, but I agreed to take a look. What I found was a big angry red bump on the patientís lower back. It was about the size of a half-dollar and very tender. Right in the center was a pustule (the medical term for a zit). A brief discussion with the patient revealed this had happened to his spouse a couple of weeks before. Was it a spider infestation? Not quite. This is the one of the commonest presentations of a different kind of critter Ė a microscopic one Ė known as community-acquired MRSA. MRSA stands for methicillin resistant staph aureus. This antibiotic-resistant bug first appeared years ago in hospitals. Itís still there. Unfortunately, the bug has become so common that it made the jump to the community setting. MRSA has also become so common that it is now one of the leading causes of skin and soft-tissue infections. As with its cousin, staph aureus, once exposed, a person can carry this bacteria on the skin without knowing it. However, MRSA is a bit more potent and can take advantage of minor skin injury to enter the soft tissue and cause deeper infection. Sometimes, MRSA starts as a pimple and may resolve without treatment. Other times it may begin as, or evolve, to become a deeper infection under the skin. The resulting red, painful, hard bump is frequently mistaken for a spider bite. Left unattended, the infection may abscess, forming a pocket of pus (also known as a boil). Sometimes, pus will spontaneously drain. Not uncommonly, it becomes necessary for the doctor to drain the abscess using a scalpel blade (after injecting a local anaesthetic to numb it). The earlier MRSA skin and tissue infections are diagnosed, the better. I have seen abscesses become quite large and deep. These are more difficult to treat and take longer to heal. Even though MRSA is resistant to some antibiotics, thankfully, MRSA infections can still be treated with other types of antibiotics when needed. For small abscesses, sometimes scalpel drainage is all that is needed. People with weakened immune systems may be more susceptible to recurrent MRSA infection. This includes people on immune suppressing drugs, those with chronic illness and the elderly. Of course, the whole problem with resistant bacteria began with, and continues to be, the overuse of antibiotics. These powerful drugs should be saved for true bacterial infections in situations where they have been shown to benefit. The decision about when to use antibiotics should be part of an honest conversation with your health-care provider. Dr. Matthew A. Clark is a board-certified physician in internal medicine and pediatrics practicing at the Ute Mountain Ute Health Center in Towaoc.

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There are many types of biomass—organic matter such as plants, residue from agriculture and forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes—that can now be used to produce fuels, chemicals, and power. Wood has been used to provide heat for thousands of years. This flexibility has resulted in increased use of biomass technologies. According to the Energy Information Administration, 53% of all renewable energy consumed in the United States was biomass-based in Biomass technologies break down organic matter to release stored energy from the sun. Biofuels are liquid or gaseous fuels produced from biomass. Most biofuels are used for transportation, but some are used as fuels to produce electricity. The expanded use of biofuels offers an array of benefits for our energy security, economic growth, and environment. Current biofuels research focuses on new forms of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, and on biofuels conversion processes. Ethanol—an alcohol—is made primarily from the starch in corn grain. It is most commonly used as an additive to petroleum-based fuels to reduce toxic air emissions and increase octane. Today, roughly half of the gasoline sold in the United States includes 5%-10% ethanol. Biodiesel use is relatively small, but its benefits to air quality are Biodiesel is produced through a process that combines organically-derived oils with alcohol (ethanol or methanol) in the presence of a catalyst to form ethyl or methyl ester. The biomass-derived ethyl or methyl esters can be blended with conventional diesel fuel or used as a neat fuel (100% biodiesel). Biomass resources include any plant-derived organic matter that is available on a renewable basis. These materials are commonly referred to Biomass feedstocks include dedicated energy crops, agricultural crops, forestry residues, aquatic crops, biomass processing residues, municipal waste, and animal waste. Dedicated energy crops Herbaceous energy crops are perennials that are harvested annually after taking 2 to 3 years to reach full productivity. These include such grasses as switchgrass, miscanthus (also known as elephant grass or e-grass), bamboo, sweet sorghum, tall fescue, kochia, wheatgrass, and others. Short-rotation woody crops are fast-growing hardwood trees that are harvested within 5 to 8 years of planting. These include hybrid poplar, hybrid willow, silver maple, eastern cottonwood, green ash, black walnut, sweetgum, and sycamore. Agricultural crops include currently available commodity products such as cornstarch and corn oil, soybean oil and meal, wheat starch, and vegetable oils. They generally yield sugars, oils, and extractives, although they can also be used to produce plastics as well as other chemicals and Agriculture Crop Residues Agriculture crop residues include biomass materials, primarily stalks and leaves, that are not harvested or removed from fields in commercial use. Examples include corn stover (stalks, leaves, husks, and cobs), wheat straw, and rice straw. With approximately 80 million acres of corn planted annually, corn stover is expected to become a major feedstock for biopower Forestry residues include biomass not harvested or removed from logging sites in commercial hardwood and softwood stands as well as material resulting from forest management operations such as pre-commercial thinning and removal of dead and dying trees. There are a variety of aquatic biomass resources, such as algae, giant kelp, other seaweed, and marine microflora. Biomass Processing Residues Biomass processing yields byproducts and waste streams that are collectively called residues and have significant energy potential. Residues are simple to use because they have already been collected. For example, the processing of wood for products or pulp produces unused sawdust, bark, branches, and leaves/needles. Residential, commercial, and institutional post-consumer waste contains a significant proportion of plant-derived organic material that constitute a renewable energy resource. Waste paper, cardboard, wood waste, and yard waste are examples of biomass resources in municipal waste. Farms and animal-processing operations create animal wastes that constitute a complex source of organic materials with environmental consequences. These wastes can be used to make many products, including Some biomass feedstocks, such as municipal waste, are found throughout the United States. Others, such as energy crops, are concentrated in the eastern half of the country. As technologies develop to more efficiently process complex feedstocks, the biomass resource base will expand. Collecting Gas from Landfills Landfills can be a source of energy. Organic waste produces a gas called methane as it decomposes, or rots. Methane is the same energy-rich gas that is in natural gas, the fuel sold by natural gas utility companies. It is colorless and odorless. Natural gas utilities add an odorant (bad smell) so people can detect seeping gas, but it can be dangerous to people or the environment. New rules require landfills to collect methane gas as a pollution and safety measure. compiled from The British Antarctic Study, NASA, Environment Canada, UNEP, EPA and other sources as stated and credited Researched by Charles Welch-Updated daily This Website is a project of the The Ozone Hole Inc. a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization http://www.theozonehole.com

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Solar could be answer to rising energy bills Research by leading free solar installer A Shade Greener shows that solar could be the answer to rising energy bills. Recent research shows that energy prices have double from 1990 to 2011 leaving consumers struggling to pay their energy bills. According to official figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change the average cost of a domestic electricity bill is now £533 and consumers are paying an average of 13.55 pence per kilowatt hour for their energy. The official DECC energy trends publication shows the real cost that consumers paid for their electricity during 2011. A typical solar electric system has been shown to cut a households electric bill by 37% reducing the average UK bill by £197 based on 2011 DECC figures. The current availability of free solar, the drop in solar costs over the last 2 years and the governments upcoming Green Deal means that consumers have a range of options to use solar PV at home. Energy costs are predicted to rise significantly over the next 25 years with a typical household electricity bill breaking the £1,000 mark before then. Stewart Davies, Director of A Shade Greener urged, "Energy bills are only going to get more expensive and we need to be helping households that spend a large proportion of their household income on energy. Solar can help insulate those families against these inevitable price rises." Stewart continued to demonstrate; "According to our figures a typical household could save nearly £5,000* on their energy bills over a typical 25 year solar pv system lifetime based on 2011 figures provided by DECC. Our customers are currently saving a combined 1.7 million pounds a year on their electricity bills." *The nearly £5,000 figure is calculated by multiplying the annual £197 saving over 25 years, the agreement time of ASG's free systems. It does not however take into account future energy price rises or inflation which would greatly increase this figure. It is the lowest income households that are getting hit hardest by rising domestic energy costs. It is only due schemes such as the forthcoming Green Deal and privately funded free solar that are allowing lower income households to be able to benefit.

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In the September issue of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, there was an Industry Watch story titled “Efficiency from the Wall to the PC,” about an organization that is campaigning for more efficient power “cords.” There was a reference to a quote indicating only 50 percent of the power that leaves the outlet reaches the PC because energy “leaks” out of inefficient power cords. However, a typical PC line cord has 0.3 ohms of resistance. If the computer consumes 720W, that is 6A on 120V circuit. The power loss in the cord is 6A^2*0.3 ohm = 7.8W. Relative to the computer itself, that is approximately a 1 percent loss of power delivered from the outlet, a 99 percent efficiency rating. A few readers wrote to us about the inaccurate terminology. It should have read power “supplies,” and, of course, energy does not literally “leak” out of the power cord. It is lost within the inefficient components, such as the computer’s power supply. As with most power quality issues, Ohm’s and Kirchoff’s Laws still apply here. These rules are how we calculate the voltage and current through an electrical distribution system or an electronic circuit. Next, we need another similar equation, where power = voltage × current (though not necessarily a simple math multiplication in most cases with today’s systems). Finally, the formula for efficiency is useful power output divided by the total electrical power consumed. In electrical engineering terms used by the utility companies, this definition equates to the parameter called “power factor” (PF). Many people today use the term “true power factor,” which is the watts (W) divided by the volt-amperes (VA). This agrees with the definition above. The W is the power used by the load. It is divided by the VA, which is the power delivered by the utility company, to obtain the PF. Of course, having a term called “true power factor” implies there is another term called “false power factor,” which isn’t correct; the opposite term is “displacement power factor” (DPF), which is the cosine of the angle between the voltage and current. In the old days prior to harmonic distorted and unbalanced systems, PF and DPF would be equal—but not anymore. However, that is a discussion for another day. The Web site from which the misworded quotes originated explains the inefficiency of the individual voltage regulators on other boards within the computer, as well as the load of the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to remove the heat from the building, and so on, further reducing the efficiency. Since most HVACs today use adjustable speed drives to be more efficient, the efficiency of the heat removal depends on the load that is directly impacted by the ambient temperature and emitted temperature from the loads, among other factors. The article on the Web site references an Electric Power Research Institute study on the efficiency of power supplies themselves. Efficiency of just a computer’s power supply depends on a number of factors, including the percentage of full-rated power that is being drawn from power supply, operating temperature, input AC voltage level and so on. What this graph doesn’t tell is, at lower loading, the current harmonic distortion goes up. So the real efficiency would have to account for the increased losses in the power transformers due to harmonic currents. Of course, the lower load means less power itself is being consumed, hence less carbon, energy and, therefore, money. You can see that determining the true efficiency of a computer needs accounting for many variables that can make the answer vary quite significantly. So, I advise anyone to take any claims of money savings through efficiency with a grain of salt. What I really think is important is not the efficiency, but the effectiveness of the power supplied. Efficiency should not be confused with effectiveness: A system that wastes most of its input power but produces exactly what it is meant to is effective but not efficient. The term efficiency only makes sense in reference to the desired effect. Examples include the incandescent light bulb—2 percent efficiency at emitting light; electronic amplifier—50 percent efficiency to speakers; and electric kettle—90 percent efficiency in boiling water. In a computer, the efficiency is significantly affected by the microprocessor. This has been brought to the forefront with AMD’s introduction of its newly minted quad-core processor, which is code-named Barcelona. According to InfoWorld, “the chip delivers more than twice the combined integer and floating-point performance of its two-core predecessor at the same thermal envelope … . That, to me, is a textbook example of a green technological advancement. It means AMD has minted a processor with significantly higher performance per watt than its predecessor, a metric that’s becoming increasingly important to datacenter operators.” So to readers who spotted the miswording that, if true, would have resulted in changing the laws of physics with regards to power cords efficiency, thank you for helping to get this corrected. And to those concerned about efficiency, perhaps we should broaden the scope to encompass the complete picture of effectiveness—what power the electric utility must supply to perform the work the consumer requires, whether a computer or an entire facility. EC BINGHAM, a contributing editor for power quality, can be reached at 732.287.3680.

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AS the electoral turmoil faded into the background, Ukraine marked two important anniversaries last week. The first was eight years since the Orange Revolution of 2004. The second was eight decades since the Holodomor. Holodomor literally means death by hunger. In 1932 and 1933, a vast famine in Soviet Ukraine killed three to seven million people, according to estimates. While people starved, the grain was shut away in barns for export. Many historians agree that the famine was man-made; some say it was genocide. Yet the Holodomor is not widely known about outside Ukraine. In the 1930s, it was hushed up by many western correspondents in return for access to the Kremlin. Among them was Walter Duranty of the New York Times, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from the USSR. (There have been calls to revoke his Pulitzer posthumously, so far unsuccessful). One of the exceptions was Welsh journalist Gareth Jones whose reporting of the Ukrainian famine had him banned from the USSR. He was later killed in mysterious circumstances at the age of only 29. Meanwhile, the cover-up has left “profound consequences for Ukraine, which remains poorly understood in the West,” says Rory Finnin, a lecturer in Ukrainian Studies at Cambridge University, where Mr Jones had been a student. Viktor Yushchenko, the former president of Ukraine, did a lot to raise awareness about the Holodomor. Kyiv now houses a stirring candle-shaped memorial and Holodomor museum. But the leader of the 2004 Orange Revolution has fallen from grace. In the October elections, Mr Yushchenko’s party, Our Ukraine, got just 1% of the vote, losing all its 72 seats in parliament. On the anniversary of the Orange Revolution last week only a small crowd gathered on the legendary Independence Square. Someone had brought along a portrait of Yulia Tymoshenko, the heroine of the Orange Revolution who remains behind bars. Another woman held a single orange. The tragedy of 1932-1933 has become politicised. In his view of the Holodomor, the current president, Viktor Yanukovych, has differed from his predecessor. For the third year now, the commemorations took place without state support. Even so, on November 23rd events went ahead in cities across Ukraine. People could taste the dishes made out of tree bark that were eaten during the famine. Other symbolic actions evoked the “uncelebrated weddings”, the “unrealised talents” and the “meetings that never took place”. This year, the focus was on those who saved others from starvation. Before dusk 2,000 people gathered under the Holodomor memorial in Kyiv, decorated with loaves of bread, bunches of wheat and a sea of candles. At 4pm, there was a moment of silence and people across Ukraine lit candles in their windows. Octogenarian Kateryna, who grew up in the countryside before moving to Kyiv in the 1940s, was sitting beside a candle burning in her kitchen. She heaps sugar into her china teacup. “Three spoonfuls!”, she says. “In Ukraine we remember the hunger. Perhaps that is why we are fond of sugar”.

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In this lecture you will learn how to undertake Solving Quadratic Systems. First you will start with Linear Quadratic Systems as well as their Solutions, before you move into Quadratic Quadratic Systems and their Solutions. Lastly, you will learn how to solve Systems of Quadratic Inequalities. linear-quadratic system, use substitution to solve. quadratic-quadratic system, use elimination to solve. inequalities, remember the conventions about graphing boundaries using either solid or dotted lines. If possible, check your solutions to systems of equations by graphing. Solving Quadratic Systems Lecture Slides are screen-captured images of important points in the lecture. Students can download and print out these lecture slide images to do practice problems as well as take notes while watching the lecture.

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One of the more difficult and uncomfortable types of pain comes from nerve pain (called Neuropathic Pain or Neuropathies). Whether the pain comes from diabetes, shingles, fibromyalgia, chemotherapy, or a host of other causes, this searing, burning, electric shock kind of pain can leave you miserable. Unfortunately, most physicians are still not trained in treating nerve pain, and give anti-inflammatory medications like Motrin (which are not effective) or narcotics, which are modestly effective. The good news is that NERVE PAIN IS VERY TREATABLE. Many studies have shown that using nutritional support with lipoic acid 300 mg 2x day, Acetyl L-Carnitine 500-1,500 mg 2x day, Inositol (500-1,000 mg a day), and Vitamins B6 (50-100 mg a day) and B12 (500-5,000 mcg a day—both B vitamins and Inositol are in the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder) can actually help heal the nerves and decrease or eliminate the pain. Nerves take time to heal, so natural remedies need to be taken for 3-12 months. In the interim, Holistic Pharmacies can make powerful creams combining multiple medications effective against nerve pain (available by prescription from ITC Pharmacy 303-663-4224). These are rubbed over the painful areas, and can be very effective after 1-2 weeks of use. Being rubbed on the skin though, the total dose to the rest of your body is very low, making it largely side effect free! Other medications can also be VERY effective. Just because doctors are not trained in pain management does not mean you have to be in pain. Want to make your nerve pain go away? You can! What is Nerve Pain? The term "neuropathic pain," or nerve pain, refers to a wide range of problems that cause diseases of, or injury to, the nervous system. It is a category of pain syndromes and not a single problem. Neuropathic pain can come from malfunction of nerves or the brain associated with illness (e.g., diabetes, low thyroid, etc.), infections (e.g., shingles), pinched nerves, nutritional deficiencies (e.g., vitamin B6 and B12), injury (e.g., stroke, tumors, spinal cord injury, and multiple sclerosis), and medication/treatment side effects (e.g., radiation and chemotherapy, AIDS drugs, Flagyl®). It is estimated that 50 to 80 percent of diabetics will develop some nerve injury with 30 to 40 percent of these having painful diabetic neuropathy unless preventive measures are taken such as nutritional support. Neuropathic pain affects approximately 0.6 to 1.5 percent of the US population and 25 to 40 percent of cancer patients.1 This represents over two million Americans. Neuropathies are characterized by pain that is burning, shooting (often to distant areas), or stabbing. It also has an "electric" quality about it. "Tingling or numbness" (paresthesias) and increased sensitivity with normal touch being painful (allodynia) are also commonly seen. Ongoing pain is often continually present regardless of what the patient does or does not do. In some cases, pain comes in sudden attacks without any apparent trigger. Diagnosis is made predominantly by history and physical examination, as testing often offers little benefit clinically unless the testing is looking for a treatable cause. As with other pain problems, neuropathies are both expensive and poorly treated. In one study of 55,686 patients with neuropathic pain, health care charges were three-fold higher than they were in the overall population ($17,355 vs. $5,715 per year, respectively). Use of relatively ineffective therapies such as NSAIDs (e.g. Motrin®) and opioids was widespread, while relatively few received anti-epileptic drugs, tricyclic anti-depressants, or any of the many other medications that are often much more effective in relieving neuropathic pain.2 In the presence of nerve pain, it is especially important to look for treatable causes. Lab testing should include: 1. A blood count (CBC) and an inflammation/sedimentation rate (ESR). 2. Thyroid testing with a Free T4 and TSH. 3. Vitamin B12 level. 4. Screening for diabetes with a morning fasting blood sugar and a glycosylated hemoglobin (HgBA1C). The medical history should be assessed for excess alcohol use, vitamin deficiencies, hereditary factors, or treatment with medications that can cause nerve injury. A neurological examination may also give an indication of the cause. Nerve pain is often associated with a process called pain Central Sensitization. The nerves and brain are like wires that carry information. When they become over-stimulated with chronic pain, it may make the whole system over-excitable. In these situations normal touch and other usually comfortable contact can be painful. This is called allodynia. Medications that stimulate the "calming (GABA) receptors" in the brain, such as a number of anti-seizure medications (see below), can help settle the system and decrease pain. Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN) Postherpetic Neuralgia follows a rash called herpes zoster. Often called shingles, it is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The first time you get chickenpox, the virus remains in your nerve endings even after the chickenpox is gone. This usually causes no problems. If the virus re-activates in one of the nerve endings, however, it causes a rash all along the distribution of the nerve. The rash of herpes zoster is characterized by being painful and being in a line totally on one side of the body. If it extends past the midline of your body, the rash is probably coming from something else. If the pain persists after the rash is gone, continuing for weeks to years (over one year in half of elderly patients), it is called Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN). The pain tends to be burning, electric, or deep and aching. PHN affects between 500,000 and 1 million Americans—most of which are elderly. It can severely disrupt one's life, but fortunately can now be effectively treated in most cases.3 Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (PDN) This is the most common cause of neuropathy in U. S. Alterations in sensation are common, and the feet, which are most often affected, may feel both numb and painful at the same time. There are many factors contributing to nerve injury in diabetes, including decreased circulation, accumulation of toxic byproducts, damage from elevated sugars, and nutritional deficiencies. There are also changes in NMDA and opiate receptors.3 Research has shown that many people who are labeled as having diabetic neuropathy actually experience neuropathic pain caused by vitamin B6 or B12 deficiency. In addition, the nutrients inositol has been shown to improve nerve function. The nutrients lipoic acid and Acetyl L-Carnitine have also been shown to be very helpful for diabetic nerve pain, but it can take 3-12 months to begin nerve healing. So give them time to work. Neuropathic pain can also be caused by deficiencies of vitamins B12, B1, B6, D, E and zinc (all are present in the Energy revitalization System). A number of studies have shown that different kinds of nerve pain can improve by supplementation with high dose B vitamins. Excess vitamin B6 (over 500 mg a day for years), however, can also cause neuropathy. Vitamin D 2,000 units a day was also shown to decrease diabetic neuropathy pain by 47% after 3 months. In patients with long-standing shingles pain, one study showed that taking 1,600 units of vitamin E (use the natural form) daily before a meal for 6 months was markedly helpful in eliminating the pain.4 Another study showed that taking lower doses for less than 6 months was not effective.5 Hormonal deficiencies, especially an under-active thyroid, can also cause neuropathic as well as muscular pain. A therapeutic trial of thyroid hormone is reasonable for anybody who has the symptoms of low thyroid including fatigue, cold intolerance, achiness, having low body temperatures, or unexplained inappropriate weight gain. A pinched nerve can cause nerve pain in many places in the body. Two of the more common ones are low back pain from sciatica and pains in the hand and sometimes wrist from carpal tunnel syndrome. Sciatica usually goes away without surgery by using intravenous colchicine (see Chapter 14 of Pain Free 1-2-3), and carpal tunnel syndrome usually resolves after 6 to 12 weeks with vitamin B6 (250 mg a day), thyroid hormone, and wrist splints (see Chapter 19). Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (CRPS) This usually manifests as horribly severe pain in one hand or foot but can certainly spread elsewhere. See the end of this chapter in the Pain Free 1-2-3 book for a detailed discussion on effective treatment. How Can I Make the Neuropathic Pain Go Away? Neuropathic pain occurs biochemically, making it a very fluid system that can often be quickly modified, resulting in pain relief. Many different chemicals (neurotransmitters) in your body may be involved in your pain, and therefore it is worth trying different types of medications to see which ones work best in your case. For many, treating the nutritional and thyroid deficiencies and eliminating the muscle spasms, which are compressing your nerves, may be enough to eliminate your pain. Others may need to take medications to suppress the pain while we look for ways to eliminate the underlying cause. The best way to tell which chemicals are involved in your nerve pain is to simply try different medications (individually and, if needed, in combination) to see what eases your pain. Basically, it is like trying on different shoes to see what fits best. The good news is that we have a large assortment of "shoes" that you can try on and that are likely to help you. It is, of course, critical to begin by eliminating the underlying causes of neuropathy and giving the nerves what they need to heal. This includes the nutritional support we've discussed. In addition, the involvement of free radicals in nerve excitation was found in 1995, supporting the use of antioxidants in nerve pain.8 Since that time, the antioxidant lipoic acid (300 mg 2 times a day) has been shown to be helpful in diabetic neuropathy and should be tried in other neuropathies as well. You will be amazed at how much benefit you may get over time simply from optimizing nutritional support. In addition, if you are tired, cold intolerant, experience achiness, have low body temperatures, or have weight gain I think it is reasonable to consider a therapeutic trial of natural thyroid hormone regardless of your blood levels. It may take 3 to 6 months for the thyroid and/or nutritional therapies to begin working, but regardless of the cause of your neuropathy, this treatment may result in nerve healing. It is reasonable to begin medications along with the nutritional support so that you can get pain relief as quickly as possible. If only a small area is involved, it makes sense to begin with a Lidocaine® patch (called Lidoderm). Otherwise, I prefer to begin with Neurontin® and/or tricyclic anti-depressants. All of the recommended oral nutrients discussed in this chapter, except lipoic acid, Acetyl L-Carnitine, and the 1,600 unit mega dose of vitamin E, are contained in the Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder and B-complex. For carpal tunnel syndrome, add 200 mg of B6 to the powder. Below are just some of the different categories of treatments that can be helpful for nerve pain. They (along with the natural treatments) are discussed in more detail in my book Pain Free 1-2-3. Begin with the nutritional and thyroid support as noted above. You can then add the medications below as needed in the order that they're listed. 1. Lidocaine® patch, 5 percent. This Novocain®-like patch is applied directly over the area of maximum pain. It can be cut to fit the area, and up to four patches can be used at a time (although the package insert says only three). It is left on for 12 hours and then removed for 12 hours each day, although recent reports have suggested that the patch can be left on up to 18 hours and still be safe and effective.3 Results will usually be seen within two weeks. Because the effect is local, side effects are minimal. The most common side effect is a mild skin rash from the patch. It should not be used if you have an allergy to Novocain/lidocaine. The patches are most likely to be helpful if the pain is localized to a moderately-sized area. Even in a large area, however, patches can be used on the most uncomfortable spots. The main downside of the patches is that they are expensive. If you have prescription insurance, however, they will usually be covered. 2. Neurontin® and other seizure medications. Newer anti-seizure medications, and some of the older ones, can also be very helpful for neuropathic pain. Neurontin has been shown to be helpful for both shingles and diabetes pain.9-11 Common side effects include sedation, dizziness, and sometimes mild swelling in the ankles when first starting therapy. These side effects can often be avoided by starting with a low dose and raising the dose slowly. A common total dose for Neurotonin is 600 mg, 3 to 4 times a day. 3. Tricyclic anti-depressants. These include medications such as Elavil®, Tofranil®, nortriptyline or doxepin. 4. Topical Gels. A wonderful new addition to the treatment of pain in general, and especially nerve pain, is the use of prescription topical gels. New gels have been developed that markedly increase the absorption of medications through the skin. By using a low dose of many different medications in the cream, one can get a powerful effect locally with minimal side effects. It is best to have a knowledgeable compounding pharmacist (e.g., ITC Pharmacy 303-663-4224) guide you and your physician in the prescribing of these creams and gels. To explore an example of how to treat with these creams combined with nutritional support, let's use the example of diabetic neuropathy. One must, of course, begin with proper control of the elevated blood sugars. Nutritional support with high levels of vitamin B12, B6, and inositol are also important in diabetic nerve pain as are many other nutrients, such as vitamins C and E, magnesium, antioxidants and bioflavonoids (all in the Energy Revitalization System). In addition, lipoic acid 300 mg 2 times a day has been shown to be helpful for diabetic neuropathy. A compounded gel containing (as one of many possible mixes) Ketamine 10 percent, Neurontin® 6 percent, clonidine 0.2 percent, and nifedipine should be added to painful areas (apply 1 g 3 times a day as needed). The nutritional support can actually make the pain go away over time, while the cream/gel can add symptomatic relief. Other medications discussed in this chapter can then be added as needed to assist in the neuropathic pain. 5. Anti-depressants such as Effexor or Cymbalta. 6. Ultram (Tramadol®). This is an interesting medication that works on many areas of pain and in many different types of pain. It has been shown to be effective for nerve pain in a placebo-controlled study after four weeks.20 7. Topamax (Topiramate®). 8. Lamictal (Lamotrigine®). 9. Lyrica (Pregabalin) or Gabitril (Tiagabine®). 11. Trileptal® (oxcarbazepine). 14. Narcotics. Narcotics are only modestly helpful but are considered an accepted treatment for neuropathic pain. 15. Benadryl® (diphenhydramine). Sometimes we get help from unexpected places. Studies have shown in both humans and animals that antihistamines can help pain—in spite of our not knowing why this works. It has even been found to be helpful in patients who failed treatment with heavy narcotics. It is recommended that you start with 25 mg every 6 to 8 hours and adjust the dose to the optimum effect.29A Most people find that long term the nutritional and topical therapies will eliminate or at least give marked relief from their nerve pain. For immediate control, 1-2 medications by mouth are usually enough, but I give this long list (and more treatments are discussed in my book) so that you know that you have options and can get pain free. To find a physician who knows how to treat pain, see the American Academy of Pain Management website. Used with permission from Dr Jacob Teitelbaum's free newsletters-available at www.Vitality101.com Learn more from Dr. Teitelbaum's books:

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Please note that Mommsen uses the AUC chronology (Ab Urbe Condita), i.e. from the founding of the City of Rome. You can use this reference table to have the B.C. dates From: The History of Rome, by Theodor Mommsen Translated with the sanction of the author by William Purdie Dickson Tarentum Taken by Hannibal The year 542 was more unfavourable for the Romans in consequence of fresh political and military errors, of which Hannibal did not fail to take advantage. The connections which Hannibal maintained in the towns of Magna Graecia had led to no serious result; save that the hostages from Tarentum and Thurii, who were kept at Rome, were induced by his emissaries to make a foolhardy attempt at escape, in which they were speedily recaptured by the Roman posts. But the injudicious spirit of revenge displayed by the Romans was of more service to Hannibal than his intrigues; the execution of all the hostages who had sought to escape deprived them of a valuable pledge, and the exasperated Greeks thenceforth meditated how they might open their gates to Hannibal. Tarentum was actually occupied by the Carthaginians in consequence of an understanding with the citizens and of the negligence of the Roman commandant; with difficulty the Roman garrison maintained itself in the citadel. The example of Tarentum was followed by Heraclea, Thurii, and Metapontum, from which town the garrison had to be withdrawn in order to save the Tarentine Acropolis. These successes so greatly increased the risk of a Macedonian landing, that Rome felt herself compelled to direct renewed attention and renewed exertions to the Greek war, which had been almost totally neglected; and fortunately the capture of Syracuse and the favourable state of the Spanish war enabled her to do so. Do you see any typos or other mistakes? Please let us know and correct them Reference address : http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/rome/3-06-war-hannibal-cannae-zama.asp?pg=54

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Located in downtown San Salvador, this architectural marvel from the nineteenth century has witnessed some of the most important events in the political history of El Salvador. The first national palace was built from 1866 to 1870 but a fire wiped-out the structures on December 1889; years later the government of Pedro José Escalón (1903) conducted a public contest for the design and construction of the new palace. The winner of the contest was José Emilio Alcaine, engineer and master builder Pascasio González Erazo. Considered the first building of the Republic, it was also called “The Coffee Palace “, because a legislative decree taxed coffee exports to pay for the construction. 1 Columbus per 1 Quintal (100 kilograms) was charged, in total 50 thousand Colones were collected. The main portal is composed of six towering columns that are accompanied by the statues of Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabel the Catholic, donated by King Alfonso XIII in 1924. The Palace has an eclectic style, with Ionic, Corinthian and Roman columns and elements. This beautiful building retains most of its original materials like glassware from Belgium, marble from Italy and wood from El Salvador. Over the years this building was abandoned, but in 1980 it was declared a National Monument, which prompted restoration work to rescue this historic treasure. The National Palace was opened to the public in 2008. Nowadays you can visit 101 rooms (out of 105 rooms) that make-up this masterpiece and look at the colorful floors and walls made out of stamped sheets brought from Belgium. - Red Room: This room served to hold social and political events. Here are you will see 14 medallions that represent the 14 departments that make up El Salvador. There are also portraits of presidents General Fernando Figueroa, Francisco Morazán, Francisco Menendez, Rafael Campos, Captain Gerardo Barrios and Manuel Enrique Araujo, who after his assassination in 1913,was mourned in this room. - Pink Room: This is where the Supreme Court met until 1974 and guards the original Salvadoran coat of arms. - Yellow Room: This room served as the president’s office until 1930, important meetings and negotiations took place in this room. - Blue Room: perhaps the most important of the rooms as it currently holds the original 28 desks and chairs where the congressmen sat to discuss El Salvador’s legislative matters. -The Jaguar Hall; has impressive murals depicting indigenous culture themes. Among the many corridors there is a permanent exhibition of photographs which displays the evolution of the building from 1889 onwards. Inside the Palace there is a central patio with varied vegetation. There are 5 araucaria pine trees representing the five nations of Central America. As part of the restoration process, the original floor of the first building was recovered. There are also three canons used in the war led by Gerardo Barrios. Currently the Palace is a tourist attraction and a place for special social gatherings. It is under the management of the Ministry of Culture of the Presidency and houses “El Archivo General de la Nación” (National Archives), in addition to carrying-out several exhibitions each year. Visit this national treasure in the heart of San Salvador and discover a facet of El Salvador’s impressive history. How to get there: This National Palace is located on Calle Rubén Darío, across from Plaza Gerardo Barrios, near the Metropolitan Cathedral and The National Library in downtown San Salvador. If driving there is parking available in The National Library or in the parking lots nearby at US$ 0.50 per hour. - Bus Routes available: Route A, R-1, 2, Route 6-A, Route 11, 11-B, 11-C, Route 22, Route 23 Route 26. Ticket US$ 0.20, US$ 0.25, US$ 0.35 Other routes: 3, 9, 34, 38-And, 41-A, 42, 42-A, 42-B. Ticket US$ 0.20, US$ 0.25, US$ 0.35 • Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission: - Salvadoran or Central American US$ 1.00 USD - Foreign US$ 3.00 USD - School and university tudents and staff: FREE • Phone (503) 2222-7674 (503) 2222-9415 Elevation 2203 feet N 13 ° 41,862 ‘ In 89 ° 11,495 ‘ NOTICEThe information presented in this Promotion Listing Services and destinations of El Salvador is a reference guide. Prices, rates, promotions or details such as the number of people, opening hours, input or output times, meal times, Cymbal ingredients, duration of tours, Sites on tour etc.. and phone numbers, websites or email addresses and physical, and other data can change without prior notice of the hotels, restaurants, Tour operators, inns and other businesses in the tourism industry in this digital catalog. The Ministry of Tourism and the Salvadoran Tourism Coorporación, and its advertising agency and any other company or individual subcontracted for lifting and collection of this information has no responsibility for any variation in the data. It is always suggested to respective queries to verify.

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Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. In many cases MRI gives different information about structures in the body than can be seen with an X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT) scan. MRI also may show problems that cannot be seen with other imaging methods. For an MRI test, the area of the body being studied is placed inside a special machine that contains a strong magnet. Pictures from an MRI scan are digital images that can be saved and stored on a computer for more study. The images also can be reviewed remotely, such as in a clinic or an operating room. In some cases, contrast material may be used during the MRI scan to show certain structures more clearly. Why It Is Done Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is done for many reasons. It is used to find problems such as tumors, bleeding, injury, blood vessel diseases, or infection. MRI also may be done to provide more information about a problem seen on an X-ray, ultrasound scan, or CT scan. Contrast material may be used during MRI to show abnormal tissue more clearly. An MRI scan can be done for the: How To Prepare Before your MRI test, tell your doctor and the MRI technologist if you: You may need to arrange for someone to drive you home after the test, if you are given a medicine (sedative) to help you relax. For an MRI of the abdomen or pelvis, you may be asked to not eat or drink for several hours before the test. You may need to sign a consent form that says you understand the risks of an MRI and agree to have the test done. Talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding the need for the test, its risks, how it will be done, or what the results will mean. To help you understand the importance of this test, fill out the medical test information form(What is a PDF document?). How It Is Done A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test is usually done by an MRI technologist. The pictures are usually interpreted by a radiologist. But some other types of doctors can also interpret an MRI scan. You will need to remove all metal objects (such as hearing aids, dentures, jewelry, watches, and hairpins) from your body because these objects may be attracted to the powerful magnet used for the test. You will need to take off all or most of your clothes, depending on which area is examined (you may be allowed to keep on your underwear if it is not in the way). You will be given a gown to use during the test. If you are allowed to keep some of your clothes on, you should empty your pockets of any coins and cards (such as credit cards or ATM cards) with scanner strips on them because the MRI magnet may erase the information on the cards. During the test you usually lie on your back on a table that is part of the MRI scanner. Your head, chest, and arms may be held with straps to help you remain still. The table will slide into the space that contains the magnet. A device called a coil may be placed over or wrapped around the area to be scanned. A special belt strap may be used to sense your breathing or heartbeat. This triggers the machine to take the scan at the right time. Some people feel nervous (claustrophobic) inside the MRI magnet. If this keeps you from lying still, you can be given a medicine (sedative) to help you relax. Some MRI machines (called open MRI) are now made so that the magnet does not enclose your entire body. Open MRI machines may be helpful if you are claustrophobic, but they are not available everywhere. The pictures from an open MRI may not be as good as those from a standard MRI machine. See pictures of a standard MRI machine and an open MRI machine. Inside the scanner you will hear a fan and feel air moving. You may also hear tapping or snapping noises as the MRI scans are taken. You may be given earplugs or headphones with music to reduce the noise. It is very important to hold completely still while the scan is being done. You may be asked to hold your breath for short periods of time. During the test, you may be alone in the scanner room. But the technologist will watch you through a window. You will be able to talk with the technologist through a two-way intercom. If contrast material is needed, the technologist will put it in an intravenous (IV) line in your arm. The material may be given over 1 to 2 minutes. Then more MRI scans are done. An MRI test usually takes 30 to 60 minutes but can take as long as 2 hours. How It Feels You will not have pain from the magnetic field or radio waves used for the MRI test. The table you lie on may feel hard and the room may be cool. You may be tired or sore from lying in one position for a long time. If a contrast material is used, you may feel some coolness and flushing as it is put into your IV. In rare cases, you may feel: There are no known harmful effects from the strong magnetic field used for MRI. But the magnet is very powerful. The magnet may affect pacemakers, artificial limbs, and other medical devices that contain iron. The magnet will stop a watch that is close to the magnet. Any loose metal object has the risk of causing damage or injury if it gets pulled toward the strong magnet. Metal parts in the eyes can damage the retina. If you may have metal fragments in the eye, an X-ray of the eyes may be done before the MRI. If metal is found, the MRI will not be done. Iron pigments in tattoos or tattooed eyeliner can cause skin or eye irritation. An MRI can cause a burn with some medication patches. Be sure to tell your health professional if you are wearing a patch. There is a slight risk of an allergic reaction if contrast material is used during the MRI. But most reactions are mild and can be treated using medicine. There also is a slight risk of an infection at the IV site. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body. The radiologist may discuss initial results of the MRI with you right after the test. Complete results are usually ready for your doctor in 1 to 2 days. An MRI can sometimes find a problem in a tissue or organ even when the size and shape of the tissue or organ looks normal. What Affects the Test Reasons you may not be able to have the test or why the results may not be helpful include: Many modern medical devices that do not use electronics—such as heart valves, stents, or clips—can be safely placed in most MRI machines. But some newer MRI machines have stronger magnets. The safety of MRI scans with these stronger MRI magnets in people with medical devices is not known. What To Think About eMedicineHealth Medical Reference from Healthwise To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Find out what women really need. Most Popular Topics Pill Identifier on RxList - quick, easy, Find a Local Pharmacy - including 24 hour, pharmacies

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A urinary catheter is a small, flexible tube that can be inserted through the urethra and into the bladder, allowing urine to drain. The urethra is the tube that carries urine outside the body from the bladder. A urinary catheter may be used for someone who is unable to urinate or who has difficulty moving and getting to the bathroom. It is also used to collect a urine sample from someone who is very ill or unable to provide a clean-catch urine specimen. Catheterization reduces the risk that the sample will be contaminated. eMedicineHealth Medical Reference from Healthwise To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Find out what women really need. Most Popular Topics Pill Identifier on RxList - quick, easy, Find a Local Pharmacy - including 24 hour, pharmacies

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Blood Transfusions for Sickle Cell Disease During a blood transfusion, a person (the recipient) receives healthy blood from another person (the donor). The donated blood is carefully screened for diseases before it is used. Before receiving a blood transfusion, the recipient's blood is analyzed closely (using blood type) to make sure the donor blood is a close match to the recipient's. Blood is transfused into an arm vein slowly over 1 to 4 hours (except in an emergency when blood is transfused more quickly). Blood transfusions can: What To Expect After Treatment Following a blood transfusion, doctors keep a close watch on the person for any negative reactions. Hospital staff will also check for iron buildup in the body (iron overload). This can develop when a person gets many transfusions. Why It Is Done A blood transfusion lowers the amount of hemoglobin S red blood cells in the body. When there are fewer sickled hemoglobin S cells in the bloodstream, they are less likely to build up and block blood vessels. Blood transfusion also increases the number of normal red blood cells in the body, increasing the supply of oxygen to the body. Some sudden complications of sickle cell disease cause the body's red blood cell count to drop to life-threatening levels (severe anemia). When severe, these conditions (including splenic sequestration, acute chest syndrome, and aplastic crisis) can be fatal if not treated with blood transfusions. Chronic severe anemia from kidney failure may need treatment with periodic blood transfusions. After having general anesthesia and surgery, people with sickle cell disease are at risk for sickling-related problems and acute chest syndrome. Blood transfusions before surgery can prevent or treat these complications. Red blood cell sickling-related complications (vaso-occlusion) Blood transfusions can treat acute chest syndrome and leg ulcers. Frequent blood transfusions may help prevent strokes in children who already had a stroke or are at high risk for a first stroke. How Well It Works Blood transfusion is an effective and proven treatment for some severe complications of sickle cell disease.1 Blood transfusions reduce the risk of some complications of sickle cell disease and improve symptoms of severe anemia. A person receiving many blood transfusions will gradually collect too much iron in the body (iron overload). Very high levels of iron can lead to hemochromatosis, which can be fatal if untreated. After 10 to 20 blood transfusions, iron chelation treatment can help rid the body of excess iron. A person receiving repeat blood transfusions may develop antibodies to the donor blood. This is called alloimmunization. Alloimmunization makes repeated transfusions more difficult. It occurs in about 1 out of 4 people who have sickle cell disease and who get frequent transfusions.2 A transfusion reaction can result from mismatched blood type. And it may occur immediately or days later (5 to 20 days after transfusion). An acute transfusion reaction ranges from mild (fever, chills, and rash) to severe (shock, severe anemia, painful event, and death). What To Think About If you have repeated blood transfusions, you'll have routine testing for iron buildup in your body. Though blood transfusions are an effective treatment for sickle cell disease complications, they are only used selectively. The risks of hemochromatosis and alloimmunization from repeat transfusions makes this procedure more suitable for severe and high-risk conditions. Doctors and researchers continue to weigh the benefits against the risks of preventive blood transfusions. Repeat blood transfusion treatment for 3 to 5 years can reduce the number of repeat strokes in children who have sickle cell disease. It helps prevent a second stroke in most children. But some children who get repeat transfusions will still have a second stroke. eMedicineHealth Medical Reference from Healthwise To learn more visit Healthwise.org © 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. Find out what women really need. Most Popular Topics Pill Identifier on RxList - quick, easy, Find a Local Pharmacy - including 24 hour, pharmacies

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Who Is Affected by Raynaud's Phenomenon Who Is Affected by Raynaud's Phenomenon? About 10% of people are affected by one of two kinds of Raynaud's phenomenon:1 - Primary Raynaud's (sometimes called Raynaud's disease) has no known cause. It is more common than the secondary form of Raynaud's. It occurs most often in women. - Secondary Raynaud's (sometimes called Raynaud's syndrome) usually causes more severe symptoms and may develop as the result of other diseases, such as lupus, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, or atherosclerosis. Other causes of secondary Raynaud's include taking certain medicines, using vibrating power tools for several years, smoking, or having frostbite. Klippel JH (2008). Raynaud phenomenon. In K Wolff et al., eds., Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine, 7th ed., vol. 2, pp. 1643–1648. New York: McGraw-Hill. |Primary Medical Reviewer||Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine| |Specialist Medical Reviewer||Stanford M. Shoor, MD - Rheumatology| |Last Revised||June 30, 2010|

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Most women have a vaginal yeast infection at some time. Candida albicans is a common type of fungus. It is often found in small amounts in the vagina, mouth, digestive tract, and on the skin. Usually it does not cause disease or symptoms. Candida and the many other germs that normally live in the vagina keep each other in balance. However, sometimes the number of Candida albicans increases, leading to a yeast infection. This can happen if you are: Taking antibiotics used to treat other types of infections. Antibiotics change the normal balance between germs in the vagina by decreasing the number of protective bacteria. A pelvic examination will be done. It may show swelling and redness of the skin of the vulva, in the vagina, and on the cervix. The health care provider may find dry, white spots on the vaginal wall. There may be cracks in the skin of the vulva. Sometimes, a culture is taken when the infection does not improve with treatment or comes back many times. Your health care provider may order other tests to rule out other causes of your symptoms. Medications to treat vaginal yeast infections are available in either creams or suppositories. Most can be bought without a prescription. Treating yourself at home is probably okay if: Your symptoms are mild and you do not have pelvic pain or a fever This is not your first yeast infection and you have not had many yeast infections in the past You are not pregnant You are not worried about other sexually transmitted diseases from recent sexual contact Medications you can buy yourself to treat a vaginal yeast infection are: Read the packages carefully and use them as directed. Do not stop using these medications early because your symptoms are better. You will need to take the medicine for 3 - 7-days, depending on which medicine you buy. If you do not get get repeated infections, a 1-day medicine might work for you. You doctor can also prescribe a medicine called fluconazole. This medicine is a pill that you only take once. If your symptoms are more severe or you have repeat vaginal yeast infections, you may need: Medicine for up to 14 days Clotrimazole vaginal suppository or fluconazole pill every week to prevent new infections To help prevent and treat vaginal discharge: Keep your genital area clean and dry. Avoid soap and rinse with water only. Sitting in a warm, but not hot, bath may help your symptoms. Avoid douching. Although many women feel cleaner if they douche after menstruation or intercourse, it may actually worsen vaginal discharge because it removes healthy bacteria lining the vagina that protect against infection. Eat yogurt with live cultures or take Lactobacillus acidophilus tablets when you are on antibiotics to prevent a yeast infection. Use condoms to avoid catching or spreading sexually transmitted infection (STI). Avoid using feminine hygiene sprays, fragrances, or powders in the genital area. Avoid wearing extremely tight-fitting pants or shorts, which may cause irritation. Wear cotton underwear or cotton-crotch pantyhose. Avoid underwear made of silk or nylon, because these materials are not very absorbant and restrict air flow. This can increase sweating in the genital area, which can cause irritation. Use pads and not tampons. Keep your blood sugar levels under good control if you have diabetes. The symptoms usually disappear completely with adequate treatment. Chronic or recurrent infections may occur if you do not get the proper treatment or have an underlying medical condition. It is important for your doctor to check you for diseases that can lead to yeast infections, such as diabetes. Secondary infection may occur. A lot of scratching may cause the area to crack, making you more likely to get an infection. Repeat infections that occur immediately after treatment, or a yeast infection that does not respond to any treatment, may be an early sign of HIV. Calling your health care provider Call your health care provider if: This is the first time that you have had symptoms of a vaginal yeast infection You are not sure if you have a yeast infection Your symptoms don't go away after using over-the-counter medicines Your symptoms get worse You develop other symptoms Avoid persistent and excessive moisture in the genital area by wearing underwear or pantyhose with cotton crotches, and loose-fitting slacks. Avoid wearing wet bathing suits or exercise clothing for long periods of time, and wash them after each use. Biggs WS, Williams RM. Common gynecologic infections. Prim Care. 2009 Mar;36(1):33-51, Merritt DF. Vulvovaginitis. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 543. Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine; Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Bellevue, Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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Promising practice: India’s civil law, Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, includes dowry-related harassment as a form of domestic violence (Section 3(b)). It is important dowry-related violence and deaths be prohibited under criminal laws, as well. (See Harmful practices against women in India: An examination of selected legislative responses, p. 10.) The Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act (2005) of India defines domestic violence as follows: 3. Definition of domestic violence.-For the purposes of this Act, any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in case it - (a) harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or (b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or (c) has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or (d) otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person. Explanation I.-For the purposes of this section,- (i) "physical abuse" means any act or conduct which is of such a nature as to cause bodily pain, harm, or danger to life, limb, or health or impair the health or development of the aggrieved person and includes assault, criminal intimidation and criminal force; (ii) "sexual abuse" includes any conduct of a sexual nature that abuses, humiliates, degrades or otherwise violates the dignity of woman; (iii) "verbal and emotional abuse" includes- (a) insults, ridicule, humiliation, name calling and insults or ridicule specially with regard to not having a child or a male child; and (b) repeated threats to cause physical pain to any person in whom the aggrieved person is interested. (iv) "economic abuse" includes- (a) deprivation of all or any economic or financial resources to which the aggrieved person is entitled under any law or custom whether payable under an order of a court or otherwise or which the aggrieved person requires out of necessity including, but not limited to, household necessities for the aggrieved person and her children, if any, stridhan, property, jointly or separately owned by the aggrieved person, payment of rental related to the shared household and maintenance; (b) disposal of household effects, any alienation of assets whether movable or immovable, valuables, shares, securities, bonds and the like or other property in which the aggrieved person has an interest or is entitled to use by virtue of the domestic relationship or which may be reasonably required by the aggrieved person or her children or her stridhan or any other property jointly or separately held by the aggrieved person; and (c) prohibition or restriction to continued access to resources or facilities which the aggrieved person is entitled to use or enjoy by virtue of the domestic relationship including access to the shared household. Explanation II.-For the purpose of determining whether any act, omission, commission or conduct of the respondent constitutes "domestic violence" under this section, the overall facts and circumstances of the case shall be taken into consideration. Chapter II, 3 4. (1) A single act may amount to domestic violence. (2) A number of acts that form a pattern of behaviour may amount to domestic violence even though some or all of the acts when viewed in isolation may appear minor or trivial. Part II 4 (See: the Combating of Domestic Violence Act (2003) of Namibia (hereinafter law of Namibia) Part I 2 (3) and (4)) Defining dowry-related violence and dowry “any property or valuable security given or agreed to be given either directly or indirectly- (a) by one party to a marriage to the other party to the marriage; or (b) by the parents of either party to a marriage or by any other person, to either party to the marriage or to any other person; at or before [or any time after the marriage] [in connection with the marriage of the said parties, but does not include] dower or mahr in the case of persons to whom the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) applies. (See: Dowry Prohibition Act, India, 1961, Art. 2) (See: Domestic Violence) Previous Topic Drafting the legislative preamble and contents

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Jun 3, 2011 / ENERGY GLOBE Award Project presentation - "Recycling island" Micronesia is an idyllic island paradise with a few flaws in its beauty. The islands’ wastes are either deposited at a landfill, exported, or all too often simply dumped into the sea. Plastic bottles, aluminum cans and even auto batteries are disposed in this way. Maria Stephens wanted to do something against her home becoming a garbage dump. Furthermore, why should raw materials be thrown away? “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” was her motto as she accepted this challenge and developed a recycling system in cooperation with Micronesia Eco Inc. for the island Kosrae. Now waste is collected and sold as valuable raw material – a win/win situation for the island and its population. A special recycling option was found for the waste glass: It is ground and added to concrete to make shoreline stabilization structures more robust than with concrete alone. Another advantage for the environment is that the energy for treating the wastes comes exclusively from solar sources. Maria Stephens, mother of a two-year old, cites the motivation for her work: “I take care of our environment, I take care of the others, so I take care of myself.”

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Click on a thumbnail to see the full-size image The Story of Why Engine Oil Becomes Engine Sludge In engines that have failed prematurely, the oil has very often been transformed into a high viscosity deposit of brown or black goo, commonly referred to as "sludge." By Don Fedak Fresh engine oil is a clear, free-flowing liquid blend of base stock and additives that contains no fuel, water, coolant, dirt, or other When regular engine oil changes are neglected, normally free-flowing lubricating oil breaks down, becomes contaminated, ceases to flow, and is transformed into a thick soup of waste products. That’s when serious engine damage is imminent. Why does engine oil break down, combine with contaminants, and form sludge deposits? Chemistry teaches that engine oil is unstable and decomposes in the presence of oxygen at high temperature. The process, called oxidation, occurs naturally after exposure to normal operating conditions for extended periods of time and is accelerated by exposure to severe operating conditions or to excessively high temperatures. Alternatively, accelerated oxidation may be triggered by a combination of any or all of these factors. During oxidation, the chemical bonds that define the oil molecules are broken, and some of the reaction products accumulate and interact to form a highly viscous complex mixture of solids, liquids, and gases that contain a variety of solid carbon-based dirt and metallic particles, as well as liquid coolant, fuel, oil and water droplets. But what can we possibly learn from a sludged engine? Consider our reliable 40-year-old 10-hp shop compressor that has delivered zillions of cubic feet of pressurized air daily from its ambient temperature shelter. While the electric motor and the V-belts have been replaced twice, the only other routine service this air-cooled V4 compressor has received, other than having the condensed water drained from the tank, is an occasional oil change. When the used, unfiltered HD-30 oil is drained from its crankcase it shows no evidence of contamination or oxidation and looks like fresh oil. A typical internal combustion engine is just an air compressor in which fuel is mixed with compressed air and then burned. The combustion process generates heat and a variety of reaction products, some of which enter the crankcase as blow-by and contaminate the oil, e.g., fuel, soot, water and other normal reactants, products and byproducts. Even though the oil temperature is high enough to boil off and extract all the water and other volatile contaminants via the PCV system, this crankcase broth will inevitably change into a deposit that does not drain when the oil is changed. Air-cooled gas or diesel engines are just air compressors in which the engine oil is subject to oxidation because they are exposed to higher temperatures and contamination by combustion products. If the engine is liquid-cooled, the engine oil may also become contaminated with coolant. Lesson #1: Sludge deposits in internal combustion engines can indicate either stop-and-go driving, lack of proper maintenance, too low or too high an oil temperature or oil contamination. Sludge formation is not a new problem. In fact, sludge deposits limited the durability of early internal combustion engines. Over the years, oil base stocks were improved, detergent oil additives were developed to keep microscopic sludge-forming solid particles in suspension, anti-oxidation additives were developed to slow the formation of these sludge deposit precursors, and engine oil filters were fitted to remove suspended solid particles from the oil stream and slow the formation of flow restricting sludge deposits on internal surfaces. Changes in engine oil formulation and treatment accelerated with the introduction of "permanent" glycol-based coolant, another oil contaminant that may accelerate sludge formation. With the recent increased popularity of wet-sleeved engines, as well as the introduction of alternative but incompatible coolants, we are seeing more engine bearing failures. Lesson #2: Sludge deposits may be due to inferior oil, deterioration of the oil additives or contamination by coolant. When "detergent oils" first appeared, everyone’s engine repair business increased. Tired, worn out engines, full of sludge deposits because they had always been serviced with non-detergent oils, were ill advisedly transfused with detergent oil, which promptly attacked the sludge deposits. Engine bearing surfaces were flooded with oil containing a high concentration of newly suspended sludge particles. And during the phase-in of detergent engine oils, a number of chemical elixirs for "engine oil desludging" appeared. With current engines, we often encounter similar failures when engines are accidentally overfilled and loosen normally benign engine deposits. Unless you’re very young or your principal residence is a cave, none of this should be news. Lesson #3: Absence of sludge deposits may indicate the crankcase has been "flushed," especially if fresh oil contains an excessive concentration of solids. Some years ago we sold some oil, a filter and a pan gasket for a 366 truck engine to a customer who initially was asked to do a routine oil change. He eventually had to remove the oil pan because the engine oil had thickened and would not flow out of the drain hole. Once he removed the pan bolts, the oil pan, very heavy because it was full of thick black goo, fell to the floor. The bozo who had previously contracted to "service" this fleet vehicle had repeatedly neglected to drain the old oil when he changed the filter and topped up the level of the used oil. Exposed to heat for an extended period of time, the old oil eventually oxidized and transformed into a black mass resembling thick molasses or Le Brea tar pits’ crude. Lesson #4: Always be suspicious of maintenance information. Today, we see a lot of sludged engines because of two different factors, the trend to ever-higher engine oil temperatures (oil coolers help) and the tendency to neglect or postpone routine maintenance, especially in the case of leased vehicles. When a yuppy BMW owner volunteered that his "Service Engine" light was designed to indicate when he should add some engine oil, I suggested that he might want to change it to read: "Too Late." Engine noises and low oil pressure are obvious indications of inadequate engine bearing lubrication. So, when oil sludge is also found, overextended drain intervals, elevated oil temperatures and/or contamination should be considered as the most likely causes. But there are always exceptions. Experienced custom engine builders understand that all sludge deposits are not necessarily due to abuse and neglect. When we find a lot of sludge in an engine, we always try to pinpoint the cause(s), do what we can to avoid a repeat occurrence and advise the customer or the installer how to minimize engine sludge formation. Today, as in earlier times, new and remanufactured engine durability is directly related to the recognition, control and elimination of all factors that support engine sludge formation including, but not limited to, lack of proper maintenance, inappropriate oil temperature, use of an inferior engine oil, and engine oil contamination. More Most Read Articles...

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