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New Delhi, Sept. 8 THAT India ranked 127th in the 2005 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focussing on three measurable dimensions - living a long and healthy life, being educated and having a decent standard of living - is a testimony to the mixed record of economic reform the country embraced in 1991. The report credits India as a success story for globalisation by dint of moving into the premier league of world economic growth with high technology exports booming. The incidence of income poverty has fallen from 36 per cent in the early 1990s to somewhere between 25 and 30 per cent today. Even as exact figures are widely disputed due to problems with survey data, the report contends that overall "the evidence suggests that the pick-up growth has not translated into a commensurate decline in poverty". What is disturbing is that improvements in child and infant mortality are slowing down and India is now off-track for these millennium development goals. The report cites the paradoxical situation where some of India's southern cities might be in the midst of a technology boom, but one in every eleven Indian children dies in the first five years of life for lack of "low-technology, low cost interventions. Malnutrition, which has barely improved over the past decade, affects half the country's children. About one in 4 girls and more than one in 10 boys do not attend primary school." Explaining the conundrum of why accelerated income growth not propelled India onto a faster poverty reduction tack, the report said extreme poverty is concentrated in rural areas of the northern poverty-belt States including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, while income growth has been most dynamic in other States, urban areas and services sectors. Rural poverty has fallen rapidly in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu but less progress has been achieved in the Northern States. At a national level, rural unemployment is rising, agricultural output is increasing at less than two per cent a year, farm wages are stagnating and growth is virtually "jobless", the report observes. The deeper problem plaguing India is its human development legacy. Pervasive gender inequalities, interacting with rural poverty and inequalities between States are undermining the potential for translating growth into human development. Illustrating this, it said girls aged 1-5 are 50 per cent more likely to die than boys which translates into 1,30,000 "missing" girls. If India closed the gender gap in mortality between girls and boys aged 1-5 that would save an estimated 1.30 lakh lives, reducing its overall child mortality rate by 5 per cent. About one-third of India's children are under weight at birth, reflecting poor maternal health. Stating that inadequate public health provision exacerbates vulnerability, only 42 per cent of children are fully immunised as revealed by national health surveys, even 15 years had elapsed after universal childhood immunisation was introduced. Coverage is lowest in the States with the highest child death rates and less than 20 per cent in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The report rightly rebukes India that it might be "a world leader in computer software services, but when it comes to basic immunisation services for children in poor rural areas, the record is less impressive". Noting that state inequalities interact with gender and income-based inequalities, it said States such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are marked by some of the deepest gender inequalities. It said girls born in Kerala are five times more likely to reach their fifth birthday, are twice as likely to become literate and are likely to live 20 years longer than girls born in Uttar Pradesh. The report stated that translating economic success into human development advances would require public policies aimed explicitly at broadening the distribution of benefits from growth and global integration, increased public investment in rural areas and services and political leadership to end poor governance and address the underlying causes of gender inequality. While taking note of the $1.5 billion National Rural Health Mission targeting some three lakh villages to raise public health spending from 0.9 per cent of national income to 2.3 per cent and also spending on education, the report aptly counsels that converting enhanced outlays into improved outcomes would demand "a stronger focus on effective delivery and measures to improve the quality of public services". So the outlay versus outcome motto matters now more than ever before if India is to make tangible success in human development initiatives. That is the long and short of this year's UNDP report on human development index in India.

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Dragonflies go thirsty in the Mediterranean 29 September 2009 | International news release One fifth of Mediterranean dragonflies and damselflies are threatened with extinction at the regional level as a result of increasing freshwater scarcity, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Climate change and habitat degradation, due to the way land is managed, are also affecting the insects, says the report. The assessment of 163 Mediterranean dragonflies and damselflies shows five are Critically Endangered, 13 are Endangered, another 13 are Vulnerable, 27 are Near Threatened, 96 are Least Concern and six are Data Deficient, meaning there is not enough information to classify them, but they might also be threatened. “It is likely things will only get worse for these unique species as climate change and increased water demand take their toll,” says Jean Pierre Boudot, member of the IUCN Dragonfly Specialist Group and co-author of the report. “Lower levels of precipitation and drought will lead to degradation of the habitats where the majority of dragonflies and damselflies live.” Four species are already listed as Extinct in the Mediterranean, including the Little Whisp (Agriocnemis exilis), the Common Pond Damsel (Ceriagrion glabrum), the Phantom Flutterer (Rhyothemis semihyalina) and the Darting Cruiser (Phyllomacromia africana). Dragonflies are generally known for being good indicators of water quality. Major threats for 67 percent of these Mediterranean species are habitat degradation and pollution. The Spotted Darter (Sympetrum depressiusculum), which used to be common in the Mediterranean, is now listed as Vulnerable and is declining due to the intensification of agricultural practices in rice fields. Fourteen percent of these insect species can be found only in Mediterranean freshwater ecosystems, some of the richest and most threatened habitats, among which nine have been assessed as Endangered or Vulnerable. According to the report, the highest numbers of endemic dragonflies are present in the South and West of the Mediterranean, with the Maghreb and the Levant areas being regional hotspots of endemism. The majority of the threatened species are concentrated in the Levant, southern Turkey and Balkans, northeast Algeria and northern Tunisia. The Glittering Demoiselle (Calopteryx exul), for example, is listed as Endangered and is in decline. It inhabits the aquatic habitats of the Maghreb, whose ecosystems are under pressure due to water-harnessing for human use, water pollution, irrigation and drought. Long-term coordinated actions are needed at regional, national and international level, and the results of this report highlight the responsibility that Mediterranean countries have to protect the global populations. Though some species are already receiving some conservation attention thanks to international laws, such as the Ornate Bluet (Coenagrion ornatum) which is included in the European Habitat Directive, others are not protected at all, despite their high risk of extinction. “The selection and protection of key sites are essential to ensure the survival of these species,” says IUCN’s Annabelle Cuttelod, co-author of the report. “Their ecological requirements need to be taken into account in the planning and management of water use, especially for agriculture purposes or infrastructure development. IUCN Red List data can inform both processes.” For more information or to set up interviews, please contact: - Sonsoles San Román, IUCN-Med Communication Officer, t +34 952 028430, e email@example.com - Sarah Horsley, IUCN Media Relations Officer, t +41 22 999 0127, m +41 79 528 3486, e firstname.lastname@example.org Notes to editors - In addition to the Mediterranean odonata assessment, 1,912 species of amphibians, birds, cartilaginous fishes, endemic freshwater fishes, crabs and crayfish, mammals, and reptiles have been assessed to date in the Mediterranean region. About 19 percent of these species are threatened with extinction: 5 percent Critically Endangered, 7 percent Endangered and 7 percent Vulnerable. - The assessment was carried out with the support of relevant scientists from the countries bordering the Mediterranean Basin in collaboration with the IUCN Dragonfly Specialist Group, to which they contributed with their expertise to gather the data, and to assess the conservation status that would be the basis for future conservation action. - This project was funded by the European Commission, the Mava Foundation and the Spanish Agency for Cooperation and Development (AECID). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is the most comprehensive conservation inventory of the world’s plant and animal species and a widely used tool for focusing attention on species of conservation concern. The assessments evaluate the conservation status of individual species, identify threatening processes affecting them and, if necessary, propose recovery objectives for their populations. www.iucnredlist.org . The IUCN Red List threat categories are the following, in descending order of threat: - Extinct or Extinct in the Wild - Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable: species threatened with extinction - Near Threatened: species close to the threatened thresholds - Least Concern: species evaluated with a low risk of extinction - Data Deficient: no evaluation because of insufficient data Species classified as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered are considered Threatened. Click on the photos below for high resolution versions. Please note these photos may only be reproduced in connection with a story on this press release.

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Development of women and children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) Development of women and children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) was launched as a sub scheme of IRDP during the year 1982-83 in 50 districts. It subsequently extended to cover all the districts in the country by 1994-95. The flow of benefits to poor women, in spite of reservation, under various poverty alleviation programmes viz. IRDP and TRYSEM were found to be not making much impact. Therefore, in order to overcome this situation and to involve the rural women more intensely in economic activities and matters that concerns the rural community. One of the initiatives taken by this ministry was the introduction of an exclusive programme for women viz. Development of women & children in rural areas. DWCRA with exclusive focus on economic empowerment of women provides all these inputs by considering women as critical to development. This intervention aims at not only raising the incomes of rural women of poor households, but also enabling organized participation of groups of women provides all these inputs by considering women as critical to development: also enabling organized participation of groups of women in the programmes of credit, skill training and infrastructure support for self-employment. DWCRA was introduced for ensuring that the benefits of IRDP reach to women directly. The programme seeks to improve the access of rural women to health, education, safe drinking water, sanitation, nutrition etc; thereby bringing about an enhancement in the quality of general well being of women & children. The basic unit under DWCRA is a group of 10-15 poor women who have come together to help each other in order to use their collective strength to break social bonds that have denied them income generating and self-fulfilling opportunities. The group size may be smaller in difficult terrain and far-flung areas. One woman amongst the members functions as the group organizer who helps in the choice of activity, procurement of raw material, marketing of products. Before undertaking the activities women were made aware of the objectives and benefits of group information under the scheme; undertaking their potential and recognizing their strength. At the operational level inputs/coaching for such an exercise by the group is given by gram sevika for a period of two years, who not only creates a group but also nurtures the group and orients them in availing of benefits of various other programmes/schemes. Implementing Agency and Staffing Pattern DWCRA is being implemented by the district Rural Development Agencies to facilitate the implementation of scheme one post of Assistant Project officer (Woman) has been sanctioned to be part of the DRDA team. One additional post of Gram Sevika has also been sanctioned at the block level to look after the activities of the groups. This is addition to the two Gram Sevika in the normal block pattern. The Assistant Project officer (APO), the additional Gram Sevika along with two Gram Sevikas and Mukhya Sevika already available with CD Block from a team to help in the implementation of DWCRA. The conduct preliminary surveys of the area, and establish contacts with the rural women, identifying their constraints and needs. The team is responsible for monitoring and follow up. The APO is to help in establishing contracts with different agencies, in mobilisation of resources and training facilities, also to look after the day to day administration of the scheme within the DRDA. Implementation of the entire DRDA is the overall responsibility of the entire DRDA team headed by the project officer or Project Director. Community Based Convergent Services The Community Based Convergent Services (CBCS), as a component of DWCRA was started in 1991 in a few districts of the country is a pilot programme. The objective was to create greater awareness among the village communities to enable them to demand social services provided by the state in a better manner and also share responsibilities in the management and implementation of these services, thus, leading to sustainable development. Traditional methods like visuals, role play, folk art, puppetry, dance and drama etc, are some of the means employed for sensitizing the community to the basic needs. The Programme seeks to strengthen existing organization of rural poor women, encourage the level of social and economic status of women. The programmes of ICDS, Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, and National Literacy Mission (NLM) are some of the programmes which are sought to be converged at the grass roots level- 298 districts community based convergent Services (CBCS) with cent per cent Central assistance at Rs. 5.00 Lakhs per district. Child Care Activities Child Care Activities (CCA) has been incorporated in DWCRA Programme during 1995-96 with the following objectives: - To provide crèche services for children of working DWCRA women. - Setting up of literacy centres of DWCRA women with specific emphasis on girl child dropouts and illiterate members of the DWCRA groups. - Filling up critical gaps in the areas of immunization, nutrition etc. for the children of DWCRA members with special focus and emphasis on the girl child to reduce gender disparities in the infant girl child care. - To provide some relief to the physically handicapped children of DWCRA members. To provide immediate relief and pay for legal assistance in case of redressal of physical abuse of the girl child. - Children below 6 years are the target group under child Care Activities. Each DRDA is to receive Rs. 1.50 lakhs (Rs. 1.00 lakhs Central Share and Rs. 50,000 as state share) for child care Activities. Each DWCRA group gets Rs. 25,000 as Revolving Fund to meet capital expenditure requirement of economic activities. Expenditure on revolving fund was being shared equally by the central government, state Government and UNICEF till 1994-95. UNICEF assistance was not available from 1.1.96. The revolving fund has been increased from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 during 1995-96. Presently, the expenditure for revolving fund is being shared by the centre and state on 50:50 bases. Initially no specific coverage of vulnerable groups such as SC/STs was fixed. However, during the year 1997-98, it has been made compulsory that 50% of the groups have to be women belonging to SC/ST. Priority has to be given to physically handicapped persons and also girls and women rehabilitated from prostitution.

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Since about 1999, most automotive manufactures began to incorporate transponders into car keys. The purpose of these “chip-keys” is to add security to your investment, and lower the cost of automotive insurance. Most people are unaware that transponders are embedded inside the heads of their car keys. How do they work? When you turn your car on, it first checks to make sure the key is a digital match. In most vehicles, transponder readers are fixed directly to the ignition. Transponders do not require battery, however they must be within an inch or two of the transponder reader. The transponder reader sends a challenge message to the car key and if it reads the key as a good key, the car will start. Your local locksmith is often the best person to see about having additional keys added. Keys can usually be removed from memory as well as added, this is helpful if you have had your keys lost or stolen. We recommend having at least one spare transponder key. Losing your last key is much more expensive than getting a spare ahead of time.

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Annual Waterways Volunteer work a Clean sweep to Eco – Success What percentage of approximately 340,000 is 2,000? We’re terrible at maths, but we do know that it’s a pretty big size of the population when you’re talking about volunteers from a small country such as Belize. But some 2,000 people were estimated to have showed up for the 22nd Annual Coastal National Coastal and River ways Clean-up campaign that was held during the last Saturday in September, with those environmental stalwarts Oceana Belize and the Scout Association of Belize lending their considerable support and reporting a record participation country wide. The 2,000 volunteers worked on cleaning up sections of the sea, various lakes, lagoons, rivers and creeks, removing piles of debris and trash from the beaches and banks of Belize’s precious waterways and generally giving the ecosystem a much needed show of support along with very practical help. Why? Because it’s the Belizean thing to do. Oceana provided the volunteers with equipment and materials. The volunteers also took notes on the clean-up which will be then be used by the Ocean Conservancy to provide a snapshot of the problems caused by marine debris. With that data, better plans can be developed and Belize’s precious eco system better protected. Due to flooding, clean-up efforts in Belmopan and Orange Walk Town had to be postponed until this coming weekend, but if this weekend showed the sort of enthusiasm Belizeans have for keeping their waterways clean, we can expect a good turnout. The organizations involved said they want to thank all those who participated this weekend, and so do we. We’ve been blessed with a beautiful country and equally beautiful people who care about looking after it. Shoulder to shoulder we keep building a better Belize.

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Fish, birds and people – a future for all 01 July 2010 | Article The Banc d'Arguin National Park lies on the west coast of Africa in Mauritania. Created in 1976 to protect both the natural features and the valuable fisheries which make a significant contribution to the national economy, the park covers 1.17 million hectares of land, coast and sea. In winter it is home to more than two million migrant shorebirds from northern Europe, Siberia and Greenland and supports a wide range of species including flamingos, broad-billed sandpipers, pelicans and terns. The uniqueness of Banc d’Arguin earned its classification as a Ramsar site (wetland of international importance) in 1983 and as a World Heritage Site in 1989. But, like many other national parks around the world, Banc d’Arguin faces several challenges including pressures of over-fishing and pollution from the oil and gas industry. Work is needed to reinforce the laws and regulations concerning the sustainable use of the park’s natural resources and the framework for consultation between the parks various partners and donors needs to be improved. There is also a need to find ways to ensure sustainable financing of the national park. But there have been several achievements, explains Youssouph Diedhiou, IUCN’s World Heritage focal point for West and Central Africa. The park has succeeded in involving the local people, the Imraguen, in its management and sustainable use of the area’s resources. “The Imraguen base their living on fishing using traditional methods and those living within the park benefit from exclusive fishing rights in the 6,000 km2 of park waters. In exchange, they must continue to use their traditional fishing technique without motors or specially-adapted nets. They must also respect the rules concerning the protection of species, especially during the breeding season.” The Imraguen are members of an administrative council and participate in all decision making concerning the park’s management. Responsible fishing allows the development of a sustainable fishing industry that is significantly improving the lives of the communities living in and around the park. IUCN’s Protected Areas Programme for West and Central Africa conducts regular evaluations of the management effectiveness of Parc d’Arguin which help to develop improved management measures. Park managers and other officials receive regular training on participatory management, ecotourism, and management planning. For more information contact: Geoffroy Mauvais: Regional Coordinator, Protected Areas Programme for Central and West Africa Youssouph Diedhiou: Programme Officer, World Heritage: Protected Areas Programme for Central and West Africa

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With the holiday spending behind us, bills are upon us. It may be a good idea to take a look at your credit score and what affects it. Tracking your credit score protects you from identity theft and allows you to stop any inconsistencies that may come up. So what determines your credit score? Your credit score is affected by your financial steps and is tracked, then compiled into your credit report. This essentially is an outline of your credit activities — from borrowing and charging, to repayment on any loans you may have. There will also be any actions taken due to unpaid loans. Factors to consider Beside financial information, a credit report contains personal details that lenders update, such as your name, address (current and previous), telephone number, date of birth, Social Security Number and employer. Your credit report contains information that is used to determine your credit score. One of the most important factors in determining your credit score is your payment history, which accounts for approximately 35 percent of your credit score. The summary of your payment history encompasses payments on past and current debts and details all of your reported credit accounts, including if payments were on time, late (including the number of days late) or not made at all. Since your credit score influences whether you are able to buy a home and get a job, it is extremely important to protect your score by making loan and bill payments on time and by not taking on more debt than you can handle. Another important factor in calculating your credit score (about 30 percent) is your amount of debt (termed your credit utilization). This is more than a total of all debt you owe; it also includes the number of reported accounts with outstanding balances and how much available credit you’ve used. For revolving credit such as credit cards, your credit utilization is an aggregate of the total balances divided by the total limits. For example, if you’ve charged $2,500 of debt to a credit card with a limit of $5,000, you have a credit utilization ratio of 50 percent. Your credit score will suffer if your credit utilization ratio is high. Your credit score also takes into account the number of years you’ve used the credit. This factor isn’t weighted as heavily — it tends to be about 15 percent of your credit score — but it shows that establishing good credit early is wise because a longer credit history can positively impact your credit score. A high score may still be possible with a short credit history if you have used the credit responsibly. The final and least-weighted factors are new credit and what is loosely referred to as “other factors.” Although both account for just around 10 percent of your credit score, they should not be treated lightly. An example of new credit is transferring a credit-card balance to a card with a lower annual percentage rate or opening new merchandise credit cards to receive a percentage off your total purchase at your favorite retailer. These activities in isolation won’t do any harm, but if there are multiple inquiries for new credit in a short timeframe (within the last six months), they can collectively cause a short-term drop in your credit score. The “other factors” category includes having a mixture of credit types, such as credit cards, auto loans and home mortgages. Diversifying your credit is good for your credit score and common for those with long credit histories. It’s important to note that your credit score is not based on factors such as race, gender, marital status, religion, age, salary, employment or where you live. Check it periodically Understanding your credit report is the first step to financial success. It’s a good idea to also monitor your credit report periodically, which you can do by receiving a free yearly credit report at annualcreditreport.com. To keep a good credit score, make sure to check it at least once a year to keep a good credit score and allow probable lenders to see that you pay your loans. EMILY WANG HAWKINS is a State Farm agent in Madison Park. To suggest future topics or more information, visit www.myagentemily.com, or call (206) 588-0416.

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This Day in History December 11, 1946 Frederick Williams Receives Patent for Memory Device A patent is issued for Sir Frederick Williams' device for random-access memory. The Williams tube was a modified cathode-ray tube that painted dots and dashes of phosphorescent electrical charge on a screen representing binary ones and zeros. It became the primary memory for vacuum tube machines such as the IBM 701. Williams developed his device at Manchester University.

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Author(s): Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn The Russian Nobelist's major work, back in print for the centenary of World War I and the Russian Revolution In his monumental narrative of the outbreak of the First World War and the ill-fated Russian offensive into East Prussia, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has written "a dramatically new interpretation of Russian history" (Nina Krushcheva, The Nation). The assassination of the tsarist prime minister Pyotr Stolypin, a crucial event in the years leading up to the Revolution of 1917, is reconstructed from the alienating viewpoints of historical witnesses. The sole voice of reason among the advisers to Tsar Nikolai II, Stolypin died at the hands of the anarchist Mordko Bogrov, and with him Russia's last hope for reform perished. August 1914 is the first volume of Solzhenitsyn's epic, The Red Wheel; the second is November 1916. Each volume concentrates on a critical moment or "knot" in the history of the Russian Revolution. An epic war story from Solzhenitsyn - the great 20th century Russian writer who served eight years in the labour camps for his work Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was born in 1918 and grew up in Rostov-on-Don. He graduated in physics and mathematics from Rostov University and studied literature by correspondence course at Moscow University. In World War Two he fought as an artillery officer, attaining the rank of captain. In 1945, however, after making derogatory remarks about Stalin in a letter, he was arrested and summarily sentenced to eight years in forced labour camps, followed by internal exile. In 1957 he was formally rehabilitated, and settled down to teaching and writing, in Ryazan and Moscow. The publication of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in Novy Mir in 1962 was followed by the publication, in the West, of his novels Cancer Ward and The First Circle. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, and in 1974 his citizenship was revoked and he was expelled from the Soviet Union. He settled in Vermont, USA, and worked on his great historical cycle 'The Red Wheel' of which August 1914 is the first volume. In 1990, with the fall of Soviet Communism, his citizenship was restored, and four years later, he returned to settle in Russia. He died in 2008 near Moscow, at the age of eighty-nine.

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tive youth development in fact devote significant time to efforts designed to prevent specific problems from emerging. Similarly, many programs that call themselves prevention programs include activities linked to community service, mentoring, and other activities associated with positive development approaches. We suspect that much of the tension between these two perspectives derives from competition for funding and the changing trends in public rhetoric and policy. It is not rooted in irreconcilable differences in program design or theory. Consequently, we looked at both types of programs. The committee concluded that the quest for the perfect program is quixotic. We are unlikely to ever define a single all-time-winner program that should be replicated in cookie-cutter fashion in all American communities. There are several reasons for this cautionary note. First, the diversity of young people, their particular needs, and their surrounding environments argue against the notion that a single program will fit all situations. Second, the funding needed to evaluate all possible models, thereby closing in on the perfect intervention, is simply not available and unlikely to become so. Third and perhaps most important, there is a certain aspect to the challenge of working with young people that is an art, not a science, as any parent or teacher can tell you. Yes, we can describe broad aspects of programs for youth that seem especially useful, such as the widely recognized value of having youth themselves play an active role in the design and tone of individual programs, but in the end, success often hinges on such intangibles as the quality of the relationship between an individual young person and the program leader, or the interpersonal chemistry of a particular group of teenagers (McLaughlin, 2000). Conducting the study that produced this report raised numerous questions of values, which are not scientific matters and can spark vehement disagreement. First, although the government has a long history of investing in schools and supporting universal access to education, there is less consensus about whether it should invest in young people’s nonschool hours. For that reason, persuasive evidence that community programs for youth improve their lives cannot be expected to lead automatically to increased public investment in such programs. One reason cited for the increasing interest in after-school and youth development programs is that the growing presence of women in the

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Definition: Finder’s Fees1 A fee paid to a third party for bringing together two or more people or companies in a business transaction, as in the borrowing or lending of money. In the fundraising context, a finder’s fee refers to the payment of a fee to a third party that is contingent upon obtaining a donation. A payment based on the dollar value of a transaction. In the fundraising context, it refers to remuneration based on a percentage of funds raised. Definition: Percentage Based on Contributions1 Compensation based on a percentage of funds raised. Why is it important for nonprofit and charitable organizations not to pay finder’s fees, commissions, or percentage compensation based on contributions to their fundraisers? CRA is adamant that fundraising should not deliver more than incidental private benefit to those involved.2 The Association of Fundraising Professionals insists that finders’ fees, commissions for fundraising activities, and percentage based contributions run counter to the nonprofit sector’s philanthropic values, inviting abuses of charitable funds for personal gain and placing undue risk on the reputation of the sector as a whole.3 The AFP cites six reasons why fundraisers should not be paid finders’ fees, commissions, or percentage based compensation:3 - These incentives create an environment in which it is easy for personal self-gain to be favoured over charitable purpose - Knowing that a commission will be paid to a fundraiser can negatively impact donor trust in the organization and can place undue pressures on donors to contribute - People’s self-interest inherently favours immediate results, which may not take into account a donor’s best interests - Organizations are strengthened by involving volunteers in fundraising, and paying commissions, finder’s fees, or percentage based compensation can discourage professional fundraisers from cultivating volunteer capacity within an organization - These vehicles of compensation can reward fundraisers without cause, as would be the case if a large, unsolicited donation was made in a person’s will. Fundraising is a cumulative, long-term process and large donations are seldom the result of a single person’s efforts - There are a wide variety of vehicles for charitable giving and a fundraiser who is paid on commission or on a percentage basis may favour certain options over others that may be better for the donor or for the organization over the long-term. In addition, Imagine Canada’s Ethical Code Program, a precursor to the Standards Initiative, prohibited the use of finder’s fees, commissions, and percentage based compensation with the following rationale:4 - Charities, because they operate for the public good, receive unique rights and tax exemptions. Percentage-based compensation can incur excessive private benefit to fundraisers, undermining the contract that charitable organizations make with society - These practices can damage the reputation of the sector by creating the perception that large percentages of a donation are going to fundraisers. Donors may choose not to give if they feel their donation is going to an individual as opposed to the cause - Effective fundraising depends on cultivating long-term relationships, while finder’s fees, commissions, and percentage based compensation favour seeking immediate funds - These mechanisms can place too much pressure on donors - Determining payment in advance recognizes the valuable work of fundraisers regardless of the financial return Instead of receiving finder’s fees, commissions, or percentage based on contributions, fundraisers should be compensated according to their experience, expertise, and time.5 From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section C: Fundraising," Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013. - “Standards Program Definitions,” Imagine Canada, May 2011. - “Fundraising by Registered Charities: Guidance,” Canada Revenue Agency, April 20th 2012. - “Professional Compensation: A Position Paper,” AFP Ethics Committee, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Revised October 2001. - “Ethical Code Handbook,” Imagine Canada, February 2011. - “Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of Ethical Principles and Standards,” Association of Fundraising Professionals, 2004. Standards Reference Guide

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The liver is responsible for detoxifying the body and it also functions as a producer of albumin, the most abundant protein in the blood. It is also in charge of many immunological functions that keep you from contracting diseases. That, however, does not mean the liver is safe from diseases. The following food items can help in keeping your liver healthy: You may hate their pungent smell but onion has the ability to trigger the ability of liver enzymes to speed up the body’s function to flush out toxins. Garlic also has high levels of selenium and allicin, both compounds known for cleansing the liver. Beets and Carrots Both carrots and beets are rich in beta-carotene and plant-flavonoids, which improve liver function and stimulates the liver cleansing process. Walnuts contain huge amounts of the amino acid arginine, which aid the liver in the process of detoxifying ammonia. It also has omega-3 fatty acids and glutathione which help in cleaning the liver of toxins. Avocados are very rich in glutathione and contain other nutrients that aids the function of many body organs like the liver. When used in moderation, olive oil has been proven to be good for the liver as it provides the body with a lipid base that gets rid of the harmful toxins in the body organs including the liver. This also means that the liver’s workload will now be lighter as the olive oil already did some of its job. This wonder fruit has high levels of pectin which help in cleaning out the toxins out of the digestive tract. This eases the burden on the liver to perform well in handling super-toxic content in the food we eat. Grapefruits have vitamin C and antioxidants which helps in increasing the natural cleansing ability of the liver’s enzymes and flushes out toxins and carcinogens before they affect the body. Lemon and Limes These citrus fruits are great sources of vitamin C which helps the body in breaking down toxins into compounds that can be absorbed as part of water. Also, DRINK ALCOHOL MODERATELY. Alcohol is the major cause of the 25 percent increase in liver disease deaths in England from 2001 to 2009. No matter how many apples and grapefruits you eat a day would not compensate for the damage alcohol would have on your liver. Also perform a liver cleanse twice a year at most to make sure that your liver gets rid of toxins.

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- Elementary Education - Weather Center Large View | Find Similar Items Create a weather station right in your classroom with these durable meteorological instruments. Students can measure and record barometric pressure, relative humidity, and air temperature on a daily or hourly basis, and record the trends, averages, and highs and lows. The sturdy carrying case holds a barometer, hygrometer, and Celsius and Fahrenheit thermometer, as well as three stands for use of the instruments individually. The activity guide explains in detail how to use each 3" dia. instrument.

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Over the past several years, commercial use of biometric data has become increasingly prevalent. In response, several states have adopted biometric data privacy legislation. Consequently, companies that rely on biometric data face new regulatory risks, in addition to increased legal exposure to individual and class action lawsuits. In fact, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed certification of a class action alleging Facebook’s face-scanning practices violate Illinois’ biometric privacy law, finding that the class alleged sufficiently concrete injuries based on Facebook’s alleged use of facial recognition technology without users’ consent to establish standing. Insurance policies currently available on the market, including cyber insurance policies, may not adequately cover these risks. Therefore, companies collecting, utilizing, maintaining, distributing, and/or destroying biometric data should review their policies carefully to determine changes could be made to address potential coverage gaps. What is Biometric Data? Biometric data refers to measurable human physical or behavioral characteristics that are used to detect or authenticate individual identity. It includes voice prints, fingerprints, facial recognition, retina scans, iris scans, and/or hand geometry recognition. How is Biometric Data Used? Employers frequently use biometric data to track employee attendance and time, provide secure access to buildings or equipment, and to ensure secure login to computers and mobile devices. Businesses ranging from airlines to telecom companies to technology companies to even amusement parks increasingly collect biometric data to deliver services to their customers, or to provide alternatives to traditional password authentication. New Laws Regulating the Use of Biometric Data. While biometric data has many beneficial applications, it also presents legal risks. Illinois, Texas, and Washington have enacted laws regulating biometric data.[i] Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act[ii] Illinois is generally considered to have the most stringent state law concerning biometric data. Under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), a private entity must (1) provide written notice to employees, (2) obtain written consent, and (3) make specific disclosures concerning the purpose and duration of data collection, storage, or use before collecting, storing, and using biometric data. Covered entities are prohibited from selling or profiting from collected data and are required to protect the data using reasonable standards of care as defined within their respective industries. Only in specific enumerated circumstances are entities allowed to disclose the data. Covered entities must also develop a written policy concerning the retention and destruction of biometric data that is compliant with the guidelines set forth in the statute. Notably, Illinois law permits a private right of action for technical violations with statutory damages of $1,000 per violation or $5,000 per intentional or reckless violation. Recovery of attorneys’ fees is also allowed. Individuals are not required to prove actual harm when bringing a suit under BIPA.[iii] In Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, a 14-year-old student visited a Six Flags amusement park on a school field trip. As a part of the sign-up process to obtain a season pass, the student was required to scan his thumb into the Six Flags biometric data capture system. His thumbprint and season pass would subsequently allow him to enter the amusement park. The student’s mother sued Six Flags on behalf of her son under BIPA claiming that Six Flags had unlawfully collected his biometric data without (1) informing him or his guardian in writing that the data would be collected, (2) explaining the purpose in writing of such data collection, and (3) obtaining written consent before collection. The mother did not allege any additional injury or harm other than a technical violation of the regulation. Nevertheless, after analyzing the legislature’s intent, the Supreme Court of Illinois held that the mother’s alleged injury was sufficient to maintain a claim under the biometric data statute. The Court explained that when a private entity does not comply with the statutory requirements laid out in BIPA, it results in an impairment, invasion, or denial of statutory rights. Thus, the individual whose biometric data was unlawfully collected, stored, or used is an “aggrieved person” entitled to seek recovery and need not plead additional consequences or harm. Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reached a similar conclusion when it affirmed certification of a class action based on the allegation that Facebook violated BIPA when it developed and used facial recognition software without users’ consent.[iv] In Patel v. Facebook, Inc., the class representatives alleged their privacy rights were violated under BIPA when, after they uploaded photos to Facebook, Facebook created and stored face templates for each of the plaintiffs without the required consent under BIPA. Facebook contended that plaintiffs lacked standing because they had merely alleged a “bare procedural violation of BIPA rather than injury to a concrete interest.” However, the Ninth Circuit held that the plaintiffs had alleged a concrete and particularized harm, sufficient to confer Article III standing, because BIPA protected the plaintiffs’ concrete privacy interest, and Facebook’s development of a face template using facial-recognition technology without consent actually harmed or posed a material risk of harm to those privacy interests. This holding, along with the Rosenbach decision, establish that a plaintiff need not allege harm beyond the collection of biometric data without consent to state a claim under BIPA. Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act[v] Under the Texas Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, a private entity must (1) provide notice and (2) obtain consent from a data subject before collecting and using his or her biometric data for a “commercial purpose.” This statute does not mandate that notice and consent be in writing nor does it stipulate specific disclosure requirements. Like the Illinois law, the Texas law prohibits the sale and disclosure of biometric data with limited exceptions and requires the protection of biometric data using reasonable standards of care. Unlike Illinois law, Texas law does not provide for a private right of action. Instead, only the state attorney general may bring actions for violation of the Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act, with a maximum recovery of $25,000 for each violation. Washington’s Biometric Data Statute[vi] Washington’s biometric data statute is similar to the Texas statute. First, like the Texas statute, Washington’s statute requires notice and consent but does not explain the type of notice and consent necessary for compliance. It states that determination of compliance is context-dependent. Second, the Washington statute also limits regulation of biometric data to data collected and used for a “commercial purpose.” It expressly excludes biometric data collected for security and law enforcement purposes. The Texas statute, however, does not define commercial purpose. Third, the Washington statute does not provide individuals a private right of action.[vii] Fourth, it bans the sale, lease, or disclosure of biometric data with enumerated exceptions and requires the protection of biometric data using reasonable care. Notably, however, the Washington statute more narrowly defines the regulated biometric data[viii] and does not include hand or face geometry. Other States’ Statutes Bills proposing similar legislation are pending in Alaska, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Montana, and New Hampshire. Other state legislatures may look to Illinois, Texas, and Washington as models when enacting new legislation. POTENTIAL gaps in insurance coverage for biometric data law violations Cyber Liability Insurance Cyber liability policies generally provide coverage for costs arising from the unauthorized disclosure of personal consumer data, but still may not provide comprehensive coverage for violation of the new biometric data laws. Most cyber liability policies cover claims arising from “privacy events.” A privacy event is often defined to include the unlawful or unauthorized disclosure of confidential or private information resulting from a breach of the policyholder’s network, and may not extend to the unauthorized collection or use of such data. Thus, violations of biometric data laws based on the unauthorized collection, storage, or other use of the data may not be covered. Further, some cyber liability policies may define “confidential” or “private” data in a way that excludes or limits coverage for biometric data. Some policies also limit or exclude coverage for claims arising under specific, enumerated statutes. Courts have not generally ruled on whether such policies must cover biometric data law violations. Commercial General Liability Insurance Commercial or comprehensive general liability (“CGL”) coverage protects companies from a broad range of claims resulting in “bodily injury,” “advertising injury” or “property damage.” However, CGL policies may not cover violations of biometric data privacy laws. While some courts have found coverage for data breach claims under CGL policies[ix] most CGL policies now include endorsements that exclude or limit coverage for cyber related claims involving “electronic data.” In 2014, the Insurance Services Office, Inc. (“ISO”) crafted form language that specifically excludes or limits coverage for damages arising out of (1) “[a]ny access to or disclosure of any person’s or organization’s confidential or personal information” and (2) “[t]he loss of, loss of use of, damage to, corruption of, inability to access, or inability to manipulate electronic data.”[x] This exclusion is now routinely added to CGL policies. Courts also have not considered the question of whether biometric data qualifies as “electronic data,” and is therefore subject to electronic data exclusions that are increasingly common in CGL policies. Electronic data is defined in ISO form endorsements as “information, facts or programs stored as or on, created or used on, or transmitted to or from computer software, including systems and applications software, hard or floppy disks, CD-ROMs, tapes, drives, cells, data processing devices or any other media which are used with electronically controlled equipment.”[xi] While arguably “biometric data” is not “electronic data,” courts so far have not considered this question. Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance and Errors & Omissions Liability Insurance Coverage for violations of biometric data regulations may also be found under directors’ and officers’ (“D&O”) and errors and omissions (“E&O”) liability insurance policies that provide broad coverage for claims arising out of “wrongful acts” of the company and/or its officers and directors. However, like CGL policies, many D&O and E&O policies now often include “invasion of privacy” or “data breach” exclusions, which may limit insurance coverage for biometric data law violations.[xii] Companies that use or collect biometric data should review the terms and conditions in their cyber, CGL, D&O, and E&O insurance programs to determine if there may be additional enhancements that could be added to address the emerging risk from violation of biometric data legislation, including: 1. Ensure that biometric data is included in cyber liability policy definitions of data and/or confidential information. 2. Modify cyber liability policies to provide coverage for claims arising from the collection, storage, or use of biometric data. Include such treatment of biometric data in the definition of a privacy event. 3. Review policies carefully for exclusions for liabilities arising under emerging laws regulating the use of biometric data. 4. Carefully review cyber, CGL, and D&O policies at annual renewals to avoid coverage gaps. We work closely with our clients and their risk managers to navigate developing data privacy legislation and to improve the wording of their cyber policies. We have helped our clients recover hundreds of millions of dollars in losses arising from cybersecurity and data breach incidents. Our Cyber Insurance Coverage Recovery practice works closely with our Data, Privacy & Security Practice, which has unparalleled experience in areas ranging from providing regulatory compliance advice, to responding to security incidents including data breaches and cybersecurity incidents, interfacing with stakeholders and the government, engaging in complex civil litigation (such as class actions), handling state and federal government investigations and enforcement actions, and advocating on behalf of our clients before the highest levels of the state and federal government. [i] Insurance Coverage Disputes (LJP) § 1.04. [ii] 740 ILCS 14/15. [iii] Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entm't Corp., 2019 IL 123186. [iv] Patel v. Facebook, Inc., No. 18-15982, 2019 WL 3727424 (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2019) [v] Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 503.001. [vi] Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 19.375.020. [vii] Wash. H.B. 1493 § 4(2). [viii] The Washington statute only applies to “enrolled” biometric data. Covered entities enroll biometric data if they “capture a biometric identifier of an individual, convert it into a reference template that cannot be reconstructed into the original output image, and store it in a database that matches the biometric identifier to a specific individual.” Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 19.375.010. [ix] See, e.g., Travelers Indem. Co. of Am. v. Portal Healthcare Sols., L.L.C., 644 F. App'x 245 (4th Cir. 2016) [x] ISO Form CG 21 06 05 14 (2014). [xi] See Appendix of Forms, ISO CG 00 01 04 03 Commercial General Liability Coverage Form Exclusion 2.p. [xii] "The Internet of Buildings": Insurance of Cyber Risks for Commercial Real Estate, 71 Okla. L. Rev. 397, 440.

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Standard textbooks should be consulted for specifictechniques and precautions for various spinal anesthetic procedures. The safety and effectiveness of a spinal anesthetic dependupon proper dosage, correct technique, adequate precautions, and readinessfor emergencies. The lowest dosage that results in effective anesthesiashould be used to avoid high plasma levels and possible adverse effects.Tolerance varies with the status of the patient. Debilitated, elderlypatients, or acutely ill patients should be given reduced doses commensuratewith their weight and physical status. Reduced dosages are also indicatedfor obstetric delivery and patients with increased intra-abdominalpressure. The decision whether or not to usespinal anesthesia in the following disease states depends on the physician’sappraisal of the advantages as opposed to the risk: cardiovasculardisease (i.e., shock, hypertension, anemia, etc.), pulmonary disease,renal impairment, metabolic or endocrine disorders, gastrointestinaldisorders (i.e., intestinal obstruction, peritonitis, etc.), or complicatedobstetrical deliveries. NOVOCAIN SHOULD BE USEDWITH CAUTION IN PATIENTS WITH KNOWN DRUG ALLERGIES AND SENSITIVITIES.A thorough history of the patient’s prior experience with NOVOCAINor other local anesthetics as well as concomitant or recent drug useshould be taken (see CONTRAINDICATIONS). NOVOCAIN should not be usedin any condition in which a sulfonamide drug is being employed sinceaminobenzoic acid inhibits the action of sulfonamides. Solutions containing a vasopressor should be used withcaution in the presence of diseases which may adversely affect thecardiovascular system. NOVOCAIN should be usedwith caution in patients with severe disturbances of cardiac rhythm,shock or heartblock.

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Doctors still aren't sure what causes rosacea, but in a lot of people, things that make your face flush also make rosacea worse. When you flush, blood rushes to your face, making it red and warmer. So avoiding activities, products, or emotions that cause flushing can reduce your rosacea symptoms. Avoiding Rosacea Triggers Once you've figured out what your rosacea triggers are, find ways to avoid them. Food and drinks. Don't eat foods that cause rosacea symptoms. You could also try some simple substitutions. For instance, in the morning, replace that steaming mug of coffee with iced coffee. Exercise. Unfortunately, working out can worsen your rosacea. But you still need to be physically active. So change your routine. Instead of one long workout, try splitting it into several shorter segments. Try longer, low-intensity workouts instead of more demanding ones. And stay cool. Don't exercise outside when it's too hot. If you're inside, use a fan or air conditioner. During your workout, drink plenty of water. Afterward, cover your face with a cool cloth. Weather. You should always wear a hat and use sunscreen to protect your skin while outside. Also, do the obvious: dress warmly on cold days and lightly on hot ones. Emotional stress. Learn ways to calm yourself before stress results in a rosacea flare-up. You might try deep breathing exercises or yoga. Medication. If you think a medicine may be a trigger, talk to your doctor. See if you could take a different drug.

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Did you know that Dahlias are from the same flower family as Sunflowers, Aster & Daisies? The family know as Asteraceae comes from the word meaning 'star' which describes the shape of these flowers, especially Dahlias. There are more than 30 species of Dahlias, all with amazing and dramatic colour combinations. Originating from Central and South America they have become known as the National Flower of Mexico. Dahlias are in season from November to May but are usually at their best around March & April however weather conditions vary this each year! This flower is one of our favourites because of its wide variety of colour combinations and its ability to work well in most arrangements and beautiful wedding bouquets!

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Philip Morris began a legacy of bold moves to meet market challenges by taking a virtually unknown woman's cigarette and reintroducing it with a new masculine face and filter in the midst of the first lung cancer reports . Marlboro was first introduced to the public in the 1920s behind the theme "Mild as May". The brand originally targeted a female audience through a series of ads in 1926 showing a feminine hand reaching for a cigarette(PM History 6). It faced trouble in the 1930s and attempted to rejuvenate itself with a clever advertising gimmick, changing the ivory tip to red in order not to smear ladies' lipstick. During World War II, however, the brand again faltered and had to be taken off the market. Three brands, Camel, Lucky Strike and Chesterfields surfaced with a firm hold on consumers after the war. Mass production in the late nineteenth century and the development of the corporation in the twenties had left "America transformed from a culture urging self-restraint to one built on immediate gratification through the ownership of goods and pursuit of leisure time."(JAH 1020). After the rationing of popular brands, such as Camel, and a severe shortage of tobacco during the war, the fifties were an exaggerated example of this change in American culture. Cigarettes were consumed in abundance. They were considered both glamorous and beneficial at the time and were promoted by head lines that read "For Digestion's sake smoke Camels." or "Lucky Strike-A Light Smoke." Differentials in price and make had existed for years without much shift in brand preference, indicating a marked inelasticity for certain brands. The market was not welcoming to new types of cigarettes and it was speculated that "smokers could be expected to stay with the same brand for a lifetime, unless provoked to change."(White 121). Philip Morris saw its chance to reintroduce Marlboro in the early fifties when the first studies linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer were released. Consumers began feeling mislead by the established brands and dropped their old allegiances. They were willing to try other brands but were unable to break away from smoking completely, due to what would later be attributed to nicotine addiction. Disillusioned consumers turned to Marlboros, the new "safer" filtered brand. Ross B. Millhiser, president of Philip Morris in 1968, looked back on Marlboro's window of opportunity and explained that "the filter revolution caused more switching than all the cigarette manufacturers with all their money could have induced."(White 121) Unfortunately for Marlboro, formerly known to be "Mild as May", the new filters were considered effiminate. The dilemma would be to appeal to the attitudes of an old group of customers with a new concern, addicted men who feared lung cancer. Philip Morris took the challenge to a midwestern agency, the Leo Burnett Company of Chicago, and reintroduced Marlboro to the nation in 1955 with the "Tattooed Man" campaign. Joseph Cullman, then president and chief executive officer of Philip Morris Inc., explained, "We felt that West of the Alleghanies we could secure a better understanding and feel of grass-roots America and what it wanted in a cigarette."(Esquire 8/60 146) The resulting campaign assured buyers, with television commercials and printed pages, that "You get a lot to like with Marlboro, filter, flavor, flip- top box." The image of the "new Marlboro smoker as a lean, relaxed outdoorsman--a cattle rancher, a Navy officer, a flyer--whose tattooed wrist suggested a romantic past, a man who had once worked with his hands, who knew the score, who merited respect,"(Esquire 6/60 146) proved that there was nothing sissy or feminine about these filtered cigarettes. The first advertisements spoke directly to the masculine audience suggesting in a descriptive paragraph that they try "old fashioned flavor in a new way to smoke." They reassured men that the filter did not change Marlboro quality and the Man-sized taste of honest tobacco comes full through. Smooth- drawing filter feels right in your mouth. Works fine but doesn't get in the way. Modern Flip-top box keeps every cigarette firm and fresh until you smoke it. (Made in Richmond, Virginia, from a new Marlboro Recipe) [Image 1] Black and white full-page advertisements were divided between large blocks of information about the new filter and flip-top box and a close-up, weathered, handsome, face whose strong tattooed hand held a Marlboro cigarette. The brand name, printed bold and extra-large in its own blocked- out top section of the page was mirrored on a smaller scale in a pack of Marlboro cigarettes in the bottom corner of the page. The picture of the pack also had its own detailed copy, "New Flip-Top Box. Sturdy to keep cigarettes from crushing. No tobacco in your pocket. Up to date. Popular filter price." In a voice that was friendly, unpretentious and honest the Marlboro men gained the trust of millions. The "Tattooed Man" campaign was described by Cullman, as "virility without vulgarity, quality without snobbery"(Esquire 6/60). In New York after their introduction in 1955, Marlboro became the top selling filtered cigarette literally overnight, and eight months after the campaign opened, sales had increased 5,000 per cent(Esquire 6/60). The "Tattooed Man" campaign provided a diverse pool of working men as applicants for the final Marlboro representative. In the first years of advertisements public responses to the different personalities were monitored and the cowboy gradually emerged as the most popular character. Repetition and clear, compelling imagery through the years became key factors in Marlboro's keen brand identification today. "Frequent repetition is necessary to impress the sales message so deeply that it will affect buying behavior even when the logical content of the message is forgotten."(Tennant 170). The Leo Burnett Company began building a foundation of knowledge for the consumer to be reemphasized every time the Marlboro man was seen. Thus, the first time the public met the Marlboro cowboy he was not the silent image of advertisements today; he had to explain himself and his product. Life magazine ran a three page spread [Image 2] in January 1957 entitled "The Marlboro Man. What's he like..." The next two pages contained a eight-frame story board with different action shots of the plump, middle-aged cowboy still donning the tattooed hand, but wearing western boots, hat and a business suit. The top of the page reads, "The Marlboro Man speaks for himself...". He takes the reader on a tour of his ranch and describes Marlboro's filter, flavor, and flip- top box in a casual monologue. He introduces himself, "I'm a rancher. Grew up in this part of the country..." and his Western way of life, "Own my own ranch...ride from one end of it to the other every day...I like the life a man leads out here... the good feeling of being your own boss." At the precise moment the reader begins to get jealous, the tactful Marlboro man redirects the conversation to a more familiar topic, "Like to smoke, too. [He's a lot like you] My brand's MARLBORO. In my book, it's a lot of cigarette..." The connection between the West, being one's own boss and smoking Marlboros is made in four frames and then supported by the reader's new friend, the Marlboro Man, and his promise of a quality that appeals to every man, from the "easy-drawing filter" to the box which keeps loose tobacco "out of a man's pocket". Finally, he directly addresses the reader as he takes a draw of his cigarette, "You know what they say about MARLBORO, don't you? 'You get a lot to like.' Well that's how it is living on a ranch. You'd like that, too." By spelling out the image in this first introduction, and by repeating the educational information through the years, the Marlboro Man would never again have to explicitly ask the question, "You know what they say about Marlboro?" A narrowing process followed over the next forty years where this cowboy was recognized in a slew of campaigns. He taught the consumer about filters, promoted the flip-top box, enticed women to try "the cigarette made for men that women like", explained that long white ashes are a sign of good tobacco, and invited us to relax. Eventually he could be silent and his reputation and familiarity would beckons us without words to come with him to a place we would come to know well, Marlboro Country. Philip Morris, with the Marlboro cowboy, has capitalized on what the cigarette advertising industry realized as an unique quality in its products. "The physical characteristics of the standard brands are nearly identical and their individual demands are highly elastic, yet despite close similarity, consumers are not indifferent to the choice of brands but show enduring loyalties based upon very slight physical differences or upon irrational grounds."(Tennant 163). The irrational appeal of the strong individual is bolstered by the strong geometric design of the red, white and black-lettered flip-top package. It was designed by Frank Gianininoto in 1954 and carefully tested through consumer surveys by Elmo Roper&Associates and the Color Research Institute.(Advertising Age 11/9/88) When displayed on open cigar counters consumer reaction was gauged on hidden cameras as their eyes settled on the bright packaging(Esquire 6/60). Like a cowboy's holster for his favorite gun the packaging makes a statement. It is estimated that the average smoker removes his or her cigarettes 20-25 times a day. In 1987, Thirty-two years after the box was designed, Forbes magazine(2/9/87) polled smokers and offered them Marlboro cigarettes unaltered except in a generic brown box and at half price. Only 21% were interested. The public embraced the red box as a symbol of membership to the club that recognized the Marlboro Man as their spokes-person. A 1959 ad showed the Flip-top box as a unifying element "From the Klondike to Key West.... Every man is a 'Marlboro Man' once he discovers that Marlboro is for real smoking." [Image 3]. The box is a carrying card available to everyone. It is visable proof of participation in or appreciation for a certain idealized way of life that not many actually get to experience. Consumers carrying the box were now investing themselves and their reputation in the positive image of the Marlboro Man.

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Photo credit: Raphaël Thiémard from Belgique (Wikimedia Commons) Today is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. This event led to expanded freedoms for millions of people in Eastern European countries that had been under Soviet Communist rule. Yet, embracing these freedoms did not come easily to many who had lived most of their lives under Communist rule. My sister served a mission for our church in Latvia in 2003-2005. She said that many of the older generation had lost hope, even though they had obtained their freedom in the early 1990s. They had lost the ability to make choices–even when offered choices—because they had been told all their lives where to work, what to eat and where to worship. When she first told me this several years ago, I was struck by how a government should yield such power over people that they could not change once that government was removed. This is perhaps an extreme example, but we know that political events and religious strife inevitable affected our ancestors–just as they affect us and our families today. Let’s think about some political events that may have affected our ancestors. Changes in government are powerful political events. Think of England–going back and forth between staunch Protestants, at least one Catholic, and Protestants in name who leaned towards Catholicism, and for a few years, a Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell. Your ancestor’s fortunes could easily go from bad to good or vice versa depending on their political and religious leanings. During the 1620s through late 1630s, thousands of Puritans came to Massachusetts to escape what they called the Popish religion of King James and King Charles and to worship as they wished. When the Civil War started and things were looking good for the Puritans the mass migration stopped and people remained in England, and many from the colonies returned to England. Migrating to a new continent with unfamiliar plants and animals, and recreating the culture they had known in England was a major undertaking. Boundary changes, new laws, social policies, rebellions such as the Revolutionary War in the US, internal conflict that led to the US Civil War, and world wars are other examples that definitely affected our ancestors in one way or another. Religious conflict is another source of external conditions that can wreak havoc on a family. Think of the witch trials (not just the Salem witch trials), the banishment of women and men such as Anne Hutchinson and William Rogers, and the many persecutions and wars that have been fought and continue to be fought in the name of religion. While here in the US we celebrate our veterans on Tuesday and remember our many blessings later this month, spend some time thinking about your ancestors and how political and/or religious events positively or negatively impacted them. Please share here some of the events that you come up with.

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Utkan Demirci, 28 Disposable AIDS diagnosis Harvard Medical School Utkan Demirci wants doctors to take one look at his invention and "trash it." That's no knock on the device, a fast, easy-to-use--and disposable--test that measures the concentration of CD4 cells in the blood; doctors use that number to monitor HIV infections. The size of a business card, this microfluidic instrument provides an accurate cell count in less than three minutes. At less than a buck apiece, the tests, which could reach the market in a few years, could literally be a lifesaver in HIV-ridden poor countries. Demirci developed his expertise in microfluidics as a PhD student in electrical engineering. As part of his thesis, he devised a way to print semiconductor polymers by shooting sound waves through a small reservoir of fluid, squirting out millions of droplets per second. Now an assistant professor in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, he's adapting his printing technique to give doctors a way to grow new organs for transplant patients. Many tissue engineers build organ-shaped scaffolds, then coat them with cells, using conventional ink-jet printing techniques. Alas, the process "cooks" most of the cells. By replacing the polymers in Demirci's printer with cells, engineers can deposit one unharmed cell with each droplet. Demirci hopes to use the method to begin building his first organ next year. He's starting with one of the most challenging: the human heart. Find out about Demirci's thoughts on interdisciplinary research in this video.

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In Storing 1’s and 0’s, the Question Is $ LISTEN. Do you hear it? The bits are dying. The digital revolution has spawned billions upon billions of gigabytes of data, from the vast electronic archives of government and business to the humblest photo on a home PC. And the trove is growing — the International Data Corporation, a technology research and advisory firm, estimates that by 2011 the digital universe of ones and zeros will be 10 times the size it was in 2006. But the downside is that much of this data is ephemeral, and society is headed toward a kind of digital Alzheimer’s. What’s on those old floppies stuck in a desk drawer? Can anything be read off that ancient mainframe’s tape drive? Will today’s hard disk be tomorrow’s white elephant? Data is “the natural resource for the Internet age,” said Francine Berman, director of the San Diego Supercomputer Center at the University of California, San Diego, a national center for high-performance computing resources. But, she added, “digital data is enormously fragile.” It can degrade as it is stored, copied and transferred between hard drives across data networks. The storage systems might not be around or accessible in the future — it is like putting precious information on eight-track tapes. Full story in the New York Times.

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"Exploring Myths about Drug Abuse" by Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D., Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health Myth: Drug addiction is voluntary behavior. A person starts out as an occasional drug user, and that is a voluntary decision. But as times passes, something happens, and that person goes from being a voluntary drug user to being a compulsive drug user. Why? Because over time, continued use of addictive drugs changes your brain -- at times in dramatic, toxic ways, at others in more subtle ways, but virtually always in ways that result in compulsive and even uncontrollable drug use. Myth: More than anything else, drug addiction is a character flaw. Drug addiction is a brain disease. Every type of drug of abuse has its own individual mechanism for changing how the brain functions. But regardless of which drug a person is addicted to, many of the effects it has on the brain are similar: they range from changes in the molecules and cells that make up the brain, to mood changes, to changes in memory processes and in such motor skills as walking and talking. And these changes have a huge influence on all aspects of a person's behavior. The drug becomes the single most powerful motivator in a drug abuser's existence. He or she will do almost anything for the drug. This comes about because drug use has changed the individual's brain and its functioning in critical ways. Myth: You have to want drug treatment for it to be effective. Virtually no one wants drug treatment. Two of the primary reasons people seek drug treatment are because the court ordered them to do so, or because loved ones urged them to seek treatment. Many scientific studies have shown convincingly that those who enter drug treatment programs in which they face "high pressure" to confront and attempt to surmount their addiction do comparatively better in treatment, regardless of the reason they sought treatment in the first place. Myth: Treatment for drug addiction should be a one-shot deal. Like many other illnesses, drug addiction typically is a chronic disorder. To be sure, some people can quit drug use "cold turkey," or they can quit after receiving treatment just one time at a rehabilitation facility. But most of those who abuse drugs require longer-term treatment and, in many instances, repeated treatments. Myth: We should strive to find a "magic bullet" to treat all forms of drug abuse. There is no "one size fits all" form of drug treatment, much less a magic bullet that suddenly will cure addiction. Different people have different drug abuse-related problems. And they respond very differently to similar forms of treatment, even when they're abusing the same drug. As a result, drug addicts need an array of treatments and services tailored to address their unique needs.

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Graphic design practice of an image for the Chinese character for "鼓 Drum" 2019-04-18T21:50:07Z (GMT) by Basic shape is one of the most important components of the learning design process. Using Western design thinking to understand shape, color and composition layout and attempting to reinterpret the application of traditional calligraphy from a design point of view—whether it is the expression of form or the meaning of content—are both important aspects of design thinking. The writing patterns of traditional calligraphy and the design creation of modern experiments may have different biases. If the artistic value of "the brush and ink of the time" is compared to the science and technology of innovation as the main appeal, the expressiveness of the traditional writing mode is obviously difficult to achieve. Using science and technology as an option for design creation is a difficult way to proceed; however, technology, ideas and thinking can still be in sync with the cultural issues of an entire era. This is also the test of the times to which contemporary creations are subjected. There are infinite possibilities for development, and it is worthwhile to explore these possibilities together with artistic aspirants. On the other hand, if we follow the well-beaten path of the status quo, the creativity of traditional calligraphic art will wither, it will deviate from the larger environment of the era in which it operates, and it will inevitably be neglected and pushed out by other art categories. The design and creation process uses the traditional calligraphy characters and drums as the theme, assisted by digital tools in the creation, and finally transforms the traditional calligraphy visual form into an expression of the art of science and technology.

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The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial is located in our rotunda. The centerpiece of the memorial is a dramatic 20-foot high marble statue of Benjamin Franklin. Sculpted by James Earle Fraser, the statue weighs 30 tons and sits on a 92-ton pedestal of white Seravezza marble. Originally opened in 1938, the rotunda was designed by architect John T. Windrim and modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. It measures 82 feet in length, width, and height. The domed ceiling is self-supporting and weighs 1600 tons. The floors, walls, columns, pilasters, and cornices are made of rare marbles from Portugal, Italy, and France. The Memorial is open to the public at all times when The Franklin Institute is open and no admission fee is required. Make time to be inside the Memorial for Benjamin Franklin Forever, a 3.5-minute multimedia show which demonstrates Benjamin Franklin’s profound impact on the world as a premiere international citizen, statesman, civic leader, and scientist. Things to Do and See at the Benjamin Franklin Memorial Learn About Philadelphia's Most Famous Citizen Don't miss the multimedia show that demonstrates Benjamin Franklin’s profound impact on the world as a premiere international citizen, statesman, civic leader, and scientist. Meet Ben Franklin Visit the 20-foot high marble statue of the legend.

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Earthquakes and Maryland You can download a PDF version of this brochure, suitable for printing. By James P. Reger Earthquakes can be among the most devastating and terrifying of natural hazards. Although floods, tornadoes and hurricanes account for much greater annual loss in the United States, severe earthquakes pose the largest risk in terms of sudden loss of life and property. There are many interrelated factors that determine the extent of loss of property and life from an earthquake. Each of the following should be prefaced with "other factors being equal . . . ." - Amount of seismic energy released: The greater the vibrational energy, the greater the chance for destruction. - Duration of shaking: This is one of the most important parameters of ground motion for causing damage. - Depth of focus, or hypocenter: The shallower the focus (the point of an earthquake's origin within the earth), usually the greater the potential for destructive shock waves reaching the earth's surface. Even stronger events of much greater depth typically produce only moderate shaking at ground level. - Distance from epicenter: The potential for damage tends to be greatest near the epicenter (the point on the ground directly above the focus), and decreases away from it. - Geologic setting: A wide range of foundation materials exhibits a similarly wide range of responses to seismic vibrations. For example, in soft unconsolidated material, earthquake vibrations last longer and develop greater amplitudes, which produce more ground shaking, than in areas underlain by hard bedrock. Likewise, areas having active faults are at greater risk. - Geographic and topographic setting: This characteristic relates more to secondary effects of earthquakes than to primary effects such as ground shaking, ground rupture, and local uplift and subsidence. Secondary effects include landslides (generally in hilly or mountainous areas), seismic sea waves, or tsunamis (pretty much restricted to oceans and coastal areas), and fires (from ruptured gas lines and downed utility lines). - Population and building density: In general, risk increases as population and building density increase. Types of buildings: Wooden frame structures tend to respond to earthquakes better than do more rigid brick or masonry buildings. Taller buildings are more vulnerable than one- or two-story buildings when located on soft, unconsolidated sediments, but taller buildings tend to be the more stable when on a hard bedrock foundation. - Time of day: Experience shows there are fewer casualties if an earthquake occurs in late evening or early morning because most people are at home and awakeand thus in a good position to respond properly. Although earthquakes have been the object of study and superstition for many centuries, the modern science of seismology really gained impetus after the famous San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Since then, geologists have learned much more about the structure and composition of the earth's interior and, more recently, have made progress in earthquake forecasting and in hazard and risk mitigation. ORIGIN OF EARTHQUAKES Most earthquakes occur when great stresses building up within the earth are suddenly released This sudden release of this stored energy causes movement of the earth's crust along fractures, called faults, and generates shock waves. These shock waves, or seismic waves, radiate in all directions from the focus, much as ripples radiate outward in two dimensions when a pebble is dropped into a pond.The two basic types of seismic waves are body waves, or primary waves, which travel through the interior of the earth, and surface waves, which travel along the earth's surface and are believed to be responsible for most earthquake damage (Fig. 1). There are two types of body waves: P waves, or primary waves, and S waves, or secondary waves. The faster moving P waves are compressional waves, and the slower S waves are shear waves. Compressional waves involve a "push-pull" vibration of earth material in the same direction as the P waves are moving. In contrast, shear waves "shake" material at right angles to their path. Differences in P- and S-wave characteristics have provided much information about the structure and composition of the earth's interior. Although most earthquakes are associated with movement along faults, they can also be triggered by volcanic activity, by large landslides, and by some types of human activity. However, in areas not known for frequent earthquakes, pinpointing the cause of the rare tremor can be very difficult. The theory of plate tectonics explains most earthquake occurrences. Ninety percent or more of all earthquakes occur along boundaries between large, slowly moving slabs, or plates, of the earth's crust and upper mantle, collectively called the lithosphere. (For more background on plate tectonics, the reader is encouraged to refer to a recent introductory geology text or a good encyclopedia.) Most earthquakes are shallow (0-40 miles to the focus), occurring in the lithosphere. The mechanism for most very shallow earthquakes probably involves fracturing of brittle rock in the crust or relief of internal stresses due to frictional resistance locking opposite sides of a fault. Very little is known about the causes of earthquakes in the eastern United States. In general, there is no clear association among seismicity, geologic structure, and surface displacement, in contrast to a common association in the western U.S. The mid-Atlantic and central Appalachian region, including Maryland, is characterized by a moderate amount of low-level earthquake activity, but their cause or causes are largely a matter of speculation. In Maryland, for example, there are numerous faults, but none is known or suspected to be active. Because of the relatively low seismic energy release, this region has received relatively little attention from earthquake seismologists (Bollinger, 1969). In the Atlantic Coastal Plain, it is now thought that earthquakes may be associated with nearly vertical faults that formed during the opening of the present Atlantic Ocean during the Triassic period about 220 million years ago (Hanks, 1985). Such faults would occur in the "basement" bedrock, and not in the overlying, younger Coastal Plain sediments themselves. Recent evidence suggests that earthquakes in the Valley and Ridge Province and in the Piedmont Province occur at shallow depths (usually less than 15 miles) in the Precambrian crystalline basement rocks (Wheeler and Bollinger, 1984). The geologic structure that may be responsible for earthquake activity in these areas is a nearly horizontal fault that formed during continental collision and closing of a proto-Atlantic Ocean during late Paleozoic time approximately 300 million years ago. It is also possible that some earthquakes in the Piedmont are in some way related to igneous dikes that were intruded into surrounding bedrock during the Triassic and Jurassic periods (roughly 200-175 million years ago). TABLE 1. The Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale of 1931 (abridged). I Not felt except by very few people under especially favorable conditions. II Felt by a few people, especially those on upper floors of buildings. Suspended objects may swing. III Felt quite noticeably indoors. Many do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motorcars may rock slightly. IV Felt by many who are indoors; felt by a few outdoors. At night, some awakened. Dishes, windows and doors rattle. V Felt by nearly everyone; many awakened. Some dishes and windows broken; some cracked plaster; unstable objects overturned. VI Felt by everyone; many frightened and run outdoors. Some heavy furniture moved; some fallen plaster or damaged chimneys. VII Most people alarmed and run outside. Damage negligible in well constructed buildings; considerable damage in poorly constructed buildings. VIII Damage slight in speciall designed structures; considerable in ordinary buildings; great in poorly built structures. Heavy furniture overturned. Chimneys, monuments, etc. may topple. IX Damage considerable in specially designed structures. Buildings shift from foundations and collapse. Ground cracked. Underground pipes broken. X Some well-built wooden structures destroyed. Most masonry structures destroyed. Ground badly cracked. Landslides on steep slopes. XI Few, if any, masonry structures remain standing. Railroad rails bent; bridges destroyed. Broad fissure in ground. XII Virtually total destruction. Waves seen on ground;objects thrown into the air. In 2002, a seismograph station was established at Soldiers Delight in Baltimore County. A live link to the station is at http://www.mgs.md.gov/seismic/index.shtml. The station is a cooperating partner in the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory Seismic Network of Columbia University, along with stations in Delaware and Pennsylvania. Other regional seismograph stations are in State College, Pennsylvania; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Blacksburg, Virginia. |TABLE 2. Approximate relationships among earthquake magnitude, intensity, worldwide occurrence, and area affected (after U.S. Geological Survey, 1981, 1989).| Measurement of the severity of an earthquake can be expressed in several ways, the two most common being intensity and magnitude. The intensity, reported on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale, is a subjective measure in terms of eyewitness accounts (Table 1). Intensities are ranked on a 12-level scale and range from barely perceptible (I) to total destruction (XII). The lower intensities are described in terms of people's reactions and sensations, whereas the higher intensities relate chiefly to observable structural damage. Magnitude is an objective measure of earthquake severity and is closely related to the amount of seismic energy released at the focus of an earthquake. It is based on the amplitude of seismic waves as recorded on standardized seismographs. The standard for magnitude measures is the Richter Scale, an open-ended scale expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions. The Richter Scale is logarithmic, meaning that an earthquake of magnitude 5.0 has 10 times the wave amplitude of a magnitude 4.0 and 100 times the ground vibration amplitude of a magnitude 3.0 event. As a first approximation, each whole number increment on the Richter Scale corresponds to a release of about 31 times more seismic, or vibrational, energy. Actually, there are several different methods of determining Richter magnitude. One uses surface waves, another body waves, and so on. However, the differences in results are slight. Although the Richter scale has no upper limit, the greatest magnitude on record is 8.9 for earthquakes that occurred off the northwest coast of South America in 1906 (magnitude estimated) and off the east coast of Honshu, Japan in 1933. By comparison, the famous San Francisco earthquake of 1906 had an estimated magnitude of about 8.3 and an MMI of X. A comparison of the Modified Mercalli and the Richter Scales is shown in Table 2. It is important to realize that these relationships are only generalizations and can vary for any given earthquake depending upon local geologic conditions. As a general rule of thumb, damage is slight at the magnitude 4.5 level, becomes moderate at about 5.5, and above 6.5 or so can range from considerable to nearly total (Bollinger et al., 1989). This rela tion may not apply to earthquakes in Maryland, if recent events are any indication. A small tremor in January, 1990, west of Baltimore was assigned an Modified Mercalli Intensity V near the epicenter, but registered only a 2.5 to 2.6 magnitude on the Richter scale. EARTHQUAKES IN AND AROUND MARYLAND To most people in the United States, damaging earthquakes are a California phenomon, but this is misleading. Even though the greatest seismicity in the United States occurs along the Pacific Coast (especially Alaska and Southern California), major earthquakes have also occurred in the central and eastern U.S. The last earthquake to cause appreciable damage in the eastern United States occurred in 1886 near Charleston, South Carolina. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.5-7, an intensity of X, and was felt over an area of two million square miles. Even in Maryland, the felt intensity from this earthquake was IV to V. Perhaps the greatest seismic event ever to occur in North America in historic times was a series of earthquakes that shook the mid-continent around New Madrid, Missouri in the winter of 1811-1812. Estimates of the magnitude range as high as 8.7; estimated maximum intensity was XII; and the felt area, which included Maryland, was 2 million square miles. Other damaging earthquakes in the eastern U.S. include an intensity VIII event near Boston in 1755 and intensity VI events near New York City in 1737 and 1884. Figure 2 shows earthquake epicenters in the eastern United States and eastern Canada for a 10-year period, 1976-1985. Although numerous, these earthquakes were all low-intensity, low-magnitude events. Most had a magnitude less than 2.0. It is definitely worth noting that Maryland seems to be part of a seismically quiet zone. Several earthquakes in adjacent states have been felt in Maryland. Marylanders are more likely to feel one of these out-of-state earthquakes than one within Maryland. As shown by Figure 2, Southwestern Virginia, central Virginia, and the Atlantic seaboard northward from Wilmington, Delaware have significantly more seismic activity than does Maryland. One out-of-state earthquake that was felt in much of Maryland occurred Easter Sunday, April 22, 1984. In fact, it was reported felt in eight states and the District of Columbia, over an area of approximately 19,000 square miles. Centered about 12 miles south of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this earthquake registered 4.1 on the Richter Scale and had an epicentral intensity of V to VI. Most notable effects in Maryland were in the northeastern part of the state, which generally experienced Modified Mercalli Intensity V effects for example, hanging pictures fell in Conowingo; windows cracked in Elkton and Joppa; and standing vehicles rocked slightly in Union Bridge (Stover, 1988). A 3.0-magnitude tremor four days earlier is considered to have been a foreshock. Ten aftershocks registering 2 to 2.5 Richter magnitude occurred over a four-day period after the April 22 event. The Lancaster earthquake is likely related to Triassic-age structures in the area. As of late 1993, 47 earthquakes had been reported within Maryland’s borders (Table 3 and Fig. 3). Over the next ten years, that total reached 61. (For a frequently updated list and map of Maryland earthquakes, go to the Maryland Geological Survey’s FactSheet 13. The accuracy and precision of these epicenter determinations is such that a few of the closer out-of-state earthquakes could have occurred within Maryland and some of those near the state’s boundaries may actually have occurred in adjacent states. For example, not included in the list was a moderate shock that occurred on January 2, 1885 in an area near the Frederick County, Maryland-Loudon County, Virginia border. The maximum intensity was V, with the total felt area covering more than 3,500 square miles. Of the Maryland earthquakes, 2 occurred in the Valley and Ridge Province, 36 were in the Piedmont Province, and 10 were in the Coastal Plain Province. The first reported earthquake to have actually had its epicenter in Maryland occurred south of Annapolis on April 25, 1758, but no record of its strength is known to exist. The shock lasted 30 seconds and was preceded by subterranean noises. Additional felt reports were received from a few points in Pennsylvania (U.S. Geological Survey, 1973). Maryland's strongest confirmed tremor was a 3.1-magnitude event near Hancock, Washington County, in 1978. That perhaps was rivaled by an intensity V event (unknown magnitude) near Phoenix, Baltimore County, in 1939. Earthquakes of such magnitudes or intensities are still considered to be minor, and very seldom result in significant damage or injury. |Table 3: Earthquake chronology of Maryland, 1758-2003. The numbers 1-61 refer to those on the map in Figure 3. (Data for 1758-1979 compiled primarily by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS);1990-1993 data from Delaware Geological Survey (DGS), Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), and USGS; 1996 to 2002 data from DGS, LDEO, Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI)., and Maryland Geological Survey.| |No.||Date (UTC) 1 Year Mo. Day |Epicenter 2||General Location||Depth (km)||Intensity 3||Magnitude 4| |N Lat (deg.)||W Lon (deg.)| |1||1758 04 25||02:30||38.90||-76.50||Annapolis||...||V||(3.5, 3.7)| |2||1828 02 24||...||38.90||-76.70||Bowie||...||...||...| |3||1876 01 30||02:05||38.90||-76.50||Annapolis||...||...||...| |4||1876 04 10||...||38.50||-76.60||Prince Frederick||...||III||(2.7)| |5||1877 09 01||16:00||38.70||-76.80||Brandywine||...||III||(2.7)| |65||1815 01 04||08:005||39.57||-77.00||Westminster||...||IV-V||(3.1)| |7||1883 03 11||23:57||39.50||-76.40||Fallston||...||IV||(3.1, 3.3)| |8||1883 03 12||05:00||39.50||-76.40||Fallston||...||III||(2.7, 2.9)| |9||1902 03 10||05:00||39.60||-77.20||Union Bridge||...||III||(2.7)| |10||1902 03 11||10:30||39.60||-77.20||Union Bridge||...||III||(2.7)| |11||1903 01 01||17:30||39.60||-77.20||Union Bridge||...||III||(2.7)| |12||1903 01 01||22:45||39.60||-77.20||Union Bridge||...||II||(2.4)| |13||1906 10 13||15:00||39.20||-76.70||Catonsville||...||III||(2.7)| |14||1910 01 24||02:20||39.60||-77.00||Westminster||...||II||(2.4)| |15||1910 04 24||02:||39.20||-76.70||Catonsville||...||III||(2.7)| |16||1928 10 15||...||38.30||-75.10||Ocean City||...||IV||(2.7, 3.3)| |17||1930 11 01||06:34||39.10||-76.50||Round Bay - Severna Park||...||IV||(3.1, 3.3)| |18||1930 11 01||07:02||39.10||-76.50||Round Bay - Severna Park||...||III||(2.7)| |19||1939 06 22||23:10||39.50||-76.60||Phoenix||...||III||(2.7)| |20||1939 11 18||02:33||39.50||-76.60||Phoenix||...||IV||(3.1)| |21||1939 11 26||05:20||39.50||-76.60||Phoenix||...||V||(3.5, 3.7)| |22||1962 09 07||14:00||39.70||-78.20||Hancock||38||IV||(3.3)| |23||1978 04 26||19:30||39.7||-78.24||Hancock||15||...||3.10| |24||1986 05 23||17:48||38.69||-77.04||Accoceek - Piscataway||0.20||...||2.5| |25||1990 01 13||20:48||39.36||-76.80||Randallstown (V), Eldersburg (IV), Ellicott City (IV), Granite (IV), Owings Mills (III)||3-5||V||2.6 2.5| |26||1990 04 04||16:15||39.35||-76.78||Granite - Randallstown - Baltimore||7.0 10.0||II||1.7| |27||1991 09 28||11:28||39.36||-76.83||Granite - Randallstown||5.0||III||2.4| |28||1993 03 10||14:32||39.2||-76.8||Columbia (IV) - Ellicott City (II) - Fulton (II)||5.0||II-IV||2.5| |29||1993 03 12||00:54:00||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||5.0||II-III||2.0| |30||1993 03 15||04:30||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates - Laurel||0.9||III-V||2.7| |31||1993 03 16||07:59:00||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||5.0||II-III||1.8| |32||1993 03 16||16:59||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||5.0||II-III||1.8| |33||1993 03 17||11:54||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5||I-II||=/< 1.0| |34||1993 03 19||05:50||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5||I-II||1.0| |35||1993 03 19||19:26||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5||I||<1.0| |36||1993 03 21||10:55||39.47||-76.30||Aberdeen - Bel Air||...||I-II||1.5| |37||1993 03 22||10:26||39.19||-76.86||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5||not felt||about 0.0| |38||1993 03 26||14:03||39.28||-76.82||Ellicott City near jct US40 & 29||...||I-II||<1.5 (est.)| |39||1993 04 04||17:32||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5||I-III||1.5| |40||1993 04 04||17:33||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5||I-II||1.5| |41||1993 04 08||09:10||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5||I-II||1-1.5| |42||1993 07 09||06:31||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5 (est.)||II-III||1.9| |43||1993 07 12||21:24||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5 (est.)||III-IV||2.1| |44||1993 10 28||06:00||39.25||-76.77||Ilchester - Ellicott City||...||IV||2.1| |45||1993 10 28||06:01||39.25||-76.77||Ilchester - Ellicott City||...||IV||1.8| |46*||1993 11 17||16:35||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||0.5 (est.)||III||1.7 (est.)| |47*||1993 11 27||15:26||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||...||I-II||<1.5 (est.)| |48*||1993 11 27||18:43||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||...||I-II||about 1.5 (est.)| |49||1994 10 28||02:04||39.1||-76.60||Glen Burnie - Pasadena -Gambrills -Millersville||...||IV||2.7| |50||1996 08 02||07:19||39.57||-76.08||Perryville||...||II-III||2.2| |51||1996 10 17||11:43||39.7||-76.07||Rising Sun (epicenter may be in Pennsylvania)||5.4||IV||2.2, 2.3| |52-54||1996 12 06||3 very small events in 35 min.||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||...||II||<1.5 (est.)| |55-57||1996 12 14||3 very small events in 75 min.||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates||...||II||<1.5 (est.)| |586||1996 12 16||15:10||39.25||-76.77||Ilchester - Ellicott City||...||I||about 1 (est.)| |59||1996 12 22||05:56||39.19||-76.87||Columbia - Allview Estates|| |60||2001 12 18||...||38.19||-76.84||Columbia nr US29-Md32||...||II||1.5-2.0 (est)| |61||2002 03 22||...||38.19||-76.84||Columbia nr US29-Md32||...||I||1-2 (est.)| |62||2003 12 09||20:59:14||37.599||37.599||28 miles west of the Richmond in rural Powhatan County, VA||4.8||VI||4.5| |63||2005 02 23||14:22:43||39.26||-76.58||SE Baltimore near Fort McHenry, Dundalk, Glen Burnie, Pasadena, Gambrills||...||VI||2.0-2.1| |64||2008 12 27||05:04:34||40.114||-76.403||9 km (6 miles) W of Lancaster, PA.||4||IV||3.4| |65||2009 07 01||13:44:43||39.64||-75.48||Southwestern New Jersey||5||III||2.8| |66||2009 09 29||13:58:51||39.607||-76.342||7 km (4 miles) NNE (15°) from Bel Air North, MD||5||II||1.6| |67||2010 07 16||09:04:47||39.17||-77.25||Potomac-Shenandoah Region, MD||5||V||3.4| |68||2011 08 23||17:51:04||37.936||-77.933||8 km (5 miles) SSW (195°) from Mineral, VA||6||V-VI||5.8| Recent confirmed earthquakes in Maryland were both felt in roughly the same location and, therefore, may possibly be related. The first of these occurred on January 13, 1990 at about 3:48 p.m. local time (EST). According to reports from nine seismograph stations, the shock's magnitude registered 2.5 to 2.6 on the Richter scale. Depth to focus was approximately 2 miles, which indicates a very shallow earthquake. Intensities ranged from MMI V in the Randallstown area; to IV at Eldersburg, Ellicott City, Granite and Woodstock; and III at Owings Mills. Several first-hand accounts of the event from the Granite-Hernwood area reported that houses shook or windows rattled, both indicative of an intensity IV. No damage was reported. On April 4, 1990, reports of another small earthquake came from the Randallstown-Granite-Hernwood area. However, seismic stations in Delaware and Virginia place the epicenter in western Carroll County (Fig. 4), approximately 20 miles west of the Randallstown area. By all accounts, this event was smaller than the January tremor. Preliminary analysis of seismic records indicated a magnitude of about 1.6 or 1.7, and first-hand accounts of a few local residents suggested a Mercalli intensity of about II or III. One eyewitness described the event as starting with the sound of distant thunder, getting louder for about 25 seconds, then followed by 5 to 7 seconds of minor rumbling or shaking. Another resident of this area has reported nearly two dozen similar events, although not confirmed as earthquakes, between October, 1987 and May, 1990. ASSESSING THE RISK The earthquake hazard in the United States has been estimated in a variety of ways. Chief among them is the production of "risk maps." Such maps prove useful in establishing building codes, engineering design standards, and insurance rates in areas of high risk. Seismic risk maps are based either on relative risk or on the probability of a certain seismic event at a particular time and place. Two examples of risk maps are shown in Figure 4. Figure 4a shows four zones that are assigned risk on a relative scale. This map is based on the known occurrence of damaging earthquakes in the past, evidence of strain release, and consideration of major geologic structures and provinces believed to be associated with earthquake activity. For years, this map was widely used, because it was the best risk map available. However, this type of risk map has several drawbacks. For one thing, it does not consider frequency of occurrence. Furthermore, there is no justification for assuming that events larger than those observed historically, especially in the East, will not occur in the future. It is also known that ground-motion attenuation ("dying out" of the shock waves) with distance is far less in the eastern U.S. than in the western states. Felt areas are, in general, one order of magnitude greater in the East than for similar earthquakes in the West (Bollinger, 1973). Nonetheless, according to this map, Maryland is appropriately placed into a zone of minor expected damage, corresponding to Mercalli intensity V to VI. A more recent development that is still being improved upon is the probabilistic map. One example is illustrated in Figure 4b. This particular map shows the expected maximum horizontal ground acceleration (as a percentage of g, the acceleration due to gravity, 32.2 ft/sec2) on rock sites. These ground accelerations, which are one measure of ground shaking, have a 90-percent probability of not being exceeded in 50 years. This is equivalent to a recurrence interval, or return period, of 475 years (Hays, 1980). Damage begins to occur at about 10-15% g. Below 4% g, which is the lowest contour on this map, shaking effects are controlled by earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or less in other words, minor earthquakes. An acceleration of 0.1% g or more is perceptible to people (Algermissen and Perkins, 1976). According to Figure 4b, Maryland has a very low chance of experiencing a damaging earthquake in a 50-year period. For moderate exposure times (10-100 years), the expected ground motion associated with earthquakes in this region would be of marginal interest (Algermissen et al., 1982). As a rough estimate, Maryland's falling in the 4-10% g category on the map in Figure 4b might translate into a maximum expected magnitude of 4.0-4.5. It is important to emphasize that these figures are only rough estimates. The difficulty in assigning maximum magnitudes is most acute where no faults are known, where seismicity is low, and where near-maximum earthquakes may not have occurred in historical times. This is true for most of the eastern United States (Algermissen and Perkins, 1976). Downloads and LinksEducational Series 9: Earthquakes and Maryland (pdf, 1.1 MB) Fact Sheet 13: Summary of Maryland Earthquakes, 1758-2000 (pdf, 334 kB) Maryland Geological Survey's Seismic Network Open File Report 99-03-1: Earthquake Hazard Maps for Maryland Algermissen, S. T., 1969, Seismic risk studies in the United States: Proc., 4th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, Santiago, Chile, v. 2, p. 14-27. Algermissen, S. T. and Perkins, D. M., 1976, Probabilistic estimate of maximimum acceleration in rock in the contiguous United States: U.S. Geol. Survey Open-File Report 76-416, 45 p. Algermissen, S. T., Perkins, D. M., Thenhaus, P. C., Hanson, S. L. and Bender, B. L., 1982, Probabilistic estimates of maximum acceleration and velocity in rock in the contiguous United States: U. S. Geol. Survey Open-File Report 82-1033, 99 p. Bollinger, G. A., 1969, Seismicity of the Central Appalachian states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland1758-1968: Seismol. Soc. America Bull., v. 59, no. 5, p. 2103-2111. _______, 1973, Seismicity of the southeastern United States: Seismol. Soc. America Bull., v. 63, no. 5. p. 1785-1808. Bollinger, G. A., Snoke, J. A., Chapman, M. C., and Sibol, M. S., 1989, Estimates of the occurrence and resulting effects of damaging earthquakes in Virginia: Virginia Minerals, v. 35, no. 3, p. 17-22. Foley, J. E., Doll, C., Filipkkowski, F., and Lorsbach, G. (eds.), 1985, Seismicity of the Northeastern United States, April 1-June 30, 1984: Weston Observatory, Boston College, Northeastern U.S. Seismic Network Bull. 35, 40 p. Hanks, T. C., 1985, The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction ProgramScientific Status: U.S. Geol. Survey Bull. 1059, 40 p. Hays, W. W., 1980, Procedures for estimating earthquake ground motions: U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 1114, 77p. Sibol, M. S., Bollinger, G. A., and Mathena, E. C. (eds.), 1985, Seismicity of the Southeastern United States, January 1-January 30, 1985: Seismological Observatory, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Southeastern U.S. Seismic Network Bull. 16, 70 p. Spence, W., Sipkin, S. A., and Choy, G. L., 1989, Measuring the size of an earthquake: Earthquakes and Volcanoes, U.S. Geological Survey, v. 21, no. 1, p. 58-63. Stover, C. W., 1988, United States Earthquakes, 1984: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1862, 179 p. Stover, C. W., Reagor, B. G., and Algermissen, S. T., 1984, United States Earthquake Data File: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 84-225, 123 p. U.S. Geological Survey, 1973, Earthquake history of Maryland: Earthquake Information Bulletin, v. 5, no. 4, p. 22-23. _______, 1981, Questions and answers: Earthquake Information Bulletin, v. 13, no. 4, p. 153-154. _______, 1990, Preliminary Determination of Epicenters, Weekly Listing: National Earthquake Info. Center, Denver, No. 2-90, Feb. 1, 1990. Wheeler, R. L. and Bollinger, G. A., 1984, Seismicity and suspect terranes in the Southeastern United States: Geology, v. 12, no. 6, p. 323-326. SUGGESTED READINGS FOR THE NON-GEOLOGIST Bolt, B. A., 1978, Earthquakes, a primer: W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, 241 p. Gere, J. M. and Shah, H. C., 1984, Terra non firma: W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, 203 p. Halacy, D. S., Jr., 1974, Earthquake A natural history: Bobbs-Merrill Co., New York, 162 p. Hodgson, J. H., 1964, Earthquakes and earth structure: Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 166 p. Pakiser, L. C., 1988, Earthquakes: U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colo., 20p. This pamphlet was prepared by James P. Reger. Compiled by the Maryland Geological Survey, 2300 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 This electronic version of "Earthquakes and Maryland " was prepared by Bob Conkwright, Division of Coastal and Estuarine Geology, Maryland Geological Survey.

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Organic gardening can be a very enjoyable hobby. It involves particular growing techniques, along with the gardener’s choice of equipment and seeds. This vast world has so many different kinds of seeds, equipment, and techniques that it can seem a bit confusing as to where you need to begin. These tips can help you make sense of the confusion. Be sure to test your soil before you plant your garden, if you want to be successful without the need for chemicals. A home testing kit can tell you the pH of your soil, which indicates the likelihood of plant survival. A vegetable garden requires a pH of about 6.5; if your soil is off, you can supplement before your plants start to die. If you live in the city, you can still reap the benefits of organic gardening through container gardening. Herbs especially will thrive in indoor pots, as long as they are large enough. Container gardening can be easier than outdoor gardening when going organic, as there is less risk of exposure to insect pests or weeds. Plant your own seeds to guarantee organic produce. Sowing your own vegetable seeds gives you the comfort and assurance that your produce has been grown organically from seed to table. Choose plants that are easy to germinate such as broccoli, cabbage, basil and tomatoes. Find out the best time of the year to sprout your chosen produce. A great first step to having a successful organic garden is to test the acidity of the soil in your garden. The ideal number is 6.5, if your soil is on the low end, it’s too acidic and if it’s on the high end it’s too alkaline. Neither of those situations lends itself to a successful garden. So by purchasing a soil testing kit before planting, you will assure yourself a beautiful organic garden in the summer. Protect your seeds from fungus with natural products. You can use milled sphagnum moss to protect all your plants. If your seeds need light to grow, sprinkle the moss first and then place your seeds. This solution is much better than any chemicals you can find in a store and will protect your seeds efficiently. Make sure your seeds have enough room to grow. It is fine to have many seeds in one container before they sprout, but you will have to replant them as they grow. Use containers that are actually big enough for one plant, and avoid having more than one plant in each container. Do not get rid of weeds by pulling them. This takes you a lot of time and they might grow back. If you notice an area with a lot of weeds, take a shovel and dig under it. Turn the soil over so that the weeds feed your seeds like manure would. While organic gardening can be a personal hobby for everyone, it does share the main goal of wanting to grow healthy and happy organic plants. As you have seen in these tips, there are various approaches, but they all share the goal of being a successful organic gardener.

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Summary: This collection provides a thorough grounding in the philosophy of American pragmatism by examining the views of four principal thinkers--Charles S. Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and George Herbert Mead--on issues of central and enduring importance to life in human society. Pragmatism emerged as a characteristically American response to an inheritance of British empiricism. Presenting a radical reconception of the nature of experience, pragmatism repre ...show moresents a belief that ideas are not merely to be contemplated but must be put into action, tested and refined through experience. At the same time, the American pragmatists argued for an emphasis on human community that would offset the deep-seated American bias in favor of individualism. Far from being a relic of the past, pragmatism offers a dynamic and substantive approach to questions of human conduct, social values, scientific inquiry, religious belief, and aesthetic experience that lie at the center of contemporary life. This volume is an invaluable introduction to a school of thought that remains vital, instructive, and provocative. More prices and sellers below.

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Study finds biodiesel use in HD trucks in Canada will result in very minimal changes in air quality and health benefits Results of a study by a team from Health Canada and Environment Canada suggest that the use of B5 and B20 biodiesel fuel blends (5% and 20% biodiesel, respectively) compared to ULSD in on-road heavy-duty diesels in Canada will result in very minimal changes in air quality and health benefits/costs across Canada, and that these were likely to diminish over time. Health Canada is the Canadian Federal department responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health; Environment Canada is the Federal agency tasked with, among other things, protecting the environment. An open-access paper on the study has been accepted for publication in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. The Government of Canada has mandated a 2% renewable content requirement in diesel fuel; biodiesel—a mixture of fatty acid alkyl esters produced via transesterification from a variety of feedstocks (e.g., vegetable oils and animal fats)—will likely be used to meet a large fraction of the renewable content requirement, the authors note. When used in on-road heavy duty diesel vehicles (HDDV), biodiesel fuels generally decrease emissions of PM, CO, hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds (VOC), and slightly increase or have no net impact on NOx emissions. However, the impact of these changes in HDDV exhaust emissions on ambient atmospheric pollutant concentrations and, more importantly, on human health outcomes across Canada have not been evaluated. In fact, only a few studies have estimated changes in air pollutant concentrations under specific conditions heavily influenced by biodiesel fuel emissions. Furthermore, these have focused on occupational settings, specific fleets, or regions of the US, and therefore the reported exposures do not reflect general Canadian population exposures.—Rouleau et al. The study assessed the potential human health implications of the widespread use of biodiesel in Canada compared to those from ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) in 2006 and 2020. Computer models estimated changes in human health outcomes, based on the impacts of on-road mobile source emission scenarios on ambient concentrations of PM2.5, O3, CO, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and SO2. The authors made a number of assumptions for their model, including: application of emission factors for canola based biodiesel; use of biodiesel in on road HDDVs exclusively; no impact on exhaust emissions from biodiesel use in 2007 model year and later HDDVs; 2020 emission projections based on 2006 data; and identical meteorology in 2006 and 2020. The economic projections used to develop the 2020 emissions data were determined prior to 2009 and, as such, did not consider the latest economic trends (e.g., the 2008-2012 global recession). However, they cautioned, although their results are unlikely to accurately represent actual emissions, they do allow a consistent comparison of projections of the impact of the use of biodiesel blends compared to petroleum diesel. Among the high-level findings were: The use of biodiesel in heavy-duty diesel vehicles decreased exhaust emissions of most pollutants, with the exception of a slight increase in NOx emissions. Canadian vehicle fleet turnover to lower emitting vehicles substantially reduced baseline projections for on-road vehicle emissions in 2020 compared to 2006, and also decreased the projected impact of biodiesel use on exhaust emissions. I.e., the reductions in NOx and PM emission rates resulting from the introduction of new and improved vehicles (e.g., exhaust emission control devices and vehicle efficiency) outweigh changes in emissions associated with the use of blends lower than B20. In general, the proposed biodiesel scenarios were associated with very minimal changes in modeled air pollutant emissions and ambient air concentrations. These changes would likely be well below any possible verification by ambient monitoring. O3 concentrations were highly dependent on NOx and VOC levels. Variations in PM2.5 concentrations between the B5 and B20 scenarios were not linear, and the direction of change in ambient PM2.5 concentrations depended on the difference between primary PM2.5 reductions and secondary PM2.5 formation. Biodiesel use, by decreasing primary PM2.5 emissions from HDDVs, did not necessarily have a beneficial impact on PM2.5 concentrations if secondary PM2.5 production increased due to variations in emissions of particulate precursors (e.g., NOx). Increasing the biodiesel content from B5 to B20 appeared to have a greater impact on processes that generated secondary PM2.5 compared to processes that decreased primary PM2.5 emissions, especially in urban centers. The majority of the mortality and morbidity benefits estimated for 2006 were associated with reductions in PM2.5 and O3 levels, while increases in NO2 levels were associated with small increases in premature mortality. Results for 2020 showed smaller health benefits or disbenefits under the different biodiesel use scenarios, resulting partly from the lower impact of biodiesel fuel use on HDDV emissions with the introduction of cleaner vehicles. Overall, the researchers noted, the results of their study concurred with those from previous assessments of the impact of biodiesel use on ambient air concentrations for regions of the US and Canada. These assessments estimated that the use of biodiesel would likely lead to negligible or non-measurable impacts on air quality. Funding for the work was supported by the Clean Air Regulatory Agenda (CARA) of the Government of Canada. Mathieu Rouleau, Marika Egyed, Brett Taylor, Jack Chen, Mehrez Samaali, Didier Davignon, and Gilles Morneau (2013) “Human health impacts of biodiesel use in on-road heavy duty diesel vehicles in Canada,” Environ. Sci. Technol. doi: 10.1021/es4023859

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What role does a Productive Muslim play towards safeguarding the environment? What are the benefits and rewards of taking small yet crucial steps to preserve some of the most important treasures Allah has blessed us with? Doing your bit for the environment might seem a little too difficult initially, but doing so with the right intentions of pleasing Allah will never go unnoticed. While talking about how quickly the Earth’s resources are depleting is easy, doing what you can to save the environment makes Productive Muslims stand out from the crowd. Let’s go through all the different resources we use on a daily basis and discuss what we can practically do to make our usage eco-friendly and productive: We all know how crucial water is for our survival but we tend to take it for granted. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-`Aas reported that the Prophet passed one day by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqas while he was performing wudu’. The Prophet asked Sa`d: “What is this wastage?” Sa`d replied: “Is there wastage in wudu also?” The Prophet said, “Yes, even if you are at a flowing river.”[Ibn Majah] Subhan Allah! When was the last time we thought about making eco-friendly wudu?! Let’s all try to implement the following tips to save this essential precious resource: - Turn the tap off while brushing your teeth. By doing so, you could be saving nearly 8 gallons of water a day! - Use your dishwashers only when they are fully loaded, to save water and electricity. The same rule applies for using washing machines as well. - If you are living in a country that receives abundant rainfall, you could try rainwater harvesting which has been employed in certain countries to make ingenious usage of rainwater. - If you need to water your lawn, do so in the evening hours. This will help the water seep through as opposed to watering when the sun is out in full glory, which will lead to quick water evaporation, leading to water wastage and causing unwanted wilting of plants. - Electric fans consume less electricity than air-conditioners (ACs). Use the former as much as you can, whenever you can. An eco-conscious Muslim on the other hand, opens his windows to fill the room with natural air, improving the house’s ventilation in the best possible manner. By doing so, you will not only be saving a lot of electricity, but will also increase the quality of your life by giving your lungs the dose of fresh natural air it deserves. - Do not leave devices plugged in while not using them. Do not charge your laptops, cell phones or any electronic device excessively. This will result in unwanted electricity consumption and might harm your batteries too. Simply turn off devices (especially your laptops) while not using them or while sleeping to save power. - Keep the doors closed while leaving the room to prevent the room from cooling or heating up too much. This way, your room remains warm in cooler climatic conditions, preventing you from using heaters excessively. During warmer climatic conditions, you could use the same principle for preventing the cool air generated by ACs from escaping out, making your room feel relatively cooler as opposed to leaving the door open while you leave. - Dry your clothes outdoors if you receive abundant sunlight instead of using the dryers. - Walk outdoors instead of using the treadmill. This saves energy and is more beneficial for your body as well. - Use the good old bicycle to commute short distances instead of using your cars. This saves fuel and gives your body a natural workout, helping you stay fit. If you find that option awkward, you could try the public transport system too. - Natural resources like sunlight are a blessing for mankind from Allah . Use solar panels if you live in a country that receives abundant sunlight. Food and You Cook only that which is necessary. Many a times, we tend to cook way too much than what’s needed. Leaving the leftovers in the refrigerator (resulting in unwanted power consumption) or throwing them away (in effect neglecting the rizq that Allah has provided) will become inevitable. Abdullah ibn `Abbas reported that the Prophet said: “The believer is not he who eats his fill while his neighbour is hungry.” [Al Adab Al Mufrad] While you may not be living in a locality where your neighbour is hungry, you might probably come across people down the street who are in dire need of a few morsels. So make the intention to feed the poor in your locality if you do have leftover food. Try giving it to them when the food is fresh instead of passing it over when it has become stale. Like the Prophet said: “Love for your brother what you love for yourself!” [Tirmidhi] Alternatively, you could use that food to feed the animals too. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet said: “A man felt very thirsty while he was on the way, there he came across a well. He went down the well, quenched his thirst and came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. He said to himself, “This dog is suffering from thirst as I did.” So, he went down the well again, filled his shoe with water, held it with his mouth and watered the dog. Allah appreciated him for that deed and forgave him.” The Companions said, “O Allah’s Messenger! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?” He replied: “There is a reward for serving any living being.” [Bukhari] Your time on Earth is limited, so try collecting as many rewards as you can in every manner possible, In sha Allah. Maintaining the Environment is Charity Many a time, we wonder how and where we could give charity. The possibilities are limitless. Here a few examples to get you started: Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said: “Removing harmful things from the road is an act of charity (sadaqah).” [Riyadh As Saliheen] We often see public places littered with useless substances. You may see a stone, a branch, or any type of substance that is obstructing the pathway and could cause potential injury to someone. Why not remove it from the path to earn some charitable rewards In sha Allah? Planting Trees: Investment of a Lifetime You may have read umpteen numbers of articles on why and how you must plant trees along with the numerous environmental benefits. Now, let’s look at the Islamic benefits of planting trees. Prophet said: “If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift (sadaqah) for him.” [Bukhari] So, if you don’t have the means to donate money for building a mosque or a well, and if you don’t have the time to impart beneficial knowledge to someone, you could still earn sadaqah jariya (continuous charity) by doing something as simple as planting a tree! Every time a person/animal benefits from the shade the tree provides or by relishing a fruit that was produced, you could be earning exponential rewards even after your death! So, take your family out and plant away. Safeguarding and doing our bit for the environment by taking care of resources that Allah has subjected to our service, is a beautiful way of showing our gratitude towards our Lord. Being a part of this blessed religion allows you to earn magnanimous rewards in numerous ways possible. With several ahadith of our Prophet stressing on making conscious efforts to conserve our environment, I hope to have inspired you to take small yet significant steps in doing whatever little you can to preserve our surroundings and receive Allah’s pleasure, In sha Allah. Please share your thoughts on what you could do or have done for the environment, so we could inspire each other bi’idhnillah.

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Fueled by increased demand for Internet-delivered services and the ongoing data explosion, new data center projects continue to crop up around the country, despite the sad state of the economy. Fortunately, data center architects are not only embracing best practices for making their facilities as energy efficient as possible, they're also sharing some of their sustainability secrets while pushing the environmental envelope. One of the most interesting data center announcements I've seen of late comes out of Syracuse University (SU). With public funds as well as support and funding from IBM, the institution recently completed its brand-new, $12.4 million, 12,000-square-foot Green Data Center (GDC), which will use about 50 percent less energy than a typical data center. The facility will be a base from which SU and Big Blue offer research and analysis services for organizations looking to build or renovate energy-efficient data centers. [ Facebook says its future data center will have a remarkably low PUE of 1.15 | Did your organization undertake an innovative green-tech project in 2009? InfoWorld is currently accepting nominations for the 2010 InfoWorld Green 15 awards. ] It's good to live in DC Part of GDC's energy savings can be attributed to its use of DC power. Early last year, InfoWorld contributor Logan Harbaugh described how energy waste occurs in data centers built around AC: In a typical data center environment, power conversions abound along the path from the outside utility pad to the servers. With each conversion, some power is lost. The power starts at the utility pad at 16,000 VAC (volts alternating current), then is converted to 440 VAC, to 220 VAC, then to 110 VAC before it reaches the UPSes feeding each server rack. Each UPS converts the incoming AC power to DC power, then back to AC. The UPSes then distribute that AC power to their respective servers -- where it's converted back to DC. As much as 50 to 70 percent of the electricity that comes into the data center is wasted throughout this long and winding conversion process. In the GDC, DC power is delivered directly at the appropriate voltage to IBM System z10 servers, thus eliminating waste from conversions. Big Blue's Power- and z-series servers readily accept either 380 or 575 volts DC directly, according to Edward Seminaro, chief hardware systems engineer for IBM: "When the energy efficiency is combined with the benefits of running an end-to-end DC environment, it is difficult to deploy a system that is greener or more reliable." By embracing DC, the school also manages to reclaim precious floor space that would otherwise be lost to additional conversion equipment -- plus, there's the overall green benefit of having fewer pieces of IT equipment manufactured and delivered to the institution.

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Here is my latest piece for BBC Future (which you can’t see in the UK). I have at least one other piece from this column yet to put up here – that will follow. Electronic waste from obsolete phones, cameras, computers and other mobile devices is one of the scourges of the age of information. The circuitry and packaging is not only non-biodegradable but is laced with toxic substances such as heavy metals. Imagine, then, a computer that can be disposed of by simply letting soil bacteria eat it – or even, should the fancy take you, by eating it yourself. Biodegradable information technology is now closer to appearing on the menu following the announcement by Fiorenzo Omenetto of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and coworkers of a laser made from silk. In collaboration with David Kaplan, a specialist in the biochemistry of silk at Tufts, Omenetto has been exploring the uses of silk for several years. He is convinced that it can offer us much more than glamorous clothing. It is immensely strong – more so than steel – and can be used to make tough fibres and ropes. In the Far East silk was once used to pad armour, and in pre-revolutionary Russia a form of primitive bullet-proof clothing was made from it. It can be moulded like plastic, yet is biodegradable: silk cups can be thrown away to quickly break down in the environment. It is also biocompatible, and so could be used to make medical implants such as screws to hold together mending bones, or artificial blood vessels. You can even eat it safely, although it doesn’t taste good. What’s more, all of this comes from sustainable and environmentally friendly processing. Spiders and silkworms make silk in water at ordinary body temperature, spinning the threads from a solution of the silk protein. Harvesting natural silk is one option, but the genes that encode the protein can be transferred to other species, so that it can be produced by bacteria in fermentation vats, or even expressed in the milk of transgenic goats. Turning this raw silk protein into strong fibres is not easy – it’s hard to reproduce the delicate thread-spinning apparatus of spiders – but if you just want to cast films of silk as if it were a plastic then this isn’t an issue. Perhaps some of the most remarkable potential uses for this ancient material are in high-tech optical technology, like that which forms the basis of optical storage and telecommunications. Using moulds patterned on the microscopic scale, silk can be shaped into structures that reflect and diffract light, like those on DVDs – it will support holograms, for instance. Its transparency commends it for optical fibres, and Omenetto and colleagues have previously shaped silk films into so-called waveguides, rather like very thin optical fibres laid down directly on a solid surface such as a silicon chip. But rather than just using silk to passively guide and direct light, they wanted to generate light from it too. This is what the silk laser enables. In a laser, a light-emitting substance – the lasing medium – is sandwiched between mirrors which allow the light to bounce back and forth. The medium is placed in a light-emitting state by pumping in energy, typically using either another light source or an electrical current. When light is emitted, its trapping by the mirrors means that it triggers still more emission as it bounces to and fro, so that all the light is released in an avalanche. This puts all the light waves in step with one another, which is what gives laser light its intensity and narrowly focused beam. The beam eventually escapes through one of the mirrors, which is designed to be only partially reflective. Because of their brightness, focus and rapid on-off switching, lasers are used in telecommunications to transmit information as a stream of light pulses that encode the binary digital information of computers and microprocessors: a pulse corresponds to “1”, say, and a gap in the pulse stream to a “0”. In this way, information can be fed over long distances down optical fibres. Increasingly, computer and electrical engineers are now aiming to move and process information directly on microchips in the form of light. Then there’s no cumbersome light-to-electrical conversion of data at each end of the transmission, and light-based information processing could potentially be faster and carry more signal, since different data streams can be conveyed simultaneously in light of different colours. These so-called photonic chips could transform information technology, and Omenetto believes that with silk it should be possible to create ‘biophotonic’ circuits. That demands not just channelling light but generating it – in a laser. Silk doesn’t absorb or emit light at the visible and infrared frequencies used in conventional telecommunications and optical information technology. So to make it into a laser medium, one needs to add substances that do. Organic dyes (carbon-based molecules) are already widely used, dispersed in a liquid solvent or in some solid matrix, to make dye lasers. The researchers figured they could mix such a dye into silk. They used one called stilbene, which is water-soluble and closely related to chemical compounds found in plants and used as textile brighteners. Working with Stefano Toffanin and colleagues at the Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials in Bologna, Italy, Omenetto and his coworkers patterned a thin layer of silica (silicon dioxide) on the surface of a slice of silicon into a series of grooves about a quarter of a micrometre wide, which act as a mirror for the bluish-purple light that stilbene emits. They then covered this with a layer of silk spiced with the dye, and found that when they pumped this structure with ultraviolet light, it emitted light with the characteristic signature of laser light: an intense beam with a very narrow spread in frequency. Making the device on silicon means that it could potentially be controlled electronically and merged with conventional chip circuitry. But that’s not essential – silk-based light circuits and devices could be laid down on other materials, perhaps on cheap, flexible and degradable plastics. This isn’t the first time that biological materials have been used to make lasers. For example, in 2002 a team in Japan made one using films of DNA infused with organic dyes. And last year, two researchers in the US and Korea made lasers from living cells that were engineered to produce a fluorescent protein found naturally in a species of jellyfish. But the attraction of silk is that it is cheap, easy to process, biodegradable and already used to make a range of other light-based devices. There might be even more dramatic possibilities. Recently, Omenetto and colleagues showed that silk is a good support for growing neurons, the cells that communicate nerve signals in the nervous system and the brain. This leads them to speculate that silk might mediate between optical and electronic technology and our nervous system, for example by bringing light sources intimately close to nerve cells for imaging them, or perhaps even developing circuitry that can transmit signals across damaged nerves. Reference: S. Toffanin et al., Applied Physics Letters 101, 091110 (2012)

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Lockheed Martin, yes that Lockheed Martin, is about to create the world's largest wave-energy project off the coast of Victoria, Australia. For about the cost of a brace of its overdue, overpriced and underperforming F-35 stealth, 'first strike' light bombers, Lockheed will deploy power buoys capable of generating 62.5 megawatts of electricity, enough for about 10,000 homes. Like most renewables, the costs ($205 million) are front-end loaded. Unlike fossil-fuel plants, there's no ongoing fuel costs. Wave energy, it seems, is free. You build and maintain the mechanical part and Mother Nature supplies the fuel at no charge - indefinitely. Wave energy typically is ideal along continental west coasts where westerly winds have thousands of miles of open ocean to energize waves. Even on calm days off the west coast of Vancouver Island, the swells, while gentle, are something of a roller coaster. That's all virtually free and entirely clean energy.

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'Uthman Ibn Madhun RA - Worldly Pleasure Never Entice him. A 'Monk' Whose Hermitage was Life Uthman bin Madhun RA (Arabic: عثمان بن مظعون) (may also be spelled as Uthman bin Madh’un) was one of the companions of Muhammad. Uthman bin Madhun RA was from Banu (Family of) Jamh branch of Quraish tribe. His grandfather of Jamh was khusays bin Ka’b. Ka’b bin Luai the ancestor of Uthman bin Madhun RA was also an ancestor of Rasulullah SAW. Uthman bin Madhun RA and all three of his brothers were among the As-Sabiqun al-Awwalun (Early Muslims). Uthman bin Madhun RA had the following three brothers: 1. Qadamah bin Madhun RA 2. Sa’ib bin Madhun RA 3. Abdullah bin Madhun RA All of them migrated to Habash (Ethiopia) with many other Muslims, to save themselves from the torture of Quraish. They had a sister named Zainab bint Madhun RA. She was married to Saidina Umar bin Al-Khattab RA the second Caliph of Muslim in the Caliph Rashidin era. Zainab bint Madhun RA had two children: Hafsah bint Umar ibn Al Khattab RA and Abdullah bin Umar Ibn Al Khattab RA.Hafsah bint Umar Ibn Al Khattab RA later became one of the Ummul Muminin (Mother of the faithful), a title given to the holy wives of Rasulullah SAW. Their father was Madhun bin Habib. Uthman bin Madhun RA was one of the very few Quraish who did not drink wine before Islam. Uthman bin Madhun RA was among the first fifteen people to accept Islam. The early converts to Islam were tortured by the Quraish for leaving their age-old religion. In the year 9BH (Before Hijrah) (613 AD), the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad SAW allowed these early Muslims to migrate out of Makkah. More than one hundred (100) Muslims migrated to Habash (Ethiopia), at different times in small groups, to save themselves from the torture of Quraish. The Christian King Najashi (Negus) of Habash (Ethiopia) welcomed the migrants Muslims. Uthman bin Madhun RA had migrated to Habash (Ethiopia) twice. Most migrant Muslims returned to Makkah from Habash (Ethiopia), after hearing a rumor that all Quraish had accepted Islam. They were tortured more on their return. Most of them went back to Habash (Ethiopia). ‘Uthman bin Madhun RA was among those who migrated to Habash (Ethiopia) once again. ‘Uthman bin Madhun RA was a very religious person. He spent a lot of time in prayers. Once he did not come out of his house for several days. He spent all his time praying, while he was in his house. Rasulullah SAW told ‘Uthman bin Madhun RA that Islam does not have only one single dimension. In Islam, the word prayer has much wider meanings. Everything done by us for any good cause is ‘Ibadah (Prayers). Islam is a complete way of life. One does not have to leave this world to become a good Muslim. Uthman bin Madhun RA participated in the battle of Badr. It was the first major battle between the Muslims and the Quraish. Poorly equipped and fewer Muslims defeated the large well-armed army of Quraish. If you attempt to arrange Rasulullah’s Companions in the order of their embracing Islam, Uthman Ibn Madhun RA will be number fourteen. Not only was he the first Muhajir to die in Al-Madinah, but also the first Muslim to be buried in Al-Baqi. This glorious Companion whose lives story you are about to hear was a great "monk". By 'monk' here I mean a worshiper throughout life, not a monk sequestered in his hermitage, for life with all its commotion, turmoil, burdens, and virtues was his "hermitage". Life to Uthman Ibn Madhun RA meant perseverance in the way of in the way of truth and unremitting self-denial good and righteousness. Uthman bin Madhun RA was married to Khawlah bint Hakim, both being two of the earliest converts to Islam. According to Ibn Ishaq, he led a group of Muslims to Abyssinia in the first migration which some of the early Muslims undertook to escape persecution in Makkah. There is a narration that, out of religious devotion, Uthman bin Madhun RA decided to dedicate his life for prayer and take a vow of chastity from his wife. His wife spoke to Rasulullah SAW about this, and Rasulullah SAW gently reminded Uthman bin Madhun RA that he himself, as the Prophet, also had a family life and that Uthman bin Madhun RA had a responsibility to his family and should not adopt monasticism as a form of religious practice. Uthman bin Madhun RA died in the 3rd year after the hijrah and was either the first companion or the first Muhajir (immigrant to Madinah) to be buried in the cemetery of Baqi' (Jannat al-Baqi) in Madinah. ‘Uthman bin Madhun RA was the first Muhajir (Migrant) from Makkah to die in Madinah. He was the first Muhajir to be buried in Baqi' al Gharqad (A famous graveyard in Madinah) When we go back in time, when the fresh early rays of Islam were emanating from Rasulullah’s SAW heart and from his words said in secret and seclusion, Uthman Ibn Madhun RA was there. Uthman Ibn Madhun RA was one of the few who rushed to the way of Allah and supported Rasulullah SAW. When Rasulullah SAW ordered the few oppressed believers to immigrate to Abyssinia, he wanted to save them from the Quraish's oppression, while he chose to be left behind to face it alone. Uthman Ibn Madhun RA, who was at the head of the first group of exiles, was accompanied by his son, As-Saa'ib. They set their faces towards the far-away land fleeing the plots of Abu Jahl, Allah's enemy, and the Quraish's atrocities. The emigration of Uthman Ibn Madhun RA and likewise for the rest of the emigrants to Abyssinia in the first and second emigrations - only made him hold more firmly to his Islam. Definitely, the two emigrations to Abyssinia represented a unique and glorious phenomenon in the cause of Islam, for those who believed in Rasulullah SAW and followed the light that had been sent down to him had had enough of paganism, error, and ignorance. Their common sense shunned the idolatry of statues made of rocks and clay. When this group of early believers emigrated to Abyssinia, they found an already prevalent and highly disciplined religion with an established clerical hierarchy of bishops and priests. Notwithstanding their attitude towards this religion, it was definitely remote from both the familiar paganism practiced back home and the usual idolatrous rites they had left behind. Undoubtedly, the clergy in Abyssinia exerted much effort to lure those emigrants to apostatize and embrace Christianity. In spite of all this, those emigrants stood steadfast in their profound loyalty to Islam and to Rasulullah SAW. They anxiously yearned for the day when they would return to their beloved country so as to worship Allah and support the righteous Rasulullah SAW in the mosque in peacetime and in the battlefield when the power of disbelief forced them to take up arms. Thus, those emigrants who lived in Abyssinia felt secure and peaceful. Uthman Ibn Madhun RA was one of them, yet his expatriation did not make him forget his cousin Umaiyah Ibn Khalaf plots and the abuse he dealt him and other Muslims. Hence, Uthman bin Madhun RA used to amuse himself by rehearsing threats to him, saying," I hope that all the arrows you aim will miss their target and strike back at you. You fought against generous and noble people and tortured them to death. You will soon be punished, and the common people you used to despise will get back at you." While the emigrants despite their exile, wrapped up in their worship of Allah and the study of the Qur’an. News spread that the Quraish had submitted to Islam and prostrated themselves to Allah, the One, and the Irresistible. Hurriedly, driven by their nostalgic feelings, the emigrants packed up their belongings and hastened to Makkah. However, no sooner had they reached Makkah's outskirts than they realized that the news about the Quraish's submission to Islam was only the bait to lure them to return. Suddenly, they realized that their excessive credulity had led them right into this trap, yet there was nothing they could do, for Makkah was in sight and there was no escape whatsoever. Makkah's unbelievers were overjoyed to hear that their long-awaited prey was caught in the trap they had laid. At that time, the right of protection - to be under the assistance, support, refuge, and protection of his patron - was a sacred and honored Arab tradition. Consequently, if a weak man had a claim on a man of high standing, he would instantly enjoy the privileges of the right of protection and would be under an invincible protection and safety. Naturally, not all of those who returned to Makkah had claims on a high-ranking man. Therefore, few enjoyed the protection and safety guaranteed by this right. Among those who did was Uthman bin Madhun RA who had a claim on Al Walid Ibn Al-Mughirah. Hence, Uthman bin Madhun RA entered Makkah safely and peacefully and attended its councils without being humiliated or harmed. Yet, every time Uthman bin Madhun RA, the man who had been refined by the Qur’an and whom Rasulullah SAW had taught and disciplined - looked around, he saw his weak, poor Muslim brothers who had no claim on the right of protection being atrociously abused and unjustly haunted, while he sat safe and sound in his sanctuary away from the least provocation. Uthman bin Madhun RA free spirit rebelled and his noble compassion got the better of him. Hence, Uthman bin Madhun RA decided to throw aside Al-Walid's patronage and take off his shoulders this burdensome sanctuary that deprived him of the bliss of enduring abuse in the way of Allah and of following his Muslim brothers who were the believing vanguard and the glad tidings of the world that would afterwards overflow with faith, monotheism, and light. Let us now call an eyewitness to narrate what occurred. When Uthman bin Madhun RA saw the affliction that had befallen Rasulullah’s Companions while he was free and safe under Al-Walid Ibn Al-Mughirah protection, he said to himself, "By Allah, I realize now that I have a fatal flaw in my character, for here I am sound under the protection of a disbeliever while my brothers and companions are being abused and tortured by disbelievers." Instantly, he hastened to Al-Walid Ibn Al- Mughirah and spoke. Abi Abd Shams, you have been a dutiful friend, you did your utmost to honor the ties of kinship. But now I must forsake my claim on you." Al-Walid asked him, "Why, nephew? Did any of my people lay a finger on you?" Uthman bin Madhun RA answered, "No, but I'm fully satisfied with Allah's protection and sanctuary and I do not want to resort to anyone but Him. So please come with me to the mosque and withdraw your protection and support in public." They both hastened to the mosque. Then Al-Walid cried out, '" Uthman bin Madhun has asked me to withdraw my protection and support from him." ‘Uthman bin Madhun RA said, "He was indeed a loyal, dutiful, and generous patron, but I do not like to resort to the protection and help of anyone but Allah." As " Uthman bin Madhun RA was leaving, Lubaid Ibn Rabifah was sitting in one of the Quraish's meetings reciting poetry, so he decided to join them and sat down and heard Lubaid recite, "Everything but Allah is falsehood." ‘Uthman bin Madhun RA nodded and said, "You spoke the truth." Lubaid continued, "Every blessing is transient." “Uthman bin Madhun RA objected saying, "You are a liar, for the blessings of Paradise are eternal." Lubaid said, "0 you Quraish, by Allah, I have not heard before that anyone dared to call a man who was attending your meeting names." A man of Quraish explained, "Do not pay attention to what he says, for he is a fool who has turned apostate." “Uthman bin Madhun RA objected to the man's insult and both quarreled until the man lost his temper and punched 'Uthman's eye ruthlessly. Nearby was Al-Walid Ibn Al-Mughirah, who saw what had happened and said, " By Allah, nephew, you could have spared yourself the pain if you had stayed under my invulnerable protection." ‘Uthman bin Madhun RA answered, "On the contrary, my healthy eye yearns for the pain of my abused eye. I am under the protection of Allah, Who is far better and more capable than you, Abu 'Abd Shams." Al-Walid urged him saying, "Come on nephew, be sensible and return to my sanctuary and protection." Uthman bin Madhun RA said firmly, "No." After he left, the pain in his eye was severe yet his spirit was revived, strengthened, and reassured. On his way home Uthman bin Madhun RA he recited, "I don't care if a deluded disbeliever hurt my eye, for it was in the way of Allah. For the Most Merciful will reward me on the Day of Reckoning in compensation for it. My people, if Allah attempts to please someone, then he will be undoubtedly a happy man. Even if you say that I'm a misguided fool, my life will always be consecrated to Rasulullah’s SAW religion. Uthman Ibn Madhun RA will always do my utmost to please Allah SWT, for our religion is the only truth despite abuse and oppression. Thus Uthman bin Madhun RA set an example that was highly becoming of him. In fact, life witnessed the remarkable scene of an excellent man who’s graceful, immortal words will resound: "By Allah, my healthy eye yearns to be hurt in the way of Allah. I am under the protection and care of Someone far better and more capable than you." Obviously the scenario of "Uthman’s abuse at the hands of the Quraish after he had renounced Al-Walid’s protection was premeditated on his part. Uthman bin Madhun RA provoked it and was overjoyed by it, for this abuse was to him like the fire that matures, purifies, and ennobles his faith. At last, he followed the footsteps of his believing brothers who did not accept intimidation. Afterwards, “Uthman bin Madhun RA decided to emigrate to Al-Madinah where he would not be haunted or harassed by Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, Umaiyah, 'Utbah, or any of the other ruthless disbelievers who abused and tormented the Muslims. Uthman bin Madhun RA traveled to Al-Madinah with those great Companions who survived the hardships, terror, and horror of the trials with admirable steadfastness and stoutness. They did not emigrate to Al-Madinah to rest. On the contrary, Al-Madinah was the springboard that enabled Muslims to strive in the way of Allah all over the world, clinging to Allah's flag and spreading His words, signs, and guidance. When Uthman bin Madhun RA had settled in the illuminated Madinah, his remarkable, great qualities were unveiled. Uthman bin Madhun RA ultimately emerged as an ascetic, devout, and repentant worshiper. To sum up, he was the glorious and intelligent "monk" who was not sequestered in his hermitage but rather in life. He spent his life striving in the way of Allah. Indeed, he was the worshiper by night and the fighter by day. In fact, he was the worshipper and the fighter of both night and day. Although all Rasulullah’s Companions at that time were inclined to asceticism and devoutness, yet Uthman bin Madhun RA had a certain strategy in that respect, for he was so remarkably absorbed in his asceticism and devoutness that he turned his life, day and night, into a perpetual blessed prayer and a sweet long glorification. No sooner had he sipped the sweetness of the engrossment in worship than he hastened to abandon all the enticing luxury and splendor of life. Therefore, he wore nothing but coarse clothes and ate nothing but coarse food. One day, he walked into the mosque in which Rasulullah SAW and his Companions were sitting, and he had on a faded, worn-out garment that was patched with a piece of fur. As soon as Rasulullah SAW saw him, he sympathized with him, and the Companions' eyes were filled with tears, yet Rasulullah SAW said, "Would you like it if you were rich enough to have as many garments as you like and as much food as you like? Would you like your upholstery to be as expensive as the clothes used in covering the Kaabah?" The Companions answered, "We would indeed! We would like to live in luxury surrounded by the splendors of life." Rasulullah SAW commented, "You will be wealthy, but you are today far better in your piety and devoutness than you will when you are wealthy." Naturally, when Uthman bin Madhun RA heard Rasulullah’s words, he clung more and more to his austere and coarse life. Uthman bin Madhun RA went so far as to renounce sexual intercourse with his wife, yet when Rasulullah SAW heard about this exaggerated attitude, There is a narration that, out of religious devotion, Uthman bin Madhun RA decided to dedicate himself from prayer and take a vow of chastity from his wife. His wife spoke to Rasulullah SAW about this, and Rasulullah SAW gently reminded Uthman bin Madhun RA that he himself, as a Rasul, also had a family life and that Uthman had a responsibility to his family and should not adopt monasticism as a form of religious practice. Rasulullah SAW summoned Uthman bin Madhun RA and said, "Your wife has the right to have sexual intercourse with you." Rasulullah SAW loved him dearly. When his pure spirit was embarking on its journey towards Heaven, Rasulullah SAW was next to him, paying his last farewell to the first Muhajir to die in Al-Madinah and the first to be raised to Paradise. He leaned to kiss his forehead and his amiable eyes flowed with tears that wet 'Uthman’s face, which looked remarkably graceful. Rasulullah SAW paid his last farewell to his beloved Companion by saying, "Allah bestows His mercy on you, Abu As-Saa'ib. You are now leaving life that was not able to seduce or mislead you." The revered Rasulullah SAW did not forget his Companion after his death; on the contrary, he often mentioned and praised him. For instance, his very last words to his daughter Ruqayyah on her deathbed were, "Go on, and follow in the pious and devout Uthman bin Madhun RA’s footsteps up to Paradise. ========= ========== =========== ========== Selected Hadiths Narrated and Attributed to Uthman Ibn Madhun RA Found In: Sahih Bukhari Chapter No: 50, Witnesses Hadith no: 865 Narrated: Um Al-Ala That when the Ansar drew lots as to which of the emigrants should dwell with which of the Ansar, the name of uthman bin mazun came out (to be in their lot). Um Al-Ala further said, "uthman stayed with us, and we nursed him when he got sick, but he died. We shrouded him in his clothes, and Allah's Apostle (SAW) came to our house and I said, (addressing the dead uthman), 'O Abu As-Saib! May Allah be merciful to you. I testify that Allah has blessed you.' The Prophet (SAW) said to me, "How do you know that Allah has blessed him?" I replied, 'I do not know O Allah's Apostle (SAW)! May my parents be sacrificed for you.' Allah's Apostle (SAW) said, 'As regards uthman, by Allah he has died and I really wish him every good, yet, by Allah, although I am Allah's Apostle (SAW), I do not know what will be done to him.' Um Al-Ala added, 'By Allah I shall never attest the piety of anybody after him. And what Allah's Apostle (SAW)s said made me sad." Um Al-Ala further said, "Once I slept and saw in a dream, a flowing stream for uthman. So I went to Allah's Apostle (SAW) and told him about it, he said, 'That is (the symbol of) his deeds.' " Found In: Sunan Ibn Majah Chapter No: 11, The Chapters on Marriage Hadith no: 1848 "The Messenger of Allah (saw) disapproved of uthman bin mazun's desire to remain celibate; if he had given him permission, we would have gotten ourselves castrated." Found In: Sunan Ibn Majah Chapter No: 8, Chapters Regarding Funerals Hadith no: 1456 "The Messenger of Allah (saw) kissed ‘uthman bin mazun when he had died, and it is as if I can see him with his tears flowing down his cheeks." Sahih Found In: Sunan Ibn Majah Chapter No: 11, The Chapters on Marriage Hadith no: 1878 Narrated: Ibn Umar when uthman bin mazun dies, he left behind a daughter. ibn Umar said: "My maternal uncle Qudamah, who was her paternal uncle, married me to her, but he did not consult her. That was after her father had died. She did not like this marriage, and the girl wanted to marry Mughirah bin Shubah, so she married him." Video 1 (English) Video 1 (English)

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Researchers at Rice University have discovered a method of industrial-scale processing of pure carbon nanotube fibers. The breakthrough is the result of a nine-year program and the method builds on the processes that have been used by chemical firms for decades to produce plastics. Researcher Matteo Pasquali from Rice said, "Plastics is a $300 billion U.S. industry because of the massive throughput that's possible with fluid processing. The reason grocery stores use plastic bags instead of paper and the reason polyester shirts are cheaper than cotton is that polymers can be melted or dissolved and processed as fluids by the train-car load. Processing nanotubes as fluids opens up all of the fluid-processing technology that has been developed for The researchers report that the new process builds on a discovery made in 2003 at Rice that found a way to dissolve large amounts of pure nanotubes in strong acetic solvents like sulfuric acids. The team of researchers found with further investigation that the nanotubes dissolved in the acidic solutions aligned themselves like spaghetti in a package to form liquid crystals that could then be spun into monofilament fibers about as thick as a human hair. Researcher Wade Adams said, "That research established an industrially relevant process for nanotubes that was analogous to the methods used to create Kevlar from rodlike polymers, except for the acid not being a true solvent. The current research shows that we have a true solvent for nanotubes -- chlorosulfonic acid -- which is what we set out to find when we started this project nine years ago." To get the proof that the nanotubes were dissolving spontaneously in the chlorosulfonic acid the team had to invent new techniques to directly image the process. "Ishi Talmon and his colleagues at Technion did the critical work required to help get direct proof that nanotubes were dissolving spontaneously in chlorosulfonic acid," Pasquali said. "To do this, they had to develop new experimental techniques for direct imaging of vitrified fast-frozen acid Ishi Talmon said, "This was a very difficult study. Matteo's team not only had to pioneer new experimental techniques to achieve this, they also had to make significant extensions to the classical theories that were used to describe solutions of rods. The Technion team had to develop a new methodology to enable us to produce high-resolution images of the nanotubes dispersed in chlorosulfonic acid, a very corrosive fluid, by state-of-the-art electron microscopy at cryogenic According to the researchers, one major discovery remains before high-quality carbon nanotubes can be created and utilized. Current methods produce a myriad of different carbon nanotubes with different properties, lengths, and diameters. Researchers are working to find a method of crating only one type of carbon nanotubes. When batches of metallic conductive nanotubes can be created the use of nanotubes will boom.

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When a server is used as a web host it has to have it’s own operating system. This can be Windows, Unix or Linux. This post will briefly talk about Unix (you may see this as UNIX or unix) and help you to learn about this particular operating system. In 1969 a group of AT&T employees developed UNIX. This happened at Bell Laboratories (which is also known as Bell Labs or AT&T Bell Laboratories). Unix was officially launched on January 1, 1970 which put their seconds from launch at 1234567890 on February 13, 2009. Unix has changed shape since that time and went through multiple versions in the 1980’s. There are many versions out today of Unix and there are also “Unix like” programs like Linux. Hewlitt Packard has one called HP-UX and Solaris by Sun Microsystems to name a few. Unix uses a master control program (kernal) and a large selection of software that developers can either use separately or together. Programmers are fond of this because it is so functional and adaptable. Most software programs come with predetermined features and functions so the fact that you can customize this operating system is great. Unix is not used as often today because other names like Linux and Windows are more common. Some web hosts will offer Unix/Linux hosting but more than likely you will not find the “Unix” part of things to be present. Just make sure you get what you are really wanting. Our top pick for Unix web hosting is:

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Comfort and energy control Coated glass, whether laminated or assembled into double or triple glazing, gives increased protection against cold (by reflecting heat back into the building) and against heat (by reflecting away the rays of the sun). In fact both functions are generally combined, thus assuring not only better energy control but also protection of the environment. Such types of glass make an important contribution to "zero energy" buildings while letting in daylight everywhere. In the automotive industry they reduce heating in the passenger cell by blocking out the sun's infrared radiation. Active glass with variable light transmission switches from clear to dark at the touch of a button. The amount of light and heat getting into the car interior can be constantly varied to suit the needs or the moods of the moment. Safety and health Laminated or toughened safety glass guards against injury and protects property against vandalism or break-in. Fire-resistant glass protects against fire by reducing or even entirely blocking heat radiation for anything from 30 to 120 minutes, depending on its composition. Acoustic insulation glass protects against external noise nuisance and contributes towards the health and peace of mind of the building occupants. Finally, anti-UV glass helps to prevent skin damage. Glass enhances building exteriors and the design of vehicles. Inside it contributes light and space and permits personalisation. In fact there are endless decorative possibilities for combining the aesthetic with the practical: glass can be mirrored, lacquered, screen-printed, patterned, electroluminescent, anti-reflection, highly transparent ... In laminated form incorporating photovoltaic cells, glass is able to generate electricity while letting in light. The amounts of energy and light can be varied according to the number and arrangement of the cells within the glass. This offers an economic solution when such glass is used to replace structural elements (e.g. roof panels) rather than being added to them. Electricity can also be generated by mirror glass focusing light onto a central element connected to a generator. Infotainment and communication Glass with built-in LEDs without visible wiring can be used to create images, for example in signs (illuminated logos) or even animated images on building facades. Another application is head-up displays for cars, where the instruments appear to float in the windscreen. Glass with built-in antennae permits a range of services (traffic information, entertainment etc.) and connects between one vehicle and another or between the vehicle and roadside infrastructure. Finally, the protection and light transmission properties of glass come into their own in high-tech touchscreen applications.

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Online discussion: Combatting online violence against women and girls As part of a joint campaign with Womanity organised for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Wikigender hosted an online discussion on ”Combatting online violence against women and girls” from Monday, 5 December to Friday, 9 December. The online discussion concluded on a webinar, Friday 9 December at 3pm (CET). See the highlights from the Wikigender/Womanity campaign for the the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence here. Although a relatively new phenomenon, online violence has emerged as a global issue, particularly affecting women. Evidence shows that female internet users are frequently subject to harassment and hate speech: a 2015 report by the United Nations Broadband Commission revealed that close to three quarters of women online have been exposed to some form of cyber violence. In the European Union, 1 in 10 women report having experienced cyber-harassment since the age of 15 (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2014). Young women are the most concerned by this type of aggression: women in the age range of 18 to 24 are the most likely to experience stalking and sexual harassment, in addition to physical threats (United Nations 2015). Yet despite its gravity, online violence is still insufficiently recognised by national legislations: 1 in 5 internet users live in countries where harassment and abuse of women online is extremely unlikely to be punished (ibid.). In recent years, the need to ensure women’s and girls’ safety online has gained international attention. This has been spurred by increased media attention spotlighting the devastating psychological impact cyber bullying can have on victims as well as research revealing the pervasiveness of the problem. However lack of comprehensive legislation in this area leaves internet users, and in particular women and girls who are more likely to be targeted, without legal protection or recourse to justice and psychosocial support (United Nations 2015). In the absence of legal reform, many organisations have already started to take action to protect women and girls online through innovative tools. Organisations such as Luchadoras, Take Back the Tech!, Digital Rights Foundation, Tactical Tech, Internews, and Chayn, among others, are working with women to reclaim online spaces. Through digital tools and advocacy campaigns, these organisations are leading the fight against many forms of gender-based violence using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Other approaches have included pushing for challenging social norms that underpin online harassment and bullying in order to guarantee women’s and girls’ online safety. Join the Discussion Within the framework of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, Wikigender and Womanity organised an online discussion on the theme “Reclaim online spaces: combatting online violence against women and girls”. Participants to the discussion will include experts such as Keshet Bachan, Girl Expert, Sara Baker from Take Back the Tech, Lulú Barrera from Luchadoras TV and Dalia Othman from Tactical Technology Collective. Building the evidence base - What is the current evidence regarding prevalence of online violence against women and girls ? - What are current measurement tools to capture the extent of online violence against women and what more is needed in this area? - What is the state of international and national legislation and policy on this issue? Identifying ways to reclaim online spaces - How can we empower women online and provide them with the appropriate tools for practicing online self-defense ? - What are possible entry points to tackle negative social norms that justify online gender-based violence? - How do we move from response to prevention and what are some examples of successful initiatives in this area? - What is needed to scale up successful local projects to work at the national and international levels? - What are the advocacy tools available to encourage countries to introduce legislation and policy that address the issue of cyber violence and what more is needed? - How can we raise awareness around online violence and encourage women to seek support when they face abuse? - How can men and women harness ICTs for activism against gender-based violence ? - Cyber-violence against women and girls: a worldwide wake-up call (UN Broadband Commission 2015) - Women’s Rights Online: Translating Access into Empowerment (World Wide Web Foundation 2015) - Online Violence: Just Because It’s Virtual Doesn’t Make It Any Less Real( Huffington Post 2015) - From impunity to justice: Exploring corporate and legal remedies for technology-related violence against women (2012-2015) (Gender IT) - Technology-Based Violence Against Women: The Next Frontier? (Women and The Web Alliance 2016) - Digital safety roadmap on blackmail (Take Back the Tech) - Digital safety roadmap on cyberstalking (Take Back the Tech) - Digital safety roadmap on hate speech (Take Back the Tech) - Safety toolkit (Take Back the Tech) - How to talk to survivorsof tech-related violence (Take Back the Tech) - How different sectors can protect with privacy and anonymity (Take Back the Tech) - Protecting the right to freedom of expression: Strategies of survivors of tech-related violence against women (Gender IT 2014) - Feminist Tech Tools (Gender IT 2016) - What is blackmail ? (Take Back the Tech)

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ORBIS plans to conduct simple eye surgeries in remote regions of Ethiopia, in the hope to cure thousands of people suffering from the painful, blinding, and life-destroying eye disease - trachoma. What is the issue, problem, or challenge? Trachoma is an infectious eye disease, which continues to bring pain, blindness,and poverty to millions across the developing world.Trachoma is prevalent in Ethiopia and out of the two million people living in the Gamo Gofa region, approximately 34,000 people are suffering with trachoma and are in need of immediate surgical intervention.Unless treated, these young people will become blind,rendering them helpless,leaving them to a lifetime of feeling like a burden to their families and community. How will this project solve this problem? In particularly remote areas of the Gamo Gofa region, there are currently little or no eye care facilities, yet a simple surgery is the sight-saving answer for thousands of affected Ethiopians. With effective surgery, someone's suffering could be over in a matter of hours. Potential Long Term Impact The outreach program will visit a region with a population of 6,000 and during the program, more than 1,000 people will be screened for trachoma and more than 120 surgeries will be conducted - relieving pain, restoring vision and transforming lives. Total Funding Received to Date: $1,134 This project is now in implementation and no longer available for funding. Received funds will be used to accomplish concrete objectives as indicated in the project's "Activities" section. Updates will be posted under the "Project Report" tab as they become available. Donors' contributions and pledges to this project totaled $1,134 . The original project funding goal was $1,084.

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Legends of St. Nick The historical Saint Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra, a city in what is now Turkey. He died in the year 314. He was known in his lifetime for his generosity and his honesty, and many miracles were attributed to him. Nicholas was so popular that he was regarded as the patron saint of quite a few diverse things—sailors, perfumers, pawnbrokers, unmarried women, choirboys, and towns stretching from Russia to Iceland. He was also a protector of children, and a giver of gifts—and I’ll bet you can see where this is leading. In Belgium and Holland, as early as the 14th century, we find the custom of children receiving gifts from Saint Nicholas on his saint’s day, December 6th, a practice that’s still observed in several northern European countries. The customs of gift-giving and merry-making on Saint Nicholas’ day came to the New World with Dutch Protestants a few hundred years later. The Dutch version of his name—Klaas, for Nicholas, and the word for Saint—Sinter, combine to give us…Sinter Klaas. Sound familiar? Here’s a medieval conductus, recounting the miracles of Saint Nicholas, performed by Anonymous 4. Saint Nicholas was also the subject of several famous medieval plays—well, famous to medieval drama performers and scholars, anyway. These were based on several of the many miracles attributed to Nicholas–and believe me, by this time, 900 years after his lifetime, the stories had grown more and more colorful and fantastic with each telling. One of the most well-known stories tells of a man so poverty-stricken that he is about to force his daughter to take up a life of prostitution. Saint Nicholas somehow knows this, and is horrified at the thought, and so he takes “a great sum of gold,” tucks it into a small sack, and wings it through the man’s window that night. The man is overjoyed, but then proceeds to use the entire sum as a dowry for his first daughter. Needless to say, that leaves the man’s next two daughters in the same unpleasant situation. To make a long story short, Saint Nicholas does the same thing again, and again the man marries off the second daughter. The third time St Nick throws twice as much cash, which wakes the hapless man with a great thump. He then runs out of the house in an attempt to catch his secret benefactor. He catches up with the saint, who swears him to secrecy. Here is a reading of that story in Middle English, set to a chant melody. Byzantine Chant for the Christmas Season Modern Orthodox churches inherited the liturgical and musical traditions of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, which at its height ranged throughout the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and the Middle East. At Christmastime, there’s a multitude of services in an Orthodox church, and each is a multi-sensory event. Imagine icons covering every inch of the wall; an incense cloud hanging over the church; movements involving the sign of the cross, bows and prostrations; the taste of the communion rite; and, of course, the music! Here’s an excerpt from the canon sung during the Matins service for Christmas day, performed by the Greek Byzantine Choir, directed by Lycourgos Angelopoulos. “Byzantine” chant has roots in ancient Greek music, as well as in the Jewish synagogue and in poetry and hymns composed in Syriac in Asia Minor. Byzantine chant may have flourished under the great dome of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, but it remains a living form of sacred music in places such as Greece, Lebanon, Palestine, Romania, parts of Russia, and in America. During the Christmas season, we find the only known liturgical drama within the Byzantine repertoire. It tells the story of the Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace found in the Old Testament book of Daniel. The “Service of the Furnace” was preserved in a late medieval manuscript found at St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai, Egypt. Traditionally, it was performed on the Sunday before Christmas. Here’s an excerpt from the “Service of the Furnace” sung by Cappella Romana under Dr. Alexander Lingas’ direction. Origins of Two Favorite Carols: Greensleeves The tune Greensleeves has a long history extending at least as far back as the 16th century, but its association with the Christmas carol What Child Is This? is relatively late. It wasn’t until the 19th century when three stanzas of a poem (called “The Manger Throne”) by William Chatterton Dix were set to the Greensleeves melody. Dix’s text was only one of many set to the famous tune; the original text begins with the words, “Alas, my love, you do me wrong / To cast me off discourteously…” That Henry VIII wrote the song as a lover’s lament for Anne Boleyn is a good but unfounded story. Shakespeare referred to the tune in his 1602 play the Merry Wives of Windsor when Falstaff exclaims, “Let the sky rain potatoes; let it thunder to the tune of Green Sleeves!” Over a hundred years later, in John Gay’s Beggars Opera, a prisoner awaits his execution on the Tyburn tree, and sings yet another version of Greensleeves. Here are two versions of Greensleeves: the first sung by Judith Malafronte on a recording called Shakespeare’s Songbook, which has collected all of the songs used or mention in Shakespeare’s plays. The second, Paul Elliott performed John Gay’s Greensleeves from The Beggar’s Opera. Towards the end of the 17th century, John Playford published his English Dancing Master, and in it included a piece that has come to be called Green Sleeves and Pudding Pies. Several other versions were adapted for lute, and still others came to be used not only as sacred music but also as political ballads by the Cavaliers during the English Civil War. Here yet another text on the Greensleeves tune from 1642, written to celebrate the New Year. Here’s The Old Year Now Away is Fled, set to the tune Greensleeves, performed by Julianne Baird and Parthenia from the CD As It Fell On A Holie Eve: Music for an Elizabethan Christmas. Origins of Two Favorite Carols: Good Christian Men Rejoice The Christmas Carol we know as Good Christian Men, Rejoice is an 1853 English paraphrase by John Mason Neale of the medieval tune In Dulci Jubilo. The original song text is macaronic, meaning that it combines Latin with vernacular German. Although some versions of the song may have already been in existence, one of the earliest surviving manuscripts of In Dulce Jubilo is from Leipzig around the year 1400. The tune is also found in several 16th century German hymn books, was translated into Swedish in the 1582 songbook Piae Cantiones, and exists in the compositions of numerous composers throughout Europe. Here’s a (Swedish) In dulci Jubilo from Piae Cantiones performed by the Oxford Camerata, followed by an In dulci Jubilo performed by Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort, from the 1619 Polyhymnia caduceatrix scored for four choirs, with six trumpets and drums. Featured release: A Celtic Christmas Vespers Our featured recording explores the intersection of pagan winter celebrations and early Christmas traditions bound together through the centuries in the music of the Celtic lands. Conceived and arranged by Jeannette Sorrell of the baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire and Sylvain Bergeron of the ensemble La Nef, this project draws on original early sources paired with traditional tunes and newly composed pieces. Here’s O’Carolan’s Favorite Jig, a piece by Turlough O’Carolan, (an Irish musician who was only 15 years older than Bach), followed by an antiphon from a 13th-century Scottish service, the Vespers of St. Kentigern. In 1874, Thomas Wright published a book in London called Songs and Carols Now First Printed, from a Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century. Here’s a 21st century performance from that publication, sung in Middle English: Nowell, Tydings Trew performed by Apollo’s Fire and Ensemble La Nef, on our featured recording, Sacrem Mysterium: A Celtic Christmas Vespers, released on the Avie label in 2012.

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Associations to the word «Spit» SPIT, noun. A rod on which meat is grilled (UK English) or broiled (US English). SPIT, noun. A narrow, pointed, usually sandy peninsula. SPIT, noun. The depth to which a spade goes in digging; a spade; a spadeful. SPIT, verb. To impale on a spit. SPIT, verb. To attend to a spit; to use a spit. SPIT, verb. To spade; to dig. SPIT, verb. (intransitive) (transitive) To evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth. SPIT, verb. To rain or snow slightly, or with sprinkles. SPIT, verb. (transitive) To utter violently. SPIT, verb. (transitive) (slang) (hip-hop) To utter. SPIT, noun. (uncountable) Saliva, especially when expectorated. SPIT, noun. (countable) An instance of spitting. SPIT AND BALING WIRE, noun. (US) Rough and ready materials. SPIT CURL, noun. (colloquial) (dated) A little lock of hair, plastered in a spiral form on the temple or forehead with spittle or other adhesive substance. SPIT CURLS, noun. Plural of spit curl SPIT FEATHERS, verb. (idiomatic) To feel very thirsty. SPIT FEATHERS, verb. (idiomatic) To feel very angry; to sputter angrily. SPIT IN SOMEONE'S FACE, verb. (figuratively) To disrespect or treat with low esteem; to betray. SPIT IT OUT, verb. (idiomatic) To overcome reluctance to say something particular or to speak in general. SPIT NAILS, verb. (idiomatic) To speak or sputter in a very angry manner. SPIT OF LAND, noun. A peninsula. SPIT OF LAND, noun. An island. SPIT ROAST, noun. The way of roasting an animal, such as a pig, over a fire. To do so the cook sticks a wooden/metal rod through the animal and sets it on two sticks on the other sides so the animal is over the fire. SPIT ROAST, noun. (vulgar) (slang) A sexual practice whereby two men service a single sexual partner at the same time, from different ends. SPIT TAKE, noun. (acting) A take (recorded performance), generally expressing surprise or disbelief, in which the actor in the act of drinking spits out the drink. SPIT TAKES, noun. Plural of spit take SPIT THE DUMMY, verb. (idiomatic) To overreact (as an adult) to a situation childishly, in an angry or frustrated manner. SPIT UP, verb. (transitive and intransitive) (especially of children) To regurgitate or vomit. SPIT WAD, noun. A spitball (2) SPIT WAD, noun. A wad (1) of spittle which has been spat by someone SPIT WADS, noun. Plural of spit wad SPIT, noun. A narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea. SPIT, noun. A clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches. SPIT, noun. A skewer for holding meat over a fire. SPIT, noun. The act of spitting (forcefully expelling saliva). SPIT, verb. Expel or eject (saliva or phlegm or sputum) from the mouth; "The father of the victim spat at the alleged murderer". SPIT, verb. Utter with anger or contempt. SPIT, verb. Rain gently; "It has only sprinkled, but the roads are slick". SPIT, verb. Drive a skewer through; "skewer the meat for the BBQ". You can change your world by changing your words... Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue.

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Dragons are creatures with nearly unlimited life spans. They can survive for long periods of time, and no one has found a dragon that has died of old age. Adolescence is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. Once they hit adolescence, hatchlings change quickly, maturing to their full forms in only 2 years. Dragons don’t communicate with each other verbally, but they will growl to scare off predators and frighten prey. Young dragons will emit an extremely high-pitched squeal when they are frightened. To communicate, they use telepathy with each other and to speak to other creatures. Deep Sea dragons, as their name suggests, spend most of their time in the darkest depths of the sea. They have a bioluminescent dorsal spine that serves to attract prey and communicate with their own kind. As with many deep sea animals, they generally eat whatever they can manage to bait. They rarely leave the ocean floor, surfacing only during breeding season. When they do choose to travel to the shallower depths, they avoid bright lights and will only come up far away from shore.

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Minerals and Human Health The Rationale for Optimal and Balanced Trace Element Levels by Alexander G. Schauss, Ph.D. There are 92 elements found in nature, and an additional 22 theoretical and/or observed elements. In addition, there are hundreds of isotopes of the elements, any one of which may play an as yet undiscovered role in human health. In table 1 below are listed the quantities of elements found in the earth's crust, oceans, and atmosphere. These are the elements our body must draw upon to survive. It becomes increasingly evident when studying the relationship of minerals to human health that keeping the level of minerals in balance in every tissue, fluid, cell and organ, in the human body may be the key to maintaining human health. |Elements Found in the Earth's Crust, Ocean and Atmosphere| |Earth's Crust (by mass)||Oceans (by mass)||Atmosphere (volume of dry air)| Through geophysical forces, mixing of the earth's crust with water can provide virtually every mineral our body requires to maintain health. This explains why the noted nutritionists, Ruth L. Pike and Myrtle L. Brown stated in Nutrition: An Integrated Approach (John Wiley &Sons), 1984, p.197) that: "Water is compatible with more substances than any known solvent, and therefore it is an ideal medium for transporting nutrients in the cells and for the chemical reactions of cellular metabolism to take place." Table 2 below lists 66 elements that have been identified to date in sea water. A few surviving inland seas such as the Great Salt Lake of Utah have concentrated many of the same minerals found in the sea through geothermal and evaporative processes. These natural sources of the elements can provide a rich source of minerals compatible to human physiological needs. |Decreasing Average Concentration of 66 Elements in Sea Water (mg/l)| |These are average concentrations. Variations will exist depending on the collection site of the sample.| |Ref. Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 65th Ed. 1984-1985, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fl., p. F-149| It is interesting to note that the famous environmentalist, Racheal Carson, recognized the importance of protecting the ocean and these delicate inland seas. In the Sea Around Us, she wrote: ". . .Fish, amphibian, and reptile, warm-blooded bird and mammal - each of us carries in our veins a salty stream in which the elements are combined in almost the same proportions as in sea water. This is our inheritance from the day, untold millions of years ago, when a remote ancestor, having progressed from the one-celled to the many celled stage, first developed a circulatory system in which the fluid was merely the water of the sea. In the same way, our lime-hardened skeletons are a heritage from the calcium-rich ocean of Cambrian time. Even the protoplasm that streams within each cell of our bodies has the chemical structure impressed upon living matter when the first simple creatures were brought forth in the ancient sea. . ." Minerals and Human Health In almost every chemistry textbook one can find a copy of the "Periodic Table of the Elements." This table shows each known element's particular physical characteristics. Scientific study of these elements has discovered that many of them are absolutely essential to life on this planet. A number of factors have been associated with the occurrence of a deficiency of a mineral in humans: deficiency in the soil; water and plants; mineral imbalances; processing of water or soil; and, inadequate dietary intake. There is a significant body of evidence that minerals by themselves and in proper balance to one another have important biochemical and nutritional functions. To understand the concept of "biochemical individuality" we have to get away from the mistaken assumption that every person utilizes and absorbs minerals the same way. The absorption of minerals is dependent on so many different factors, not the least of which is age, adequacy of stomach acid output, balanced bowel flora, lack of intestinal illnesses and parasites, and dietary fiber intake. "Whatever the nutritional potential of a food, its contribution is nonexistent if it does not pass the test of absorption. Those nutrients that have not been transferred through the intestinal mucosal cell to enter the circulation have, for all nutritional intent and purpose, have never been eaten. The variety of nutrients from the organism's environment that have been made available by absorption must be transported through the circulatory system to the aqueous microenvironment of the cells. There, they serve their ultimate purpose: participation in the metabolic activities in the cells on which the life of the total organism depends." Ruth L. Pike and Myrtle L. Brown Nutrition: An Integrated Approach John Wiley & Sons, 1984 l, p. 283 Listed below in table 3 are eight minerals that should be ionic in order to be readily absorbed into the body through transfer in the small intestine (intraluminal absorption). These minerals become ionic after their food-bound forms, whether organically or inorganically bound, have been exposed to hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Hydrochloric acid helps liberate these minerals into ionic (charged) minerals. Ageing increases the risk of gastric atrophy, a condition that commonly is associated with a decreased secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. As the level of hydrochloric acid output decreases, the body's ability to absorb these minerals from their food-bound form diminishes. This inability to adequately absorb these minerals may be one of the causes of age associated degeneration. It is for this reason that careful attention must be given to the form a mineral takes, since the less dependent it is on hydrochloric acid to be absorbed, the more likely it will be able to be utilized by the body. As will be discussed later, three of the minerals listed in table 3 can be intraluminally absorbed in some complex forms without first becoming charged ions . However, all eight of these minerals are best absorbed when they are in their ionic form. The important point is that gastric atrophy or conditions such as achlorhydria (lack of stomach acid) or hypochlorhydria (inadequate stomach acid) can impair the body's absorption of important minerals. Achlorhydria has been found in children as young as five or six years of age. Hypochlorhydria, however, is more commonly seen after age 35. It is estimated that between 15 and 35 percent of adults age 60 have some degree of gastric atrophy, including hypochlorhydria. Finding a source of minerals in ionic form would clearly be of benefit to such individuals. |Acid-Dependent Minerals That Require Adequate Stomach Acid to Enhance Intraluminal Absorption in the Small Intestine|| Chromium (Cr) Selenium (Se) Zinc One of the minerals listed in table 3 is zinc, a mineral found in every fluid, tissue, cell, and organ, in the human body. Inadequate intake of this essential mineral can effect any of over 200 enzymes in the body, such as the enzyme, alkaline phosphatase. In patients with either bulimia nervosa (binge-purging behavior) or anorexia nervosa (self-induced starvation), zinc deficiency can directly affect cognitive and perceptual processes that help maintain these insidious eating disorders. Recently it has been shown that there is an inverse relationship between morbid obesity and zinc, meaning that the more morbidly obese the individual the lower their zinc status. This suggests that zinc plays an important role in the entire continuum of eating disorders, from obesity to anorexia nervosa. A similar example would be the mineral magnesium which plays a role in over 300 enzyme reactions in the body, many of which are directly related to cardiovascular health. Non-Essential (Toxic) Elements Excessive levels of non-essential toxic elements, such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and aluminum, can have an "unbalancing" effect on trace element balances in the body's cells, as can be seen in the table 4 below. Cadmium, an air pollutant from cigarette smoke, industrialization, and population growth, is known to experimentally cause hypertension, cancer, and immune disorders. Cadmium acts like a classical stress agent. It has also been implicated in learning disabilities. Unlike lead which has a short half-life in human tissue from 30 to 100 days, cadmium has a half-life of between 10-30 years. While it is known that free cadmium is very toxic, it has also been found to greatly increase the toxicity of other agents. Cadmium has a unique capacity to form a very close bond with chloride compounds, such as the chlorinated pesticide lindane. When the two are combined, the tissue levels of lindane doubles by altering liver metabolism. Cadmium accumulates in the most malignant cells; in prostate cancer there is a linear correlation between the grade of malignancy and cadmium content. On the positive side, little cadmium is absorbed orally unless there are nutrient deficiencies. Which nutrients protect against cadmium and other non-essential elements is found listed in table 5. |Body Organs and Tissues Affected By Toxic Levels of Minerals| |Aluminum (Al)||Stomach, Bones, Brain| |Arsenic (As)||Cells (cellular metabolism)| |Cadmium (Cd)||Renal Cortex of the Kidney, Heart, Blood Vessels to the Brain, Appetite and Smell Center of the Brain; Every Known Process in the Development of Cancer.| |Lead (Pb)||Bone, Liver, Kidney, Pancreas, Heart, Brain, Nervous System| |Mercury (Hg)||Nervous System, Appetite and Pain Centers of the Brain, Immune System, Cell Membranes| |Nutrients Protective Against the Effects of Toxic Elements| |Toxic Element||Protective Nutrients| |Aluminum (Al)||Possibly magnesium. None other.| |Arsenic (As)||Selenium; Iodine; Calcium; Zinc; Vitamin C; Sulfur; Amino Acids (Found in garlic, hen's eggs, and beans)| |Cadmium (Cd)||Zinc, Calcium, Vitamin C, Sulfur Amino Acids| |Lead (Pb)||Zinc, Iron, Calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Sulfur Amino Acids| |Mercury (Hg)||Selenium, Vitamin C, Pectin, Sulfur Amino Acids| Besides all of these more obvious issues are two important factors: 1) diseases and 2) drug-nutrient interactions. Physical illness can raise demands for many trace elements. The demand for some minerals, such as zinc, even increases under psychological stress. Drug-nutrient interactions can also create deficiencies and imbalances of minerals at the cell level. For example, the absorption of iron from the gut can be affected by antacids and tetracycline. Magnesium and zinc are hyperexcreted by those receiving oral diuretics, nephrotoxic drugs, penicillamine, and antacids containing aluminum hydroxide. Recent research indicates that minerals may play a significant role against a variety of degenerative diseases and processes. They may also prevent and reduce injury from environmental pollutants and enhance the ability to work and learn. They can also protect the body from the effects of toxic minerals, as can be seen by the table 5 above. New studies suggest that numerous minerals, when in proper balance with one another, may be performing important non-classical biochemical functions especially important to age-related health problems. Examples will be illustrated in the second chapter. Given this body of new data, we should begin to view our daily intake of nutrients as performing dual roles; first in the role of preventing known mineral deficiencies; and, second in optimizing the disease-preventing properties of these nutrients. The latter role, and the increasing evidence that supports it, makes it reasonable to believe that it will be possible to reduce the incidence of most life-limiting chronic diseases through the adoption of optimal daily nutrient intake levels. The key is insuring that the body always receives an adequate and balanced supply of all minerals (elements) that might be of potential benefit to maintaining our health or restoring our health. One can summarize the health benefits of some trace elements in table 6 below. These minerals can be of benefit as described in table 6 if they are in balance with other elements they interact with. |Examples of Health Benefits of Selected Trace Elements| |Calcium||Essential for developing and maintaining healthy bones and teeth. Assists in blood clotting, muscle contraction and nerve transmission. Helps reduce risk of osteoporosis.| |Chromium||Aids in glucose metabolism and regulates blood sugar.| |Cobalt||Promotes the formation of red-blood cells.| |Copper||Normal red-blood cell formation. Connective tissue formation. Acts as a catalyst to store and release iron to help form hemoglobin. Contributes to central nervous system function.| |Iodine||Needed by the thyroid hormone to support metabolism.| |Iron||Necessary for red blood cell formation and function. Amount needed is higher in women of childbearing age. Important for brain function.| |Magnesium||Activates over 100 enzymes and helps nerves and muscles function.| |Molybdenum||Contributes to normal growth and development.| |Phosphorous||Works with calcium to develop and maintain strong bones and teeth. Enhances the use of other nutrients.| |Potassium||Regulates heartbeat, maintains fluid balance and helps muscles contract.| |Selenium||Essential component of a key antioxidant enzyme, necessary for normal growth and development.| |Sulfur||Needed for muscle protein and hair.| |Zinc||Essential part of more than 200 enzymes involved in digestion, metabolism, reproduction and wound healing.| Establishing optimal nutrient levels as an additional yardstick in assessing nutrient intake has important implications. Recent analyses of data of nutrient and supplement intake in the United States conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and other government agencies indicate that the vast majority of people in both affluent and emerging industrialized countries do not reach even 50% of the minimal Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for nutrients. This finding may be seen by some as discouraging, especially if evidence continues to support the view that nutrient levels above the RDA perform a role in the prevention of chronic diseases. It is also valuable to know that the realization of the importance of trace elements to human health is of recent origin. For example, only fifteen years ago every textbook taught that the trace element boron was non-essential to all mammals, including man. However, today it is believed to be so important to human health that numerous scientists are preparing to petition the governments to urge them to recognize boron as a trace element essential to human health. (See discussion of boron.) Equally important is the ratio of trace elements. For example, if you compare the levels of minerals in human's and cow's milk, you will see significant differences between the two. In fact, the ration of mother's milk is different for every animal, suggesting the importance nature has placed on the differential physiological needs of each animal on this planet. |Minerals in Human's and Cow's Milk (per 100 millileters)| |Element||Human Milk||Cow's Milk||Human/Cow ratio| |Concentrations of Some Essential Trace Metals in Human Breast Milk| |Zinc||0.4 - 8.0| |Iron||0.20 - 1.45| |Manganese||0.006 - 0.120| |Chromium||0.00043 - 0.080| |Selenium||0.007 - 0.06| |Molybdenum||0 - 0.002| |Cobalt||0 - 0.44| |Nickel||0.01 - 0.15| |Ref: Rennert, O.M. Chan, W-Y. Metabolism of Trace Metals in Man, Vol. I. CRC Press, 1984, p. 71.| The concentration differences seen in tables 7 and 8 within species and between species emphasizes the importance of needing to recognize biochemical individuality. Numerous factors contribute to determining the optimal minerals intake for each individual. Inorganic vs. Organic Minerals From time to time some supplement companies claim that their mineral supplements are superior to others because their products contain "organically-bound minerals" versus inorganic minerals. Such claims can create confusion in the minds of some consumers and are worth discussing. In the field of plant physiology it is a well known fact that minerals enter the plant roots in ionic form. When the mineral attempts to enter the exterior of the root in a non-ionic complex form (i.e. organic), the complex is first broken down in the exterior of the root into an ionic form before it passes through a selective barrier known structurally as the xylem. From there the mineral is carried upward in its ionic state across critical membranes until the mineral is delivered to those leaves and other plant parts requiring them. This is essential to any plants ability to survive and grow normally. What is an ion? An ion is a particle (either an atom or a group of atoms) that carries an electrical charge. There are two types of ions : positively charged ions called cations, and negatively charged ions called anions. Examples of important cations in the body include magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium, and hydrogen. Important anions are bicarbonate, chloride, and phosphate. Then what is an electrolyte? Substances that form ions are called electrolytes . Calcium, magnesium, chloride, bicarbonates, potassium, sodium, and hydrogen are all examples of electrolytes . What functions do electrolytes perform in the body? |Some examples of what specific anions and cations do in the body include:| |Anions (-)||Effect on the Body| |Bicarbonate||Neutralize stomach acid; maintain acid-base balance.| |Chloride||Component of stomach acid (hydrochloric acid); maintain acid- base balance; maintain water balance.| |Phosphate||Maintain acid-base balance; protein and energy metabolism; maintain structure of cell membranes.| |Cations (+)||Effect on the Body| |Calcium||Help nerves conduct messages; muscle contractions; blood clotting; signaling the heart muscle.| |Magnesium||Enzyme activation; muscle contraction; protein metabolism; nerve conduction; bone and teeth formation.| |Potassium||Nerve conduction; maintain water balance; maintain acid-base balance; muscle contraction.| |Sodium||Maintain water balance; maintain acid-base balance; muscle contraction; nerve contraction.| |Hydrogen||Component of stomach acid (hydrochloric acid); maintain acid- base balance.| From the examples above, it is clear that maintaining a balance of cations and anions in the body is essential to our health. For example, the acidity of the blood is dependent on the level of hydrogen cations. To prevent the blood from becoming too acidic, hydrogen cations are neutralized by bicarbonate anions. Should the fluid state within any cell become too acidic, phosphate anions inside the cells will "neutralize" the cations to restore balance. In this way you can see how a natural inorganic magnesium source, such as magnesium chloride, can provide both a cation and an anion vital to maintaining the electrical balance in the fluid and the cells of the body. For the body to function normally, the level of each ion must be kept in balance within a very narrow range; any significant deviation can result in symptoms. Many trace elements are better absorbed in humans and animals if they are in ionic form (see table 3 above for listing of these elements). Magnesium, for example, from a variety of more expensive organic salts (acetate, citrate, lactate) and less expensive organic salts (carbonate, chloride, oxide, phosphate and sulfate) have been shown to be equally absorbed from green leafy vegetables ("organic" magnesium) is equivalent to the absorption of magnesium from magnesium chloride ("inorganic magnesium"). These finds, and many others, question the assumption that "organic" minerals are somehow superior to "inorganic" minerals. There have been many studies on mineral absorption in humans. Professors Rosenberg and Solomons of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) state that: "Insofar as minerals in the diet are often bound to proteins, complexed with organic molecules in food, or otherwise imbedded in the matrix of food-stuffs, the mechanical processes of mastication, dissolution, dispersion, and often digestion are important preparative steps to absorption. Moreover, at the conclusion of the aforementioned reductive processes, minerals generally emerge in the intestinal lumen as charged ions , e.g. Fe**, PO4--, SeO3--." Rosenberg, I.H., Solomons, N.W. In: Absorption and Malabsorption of Mineral Nutrients. Alan R. Liss, 1984, p. 2. In other words, the form of the mineral in foodstuffs or a dietary supplement is not quite as important as making sure it is in an ionic form at the point of intraluminal absorption. The dominant factor is that the mineral must be freed from whatever matrix it is contained in until it is in such an ionic form that it can be taken up in the intestine. Rosenberg and Solomons state that in order for most minerals to be absorbed it is essential to acidify the stomach contents to liberate the minerals from their food matrices. (ibid, p.5) They also point out that excessive alkalinization later on in the small intestinal contents can reduce the solubility of certain minerals in the gut, thereby reducing absorption of those minerals. So no matter if the mineral is organically bound or not, other factors must be considered. That is not to say that there aren't some minerals such as iron or cobalt that are absorbed from foods such as components of complex organic entities (heme porphyrin, coalamin) at the point of absorption. The primary source of these minerals come from food. Iron in the form of hemoglobin and myoglobin in red meats is more bioavailable than inorganic iron. (In the case of iron, an excessive intake of dietary iron can lead to ill-health, especially in individuals with iron storage disorders.) Trace Element Interactions and Balance The importance of maintaining optimal ratios of nutrients is important in the prevention, mitigation and treatment of numerous diseases. For example, in a recent review on the role of trace elements and hypertension (high blood pressure) the authors came to the conclusions that: "Clearly, nutrients function interactively both in the body and in their impact on blood pressure regulation. Whenever the consumption of a single nutrient is significantly altered, an entirely new dietary pattern is created. Nutrients occur in clusters in the diet and may therefore act synergistically to alter physiologic variables such as blood pressure." Ref: Reusser, M.E., McCarron, D.A., Nutr Rev., 1994: 52; 367-375. Simply stated, trace elements must exist in relative balance in the fluids, cells, organs, and tissues of the body to contribute to human health. Trace minerals do not exist by themselves but in relationship to one another. Too much of one trace element can lead to imbalances in others resulting in disease, rather than the absence of disease. Most trace elements need to be in ionic form to be well-absorbed in the intestine. Other factors, such as diet, trace element concentrations in water, drug-nutrient interactions, etc., play a role in maintaining a balance of trace elements in the body.

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This article has been published at RLSLOG.net - visit our site for full content. The concept of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency is taking over the world with a wave and impacting the world of business in a big way. It now becomes very important to get literate about this unique concept and how the entire system works. Through this course you shall gain a strong understanding about Ethereum Cryptocurrency fundamentals. Ethereum as a Cryptocurrency [Video]-P2P .MP4 | Video: 1280×720, 30 fps(r) | Audio: AAC, 44100 Hz, 2ch | 3.23 GB Duration: 8 hours | Genre: eLearning | Language: English Download: RAPIDGATOR / Part1 – Part2 – Part3 – Part4 /- NTi Download: NITROLFARE / Part1 – Part2 – Part3 – Part4 /- NTi more at RLSLOG.netFull article

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Rust, or iron oxide, occurs as a result of the chemical reaction between the water contained in moisture and a metal. Iron and steel are two metals that often undergo rusting. When moisture comes in contact with the metal, acid forms on the metal’s surface and eats away at it, resulting in the formation of an orange, powder-like substance. Taking preventive measures to protect metal items such as tools from rust can save you time and money. Things You'll Need - Climate-controlled environment - Dehumidifier or silica gel desiccant - Mineral spirits - Paint or other rust-prevention coating - Galvanized metals Video of the Day Store metal items such as tools in a climate-controlled environment. Create such an environment with the help of a dehumidifier, which decreases humidity levels. A less expensive and easier to operate method involves placing a silica gel desiccant into your toolbox or drawer. Prevent oxygen and moisture from making contact with the metal. Begin by prepping the metal’s surface by cleaning it with mineral spirits, which will remove any grease and grime. Next, protect the metal’s surfaces by painting them or applying a rust prevention coating. Use this method to protect tools and other items made of metal that you do not store in an enclosed area. Opt for items made of galvanized metals. Galvanizing refers to coating the metal in zinc, which is more reactive than the metal. As a result, the zinc coating sacrifices itself, protecting the metal from rust. Professionals galvanize a metal by dipping it into molten zinc or covering it in zinc dust and then baking it. Extend the life of a zinc coating by adding a coat of paint or anti-corrosion treatment over it. If rust has already started, apply rust-removing gel or liquid solution according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Such solutions typically contain chemicals such as phosphoric, oxalic or hydrocholoric, or muriatic, acids and may need to be diluted with water before application. Some solutions require you to soak the metal in it, while spraying or pouring the solution on and wiping it off is enough for others. Some need only about 30 seconds to remove rust. Others take up to 24 hours.

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This is the first time for the use of biomass pellets for electrical production in the United States, saving over 253 tons of CO2. The project utilizes Show Me Energy's unique biomass pellets to offset green house gas emissions for electrical production. SMEC biomass pellets are made from non-grain bearing crops of cellulose such as Switchgrass, cornstalks, cereal straws, fescue straw and other Ag residues or energy crops that have no food value. Steve Flick, Chairman of the Board, states, "This is our first pilot project of utilizing biomass pellets in Missouri for coal firing. On behalf of our Farmer Members and its Board Of Directors, we are proud to be a part of this historical event. We look forward to working with the State of Missouri regulatory groups, Aquila and Kansas City Power & Light to provide economic opportunity to local farmers while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels." SMEC's goal is to produce thousands of tons of renewable energy pellets to displace non-renewable fuel. If adopted on a global scale, this has the potential to displace millions of tons of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for today's climate change crisis. While others are relying on food crops to create energy, SMEC is demonstrating a sustainable, environmentally friendly way that doesn't threaten the food supply or skew the market.

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Dinosaurs of Britain/Wales: Part 1 European history has many stories of men seeing and having encounters with enormous reptile creatures . The word dinosaur was created in 1841, see the link for information about the word dinosaur. Before 1841, giant reptiles were called "dragons" in the English language. These large reptile creatures were usually ferocious and considered a menace to people. When you read most of the reasonable accounts recorded in historical papers, it is obvious that the writers were giving mostly accurate details of creatures that existed and have now become extinct or very rare. Don't like to read? Watch the movie: Forbidden History to learn more. The book, History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1136 A.D.) chronicles much historical information about the ancient region of Britain. It was written by Welsh cleric, Goeffrey of Monmouth, who lived from approximately 1100-1155 A.D. His work may be found as a PDF file HERE. If you proceed to Page 48 in this PDF, you will find the following quote: "Chapter 15. Morvidus, a most cruel tyrant, after the conquest of the king of Morini, is devoured by a monster. For he commanded them to be brought to him one after another, that he might satisfy his cruelty in seeing them killed; and when he grew tired of this, he gave orders that they should be flayed alive and burned. "In his time a certain king of the Morini arrived with a great force in Northumberland, and began to destroy the country. But Morvidus, with all the strength of the kingdom, marched out against him, and fought him. In this battle he alone did more than the greatest part of this army, and after the victory, suffered none of the enemy to escape alive. During these and other monstrous acts of cruelty, and accident happened which put a period to his wickedness. There came from the coasts of the Irish sea, a most cruel monster, that was continually devouring the people upon the sea-coasts. As soon as he heard of it, he ventured to go and encounter it alone; when he had in vain spent all his darts upon it, the monster rushed upon him, and with open jaws swallowed him up like a small fish." The account of the death of Morvidus is written apparently as a matter of fact. It is without many of the exaggerations and supernatural manifestations of fictitious dragon legends and stories. The work was scholarly and has been used as a valid historical reference. Here is a scholarly summary of "The History of the Kings of Britain" that explains all the details around Goeffrey of Monmouth and this writing. No doubt there are questions that remain regarding the veracity of all of the details of the entire work, but none-the-less this particular story seems plain and straightforward. More Information: Part II- Dinosaurs of Britain and Wales If you continue to examine the evidence you too will realize that so many reports from across so many cultures throughout the world can no longer be ignored. Dinosaurs did not die off millions of years ago. They have always existed with man. So what really happened to the dinosaurs, and why do we find so many fossils of them in the ground? Watch the FREE movie: Forbidden History to find out.

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Q From George Beuselinck: Recently, I have observed that begging the question has come to mean ‘raising the question’. Is this still an improper usage, or has the meaning of the phrase changed due to the usage? A This one really bugs people who know some logic and are familiar with the classical languages. From my attempts to research the point, it also seems to cause trouble for dictionary writers and compilers of style guides, so much so that I’ve not found two authorities that entirely agree on the nature of the problem or which senses of beg the question are acceptable. You can easily find examples of the sense you quote, which is used just as though one might say “prompt the question” or “forces one to ask”. Here’s an example from the Independent on Sunday about gay weddings: “It begs the question why the Church ever sanctioned something it now abominates?”. This meaning of the phrase seems to have grown up because people have turned for a model to other phrases in beg, especially the well-known I beg to differ, where beg is a fossil verb that actually used to mean “humbly submit”. But the way we use beg to differ these days makes beg the question look the same as “wish to ask”. It doesn’t — or at least, it didn’t. The original sense is of a logical fallacy, of taking for granted or assuming the thing that you are setting out to prove. To take an example, you might say that lying is wrong because we ought always to tell the truth. That’s a circular argument and makes no sense. Another instance is to argue that democracy must be the best form of government because the majority is always right. The fallacy was described by Aristotle in his book on logic in about 350BC. His Greek name for it was turned into Latin as petitio principii and then into English in 1581 as beg the question. Most of our problems arise because the person who translated it made a hash of it. The Latin might better be translated as “laying claim to the principle”. Very often, the fact that you are using the matter to be proved as part of your argument is a good deal more subtle than in these examples. It comes across rather as an attempt to evade the issue or avoid giving a straightforward answer, making the phrase mean “avoid the question”. This meaning of the phrase is common and most authorities agree it is now part of standard English. The meaning you give is the newest. It is gaining ground, and one or two recent dictionaries claim that it is now acceptable — the New Oxford Dictionary of English, for example, says it is “widely accepted in modern standard English”. I wouldn’t go so far myself. Because of possible confusion over what you actually mean, and inevitable condemnation from people who have taken the trouble to find out what it once did mean, it’s better avoided altogether. Page created 27 May 2000 Support World Wide Words and keep this site alive. Donate by selecting your currency and clicking the button. Buy from Amazon and get me a small commission at no cost to you. Select a site and click Go!

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There are several Border Bridges the connect Canada to the US in Niagara and we have listed them below. The Niagara River runs between to of the Great Lakes connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and in turn, acts as a natural border separating Southern Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. In the last hundred years or so there have been many bridges of all shapes and sizes that have crossed the Niagara River and connected the two countries together allowing people and goods to cross without having to fight the wild rapids of the Niagara. Currently there are a total of six bridges crossing over the Niagara River connecting the US and Canada. Each of them only allow specific types of traffic to cross over them so choosing the right bridge to cross from on your trip to or from the Falls is crucial to saving time and money. Starting at the Lake Erie end of the Niagara River and working our way towards Lake Ontario the Border Bridges that cross the Niagara are as follows: The Peace Bridge This structure connects the city of Fort Erie Canada to Buffalo United States. It is open to car, truck and pedestrian traffic. Fort Erie is about a half hour drive from Niagara Falls Canada. The Rainbow Bridge This border crossing bridge connects the City of Niagara Falls Canada to the City of Niagara Falls Buffalo directly and takes visitors right into the heart of all the attractions of Niagara Falls. This bridge is open to car truck and pedestrian traffic. The Whirlpool Bridge This bridge also connects Niagara Falls Canada to Niagara Falls US but is only open to vehicles carrying the NEXUS pre-clearance passes only. Generally these are people who work or need to cross the Border Bridges frequently and have passed several security clearance applications to get approved. The Whirlpool Bridge is also open to train traffic. There is no pedestrian traffic allowed. The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge Connecting the towns of Lewiston New York with Queenston Ontario this bridge is open to both car and truck traffic. Only a few minutes down river from the city of Niagara Falls, this bridge can be a good alternative if the Rainbow bridge is experiencing heavy traffic. The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge is not open to pedestrian traffic. The International Railway Bridge Constructed only for the use by trains, this Bridge connects rail traffic from Fort Erie Canada to Buffalo, United States.Not accessible to cars, trucks or pedestrian traffic. The Michigan Central Railway Bridge The only bridge connecting the two countries over the Niagara River that is currently not in use the Michigan Railway bridge was a railway traffic only bridge that served train traffic from Niagara Falls Canada to Niagara Falls USA. This bridge is closed and has security barriers preventing any attempts to cross. Great deals on Niagara Falls hotels are still available!

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I often wondered what the man featured in Auguste Rodin's The Thinker was thinking about. I doubt he was considering what would happen if his body was infected with a computer virus, but a scientist in England is. I often wondered what the man featured in Auguste Rodin's The Thinker was thinking about. I doubt he was considering what would happen if his body was infected with a computer virus, but a scientist in England is. Dr. Mark Gasson of the University of Reading recently tested the potential of such an occurrence. Gasson isn't worried that he will catch a cold from his computer. He is merely forward thinking enough to see the potential for problems before someone gets hurt. With medical electronics like pacemakers and cochlear implants advancing into small computers implanted in the body, the ability for hackers to attack is growing. Another field of research involves implanting small chips that can measure and save data to help with diagnoses and test the success of procedures. Gasson wondered if these devices were at risk. Gasson put himself on the line to see what would happen. He had a chip the size of a grain of rice implanted in his hand. He could use the chip to access secure areas of the university and even his cell phone. Once they infected his chip with a virus, it attacked every device it could communicate with. Imagine what might have happened if someone with less pure motives had stumbled across this idea first. Imagine being at a grocery store and five people with pacemakers all fell dead thanks to such an attack. This is a small problem with big implications. "Developers of this technology need to consider technology from the outset, which they don't do at the moment," Gasson said in perhaps the least reassuring comment ever made. The impact on the good doctor was significant emotionally, if not medically. "While it is exciting to be the first person to become infected by a computer virus in this way, I found it a surprisingly violating experience because the implant is so intimately connected to me but the situation is potentially out of my control," he said. That feeling would grow exponentially for people who had medical implants and weren't intentionally infecting them with viruses. The advance in technology is remarkable and very beneficial. But it is also nice to know someone is considering the unintended uses that come along with progress. Augusta Gazette (Augusta, Kan.)

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University of Missouri Home | People | Locations | Program index | Calendar | News | Publications Continuing education Seminars Courses mu extension > news > display story MU news media Jason VanceWriterUniversity of Missouri ExtensionPhone: 573-882-9731Email: VanceJJ@missouri.edu Published: Monday, June 16, 2014 Bob Broz, 573-882-0085 COLUMBIA, Mo.– If you use well water for cooking and drinking, you should regularly test the water for contamination, says a University of Missouri Extension water quality specialist. “Bacteria is one of those things that is easy to control, but it is something you need to check for,” says Bob Broz. “The best time to test a well for bacteria is in late spring or early summer during wet weather.” According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 52 percent of Missouri wells had high levels of bacteria. Broz says wells should be tested at least once a year for bacteria and nitrates. “There presently is no law that says you can’t use the water,” he says. “But if it does test positive for bacteria you should shock chlorinate it to get rid of the bacteria in the system.” Broz says shock chlorination is a fairly simple application that anyone can do. For details on shock chlorination, see the MU Extension publication “Bacteria in Drinking Water” (WQ102), available online at http://extension.missouri.edu/p/WQ102. The absence of bacteria does not guarantee water is safe. As water moves through the ground and rock, it dissolves many different minerals. Many, like calcium and magnesium, aren’t harmful, but others, such as arsenic, are health risks. Broz says another component is wellhead protection. “Look around the pipe that indicates where the well is and see if any close activities could possibly cause water contamination,” Broz says. “Things such as pesticide or fertilizer storage and handling, on-site sewage systems, or even surface water surrounding the wellhead can be contaminants.” Water testing can be expensive and laboratories only test for contaminants that are specifically requested. So it is important to determine possible contaminants and then decide what to test for. “Water is a very precious resource and we don’t have a lot of it,” Broz says. “Groundwater is all connected, so something that is going on 3 miles down the road from you is affecting the way your well is operating. So understanding how water moves under the surface and where water is coming from is all very important for the private owner to recognize.” About | Jobs | Extension councils | For faculty and staff | For researchers | Giving | Ask an expert | Contact to 2015 Curators of the University of Missouri, all rights reserved, DMCA and other copyright information University of Missouri Extension is an equal opportunity/ADA institution. University of Missouri Extension to 2015 Curators of the University of Missouri, all rights reserved

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This is the first of a series of posts on SQL Server connection strings. I don’t think connection strings are all that complicated but I often see developers have problems because they simply cloned an existing connection string (or found one on the internet) and tweaked it for the task at hand without really understanding what the keywords and values mean. This often results in run-time errors that can be tricky to diagnose. In this post, I’ll provide a connection string overview and discuss SqlClient connection strings and examples. I’ll discuss OLE DB and ODBC (used via ADO or ADO.NET) and JDBC in more detail the future articles. SQL Server can be accessed using several technologies, each of which has different connection string particulars. Connection strings are provider/driver specific so one first needs to decide on a client API before formulating the proper string can be created. All connection strings share the same basic format, name/value pairs separated by semicolons, but the actual connection string keywords may vary by provider. Which keywords are required or optional also vary by provider and providers often share the same keywords (or provide synonyms) to minimize the connection string changes when switching between different providers. Most connection string keywords are optional and need to be specified only when the default is not appropriate. Connection string values should be enclosed in single or double quotes when the value may include a semicolon or equal sign (e.g. Password="a&==b=;1@23") The purpose of a connection string is to supply a SQL Server provider/driver with the information needed to establish a connection to a SQL Server instance and may also be used to specify other configuration values, such as whether connection pooling is used. At the end of the day, the provider/driver needs to know at least: · SQL Server name (or address) · Authentication method (Windows or SQL Server) · Login credentials (login and password for SQL Server authentication) One typically uses the .Net Framework Provider for SQL Server (abbreviated to SqlClient here) in managed code and a SQL Server OLE DB provider or ODBC driver from unmanaged code. It is possible to use OLE DB or ODBC for SQL Server data access in managed code but there is seldom a reason to do so since SqlClient offers high-performance access to SQL Server natively. The SqlConnectionStringBuilder class provides a programmatic way to build connection strings needed by SqlConnection class. The nice thing about SqlConnectionStringBuilder is that it provides IntelliSense and avoids connection string typos. It should always be used when constructing connection strings based in user input (e.g. user id and password prompt). But you still need to know which connection string properties (keywords) you need to set along with the default values. The examples here apply regardless of whether or not you use yjr SqlConnectionStringBuilder class. SqlClient Connection String Keyword Examples Unlike other providers, there is no “Provider” or “Driver” connection string keyword in a SqlClient connection string. The .Net Framework Provider for SQL Server is implicit with a SqlConnection class so it is redundant to also specify the provider. I’ll start with the minimal keyword(s) needed. The minimal SqlClient connection string need only specify the authentication method. The example below specifies Windows authentication using “Integrated Security=SSPI”. This connection string will connect the default instance on the local machine using Windows authentication under the current process Windows security credentials. Listing 1: Connect to local default instance using Windows authentication To connect to the local default instance using SQL authentication, just specify the credentials using the “User ID” and “Password” keywords instead of “Integrated Security=SSPI” keyword. SQL authentication is the default when “Integrated Security” or “Trused_Connection” keyword is not specified. Although I commonly see "Persist Security Info=False" also specified (a best practice from a security perspective), that is the default setting and may be omitted. Be aware that you should encrypt connection strings (or passwords in general) stored in configuration files when using SQL authentication. Listing 2: Connect to local default instance using SQL authentication One often connects to a remote SQL Server. Along with the authentication method, add the Data Source keyword to specify the desired SQL Server name or network address. Data Source=SQLSERVERNAME;Integrated Security=SSPI Listing 3: Connect to default instance on host SQLSERVERNAME using Windows authentication Data Source=SQLSERVERNAME;User ID=MyLogin;Password=MiP@ssw0rd Listing 4: Connect to instance on host SQLSERVERNAME using SQL authentication Note that these same connection strings may be used to connect locally or remotely. Personally, I recommend always specifying the Data Source even when connecting locally. This makes it easy to move the application to another machine using with the same configuration and helps avoid oversights. It is usually best to let SqlClient determine the appropriate network library to use rather than an explicit specification. SqlClient will figure out the appropriate network library based on the specified Data Source value. When you connect to a local instance using an unqualified name (or the value “(local)”), Shared Memory is used by default. SqlClient will use TCP/IP if a FQDN (e.g. SQLSERVERNAME.MyDOMAIN.COM) or IP address is specified regardless of whether the instance is local or remote. Since TCP/IP is most commonly used nowadays, I’ll focus on TCP/IP in this article and use a FQDN in the subsequent examples to avoid ambiguity. It is often desirable to specify the initial database context in the connection sting. If omitted, the default database of the authenticated account is used. This is accomplished using either the “Initial Catalog” or “Database” keyword. I suggest always including the “Initial Catalog” keyword. Data Source=SQLSERVERNAME.MYDOMAIN.COM;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=MyDatabase Listing 4: Connect to default instance on host SQLSERVERNAME using Windows authentication with initial database context of MyDatabase The connection strings I’ve shown so far assume the target is a default SQL Server instance listening on port 1433. One can run multiple instances of SQL Server on the same host using the named instance feature. If your target database instance is a named instance, SqlClient will also need to know the instance name or instance port number. The instance name can be specified by appending a backslash and instance name to the Data Source value: Data Source=SQLSERVERNAME.MYDOMAIN.COM\MYINSTANCE;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=MyDatabase Listing 5: Connect to named instance on host SQLSERVERNAME using Windows authentication with initial database context of MyDatabase As an aside, I often see connectivity problems with named instances due to oversights in the SQL Server configuration. When an instance name is specified, SqlClient interrogates the SQL Server Brower service on the SQL Server host to determine the instance port (or named pipe name). The SQL Server Brower service is disabled by default so you need to enable and start it in order to connect by the instance name. This can be done using the SQL Server Configuration Manager tool. Also, since the SQL Server Brower service communicates over UDP port 1434, that port must be allowed through firewalls. You can specify a port number instead of instance name to directly to a named instance (or to a default instance listing on a non-standard port). The port may be specified by appending a comma and port number to the data source value. The needed port number can be ascertained from the SQL Server Configuration Manager tool. Data Source=SQLSERVERNAME.MYDOMAIN.COM,60086;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=MyDatabase Listing 6: Connect to instance on host SQLSERVERNAME listening on port 60086 using Windows authentication with initial database context of MyDatabase In addition to the “Data Source”, “Initial Catalog” and “Integrated Security” (or “User Id” and “Password”) keywords I’ve discussed so far, I recommend that “Application Name” also be specified. The specified string is helps identify the application when monitoring activity on the database server. This is especially useful when an application server or client hosts multiple applications. Data Source=SQLSERVERNAME.MYDOMAIN.COM;Integrated Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=MyDatabase;Application Name=Connection String Example Listing 7: Connect to default instance on host SQLSERVERNAME using Windows authentication with initial database context of MyDatabase with application name specification In my opinion, the many other keywords are noise unless the default values are inappropriate for your environment. You can get by nicely in most cases with only the 4 or 5 SqlClient connection string keywords I’ve discussed here. I suggest you establish a connection string standard that includes the “Data Source”, “Initial Catalog”, “Application Name” keywords plus the authentication method, “Integrated Security=SSPI” or “User Id” and “Password”.

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bruno.42.desthuilliers at websiteburo.invalid Mon Mar 8 09:53:47 CET 2010 Rolando Espinoza La Fuente a écrit : > On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 2:32 PM, mk <mrkafk at gmail.com> wrote: >> Arnaud Delobelle wrote: >>>>>> 1 == True >>>>>> 0 == False >>> So what's your question? >> Well nothing I'm just kind of bewildered: I'd expect smth like that in Perl, >> but not in Python.. Although I can understand the rationale after skimming >> PEP 285, I still don't like it very much. > So, the pythonic way to check for True/False should be: >>>> 1 is True >>>> 0 is False > instead of ==, right? Nope. The pythonic way is to check for truth value - not for True or False -, and to only use the identity test when wanting to test for More information about the Python-list

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Preussen in 1907 |Builder:||AG Vulcan Stettin| |Laid down:||April 1902| |Launched:||30 October 1903| |Commissioned:||12 July 1905| |Class and type:||Braunschweig-class pre-dreadnought battleship| |Displacement:||14,394 t (14,167 long tons)| |Length:||127.7 m (419 ft 0 in)| |Beam:||22.2 m (72 ft 10 in)| |Draft:||8.1 m (26 ft 7 in)| |Speed:||18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)| |Range:||5,200 nautical miles (9,600 km; 6,000 mi); 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)| SMS Preussen[a] was the fourth of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She was laid down in January 1902, was launched in October 1903, and was commissioned in July 1905. She was named for the state of Prussia[b] The ship was armed with a battery of four 28 cm (11 in) guns and had a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Like all other pre-dreadnoughts built at the turn of the century, Preussen was quickly made obsolete by the launching of the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought in 1906; as a result, she saw only limited service with the German fleet. Preussen's peacetime career centered on squadron and fleet exercises and training cruises to various foreign ports. Preussen served as the flagship of II Battle Squadron of the High Seas Fleet for the majority of her career. During World War I, she served as a guard ship in the German Bight and later in the Danish straits. She participated in a fleet sortie in December 1914 in support of the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby during which the German fleet briefly clashed with a detachment of the British Grand Fleet. She had been temporarily assigned to guard ship duties in the Baltic in May 1916, and so missed the Battle of Jutland. Due to her age, she did not rejoin the fleet, and instead continued to serve as a guard ship until 1917, when she became a tender for U-boats based in Wilhelmshaven. After the war, Preussen was retained by the re-formed Reichsmarine and converted into a depot ship for F-type minesweepers. She was stricken from the naval register in April 1929 and sold to ship breakers in 1931. A 63-meter (207 ft) section of her hull was retained as a target; it was bombed and sunk in 1945 by Allied bombers at the end of World War II, and was subsequently scrapped in 1954. With the passage of the Second Naval Law under the direction of Vizeadmiral (VAdm—Vice Admiral) Alfred von Tirpitz in 1900, funding was allocated for a new class of battleships to succeed the Wittelsbach-class ships authorized under the 1898 Naval Law. By this time, Krupp, the supplier of naval artillery to the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) had developed quick-firing, 28-centimeter (11 in) guns; the largest guns that had previously incorporated the technology were the 24 cm (9.4 in) guns mounted on the Wittelsbachs. The Design Department of the Reichsmarineamt (Imperial Navy Office) adopted these guns for the new battleships, along with an increase from 15 cm (5.9 in) to 17 cm (6.7 in) for the secondary battery, owing to the increased threat from torpedo boats as torpedoes became more effective. The British battleship HMS Dreadnought—armed with ten 12-inch (30.5 cm) guns—was commissioned in December 1906, less than a year and a half after Preussen entered service. Dreadnought's revolutionary design rendered every capital ship of the German navy obsolete, including Preussen. Preussen was 127.7 m (419 ft 0 in) long overall and had a beam of 22.2 m (72 ft 10 in) and a draft of 8.1 m (26 ft 7 in) forward. At full load, she displaced 14,394 t (14,167 long tons; 15,867 short tons). Her crew consisted of 35 officers and 708 enlisted men. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines that drove three screws. Steam was provided by eight naval and six cylindrical boilers, all of which burned coal. Preussen's powerplant was rated at 16,000 metric horsepower (15,781 ihp; 11,768 kW), which generated a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). She could steam 5,200 nautical miles (9,600 km; 6,000 mi) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Preussen's armament consisted of a main battery of four 28 cm (11 in) SK L/40 guns in twin gun turrets,[c] one fore and one aft of the central superstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of fourteen 17 cm (6.7 inch) SK L/40 guns and eighteen 8.8 cm (3.45 in) SK L/35 quick-firing guns. The armament suite was rounded out with six 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, all mounted submerged in the hull. Preussen was protected with Krupp armor. Her armored belt was 110 to 250 millimeters (4.3 to 9.8 in) thick, with the heavier armor in the central portion that protected her magazines and machinery spaces, and the thinner plating at either end of the hull. Her deck was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick. The main battery turrets had 250 mm of armor plating. Preussen was laid down in April 1902 at the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin under construction number 256. The fourth unit of her class, she had been ordered under the contract name "K" as a new unit for the fleet. Preussen was launched on 30 October 1903, with a speech given by Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow and the christening performed by Empress Augusta Victoria. The ship was commissioned into the fleet on 12 July 1905. Sea trials lasted until September, when she formally joined II Squadron, where she replaced the battleship Kaiser Friedrich III as the squadron flagship. VAdm Max von Fischel was the squadron commander at the time. The German fleet was occupied with extensive training exercises during the early 1900s. The ships were occupied with individual, division and squadron exercises throughout April 1906, with the only interruption in February, when Preussen carried Kaiser Wilhelm II to Copenhagen in company with the light cruiser Ariadne and the torpedo boats S121 and G111. Wilhelm II attended the burial of the Danish King Christian IX, who had died the previous month. Starting on 13 May, major fleet exercises took place in the North Sea and lasted until 8 June with a cruise around the Skagen into the Baltic. During Kiel Week on 21 June, Preussen received a gift from the provinces of West Prussia and East Prussia, in the form of a Prussian war flag. The fleet began its usual summer cruise to Norway in mid-July, and the fleet was present for the birthday of Norwegian King Haakon VII on 3 August. The German ships departed the following day for Helgoland, to join exercises being conducted there. The fleet was back in Kiel by 15 August, where preparations for the autumn maneuvers began. On 22–24 August, the fleet took part in landing exercises in Eckernförde Bay outside Kiel. The maneuvers were paused from 31 August to 3 September when the fleet hosted vessels from Denmark and Sweden, along with a Russian squadron from 3 to 9 September in Kiel. The maneuvers resumed on 8 September and lasted five more days. The ship participated in the uneventful winter cruise into the Kattegat and Skagerrak from 8 to 16 December. The first quarter of 1907 followed the previous pattern and, on 16 February, the Active Battle Fleet was re-designated the High Seas Fleet. From the end of May to early June the fleet went on its summer cruise in the North Sea, returning to the Baltic via the Kattegat. This was followed by the regular cruise to Norway from 12 July to 10 August, after which the fleet conducted the annual autumn maneuvers, which lasted from 26 August to 6 September. The exercises included landing exercises in northern Schleswig with IX Corps. On 1 October 1907, Konteradmiral (KAdm—Rear Admiral) Ludwig von Schröder came aboard Preussen, taking command of the squadron, as Fischel had become the chief of the Marinestation der Nordsee (Naval Station of the North Sea). The winter training cruise went into the Kattegat from 22 to 30 November. The fleet conducted training exercises in the Baltic in February 1908. Prince Heinrich, then the commander of the High Seas Fleet, had pressed for such a cruise the previous year, arguing that it would prepare the fleet for overseas operations and would break up the monotony of training in German waters, though tensions with Britain over the developing Anglo-German naval arms race were high. The fleet departed Kiel on 17 July, passed through the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal to the North Sea, and continued to the Atlantic. During the cruise, Preussen visited Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. The fleet returned to Germany on 13 August. The autumn maneuvers followed from 27 August to 12 September. Later that year, the fleet toured coastal German cities as part of an effort to increase public support for naval expenditures. In early 1909, Preussen and the battleships Pommern and Schleswig-Holstein were sent to break paths in the sea ice off the coast of Holstein for merchant shipping. Another cruise into the Atlantic was conducted from 7 July to 1 August, during which Preussen stopped in El Ferrol, Spain. On the way back to Germany, the High Seas Fleet was received by the British Royal Navy in Spithead. Later that year, Admiral Henning von Holtzendorff became the fleet commander. Holtzendorff's tenure as fleet commander was marked by strategic experimentation, owing to the increased threat the latest underwater weapons posed and the fact that the new Nassau-class battleships were too wide to pass through the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. Accordingly, the fleet was transferred from Kiel to Wilhelmshaven on 1 April 1910. In May 1910, the fleet conducted training maneuvers in the Kattegat. These were in accordance with Holtzendorff's strategy, which envisioned drawing the Royal Navy into the narrow waters there. The annual summer cruise was to Norway, and was followed by fleet training, during which another fleet review was held in Danzig on 29 August. After the conclusion of the maneuvers, Schröder was promoted to chief of the Marinestation der Ostsee (Naval Station of the Baltic Sea), his place aboard Preussen being taken by VAdm Friedrich von Ingenohl. A training cruise into the Baltic followed at the end of the year. In March 1911, the fleet held exercises in the Skagerrak and Kattegat, and the year's autumn maneuvers were confined to the Baltic and the Kattegat. Another fleet review was held during the exercises for a visiting Austro-Hungarian delegation that included Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Admiral Rudolf Montecuccoli. In mid-1912, due to the Agadir Crisis, the summer cruise was confined to the Baltic, to avoid exposing the fleet during the period of heightened tension with Britain and France. On 30 January 1913, Holtzendorff was relieved as the fleet commander, owing in large part due to Wilhelm II's displeasure with his strategic vision; Ingenohl took Holtzendorff's place, and KAdm Reinhard Scheer in turn replaced Ingenohl as II Squadron commander on 4 February. In late August, the squadron steamed through the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal at the start of the autumn maneuvers to reach the island of Helgoland; the voyage through the canal was notable, because the canal had been closed for over a year while it was enlarged to allow the passage of larger dreadnought battleships. Preussen went into dry dock in November for periodic maintenance, and as a result, missed training exercises conducted that month. Preussen participated in ceremonies at Sonderburg on 2 May to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Dybbøl of the Second Schleswig War; she was joined by her sister ships Hessen and Lothringen, the battleship Schlesien, and the armored cruiser Blücher. The ship was present during the fleet cruise to Norway in July 1914, which was cut short by the July Crisis following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand the month before and subsequent rise in international tensions. On 25 July the ship's crew was made aware of Austria-Hungary's ultimatum to Serbia; Preussen left Norway to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet the following day. Preussen had been slated to be decommissioned at the end of the year, her place as the squadron flagship to be taken by the dreadnought Westfalen. Preussen was to then replace Wittelsbach in the Reserve Division of the Baltic Sea, but the outbreak of World War I cancelled those plans. After the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German command deployed II Squadron in the German Bight to defend Germany's coast from a major attack from the Royal Navy that the Germans presumed was imminent. Preussen and her squadron mates were stationed in the mouth of the Elbe to support the vessels on patrol duty in the Bight. Once it became clear that the British would not attack the High Seas Fleet, the Germans began a series of operations designed to lure out a portion of the numerically superior British Grand Fleet and destroy it. By achieving a rough equality of forces, the German navy could then force a decisive battle in the southern portion of the North Sea. The first such operation in which the High Seas Fleet participated was the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby on 15–16 December 1914. The main fleet acted as distant support for KAdm Franz von Hipper's battlecruiser squadron while it raided the coastal towns. On the evening of 15 December, the fleet came to within 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) of an isolated squadron of six British battleships. However, skirmishes between the rival destroyer screens in the darkness convinced Ingenohl, who was now the German fleet commander, that the entire Grand Fleet was deployed before him. Under orders from Wilhelm II to avoid battle if victory was not certain, Ingenohl broke off the engagement and turned the battlefleet back towards Germany. At the end of the month, Scheer was replaced by KAdm Felix Funke, Scheer going on to command III Battle Squadron. On 14 March 1915, Preussen went to Kiel for periodic maintenance, and she was replaced as the squadron flagship by the battleship Deutschland. The latter vessel held the position for the remainder of the squadron's existence, with the exceptions of 19 September to 16 October 1915, 25 February to 7 April 1916, in September that year, and from 22 January to 10 February 1917; during each of these periods, Preussen temporarily resumed the flagship role. Starting in April 1916, the ships of II Squadron were tasked with patrolling the Danish straits; each ship of the squadron was to rotate through the duty, with the others remaining in the Elbe or serving with the main fleet. Preussen began her first stint on 21 April, replacing Hessen; she was accordingly absent during the bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft three days later. On 4 May, Preussen was relieved and she returned to the Elbe, though she was transferred back to the straits on 21 May, remaining there until 8 June. As a result, she missed the Battle of Jutland, fought on 31 May – 1 June in the North Sea. Her sister ship Lothringen also missed the battle, as she had been deemed to be in too poor a condition to participate in the fleet sortie. Jutland proved to Scheer, who was now the fleet commander, that the pre-dreadnought battleships were too vulnerable to take part in a major fleet action, and so he detached II Squadron from the High Seas Fleet. As a result, Preussen remained in service only as a guard ship. She saw further stints in the Danish straits from 30 June to 23 July and from 15 to 31 August. On 13 March 1917, Preussen left the Elbe and steamed to the Baltic, where she was temporarily used as an icebreaker to clear a path to Swinemünde. She was decommissioned on 5 August, and most of her crew were transferred to the new battlecruiser Hindenburg. From then to the end of the war, she served as a tender for III U-boat Flotilla based in Wilhelmshaven. Preussen briefly held Edouard Izac, a US Navy sailor captured after his ship was sunk by U-90, in June 1918; Izac would go on to escape from a German prisoner of war camp and win the Medal of Honor. Following the German defeat in World War I, the German navy was reorganized as the Reichsmarine according to the Treaty of Versailles. The new navy was permitted to retain eight pre-dreadnought battleships under Article 181—two of which would be in reserve—for coastal defense. Preussen was among those ships chosen to remain on active service with the Reichsmarine. The ship was converted into a parent ship for F-type minesweepers at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in 1919; the ship was disarmed and platforms for holding the minesweepers were installed. Preussen served in this capacity with the Reichsmarine, though she proved to be too top-heavy to be an effective mothership, and she was soon replaced by the old light cruiser Arcona. Preussen was placed in reserve and was left out of service until 1929, when she was stricken from the naval register on 5 April. The Reichsmarine sold her to ship breakers on 25 February 1931 for 216,800 Reichsmarks. Preussen was subsequently broken up for scrap in Wilhelmshaven, though a 63 m (207 ft) length of her hull was retained as a testing target for underwater weapons, including torpedoes and mines. The section of hull was nicknamed "SMS Vierkant ("SMS Rectangle"). Allied bombers attacked and sank the section of Preussen's hull in April 1945. It was eventually raised and scrapped in late 1954.

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Chekhov experienced no conflict between art and science or art and medicine. He believed that knowledge of one complemented the other. Chekhov brought medical knowledge and sensitivity to his creative writing--he had an intimate knowledge of the world of medicine and the skills of doctoring, and he utilized this information in his approach to his characters. His sensibility as a medical insider gave special poignancy to his physician characters. The doctors in his engaging tales demonstrate a wide spectrum of behavior, personality, and character. At their best, they demonstrate courage, altruism, and tenderness, qualities that lie at the heart of good medical practice. At their worst, they display insensitivity and incompetency. The stories in Chekhov's Doctors are powerful portraits of doctors in their everyday lives, struggling with their own personal problems as well as trying to serve their patients. The fifth volume in the acclaimed Literature and Medicine Series, Chekhov's Doctors will serve as a rich text for professional health care educators as well as for general readers.

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Disaster - a deadly virus SDGS (most of those infected have died, but some were mutations that increased their strength, endurance and aggressiveness). In May 2015, the world heard about a new outbreak of bird flu infection in a month on humans, in July were recorded deaths in those infected by the time the vaccine was developed and the disease went into decline. The fall of the infection back to a more dangerous form: deaths accounted for ~ 90% of cases, moreover, the incubation period is sometimes reached week. Two weeks later, when authorities impose quarantine measures, and even after a week of martial law. It did not take long to realize that it is impossible to localize an outbreak and it has been decided to hide the political elite in the bunkers. Citizens of the Russian Federation once again were left to fend for themselves.

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Be on your guard ladies! Indian worst hit. Women are highly prone to depression, a significant contributor to disease and even suicidal tendencies . According to WHO Indians are among the worlds most depressed. A study conducted by global watchdogs found that while around 9% of people in India reported having an extended period of depression within their lifetime, around 36% suffered from what is called major depressive episode (MDE). Also, the study also found varying patterns of symptom progression; that long-term increased symptoms of depression are associated with higher mortality rates; and that initially moderate symptoms in men tend to become worse over time. “…we can’t pinpoint exactly why depression is more common among women…,” said lead author Salma Ayis from the School of Population Health and Environmental Sciences at King’s College London in UK. Here are the 5 main reasons to take care of: 1. Biological Makeup Women are subjected to the fluctuating hormonal changes throughout their life, especially during menstruation, childbirth, and menopause. Girls who typically reach puberty at an earlier age than boys show signs of depression on the onset of puberty due to emerging sexuality, identity issues, conflict with parents, etc. During pregnancy, dramatic changes in hormones due to factors such as unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage, lifestyle changes, infertility, and the lack of social support can stress women to the point of severe depression. 2. Sociocultural Reasons In developing countries like India, societal pressure adds to the biological factors as reasons for mental stress in women. In a nation where more than half of the population resides in villages and small towns, women are constantly subjected to the psychological pressure that determines gender disadvantage for them. This pressure comes from external factors such as early marriages, low levels of support from one’s family, and stigmas. 3. Lack Of Access A report compiled by the Dasra in 2016, revealed that 63 million, out of India’s 120 million adolescent girls, lack access to a private toilet which is the reason of 23% dropouts from schools. 4. Violence And Sexual Abuse According to a United Nations report, approximately two-third of married women in India are victims of domestic violence. Additionally, as many as 70% of married women between the ages of 15 and 49 years are victims of beatings, rape or coerced sex. 5. Socio-Political Reasons A survey report released by Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) claims that one in five adults in Kashmir is living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and that the prevalence of mental distress is significantly higher among women. While there are several surveys done for

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 12 (UPI) -- Adolescents who are socially popular in middle and high school are less likely to be successful well-adjusted adults according to researchers at the University of Virginia. Published in the journal Child Development, the study followed 184 teens from age 13 until they were 23. Researches found that by the time they were 22, the students who were perceived as popular teenagers were less competent adults with a greater dependency on drugs or alcohol. "Long term, we call it the high school reunion effect," said Joseph Allen, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and co-author of the study. "It appears that while so-called cool teens' behavior might have been linked to early popularity, over time, these teens needed more and more extreme behaviors to try to appear cool, at least to a subgroup of other teens. So they became involved in more serious criminal behavior and alcohol and drug use as adolescence progressed. These previously cool teens appeared less competent -- socially and otherwise -- than their less cool peers by the time they reached young adulthood." The so-called cool kids used drugs and alcohol 40 percent more often than their less cool counterparts, and were 22 percent more likely to get in trouble with law enforcement. The study also measured social competence of the young men and women observed, interviewing family, friends, acquaintances and lovers. The once-cool teens grew up to be adults who were an average of 24 percent less socially competent than teens who were not popular in junior high and grade school. "The detour notion or metaphor really captures it, that they really are off on a different track that was appealing when they took the road but that they just find themselves deeper and deeper in and they have to engage in more and more serious kinds of behaviors to try and get their friends' approval." The study conceded that delinquency, drug use and sexual activity were standard parts of adolescence for most people, but that early social ecosystems form around those children who engage in such activity before their peers. It's these children and those socially connected to them the study found developed into poorly-adjusted adults. The full abstract of the findings can read below: "Pseudomature behavior -- ranging from minor delinquency to precocious romantic involvement -- is widely viewed as a nearly normative feature of adolescence. When such behavior occurs early in adolescence, however, it was hypothesized to reflect a misguided overemphasis upon impressing peers and was considered likely to predict long-term adjustment problems. In a multimethod, multireporter study following a community sample of 184 adolescents from ages 13 to 23, early adolescent pseudomature behavior was linked cross-sectionally to a heightened desire for peer popularity and to short-term success with peers. Longitudinal results, however, supported the study's central hypothesis: Early adolescent pseudomature behavior predicted long-term difficulties in close relationships, as well as significant problems with alcohol and substance use, and elevated levels of criminal behavior."

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Last month, a baby came into the world without kidneys. This is not generally a topic for news coverage (it happens more often than you think), but this girl’s mother is U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler. Despite prenatal warnings about the grave prognosis, the Representative chose to continue her pregnancy with periodic intrauterine saline infusions. The fluid substitutes for fetal urine in utero, allowing better lung development and preventing the deformities induced by uterine compression in the absence of amniotic fluid.* This procedure has been used since the 1990s with variable success. Abigail, the infant, was born prematurely, at 28 weeks of gestation and a weight of 2 lb 2 oz. A baby this premature has a hard road ahead of her, even if everything else is normal. Having no kidneys just makes things that more complicated. Two studies examined single-center prognosis for infants on chronic dialysis, generally peritoneal dialysis (treatment the Beutler child is undergoing). One from Miami examined all chronic dialysis patients who started treatment in the first year of life. Of 52 patients, 20 (38%) died in the first year of life, mostly within the first month of life. Over up to 25 years of observation, the mortality totaled 54%. They did not report the gestational age of their patients, and no child was reported to be completely anephric. The other study came from the University of Minnesota. It examined only infants started on peritoneal dialysis before 28 days of age (23 babies). Gestational age in this series ranged from 31-40 weeks (average 37 weeks) with 39% considered premature (<17 weeks of gestation). Survival at 1 year was 52%, with half of the deaths occurring before the infant could be discharged to home. Once again, no infant with complete absence of kidneys was reported. Both studies confirm that getting these kids to an appropriate size for transplant (~10 kg body weight, generally at 15-18 months of age) can be a battle. Most children suffered infections and other problems leading to hospitalizations during that period. The Minnesota groups averaged 6 admissions each in the first year of life after neonatal discharge (average discharge occurred after 3 months of hospitalization, so those 6 re-admissions occurred within a 9-month period). These infants also require support beyond dialysis and medications. Forced feedings via a tube were required in 94% of babies discharged on home dialysis in the Minnesota series. The good news is that once these children get to transplant, they generally do as well as other children with end-stage kidney failure. Patient survival remains stable after 2 years of age, and the 5-year transplant graft survival rate is 83%, similar to that of older children transplanted in the same era. Both of the studies discussed here started with infants on dialysis; we do not know how many parents chose not to pursue aggressive treatment for their critically ill offspring Peritoneal dialysis allows us to save about half of the infants whose kidneys fail in the first months of life. However, these children often have multiple admissions over that first year of life, and they will be technology-dependent for their entire lives. All of these factors need to be weighed by the parents before embarking on infant dialysis. . *Use of this illustration for 1 year online would cost me $282; click over to the Netter Illustration and view it with the watermark. You will get the general idea.

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In September 2008, our economy fell into a downward spiral when one large financial institution after another teetered on the brink of failure, threatening our financial system and the well-being of the American public. We are still feeling the aftershocks of this financial crisis. More than eight million jobs were lost and the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high. Millions of Americans lost their homes or are now in homes worth less than their mortgages. And millions of Americans continue struggling each day to make ends meet. While the crisis had many causes, it is evident that unregulated derivatives, called swaps, heightened risk on Wall Street and played a central role in the financial crisis. Developed in the 1980s, swaps, along with the regulated futures market, help producers, merchants, and other companies to lower their risk by locking in the price of a commodity or an interest rate, currency or other financial index. The public buys gasoline and groceries from companies that rely upon futures and swaps to hedge their commodity price risks. The public keeps their savings with banks and pension funds that use swaps to manage their interest rate risks. Our nation's economy relies on a well-functioning derivatives market - an essential piece of a healthy American financial system. Over the last thirty years, however, the swaps market had remained unregulated and grew in size and complexity that far outstrips the futures market; it is now seven times the size. Swaps added leverage to the financial system - with more risk backed by less capital. Swaps contributed significantly to the interconnectedness between banks, investment banks, and hedge funds, among other financial entities. Large financial institutions, were regarded not only as too big to fail, but also too interconnected to fail. When AIG, Bear Stearns and others collapsed, taxpayers were made to pick up the bill to prevent the economy from diving deeper into a depression. The financial system failed. Moreover, the regulatory system that was put in place to protect the public failed as well. Just over a year ago, Congress and the President came together and passed an historic law: the Dodd-Frank Act. For the first time, the CFTC and SEC will have oversight of the swaps and security-based swaps markets. The Dodd-Frank Act includes many important provisions, but includes two overarching goals of reform: bringing transparency to the swaps market and lowering the risks of this market to the overall economy. Both of these reforms will better protect taxpayers from again bearing the brunt of a financial crisis and will cut costs for businesses and their customers. The first overarching goal of reform brings critical transparency to the derivatives marketplace. The more transparent a marketplace is the more liquid it is and the more competitive it is. In short, when markets are open and transparent, costs are lower for companies and the people who buy their products. They are safer and more sound. The Dodd-Frank Act promotes both pre-trade and post-trade transparency. It moves certain standardized swaps transactions to exchanges or swap execution facilities. This will allow buyers and sellers to meet in an open marketplace where prices are publicly available, rather than in the shadows of the financial system. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires the real-time reporting of the price and volume of transactions. Furthermore, it requires that once a swap transaction is arranged, its valuation must be shared on a daily basis with the counterparty. These measures of transparency and openness reduce some of the information advantages that dealers currently have over Main Street. The second overarching goal of reform is equally as important. The law lowers risk to the overall economy by directly regulating dealers for their swaps activities as well as moving standardized swaps into central clearing. Clearinghouses mitigate the risks that arise from the interconnectedness in the financial system by standing between counterparties and guaranteeing the obligations of the parties in case of default. They have lowered risk for the public in the futures markets since the late-19th Century - through world wars, the Great Depression, and financial crises. It's time to modernize the swaps market and provide the same protections for taxpayers. This spring, the CFTC largely completed the proposal phase of its rule-writing process. This summer, the agency turned an important corner, as we began finalizing rules to make the swaps marketplace more open and transparent for participants and safer for taxpayers. Among the regulations we have completed is a rule giving the Commission new authority to effectively prosecute wrongdoers who recklessly manipulate the markets. Also, we will soon begin rewarding whistleblowers for their help in catching fraud, manipulation or other misconduct in the financial markets. The Commission also finished rules that, for the first time, will give regulators and the public specific information on the derivatives market's scale and risk. These rules require dealers, clearing members and clearinghouses to give the CFTC data about their swaps activities and establish swap data repositories that will receive information on all swaps transactions. By contrast, in the fall of 2008, there was no required reporting about swaps trading: no one knew how big a problem this market posed to the economy because so much of the trading happened in the dark. Next in queue of the final rules will be the consideration of critical regulations related to speculative position limits, as well as risk management for clearinghouses. While U.S. regulators work to implement the Dodd-Frank Act here at home, the Commission also is actively consulting and coordinating with international regulators to promote robust and consistent standards in swaps oversight. The Commission also anticipates seeking public input on the application of Section 722(d), which says that the law does not apply to activities outside the United States unless those activities have a direct and significant connection with or effect on U.S. commerce. Twenty-first century finance, though, knows no true geographic borders as money and risk can move around the globe with a touch of a button. Sober evidence of this can be seen through AIG's swaps affiliate, AIG Financial Products, which had its major operations in London. When it failed, the U.S. economy, and taxpayers shouldered the greatest burden. Economists have agreed for decades that transparency in markets actually reduces costs and makes markets more efficient. Furthermore, the U.S. financial system remains interconnected through the swaps market here, in Europe and in Asia. Thus, the current debt crisis in Europe is but a stark reminder of why completing financial reform is so necessary for the U.S. economy and to protect taxpayers. Dodd-Frank is about transparency and ensuring the public does not bear the risks of the financial system. In 2008, if Dodd-Frank had been in place, greater transparency would have allowed regulators to see the simmering problems at large financial institutions, such as AIG. In 2008, our nation had a difficult decision: rescue institutions or risk a depression. At its core, Dodd-Frank lowers the risk that the American people will ever be put in that position again. At the CFTC, commissioners and staff are working day and night to put up the necessary street lamps to bring the swaps market out of the shadows and the traffic signals to protect the public from another financial crash. Until these reforms are complete, however, the public remains at risk. The agency is taking on a significantly expanded scope and mission. So far, staff and commissioners have held more than 1,000 meetings with the public, and received over 25,000 comments on its proposed rules. As the Commission continues to finalize rules, market participants will increasingly seek guidance from the CFTC. Without sufficient funding, though, it will not have the resources to be as responsive to the public as it should be. The agency must be adequately resourced to ensure the new swaps market rules will be strictly enforced - rules that promote transparent markets, lower costs for consumers and protect taxpayers. Without sufficient funding, the Commission will not have the resources to put enough cops on the beat for the public's protection. The financial crisis prompted multilateral organizations, such as IOSCO, to emphasize the identification of systemic risks as a new principle for its member regulatory agencies. The 2010 financial legislation similarly stressed the need for a more comprehensive approach to the identification of systemic risk through the creation of a new risk council composed of the U.S. financial regulators. The Commission will need to develop internal mechanisms and acquire new competencies and approaches to risk identification to address this new policy objective. Addressing systemic risks will also involve greater international cooperation and the development of new global mechanisms for the ongoing evaluation of, and sharing of concerns regarding, emerging global financial risks. The challenge will be to develop internal, domestic and global mechanisms that can understand, identify and address novel, emerging forms of risk. The May 2010 "flash crash" has focused attention on the activities of high frequency, algorithmic-driven traders. High frequency trading challenges regulators to understand how this form of trading has transformed markets and poses new questions concerning what constitutes abusive trading practices. As part of addressing this issue, the Commission will continue its participation with the SEC in the Joint Advisory Committee on Emerging Regulatory Issues. Because trading takes place globally, the CFTC expects to cooperate with other international authorities that are examining these issues as well. The Commission also will continue to conduct its own research in this area. The continued concerns that have been expressed with respect to contract specifications in several agricultural futures contracts raise issues that go to the core of the commodity markets and their continued viability for hedging. The Commission will remain engaged in these critical issues, both through the Commission's Agricultural Advisory Committee and the deployment of staff to analyze these problems on a priority basis. Global shortages, increasing consumer demands and a variety of fundamental factors that affect and possibly distort supply and demand make it likely that there will be continued periods of price volatility in strategically important energy and agricultural commodities. Most recently these concerns have been expressed by the G20 Group of Financial Ministers, and the Commission expects that these concerns will continue to be expressed in the years ahead. The Commission has contributed to the U.S. response to these G20 concerns through its co-chairing of an IOSCO Task Force on Commodity Futures Markets. Work within the Task Force helped focus attention on the need for greater transparency in OTC and cash markets as means to match the transparency that already exists in futures markets. The Commission expects to share its expertise concerning techniques used to: identify and make public, through its Commitments of Traders (COT) reports, large concentrations of positions, the use of position limits as a means to address what the CEA terms excessive speculation, and the application of aggressive enforcement programs that target conduct that may involve futures, OTC and cash markets. The continued "linkage" of U.S. and European markets through dually-regulated intermediaries, exchanges, clearing-houses and soon-to-be registered trade repositories will undoubtedly require closer cooperation and coordination with European authorities.

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Developers, graphic designers, digital artists and web designers need to make use of a Color Picker software for identifying colors or a Ruler to measure objects on the screen. While one can always use a 3rd-party freeware like ColorPix, Pixie or Just Color Picker for identifying the colors, Internet Explorer 10 includes a Color Picker and a Ruler tool. To access the built-in tools, you have to open Internet Explorer and press F12 to open the Developer Tools. A panel will open at the bottom of Internet Explorer. These are the Developer Tools. Click on the Tools menu item, to open its sub-menu. Here you will be able to see Show Color Picker and Show Ruler items. Color Picker Tool in IE Clicking on Show Color Picker will open the Color Picker Tool. This tool can show the color sample, and the color’s RGB and HEX values. To see a color value used on a web page, click the color of interest with the cursor. To pick a different color sample, click the eyedropper icon on the dialog box and repeat the previous step. Click Copy and close to copy the HEX value to the clipboard for use in your web page. Click the X button or Hide color picker on the Tools menu to close the dialog box. So when you are browsing and need to identify a color, you can simply use this built-in tool to identify the colors. TIP: Take a look at these Color Picker online tools too. Ruler in IE Clicking on Show Ruler will open the Ruler Tool. The Ruler in IE Lets you to measure objects on the screen. Multiple colors and rulers are also supported. For better precision, press CTRL+M to toggle a magnifier on or off. The ruler shows the X-Y coordinates of each end of the ruler relative to where the points are on the screen. The ruler length is shown at the center of the ruler in pixels. It can be moved, resized, or re-angled. To remove a ruler, select it and press the Delete key. When done, click the X button at the upper-right corner to close the dialog box. When the dialog box is closed, all rulers are hidden. You can learn more about the tools in the Internet Explorer Developer Tools here at MSDN.

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Why is bird song so variable? Why do some animals perform elaborate courtship rituals? Why do skunks smell so bad? These are among the questions that will be explored during this semester’s DeVane Lectures, which will be presented by Yale evolutionary ornithologist Richard O. Prum. The DeVane Lecture series, this year titled “The Evolution of Beauty: From Warblers to Warhol,” is open to the public and is also offered as a course for credit to Yale undergraduate students. The lecture series was established in 1969 to honor William Clyde DeVane, dean of Yale College from 1939 to 1963. Prum, the William Robertson Coe Professor of Ornithology, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology, says in his course description that the series “will broadly explore aesthetics and beauty from the perspective of evolutionary biology, human biology, art, and culture. “The course will begin with an introduction to mechanisms and processes of aesthetic evolution in animals and plants,” he adds. “The course will also explore the nature of sexual conflict over reproduction, and the special role of aesthetic mating preferences in the evolution of sexual anatomy. The course will then investigate the aesthetic coevolution and sexual conflict in the evolution of human sexuality and sexual diversity. Lastly, [it] will investigate coevolution in the human arts. The goal will be an interdisciplinary, non-reductionist aesthetic theory that spans the domains of the human and biotic arts — from warblers to Warhol, and mimosas to Mozart.” No previous background is required to take the course, which will feature 13 hour-and-a-half lectures on evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, evolutionary anthropology, aesthetic philosophy, and human aesthetics. The lectures will begin on Thursday, Aug. 28, and will take place on subsequent Thursdays through Nov. 27, at 4 p.m. in Rm. 202 of Osborne Memorial Labs, corner of Prospect and Sachem streets. There are no classes during breaks on Oct. 16, Oct. 23, and Nov. 20. Prum is also curator of ornithology and head curator of vertebrate zoology in the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. He also directs the Franke Program in Science and the Humanities, an initiative at Yale that aims to foster communication, mutual understanding, collaborative research and teaching among diverse scientific and humanistic disciplines. For access to the class website and readings, email firstname.lastname@example.org.

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Icon of the Mother of God of Seven Lakes The Icon of the Mother of God of Seven Lakes is a wonderworking icon that has been associated with the Seven Lakes Hermitage of the Mother of God located near the city of Kazan, Tatarstan. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the icon was associated with the miraculous deliverance from attacks of pestilence in the area around Kazan. The feast days for the icon are: July 9, August 10, and October 26. The monk Euthymius, who was the founder of the Seven Lakes monastery, brought the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God from Great Ustiug to the Seven Lakes monastery near Kazan on October 13, 1615. He placed the icon in the Church of the Ascension of the newly established monastery that he had founded. The icon would later become known as the Icon of the Mother of God "of Seven Lakes". It is probable that this type of icon had earlier been known as the Tsargrad-Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God because it had borne the name, in smaller letters, of "Tsaregradskaya" - meaning "from Tsargrad (Constantinople), in addition to "Sedrniyezernaya" (of Seven Lakes). In June 1654, a deadly plague raged throughout all Russia that eventually reached Kazan. Having had taken a toll of over 400,000 people in the Moscow area, the toll in Kazan reach 40,000 in a short time. A radiant man appeared to a certain pious monk as a vision in a dream who commanded that the inhabitants of Kazan should establish a seven-day fast and then meet the icon of the Mother of God which was coming to them in a procession from the Seven Lakes hermitage for their deliverance. After hearing about the monk's vision, the Seven Lakes Icon was brought to the city in a procession where it was met by another of Russia's wonderworking icons, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. After the procession and icons had circled the walls of the city, the Seven Lakes Icon was placed in the Church of the Annunciation. After an All Night Vigil and Liturgy the next morning, the icon was carried in visit to the homes of wooden city. After seven days of prayer and processions, the deadly pestilence began to abate. In 1771, the Seven Lakes Icon again was carried in procession around the city of Kazan and brought deliverance from pestilence to Kazan for a second time.

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While the sight of barnacles on ships' hulls may seem like a very normal part of the maritime environment, the fact is that the presence of such organisms makes a vessel much less streamlined. The harder it is for a ship to slice through the water, the harder its engines have to work and the more fuel it uses. Although there are some anti-fouling coatings that can be applied to hulls, these are often toxic, and can leach into the surrounding water and harm marine organisms. Some recent efforts at eco-friendly solutions have included using fungus and seed-inspired coatings, but scientists at Sweden's University of Gothenburg are now reporting success with the use of molecules created by a certain type of bacteria. The molecules are known as macrocyclic lactones, and barnacles don't like them. In field tests, trace amounts of the lactones were added to a regular anti-fouling coating, which was then applied to a boat's hull - a binding agent kept the molecules from dispersing into the water. Although the barnacle larvae then colonized the hull as per usual, when they matured into adults and tried to establish a more secure hold, they lost their footing and were swept away. Apparently, a marine species of brown algae uses the molecules in the same way, to keep barnacles from accumulating on its leaves. The University of Gothenburg researchers believe that such coatings could completely replace more toxic copper-based coatings, and that one application should be able to repel barnacles for several seasons. Scientists at the same institution have also been looking into using medetomidine, a veterinary medicine, for keeping larval barnacles from settling on hulls in the first place. A paper on the macrocyclic lactone research was recently published in the journal Biofouling. Want a cleaner, faster loading and ad free reading experience? Try New Atlas Plus. Learn more

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Fillings, also known as dental restoration, are used to restore teeth and treat dental decay especially in the molars (back teeth). Wear and tear is inevitable in back teeth as these teeth do most of the heavy chewing of food, however regular cleaning, check-ups and a healthy diet can help with the prevention of problems and decay. Receiving one or multiple fillings is a simple and quick procedure that can be done in a single dental appointment. Your dentist will remove any decay in the affected area with a drill or instrument. The hole is then cleaned and dried, and sealed up with the filling material. Types of Fillings Two types of fillings are used today; dental amalgam (metal alloy) or a tooth-coloured material. Other forms of fillings include gold or ceramic crowns, however these are a more expensive alternative. Dental amalgam, often called ‘silver fillings’, is a metal alloy generally made up of mercury, silver and tin. It is an inexpensive filling option, however the filling has a grey or silver appearance and is much more visible in the mouth. Dental amalgam is not suitable for the following type of patients, and should be avoided: - Pregnant women - Breastfeeding women - People with kidney disease While no current scientific evidence links dental amalgam to ill health or birth defects, our recommendations are made for precautionary reasons. Tooth-coloured (white) fillings have been used in front teeth restoration for cosmetic reasons for many years. Today it is widely used for the treatment of back teeth, and has become a more widely used alternative to dental amalgam.

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By Ayatullah Ja'far Subhani 3. Conditions of Roman and Iranian Empires It is very important to study the following two environments in order to evaluate the sacred Islamic movement: The environment of the revelation of the Holy Qur’an i.e. the area in which Islam originated and developed. Way of thinking of the people who inhabited the most civilized areas of that age and whose thoughts, manners, morals and civilizations were considered to be the most developed and the best. History tells us that the most enlightened spots of those times were the Roman and the Iranian Empires. To complete the discussion, it is necessary that we should study the conditions of these two Empires separately, so that it may become possible to make an estimate of the value of the civilization introduced by Islam. In those days Rome did not enjoy a better position as compared with its rival viz. Iran. Internal strife and continuous external wars with Iran over Armenia etc. had prepared its people for accepting a revolution. More than anything else, diversity of religious opinions had made these differences much wider. Strife between the Christians and the idolaters did not subside. When the dignitaries of the Church took reins of government in their hands they pressed their opponents hard and this by itself paved the path for the creation of a dissatisfied minority; and the thing which could be counted to be the great factor for the acceptance of Islam by the Roman nation and warm welcome accorded by them to this movement was the deprivation felt by different groups on account of the harshness of the dignitaries of the Church. Day after day the awe and power of the Roman Empire was diminishing owing to differences amongst the priests on the one hand and existence of various religious orders on the other. Besides, the white and yellow nations of the north and the east respectively were always very keen to acquire the fertile areas of Europe and at times they did great harm to each other by their mutual warfare. This in itself became the reason for the division of the Roman Empire into two blocs viz. the eastern bloc and the western bloc. The historians believe that the political, social and financial conditions of Rome in the sixth century were very much disturbed. So much so that; they do not consider even the supremacy of Rome over Iran, to be an evidence of its military power. They attribute the defeat of Iran to the maladministration of the Iranian Government. These two Empires, which had been the leaders and rulers of the world, were in a state of chaos and anarchy at the time of the advent of Islam. Evidently such conditions create an unusual longing and desire in the hearts of the people for a proper law which may ensure their welfare. Seasonal Discussions in Rome In some countries some idle and sensual persons put forward for discussion a number of meaningless and futile problems with the object of keeping back people from all sorts of scientific and industrial progress and thus render the precious lives of the people useless. In this context we have a large number of specimens and precedents in many Muslim countries which it is not possible to recount at present. It so chanced that Rome of those days was, more than anything else, entangled in problems of this kind. For example, the emperors and the statesmen held, under the influence of some religious institutions, the belief that Prophet ‘Isa had two natures and two wills, whereas some Ya’qubi Christians were of the view that he had only one nature and one will. This baseless proposition hit out the independence and harmony of Rome and created a deep cleavage amongst those people, for the government was obliged to defend its beliefs and, therefore, subjected its opponents to severe persecution. As a consequence of pressure and mental aversion some of them took refuge in Iran. These were the very people who, on encountering the Muslim army, quitted their trenches and greeted the Muslims with open arms. Rome of those days was just like the Europe of the middle Ages. The famous French astronomer Camile Flammarion relates this story about the level of learning in Europe in the middle Ages: “The book entitled ‘Majmu’a-i Lahutiah’ (Theological Collection) was a perfect manifestation of the scholastic philosophy in the middle Ages and was taught in Europe for four hundred years as a text book. A part of that book discusses whether it is possible for a few angels to settle themselves on the point of a needle or how many leagues apart the pupils of the right eye and of the left eye of the Heavenly Father are?” How unfortunate for Rome! Just at the time when it was entangled in foreign wars; torrents of internal differences, most of which were manifested in the garb of religion, were drawing it, day after day, nearer to the precipice. When the Jews, who were a wicked and intriguing people, saw that the pressure by the Christian Emperor of Rome had crossed the bounds they drew up plans to topple down the Roman Government and even occupied the city of Antakia at one time and cut off the ears, nose and lips of the Archbishop. After some time the Roman Government avenged itself by massacring the Jews of Antakia. Such merciless slaughtering was repeated in Rome a number of times between the Jews and the Christians and at times this revengeful feeling had its repercussions even beyond the frontiers of the Empire. For example, once the Jews purchased eighty thousand Christians from the Iranians and slaughtered them like sheep with the object of taking revenge on the Christian community. It is here that the learned reader can visualize the dark and chaotic background of the world contemporaneous with the dawn of Islam and acknowledge that these sublime teachings, which ensured deliverance of mankind from that dark atmosphere, are not the outcome of human brain and this exhilarating breeze of unity and unanimity and this message of peace and sincerity, which is the object of Islamic religion, has no source other than the occult one. How can it be said that Islam, which has given right of existence even to the animals, is the child of such a blood thirsty environment? Islam set aside all these baseless and frivolous discussions about the will of ‘Isa and introduced him in the following words: “Isa the son of Maryam, was no more than a Prophet. Other Prophets passed away before him. His mother was a chaste and truthful woman. They both ate earthly food and were human beings.” (Surah al-Ma’dah, 5:75). By means of this verse Islam put an end to a large number of silly discussions of the dignitaries of the Church about the spirit, blood and individuality of ‘Isa. At the same time it dissuaded man from disputes and bloodshed by imparting sublime teachings to him and reviving his excellent human attributes. Iran or the Cradle of Civilization of that Age The scholars of sociology are of the view that the weak point about the government of the Iranians of that age was its despotic nature and the rule of an individual over the masses. The ignorant Arabs, with all their savagery and barbarism, possessed a sort of democratic government. With the establishment of ‘Darul Nadwah’, which enjoyed the position of the National Consultative Assembly, they had, to some extent, eliminated the defects of despotic rule. Although a government, whether constitutional or despotic, cannot solve the difficulties without the rule of religion and faith and the protection of secret police and cannot also maintain law and order which is the aim of every government, but it is an admitted fact that the wisdom and prudence of one person cannot equal the sagacity of a group of persons. Collusion and violence are comparatively lesser in a democratic government. It is for this reason that the grandeur and supremacy or weakness and humiliation of the Iranians have been closely related with the weakness or strength of their one-man government. A study of the Sasanian period of government and the oscillations which took place during that period fully justifies this statement. General Conditions of Iran simultaneous with the Dawn of Islam The advent of Islam and the appointment to the prophetic mission of the Holy Prophet (611 A.D.) was concurrent with the reign of Khusro Pervez (590-628 A.D.). The Holy Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madina also took place during his time (Friday, the 16th July, 622 A.D.) and this event became the beginning of the history of the Muslims. In those day’s two big and powerful states (Byzantium and Sasanian) Iran ruled a large part of the civilized world of that time. They had been quarrelling and fighting with each other for long in order to dominate and rule the world.20 The prolonged wars which the Iranians fought against the Romans started during the reign of Anushirwan (531-589 A.D.) and continued for twenty four years i.e. till the time of Khusro Pervez. The great losses and enormous expenditure which Iran and Rome had to bear; on account of these wars, dealt severe blows to both of these powerful states and nothing except only form, without any substance, was left of them. In order that we may understand clearly the conditions of Iran from different angles it is necessary for us to study briefly the conditions of various governments from the end of the rule of Anushirwan onwards till the time when the Muslims made their appearance. Fondness for Luxuriousness during Sasanian Period Sasanian kings were usually fond of luxuries and voluptuousness. The pomp and grandiloquence of the Sasanian court dazzled the eyes. During the Sasanian period the Iranians had a flag which was called ‘Dirafsh-i Kavyani’. This flag was hoisted in the battlefield or was installed at the top of the palace at the time of ceremonial celebrations by the Sasanians. It had been decorated with very precious gems. According to a writer this peerless flag was studded with gems and other precious things, whose cost has been estimated to be 1,200,000 dirhams (or 30,000 pounds).21 In the fabulous palaces of the Sasanians so many gems and other precious articles and wonderful drawings and paintings had been collected that the eyes of the onlookers were dazzled. If we wish to become with the wonders of these palaces it would suffice if we have a look on a big white carpet which they had spread in the hall of one of the palaces. This carpet, which was called ‘Baharistan-i Kisra’, had been got made by the Sasanian rulers for the purpose that at the time of merrymaking they might be in good spirits and might always have the beautiful and enlivening scenes of spring before their eyes.22 It has been said that this carpet was 150 cubits long and 70 cubits wide. Its entire wrap and wool had been woven with gold, and gems were embedded in it.23 Amongst the Sasanian monarchs the one who was most fond of luxuries was Khusro Pervez. He had thousands of wives, slave-girls, singers and musicians in his palace. In his book entitled ‘Sanii Mulukul Arz’ (grand kings of the earth) Hamza Isfahani describes the luxurious life of this King in these words: “Khusro Parvez had three thousand wives and twelve thousand slave-girls who were musical performers. He had six thousand men who served as guards. As many as 8,500 horses were earmarked for his riding. He had 960 elephants and 12,000 mules for carrying the baggage. He also had one thousand camels”.24 Then Tabari adds to this: “This king was fonder of gems and valuable vessels etc. than anyone else”.25 Social Conditions in Iran The social conditions in Iran in the days of the Sasanians were in no way better than the political conditions prevailing in the royal court. Class rule, which had existed in Iran since long, assumed the most acute shape during the Sasanian period. The aristocracy and the clergy were absolutely superior to other classes. All the important public offices and vocations were reserved for them. The craftsmen and peasants were deprived of all social rights and privileges. Except making payment or revenue and taking part in wars they had no other function to perform. Nafisi writes thus about class distinctions during the period of the Sasanians: “The thing which was mostly instrumental in sowing discord amongst the Iranians was the very harsh class distinction which was established by the Sasanians in Iran. It had its roots in the past civilization, but was much more tightened during the Sasanian period”. Originally seven aristocratic families and after them five other classes enjoyed privileges and the common man was deprived of them. Almost the entire ‘ownership’ was confined to the seven families. The population of Iran during the Sasanian period was about 140 million persons. If we suppose the number of each of these families to be one hundred thousand persons their total number would cone to seven hundred thousand. And if we assume that the frontier officials and proprietors, who too enjoyed possessory rights to some extent, were also seven hundred thousand in number, the position would be that out of a population of 140 millions, only a million and a half possessed rights of ownership and all others were deprived of this natural right granted to man by Allah.26 The craftsmen and peasants, who were deprived of all rights and privileges but had to bear on their shoulders the heavy burden of the expenses of the aristocracy, did not consider it worthwhile to preserve these conditions. Hence, most of the peasants and the people of the lower strata renounced their professions and took refuge in monasteries to escape payment of onerous revenues.27 After giving an account of the misfortunes of the craftsmen and the peasants of Iran, the author of the book ‘Iran-dar Zaman-i Sasaniyan’ quotes this remark of one of the European historians named Amyan Marcilinos: “The craftsmen and the peasants were leading a very miserable and degraded life during the Sasanian period. In the event of war they walked on foot and formed the rear of the army. They were considered to be so mean and worthless, as if perpetual slavery had been pre-destined for them and they could get no wages or reward for the work done by them”.28 In the Sasanian Empire only a minority which formed less than 1.5 per cent of the population was the owner of everything, whereas others, whose number exceeded 98 per cent, were just like slaves and had no rights of life. Right of Obtaining Education was reserved for the Upper Classes During the Sasanian period only the children of the rich people and the aristocrats were entitled to receive education and the masses and the middle class were deprived of the acquisition of knowledge and distinction. This grave defect in the culture of ancient Iran is so patent that even the writers of epic poems (Khudainamah and Shahnamah) have mentioned it in expressive terms, although their real subject had been the narration of the achievements of the heroes. Firdausi, the famous epic poet of Iran, has mentioned a story in Shahnamah which bears a clear testimony to this fact. This story belongs to the time of Anushirwan i.e. exactly to the period when the Sasanian empire was passing through its golden age. And this story shows that the majority of the people consisting of almost the entire masses had no right to become educated and even the lover of wisdom and justice, Anushirwan, was not prepared to grant the right of education to other classes of the public! “A shoemaker turned up and offered to give a large amount of gold and silver to meet the expenses of the Iranian-Roman war. At that time Anushirwan was in great need of financial help, because about thirty thousand Iranian soldiers were faced with shortage of food and armor. There was a clamor amongst the soldiers who made their grievances known to the King himself. Anushirwan was disturbed by this state of affairs and became alarmed about his own end. He immediately called his wise minister, Buzurg Mehr, to find out a remedy and ordered him to proceed to Mazandran at once to procure money to meet the expenses of war. However, Buzurg Mehr said “The danger is imminent; hence something should be done immediately to remedy it”. At that juncture Buzurg Mehr suggested a national loan. His suggestion was liked by Anushirwan who ordered that steps in this behalf might be taken without any delay. Buzurg Mehr sent officials to the nearest cities and towns and made the position known to the wealthy people of those places. A shoemaker offered to provide the entire expenses of the war. The only recompense that he desired for this service was that his only son, who was very fond of education, might be permitted to obtain it. Buzurg Mehr considered his request to be quite insignificant as compared with the money offered by him. He hurried to the king and made the request of the shoemaker known to him. Anushirwan got annoyed, rebuked his minister and said “What a strange request you are making! This is something inexpedient, for, when he gets out of the classification, the tradition of class system in the country will topple down and the harm caused by this will be much more than the gold and silver which he is prepared to give”. Firdausi explains Anushirwan’s Machiavellian philosophy in the king’s own words: “When the son of a merchant becomes a secretary and also acquires skill, wisdom and intelligence. Then, when our son ascends the throne he will need a secretary endowed with good luck. If the son of one who deals in shoes acquires skill it will lend him eyes which can see clearly as well as ears. In that event nothing will be left with a wise man of noble descent except regret and cold sighs”. Thus the money of the shoemaker was returned to him under the orders of the “Just Monarch”. This made the helpless shoemaker very unhappy and, as is usual with the oppressed, he complained to Allah Almighty at night and made the “bell of Divine justice ring”. In the words of Firdausi “The messenger returned with the money and the shoemaker became very unhappy on account of that money. He was very much grieved at the words of the king and when night came he rang the Divine bell”.29 When speaking about the causes of the decline, unrest and disorder of the Sasanian period, the author of the book “Tarikh-i Ijtima’i Iran”, who is himself one of the forerunners of the nationalists, draws a picture of the right of education being restricted to the higher circles in these words: “During this period education and instruction in the usual branches of learning was the monopoly of the children of the aristocrats and the clergy, and almost all the other children of Iran were deprived of it”.30 Indeed, this tradition of keeping the masses ignorant was so important in these eyes of the Sasanians that they did not wish to forsake it at any cost. Hence, the majority of the Iranians were deprived of the right of education as well as of other social rights, so that the opportune and improper desires of this pampered minority might be fulfilled. Verdict of History on the Sasanian Kings Most of the Sasanian monarchs adopted a harsh policy of government and desired to subjugate the people by force. They extracted very heavy and onerous taxes from the people. The people of Iran were therefore, usually dissatisfied, but for fear of their lives they could not utter any words of protest. So much so that even the learned and experienced persons were not accorded any recognition by the Sasanian court. The Sasanian rulers were so despotic and self-willed that no one could express his own opinion in any matter. Although history is always tampered with through the persons wielding authority, stories have been told about the injustice and cruelty of the tyrants. Khusro Pervez was so hard-hearted that Tha’labi writes about him: “Khusro was told that a particular governor had been asked to come to the royal court but he had made excuses. The king immediately ordered: “If it is difficult for him to come before us with his entire body we shall be satisfied with only a portion of it so that matters may become easy for him. Tell the persons concerned to send only his head to my court”.31 Unrest during the Sasanian Rule While studying the last part of the Sasanian period the thing, which should not be lost sight of, is the maladministration of government, and the prevalence of arbitrariness, intrigue and chaos in the Sasanian regime. The princes, the nobles and the army chiefs were at loggerheads with one another. One group elevated one prince and the other group removed him and selected another. When the Muslims of Arabia decided to occupy Iran, the Sasanian royal family was very weak and was deeply involved in discord. During four years ranging from the time of assassination of Khusro Parvez and ascension to the throne of Sheroya to the assumption of kingship by the last Sasanian monarch, Yazd Gard, numerous kings ruled Iran. Their number has been stated to be from six to fourteen. Thus the government of Iran passed from one hand to the other about fourteen times during the span of four years. It can well be imagined what the condition of a country would be when coup d’état is staged in it fourteen times during a period of four years and every time one person is assassinated and another is installed in his place. Everyone who assumed reins of government did away with all other claimants to the throne and committed all sorts of atrocities to secure his own position. The father killed the son, the son killed the father and the brother extirpated his brothers. Shehr Baraz killed everyone about whom he was not certain whether or not he would be a danger for his throne. Eventually all those who came to occupy the throne; whether they were men or women and whether old or young, killed their kith and kin (viz. the Sasanian princes) so that no pretender to the throne might remain alive. In short, chaos and anarchy had assumed such dimensions during the Sasanian period that children and women were elevated to the throne, and then killed after a few weeks, and others installed in their place. In this manner the Sasanian monarchy, notwithstanding its apparent pomp and grandeur, was speedily moving towards decadence, disintegration and destruction. Disturbed conditions of Sasanian Iran from Religious View-Point The greatest reason for the chaotic conditions of Iran during the Sasanian period was differences and diversity of opinions in religious matters. Ardshir Babkan, as the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, was himself the son of a Mubid (Zoroastrian priest) and had reached the throne with the assistance of the spiritual people of Zoroastrian faith; he employed all means to propagate the religion of his ancestors in Iran. In the days of the Sasanians the official as well as the popular religion of the Iranian nation was Zoroastrianism and as the Sasanian Government had been established with the help of the priests, the Zoroastrian clergy received every support from the royal court. Consequently the Zoroastrian clergy acquired great strength in Iran during the Sasanian period, so much so that they enjoyed the position of the most powerful class in the country. The Sasanian rulers were always mere satellites of the priests and, if anyone of these rulers did not obey the spiritual people, he met with their serious opposition and consequent disgrace. Hence, the Sasanian Kings were more attentive to the clergy than to any other people and on account of the support which the priests received from the Sasanians, their number increased day after day. The Sasanians utilized the spiritual people a good deal for the strengthening of their empire. They erected many fire-temples in every nook and cranny of the vast dominion of Iran, and in every temple they accommodated a large number of priests. It is said that Khusro Pervez constructed a fire-temple and appointed twelve thousand priests in it to sing hymns and to offer prayers.34 Thus the Zoroastrian faith was the court religion. The priests tried their utmost to keep the deprived and afflicted masses quiet and to create an atmosphere in which the people should not feel their adversities. The oppression by the priests and their unlimited powers were driving the people away from the Zoroastrian faith and the common man was desirous of finding for himself a religion other than that of the aristocracy. The author of “Tarikh-i Ijtima’i Iran” writes: ” …forced by the pressure exerted by them (i.e. the priests) the Iranian people were making efforts to get rid of these hardships. For this very reason, as opposed to the official creed of ‘Mazdesti Zartushti’, which was the religion of the government and the court, and was called ‘Behdin’, two other schools of thought had also appeared amongst the Zoroastrians”.35 Of course, it was due to the severity and harsh treatment of the nobility and the priests that in Sasanian Iran different religions were appearing, one after the other. Mazdak, and before him Mani,36 had tried to bring about a change in the spiritual and religious conditions of the land, but their efforts were not successful. It was in about 497 A.D. that Mazdak came into prominence. He declared nullification of restricted ownership, abrogation of polygamy, and formation of harems to be the front piece of his reformatory programme. As soon as the deprived classes came to know about Mazdak’s programme they flocked towards him and put a great revolution in motion under his leadership. The sole purpose of all these risings and movements was that the people should achieve the legitimate rights granted to them by Allah Almighty. Eventually Mazdak had to encounter the hostility of the spiritual people and the opposition of the army, and this resulted in trouble and destruction for Iran. The Zoroastrian faith had also completely lost its reality in the last days of the Sasanians. Fire had been accorded so much sanctity that it was considered unlawful to hammer iron which had assumed the nature of fire for its having remained in its vicinity and most of the principles and beliefs of Zoroaster were given the shape of superstitions and fables. During this period the realities of this religion had given place to certain futile, prosaic and absurd rites. Their formalities were continuously enlarged upon by the priests to increase their own strength. Fables and silly superstitions had penetrated into this religion to such an extent that they made even the spiritual people uneasy. And there were persons amongst the priests also who had realized the hollowness of Zoroastrian rites and beliefs and were divesting themselves of their burden. From the time of Anushirwan onwards, the path of reflection had been opened in Iran, and as a result of the penetration of Greek and Indian learning as well as the contact of Zoroastrian beliefs with those of Christianity and other religions, such reflection was gradually becoming more intense and was occasioning the awareness of the Iranian people. Hence, more than at any other time, they felt grieved on account of the superstitions and the vain and baseless propositions of the Zoroastrian faith. At last the deterioration which had appeared in the Zoroastrian spiritual community and the superstitions and silly fables which had made inroads upon the Zoroastrian faith became the cause of diversity and dispersion in the beliefs and views of the Iranian nation. The appearance of these differences and the prevalence of various religions made the spirit of doubt and indecision run into the minds of the intellectuals and from them it gradually penetrated into others. Consequently the masses totally lost the absolute faith and the perfect belief which they possessed previously. Thus chaos, irreligion and carelessness completely engulfed Iran. Barzuyah, the famous physician of the Sasanian period, has drawn a complete picture of the diversity of beliefs and disturbed conditions of Sasanian Iran in his introduction to ‘Kalilah wa Damnah’. Wars between Iran and Rome Buzurg Mehr, who was an efficient and clever man, and enjoyed the foremost position in the organization of Anushirwan, saved Iran many times from grave dangers by dint of his prudent policy and experience. At times, however, crafty people and tale-bearers darkened his relations with Anushirwan and having instigated the King to take action against him got order of his arrest issued. The same mischief-mongers poisoned Anushirwan’s mind with regard to the Roman Emperor and instigated him to ignore the treaty of permanent peace and to attack the Romans in order to widen the frontiers of the country and weaken a dangerous rival. Eventually war started and in a comparatively short period the Iranian army conquered Syria, put Antakia to fire and ravaged Asia Minor. After twenty years’ warfare and bloodshed both the armies lost their strength and chances of success, and, after sustaining heavy losses, made peace treaties twice and agreed to maintain their respective former frontiers, subject to the condition that the Roman Government would require the Iranian Government, with the payment of twenty thousand dinars annually. The extent to which such long wars, and those, too, fought in areas far away from the centre of a country, can do harm to the economy and industry of a nation can well be imagined. Keeping in view the resources of those times it was not possible to repair speedily the effects of such a long war. This war and invasion provided the preliminaries for the sure fall of the Iranian Government. The wounds of this war had not yet been healed, when another seven years’ war started. After ascending the throne, the Roman Emperor, Tibrius, with a view to take revenge, made severe attacks on Iran and threatened its very independence. The position of the two armies had not yet become decisive when Anushirwan breathed his last and his son Khusro Pervez ascended the throne. In the year 614 A.D. he, too, relying on some excuses, attacked the Romans afresh and as a consequence of the very first onslaught conquered Syria, Palestine and Africa; plundered Jerusalem, set on fire their sacred places and destroyed various cities. After the blood of as many as ninety thousand Christians had been shed the war ended to the advantage of Iran. At this juncture, when the civilized world of that day was burning in the fire of war and tyranny, the Prophet of Islam was entrusted the prophetic mission. It was 610 A.D. He conveyed the invigorating message of monotheism to the people and invited them to peace, sincerity, discipline and bliss. Defeat of the God-worshipping Romans at the hands of fire-worshipping Iranians was taken to be a good omen by the polytheists of Mecca and they thought that they too would be in a position in the near future to subdue the worshippers of God (the Muslims). However, the Muslims were very much concerned on hearing this news. The Prophet of Islam awaited the Divine revelation and then this verse was revealed: “The Romans have been defeated in a neighboring land. But in a few years they shall themselves gain victory.” (Surah Rum, 30:1). The prediction made by the Holy Qur’an proved to be true in the year 627 A.D., when Hercules attacked and occupied Naynava. The two rivals were breathing the last breaths of their lives and were planning reinforcements. However, as Allah Almighty had willed it that these two lands should be illuminated with the worship of One Allah and the depressed spirits of the Iranians and the Romans should be rejuvenated with the invigorating zephyr of Islam, it was not long before Khusro Pervez was assassinated at the hands of his son Sheroya, and the son too passed away after eight months of the death of his father. During this period Iran passed through such a chaos that after Sheroya there were nine rulers who ruled during four years (out of whom four were women) till, at last, the Muslim army put an end to this state of affairs. These conflicts, spreading over fifty years, were, of course, of great help for the advancement of the Muslim conquests. 20. Tarikh-i ‘Ulum wa Adabiyat dar Iran, Dr Safa, pp. 3 – 4, Iran dar Zaman-i Sasaniyan, Christensen, page 267. 21. Payambar-i Rehnuma, vol. I, pp. 42 – 43 22. Payambar-i Rehnuma, vol. I, pp. 42 – 43 23. Payambar-i Rehnuma, page 43. “In the book ‘Ganj-i Danish’, Muhammad Taqi Khan Hakim, ‘Mu’tamadus Sultan’, has described the carpet ‘Nigaristan’ very minutely, while making research about the court of Khosroes”. 24. Sanii Mulukul Arz wal Ambiya, page 420 25. Tarikh-i Tabari, as quoted by Christonson, page 327 26. Tarikh-i Ijtimai’i-i Iran, vol. II, pp. 24 – 26 27. Limadha Khasir al ‘Alam bi inhitatil Muslimin, pp. 70 – 71 28. Iran fi ‘ahdis Sasani’in, page 424 29. Firdausi has narrated this story in Shahnamah as an event of the reign of Anushirwan with reference to the war between Iran arid Rome (Shahnamah, vol. Vl, pp. 257 – 260). Dr Sahib al-Zamani has analyzed this story in a very fascinating manner in his book “Dibacha-i bar Rehbari” (pp. 258 – 262) See also, “Guzarish Nama-i Iran”, Mehdi Quli Khan Hidayat (page 232). 30. Tarikh-i Ijtima’i-i Iran, vol. II, page 26 31. Iran dar Zaman-i Sasaniyan, page 318 32. Murujuz Zahab, vol. I, page 281 33. Tarikh-i Ijtima’i-i Iran, vol. II, pp. 15 – 19 by Sa’id Nafisi 34. Tarikh-i Tamaddun-i Sasani, vol. I, page 1 35. Tarikh-i Ijtima’i-i Iran, vol. II, page 20 36. Mani’s religion was a combination of Zoroastrianism and Christianity. He had thus invented a new religion by the admixture of a local and a foreign faith.

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Costs Of Transportation ( Originally Published 1939 ) No study of distribution and its costs can ignore transportation. The transportation of commodities between various steps in the distribution process was estimated to cost in the aggregate $8.8 billion, or about 23 per cent of the $38.5 billion total cost of distribution. Since "terminal sales" amounted to $65.6 billion, this means that on the average, about thirteen cents out of every dollar paid by ultimate buyers for finished goods goes for transportation costs at various stages in the whole process. This charge, like other items of distribution cost, is paid for essential services performed. Without the function discharged by transportation agencies our economic system as we know it today could not exist. Transportation creates place utility, but it does much more; it makes possible the geographical division of labor. Without a far-flung and efficient transportation system the exploitation of mineral and agricultural resources in favored areas and the development of specialized manufacturing regions-indeed the machine economy in its present form-would be virtually impossible. Nevertheless the same question may be asked about transportation as about other phases of distribution: is this vital function performed as efficiently and economically as possible? Costs Vary Widely The amount which transportation charges add to the cost of commodities varies widely among different products. Naturally transportation accounts for a large part of what the consumer eventually pays for bulky and perishable commodities, especially food-stuffs shipped from distant producing areas. Transportation and transit costs for fresh fruits and vegetables,often amount to as much as twenty to thirty cents or more out of every dollar paid by the consumer. Although extensive information on the proportion of the purchase price paid for transportation is not available for most commodities, a recent survey of commodity flow made by the National Bureau of Economic Research gives some figures in terms of freight revenue as related to producers' selling prices.' This study shows that transportation costs were a relatively unimportant item-amounting to less than 2 per cent of the producer's prices in 1933 for such products as cigars and cigarettes, dry-goods, automobile tires, industrial and electrical machinery, office and store equipment and stoves and ranges. At the other extreme, transportation charges added nearly 58 per cent to the producer's selling price for fruits and vegetables, and more than 20 per cent for fuel and lighting products. All finished commodities covered in the survey had an average transportation charge amounting to 7.8 per cent of producers' prices in 1933 as compared with 5.4 per cent in 1928. In spite of the fact that transportation charges constitute an important element in total distribution costs, distributors have limited control over them. For this reason, and because transportation is a separate and highly complex subject, it can receive only limited attention in this report. The Nation's Transportation Facilities Six principal types of agencies share in the freight handling business: steam railways, trucks, water-carriers, pipe lines, electric railways, and air carriers. Among these the railroads, which ac-count for about 65 per cent of the total interstate traffic, are by far the most important. According to a special report' on the transportation situation made to the President in December 1938, the rail-roads have suffered two major handicaps in recent years: economic depression and severe competition from other forms of transportation. Between 1926 and 1937 their share of the freight business declined from more than three-fourths of the total volume to less than two-thirds, a loss of more than 10 per cent. Motor truck transportation, pipe lines, air carriers, and inland waterways, all showed gains during the same period. Leading authorities assert that the United States is oversupplied with transportation services. There is general agreement with a statement made by Commissioner Eastman in 1934 that there is today, and probably would be under normal conditions, an excess of carrying capacity of existing transportation facilities. This duplication of facilities and services and excessive competition among different transportation agencies must inevitably result in substantial wastes. In his first report to Congress the Federal Coordinator of Transportation characterized this waste, in the railroad field alone, as "a tremendous burden on the public." Because a reduction of transportation charges can result in savings to the consumer through lower distribution costs it is clear that consumers as well as distributors have a stake in the elimination of unnecessary expenses and wasteful methods of operation and in the better coordination of the railroads, waterways, and highways. a. THE RAILROADS For many classes of goods-notably merchandise shipped in less than carload lots-the largest costs in moving freight are not on the road but at the ends of the run. A sample test made by the Pennsylvania Railroad showed that terminal and transfer expenses amounted to $4.80 per ton, or three-fourths of the total cost of $6.43. Road haul costs in this case were only $1.16 per ton, or 18 per cent of the total, and car maintenance and freight accounted for the remaining 7 per cent.' A survey made in 1932 by the Co-ordinator of Transportation showed that railroad terminal costs for merchandise freight averaged $7.28 per ton while truck terminal costs for the same year were $2.62 per ton. An analysis of comparative costs of terminal facilities in cities of varying size indicates significantly that the most economical operation was in cities of from 25,000 to 50,000 population. Both larger and smaller places had higher costs for a given amount of goods? In considering terminal costs, it must be remembered that unless a company has its own siding, it must haul its goods to the freight terminal. This cost is part of the transportation bill. Trucking companies allege that the elimination of these and other handling costs is a principal reason for the rapid development of highway truck tonnage. A conspicuous source of high terminal charges in the large cities is the investment in costly and frequently excessive terminal facilities. In a number of cities railroads have erected terminals that so obviously duplicated existing facilities as to be criticized by the Interstate Commerce Commission. Terminal facilities not necessary to handle the traffic and not used to capacity mean higher freight charges for the shipper. This type of terminal multiplication is socially wasteful as well as a drain on railway finances. It is obvious from these facts that one of the most fruitful points of attack on rail costs is at the terminals. But it is much more difficult to prescribe the remedy than to diagnose the ill. Line-haul and terminal costs are interwoven in many cases; and the economies which might be achieved by establishing terminals on the out-skirts of the large cities and using motorized delivery have to be offset against the costs and difficulties of disposing of present terminal facilities. In spite of the fact that line-haul costs are only a fraction of the total in many cases, the possibility of excessive costs between terminals cannot be ignored. Of these the one most often discussed is cross-hauling. Although ordinary railway statistics fail to show the amount of cross-hauling, several special studies show that it must be substantial. A study by the United States Forest Service and the Census Bureau shows a tremendous cross-hauling of lumber, and another investigation in the last decade of the movement of goods to and from the Pacific Southwest showed that the same kinds of goods moved in considerable amounts both into and out of the Pacific Southwest .9 How much of the total of railway ton-miles is traceable to cross-hauling is not known but the amount is probably large. Public acceptance of the desirability of competition, the attitude of regulatory commissions and the natural desire of the railroads to avoid a loss of traffic have all combined to discourage careful study of this practice. Even if the facts were known it is questionable whether there would be general agreement as to the extent to which cross-hauling is unnecessary and wasteful. A good deal of it is undoubtedly inevitable and desirable in facilitating the continuous adjustment of the supply of goods to the varying conditions of many markets. However, it seems clear that much of the cross-hauling takes place, stimulated by the railroads in a natural desire to increase their traffic, and by public policy in order to promote competition. The basing-point pricing policies of the iron and steel and other heavy industries have also resulted in considerable cross-hauling. Without attempting to draw a sharp line between necessary and unnecessary cross-hauling it is obvious that some public discouragement of the most wasteful elements of this practice would be desirable, particularly where the competition within a region is already sufficient to protect the interests of consumers. (2) Circuitous Car Routing Another unnecessary cost in railroad operation is the circuitous routing of freight cars. One of the alternate routes between cities served by competitive railroads is often materially longer than another. The longer routes of course endeavor to carry as much of the business as they can get, even though it involves a longer haul.'° Where cars must be switched from one line to another in order to reach the destination, the first road will keep the car on its tracks for the longest possible haul in order to get a larger share of the total revenue. Both types of practice result in increased costs of operation and higher freight charges. The Coordinator of Transportation believes that circuitous routing often doubles the mileage that goods travel and says that, "millions of dollars annually are expended because of circuity in routing." 11 The National Transportation Committee in its report recommended that "circuitous haulage should be eliminated." While there is little question that circuitous routing is a wasteful practice, some of it is necessary because the railroad with the shortest mileage between two cities may not have adequate facilities to handle the entire volume of traffic, particularly in peak load periods. Then too, many roads would be unable to maintain efficient service between points on their own lines were it not for the added revenue from circuitously routed traffic. For these reasons it is probably too much to expect that all "circuitous haulage should be eliminated." From the railroad's own standpoint, it is desirable to reduce circuitous routing in order to shorten the time required to transport goods. This would help the railroad in its competition with trucks. From the public viewpoint, there is little justification for the higher rates and longer delivery time involved in unnecessary circuitous haulage. (3) Empty Car Movement Unnecessary empty car movement is one of the important wastes in railway operation. The volume of empty car mileage has in-creased quite consistently since soon after the war. From 1920 to 1933 the percentage of empty to loaded car-miles rose from 47.3 per cent of the total to 64.1 per cent. A large part of the empty car movement is obviously unavoidable and could not be eliminated without a radical re-location of many of our major industries. The volume of goods-mostly of a bulky nature-moving from agricultural and raw material producing areas which are distant from the centers of population and industry into consuming regions is much heavier than the movement in the opposite direction. For every ton of freight moving out of New England, for example, six tons move in. But three of the six incoming cars are filled with coal and these cars of course could not be used for much else on a return journey. New England is an extreme example of the unbalanced movement of goods arising from the concentration of our population and the existence of specialized producing areas. There is a considerable movement of empty cars, however, which is unnecessary and wasteful. The Coordinator estimated that the annual excess empty car movement exceeded two billion car-miles and stated that "a conservative estimate of the operating savings possible by the prevention of this unnecessary movement is $75 million per year." The haphazard return system and the large number of empty car-miles necessitate investment in a sup-ply of cars considerably in excess of total national needs. Carrying charges on this extra investment have been estimated by the Co-ordinator at $25 million annually. The Coordinator has recommended a more complete pooling of car ownership and operation to reduce waste from this source, pointing out that mergers would result in the complete pooling of cars and would save unnecessary movement of empties. (4) Unprofitable Facilities Another possible source of economy in railroad operation lies in the abandonment-or rehabilitation-of antiquated or little-used facilities. Most railroads have some miles of lines which are no longer profitable because of shrinkage of traffic. Maintaining locomotives and other operating equipment on these lines adds to the cost-and to the waste. Often a single gasoline driven car would meet all traffic requirements and permit a large reduction in expense. Since the maintenance of unprofitable lines adds to the cost of sending merchandise over main lines it would obviously be to the advantage of both the railroads and the public to encourage improvement of unprofitable lines with more efficient equipment, or if this proves impracticable, to permit their abandonment. There is no longer the need which formerly existed of maintaining these unprofitable lines. Automobiles, busses and trucks now reach all towns that would be left without rail facilities if these money-losing lines were abandoned. The railroads are not entirely free to effect these economies, however, for the changes which have to be made are of such a nature that they must be authorized by public regulatory authorities. (5) Burden of Fixed Charges The railroads, it must be recognized, have been burdened with many handicaps for which their managements cannot be held responsible. By preventing price (rate) competition, public regulation has forced competition to assume more wasteful forms such as excessive terminal facilities, empty car movement and circuitous routing. Regulation in terms of "public necessity" has made it difficult for the roads to eliminate unprofitable operations or to meet the competition of new forms of transportation which are often subsidized. The heavy proportion of bonded debt in the capital structure of the roads and the consequent burden of long-term interest charges are additional factors making for inflexibility and high costs. Part of the blame for this situation obviously lies at the door of our legislators. For many years it was assumed that railway bonds offered the highest safety for life insurance and savings bank investment. As a result the roads were encouraged to raise capital by bond issues rather than by the sale of equities. The railroads also suffer from other frozen conditions that make solution of their problem difficult. Rules and regulations on operations and labor have been passed to fit conditions of better days. Flexibility of management to meet current conditions has been impaired. Even labor is not free to move over to the newer motor services, for different unions rule in the two fields. In spite of the difficulties that confront them railroad managements in recent years have demonstrated their ability to adapt their organizations to new conditions, to develop new and better equipment and methods and to lower costs and improve service. Experience has shown that the rail managers have increased operating efficiency in those fields where public authority leaves them a comparatively free hand. Evidence given before the Interstate Commerce Commission by leading railroad executives gives concrete examples of annual savings through increased efficiency in the period from 1928 to 1932. The eastern roads showed such savings amounting to $56 million a year and the western carriers made a showing that was almost as good. The southern lines also made a good record on a smaller scale. b. INLAND WATERWAYS Inland waterways accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the total interstate movement of commodities-aside from ocean traffic-in 1937. About 80 per cent of this traffic consists chiefly of bulky commodities carried on the Great Lakes. In addition there is a coastwise movement of goods estimated by the United States Engineers as probably equal in importance to the Great Lakes traffic. Because of its importance and because of the enormous government subsidies it has received, inland water transportation is in need of a searching cost analysis. A recent estimate shows that from 1890 to 1931 the federal government spent about $790 mil-lion for inland-waterway development, exclusive of the Great Lakes and of seacoast harbor and flood control. With the addition of state expenditure the total public investment amounted to at least $1 billion by 1931, or about 4 per cent of the value of rail property as established by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The rail valuation, moreover, includes rolling stock and terminal structures, which the waterway does not. Profitability of Waterways In an attempt to discover whether or not inland waterways could be profitably operated, Congress in 1924 established the Inland Waterways Corporation to operate the public-owned barge lines started during the war, particularly on the lower Mississippi and Warrior rivers. Government operation increased the traffic on these rivers from 980,000 tons in 1923 to 1.9 million tons in 1928,17 but the net income earned up to the end of 1933 was only $707,000.18 Rates charged have had to be at a substantial discount -normally 20 per cent in order to attract traffic from the railroads. Government barge lines on the lower Mississippi were conducted at a nominal profit during the period from 1925 to 1929, but the loss on other divisions which they were required by Congress to operate was so great that the government barge system as a whole showed an operating loss. The Erie Canal is another example of a costly and unprofitable inland waterway financed out of public funds. The total capital cost of the present Erie Canal has been nearly $370,000 per mile as compared with an average cost of $188,000 per mile for rail-roads in the Eastern district, including of course their multiple tracks and expensive terminals 21 Improvement of the Ohio River is estimated at about $200,000 per mile, or about the same as the per mile cost of secondary rail lines handling similar traffic in that area. The capacity of a rail line is obviously greater than the warm weather capacity of a canal or of most canalized rivers, whose limiting factor is their locks, while some waterways cannot be operated at all in the winter. On the basis of capital costs the rails are generally more efficient than the best landlocked canal and as good as a fairly good canalized river. The maintenance of a waterway is also unexpectedly costly. With about half the traffic volume of the Erie Railroad, the New York Barge Canal system had a greater maintenance cost in 1930. This means that the maintenance cost per unit of traffic was twice as high by water as by rail without making allowances for the passenger business of the latter. In the case of the Ohio River, maintenance charges are greater per mile than for such neighboring railways as the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Norfolk and Wes-tern 22 The comparison includes terminal costs for the railroads, but not for river traffic, and makes no allowance for the meandering of the river which adds to the mileage of the waterway. Public expenditures provide canals and rivers with free right-of-way, including maintenance, operation of locks, and free lights. In addition, the waterways have had differential freight rates and lower wage rates, yet their success has been so limited that the government has had to go into the business of operating them to demonstrate possibilities of cost reduction. Actual transport costs of water tonnage are almost impossible to estimate because of the miscellaneous nature of the various carriers and the lack of adequate accounting systems. Costs must be judged by the rates and by data on earnings and operations. In general it may be said that the best water transportation-such as that on the Great Lakes-is cheap, while the worst is extremely expensive. The average appears to be much higher than that of competing forms. The total costs per ton-mile on the Ohio River for effective distance covered, have been estimated for 1931–1932 at about 18.84 mills for transporting bulky commodities of the lowest grade of traffic. This compares with an average of 5.97 mills per ton-mile on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and of 6.84 mills on the Norfolk and Western Railway. The average for roads of the Central Eastern region, which carry a higher class of traffic, was 10.32 mills per ton-mile. Costs on the Erie Barge Canal were about double the rates on competing rail lines in 1931 and were even higher in 1929.24 All in all, it seems clear that the subsidization of inland waterways by federal and state governments has been far from a profitable undertaking. To the extent that this program represents unnecessary expenditure it has added to the cost of distribution. C. MOTOR TRUCKS Motor truck transportation has grown by leaps and bounds in the last ten years. Indeed the loss of freight revenues resulting from diversion of traffic from the railroads to trucks is a contributing factor to present railroad difficulties. The proportion of total traffic movement handled by intercity trucks virtually doubled from 1926 to 1937, rising from 3.9 per cent of the total ton-miles to 7.7 per cent. The trucks have become particularly important in the movement of livestock, as well as fruits and vegetables, butter and eggs and other perishable commodities. Livestock receipts by truck in seventeen leading markets were 52 per cent of the total in 1937 as compared with less than 25 per cent in 1929,25 while receipts by rail declined in the same proportion. The trucks have also made heavy inroads in two other fields which are among the important sources of rail revenue-short haul traffic, largely fast package freight, and shipments in less-than-carload lots. By the end of 1937 motor trucks registered in the United States numbered 4,255,000, an increase of 26 per cent over 1929. Only a small portion of them, however, are engaged in public trucking and perform services comparable with the railroads. In the early 1930's it was estimated that about one million of the 3.5 million trucks in use were owned by farmers, while an additional two million were privately owned and not operated for hire. Of the remainder, 300,000 were contract carriers operating for hire or under hauling agreements and not observing fixed routes or schedules, while only about 200,000 were genuine common carriers. While no recent figures are available, the number of trucks operated for hire undoubtedly has increased at a faster rate than the growth in total truck registrations. Furthermore there has been a great increase in the capacity of trucks and a more extensive use of trailers, and many corporations operate fleets of trucks engaged exclusively in their own business. The Nation's Trucking Bill The total cost of trucking as an agency of distribution, as measured by the gross revenue of trucking concerns covered in the Census of Business, was more than $530 million in 1935.27 More than $200 million of this amount was received for local transportation such as moving goods from freight stations to stores and moving household furniture. Intrastate movement of goods ac-counted for $131 million, while interstate revenue was nearly $196 million. But the Census covered only 61,000 concerns operating 189,000 trucks of the estimated total of about 200,000 operators who would eventually come under federal regulation. Most of these are small enterprises; over 85 per cent of all truckmen own but one truck. With the exception of the larger operators anything like rigid or uniform cost accounting has been unknown. Rates have not generally been established on the basis of cost, but appear to have been set at 10 to 20 per cent less than the comparable railroad freight rate. The experience of a firm in New York requesting bids on an annual contract basis is an illustration. Out of eight trucking concerns replying, three refused to bid on the ground that they could not compete with the rails. The bids of five concerns on identical specifications ranged from $26,500 to $96,000. Of the eight firms, only half showed that they were capable of analyzing the problem from the standpoint of equipment and personnel requirements or had an adequate knowledge of their own costs. Although low truck rates often result from ignorance of real costs the trucks do possess certain basic cost advantages over the railroads. Perhaps the chief of these is the fact that truck operators, unlike the railroads, are called upon to bear only a share of the cost of the construction and maintenance of their right-of-way. For every $7 invested, the railroads collect about $1 annually in gross revenues. But for every $1 invested by one of the largest truck opera-tors the gross revenue is $3, while it is estimated that less efficient operators gross $2 for each $1 of investment. The motor truck is more flexible and furnishes prompt door-to-door service which railroads cannot equal. Truck operators usually move their loads all the way from consignor to consignee while much of the rail traffic involves additional trucking and re-handling at each end of the haul. Until recently, moreover, the trucks have been free from restrictions imposed on the railroads by the federal government. Under pressure from the railroads, as well as the larger trucking concerns, Congress passed the Motor Carriers' Act in 1935. This Act provides for the complete regulation of all trucks engaged in interstate business even though the truckman merely handles the goods in transit. Official permission to operate must be granted by the Interstate Commerce Commission, which is also empowered to establish minimum and maximum rates and hours of labor and to set up whatever safety requirements it deems necessary. Although the Act has been in effect for more than three years its provisions have not yet been universally applied. The problem of determining the rate structure and of defining rates is obviously a gigantic one. While no one can anticipate the eventual effects of federal regulation there is little doubt that it will have profound effects on the competitive position of the trucking industry. 2. STORAGE AND WAREHOUSING COSTS For many commodities, especially those of a seasonal or perish-able character, storage and warehousing charges are a substantial item of distribution cost. Most of the warehouse facilities, however, are owned by producers or dealers and the cost of the storage function is therefore included in their operating expenses. But many manufacturers and dealers employ the facilities of public ware-houses for the storage and distribution of their products.' According to the Census of Business for 1935 such commercial warehouses had a total revenue of nearly $98 million, of which the storage of general merchandise accounted for $29 million, farm products for $23 million, and cold storage for $27 million.;' While a small part of the revenues of warehouses was derived from trucking operations, this was probably more than offset by storage revenues obtained by businesses engaged primarily in trucking.

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Dr. Jeff Huber discusses and demonstrates dryland drills divers can practice to learn and improve skills related to springboard diving. Drills that teach specific skills and provide for a quick transfer of learning to actual dives are outlined and demonstrated by elite-level divers. These drills help teach skills such as the forward hurdle, backward press, take-off, come-out, and entry. Drills used here are ones divers can perform without the aid of special equipment. 2001. 43 minutes. This item also belongs to the following series! About Us | Security & Privacy | Terms & Conditions | Shipping | Affiliates | Advertise With Us | Help | Contact Us | Site Map | Drake University Distance Learning | Gift Certificates | Request a Catalog | Print Order Form | Promo Codes | Digital Video Download Help © 2014 Championship Productions, Inc.

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The surficial geology of the Lewes and Cape Henlopen quadrangles reflects the geologic history of the Delaware Bay estuary and successive high and low stands of sea levels during the Quaternary. The subsurface Beaverdam Formation was deposited as part of a fluvial-estuarine system during the Pliocene, the sediments of which now form the core of the Delmarva Peninsula. Following a period of glacial outwash during the early Pleistocene represented by the Columbia Formation found to the northwest of the map area (Ramsey, 1997), the Delaware River and Estuary developed their current positions. The Lynch Heights and Scotts Corners Formations (Ramsey, 1993, 1997, 2001) represent shoreline and estuarine deposits associated with high stands of sea level during the middle to late Pleistocene on the margins of the Delaware Estuary. In the map area, the Lynch Heights Formation includes relict spit and dune deposits at the ancestral intersection of the Atlantic Coast and Delaware Bay systems, similar in geomorphic position to the modern Cape Henlopen. Please give proper credit to the Delaware Geological Survey. Ramsey, K.W., 2003, Geology of the Lewes and Cape Henlopen Quadrangles, Delaware: Delaware Geological Survey Geologic Map 12, scale 1:24,000 Delaware Geological Survey University of Delaware Delaware Geological Survey Building Newark, DE 19716 Mon - Fri; 8:00am to 4:30pm Map Scale 1:24,000. Centroid: 38.81, -75.13

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Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health Age-Related Memory Loss Restored in Fruit Flies by Neuron Stimulation Intermediate-term memory is lost due to age-related impairment of the function of certain neurons; Scripps scientists found that stimulating these neurons can reverse these memory defects April 3, 2012 – Researchers at the Jupiter, Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that the loss of memory that comes with aging is not necessarily a permanent thing. They have demonstrated the ability to restore those evaporated memories by stimulating key neurons – at least in fruit flies. Ron Davis, chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Florida, and Ayako Tonoki-Yamaguchi, a research associate in Davis's lab, took a close look at memory and memory traces in the brains of both young and old fruit flies. What they found is that like other organisms - from mice to humans - there is a defect that occurs in memory with aging. In the case of the fruit fly, the ability to form memories lasting a few hours (intermediate-term memory) is lost due to age-related impairment of the function of certain neurons. Intriguingly, the scientists found that stimulating those same neurons can reverse these age-related memory defects. v"This study shows that once the appropriate neurons are identified in people, in principle at least one could potentially develop drugs to hit those neurons and rescue those memories affected by the aging process," Davis said. "In addition, the biochemistry underlying memory formation in fruit flies is remarkably conserved with that in humans so that everything we learn about memory formation in flies is likely applicable to human memory and the disorders of human memory." While no one really understands what is altered in the brain during the aging process, in the current study the scientists were able to use functional cellular imaging to monitor the changes in the fly's neuron activity before and after learning to view "We are able to peer down into the fly brain and see changes in the brain," Davis said. "We found changes that appear to reflect how intermediate-term memory is encoded in these neurons." Olfactory memory, which was used by the scientists, is the most widely studied form of memory in fruit flies - basically pairing an odor with a mild electric shock. These tactics produce short-term memories that persist for around half an hour, intermediate-term memory that lasts a few hours, and long-term memory that persists for days. The team found that in aged animals, the signs of encoded memory were absent after a few hours. In that way, the scientists also learned exactly which neurons in the fly are altered by aging to produce intermediate-term memory impairment. This advance, Davis notes, should greatly help scientists understand how aging alters neuronal function. Intriguingly, the scientists took the work a step further and stimulated these neurons to see if the memory could be rescued. To do this, the scientists placed either cold-activated or heat-activated ion channels in the neurons known to become defective with aging and then used cold, or heat, to stimulate them. In both cases, the intermediate-term memory was successfully rescued. The study is published this week in an advance, online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of The study, "Aging Impairs Intermediate-Term Behavioral Memory by Disrupting the Neuron Memory Trace," was supported by the Ellison Medical Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Financial Relief for Volkswagen Diesel Owners You may be eligible for money damages if you owned or leased one of these VW, Porsche or Audi vehicles. In the major scandal of 2015, Volkswagen cheated you and the world. They rigged diesel emission controls so you, nor regulators, would know how much pollution their cars were adding to our environment. They were caught and have reserved $7.3 billion to help "make it right" with victims. If you owned or leased one of these vehicles, contact us now. Janicek Law attorneys are actively pursuing these cases against VW. Do Not Wait... Janicek Law Firm, PC (Call toll free) VW Jetta SportWagen (2009–2014) VW Golf (2010-2015) VW Golf SportWagen (2015) VW Beetle (2012–2015) VW Passat (2012-2015) Audi A3 (2010-2015) VW Touareg (2009–2016) Porsche Cayenne (2015) Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5 Quattro (2016)

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The Pride and Power of Nonviolence August 22, 2011 In early May, 1963, Birmingham, Alabama firefighters turned high pressure fire hoses on blacks; police used dogs, tear gas, and clubs to harass civilians; and thousands - including children - were arrested, filling the jails to capacity. The images and film from the event shocked the nation. Why did such a scandalous event occur? This episode of violence was not by chance. Instead, it was a highly successful non-violent protest: a group of peaceful citizens invoking their right to freedom of speech while seeking to bring an end to segregationist laws. This was the genius of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s brand of "creative protest" that sought to bring an end to centuries of inequality. Following the end of the Civil War in 1865, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America granted freedom, citizenship, and equal voting rights to African-Americans, millions of whom were slaves at the outset of the war. However, after the Plessy V. Ferguson ruling in 1896, which established the "separate but equal" doctrine, discrimination against blacks and systematic disenfranchisement of black voters persisted in the South. Blacks and whites may have had equal opportunities to use public restrooms or eat in restaurants in the eyes of the law, but the quality, comfort, convenience, and dignity of the separate facilities were clearly unequal. In Kansas, once the bulwark of abolitionism and liberalism, state law allowed for segregated schools in the larger cities. In 1951, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) spearheaded an effort to desegregate schools through the courts. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled on Brown V. Board of Education, determining that separate facilities are inherently unequal. This ruling opened the door for desegregation efforts throughout the country, and other communities saw similar court battles. Although Martin Luther King, Jr. saw victories such as Brown V. Board of Education as positive steps, he believed this method of attacking injustice through the courts was too specific and too gradual. By energizing millions of supporters around the country, King aimed to do more than win a few court cases on specific issues; he aimed to awaken the American conscience. "The arc of the moral universe is long," King said, "but it bends toward justice." King would bend the arc with a revolutionary form of protest. Martin Luther King at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963 King's interest in non-violent protest as a means for social change sprang from a variety of influences. Undoubtedly, King's primary influence was his Baptist upbringing and his study of the life of Jesus Christ, who said, "All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." King found inspiration in Henry David Thoreau's "On Civil Disobedience," an essay in which Thoreau explained his non-payment of taxes and resulting jail sentence to protest a war he did not support. Mohandas Gandhi proved a powerful influence because of his organization of wide-scale boycotts and non-violent resistance to achieve equality and end British colonial rule in India. King visited India in 1959 seeking a greater understanding of Gandhi, who "was able to mobilize and galvanize more people in his lifetime than any other person in the history of the world," King noted. Through theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, King realized that non-violent resistance could only succeed "if the groups against whom the resistance was taking place had some degree of moral conscience." If all Americans could see the injustice inherent in Jim Crow laws, King believed morality would compel the nation to side with the activists. The strategy of non-violence allowed the demonstrators to retain a clear position as victims of amoral oppression and violence. Television, photographs, and print media would allow the world to witness the drama of oppression in the South. To achieve this end required an unarmed army willing to potentially absorb violence without resorting to violence themselves. The people who joined King had tremendous courage. Men, women, and children joined in the protests knowing that they could and would be jailed, injured, or even killed. The people's courage to put themselves in harm's way in the historic moment of the Civil Rights Movement was fueled by generations of blacks that King said had been "seared in the flames of withering injustice," and bolstered by faith in Dr. King's method of non-violence. The Civil Rights Movement took place in many cities over a period of many years, and manifested itself in various forms. In Montgomery, AL, the law required blacks to sit at the rear of the bus where the engine made the cabin the hottest, to give up their seats for white passengers, and to stand instead of using empty seats reserved for white passengers. After years of this indignity, Ms. Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat to a white man on December 1, 1955 sparked interest in staging a wide-scale protest. With others, King organized a boycott of the city buses that, after months of persistence, resulted in a court ruling that desegregated the buses. In cities across the South, activists staged lunch counter sit-ins to protest segregated dining facilities, arriving en masse and sitting at lunch counters reserved for whites, refusing to leave until police hauled them away. The high water mark in the Civil Rights Movement was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August, 1963, a rally of over a quarter million marchers, to which King delivered the unforgettable "I Have A Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Months after the 1963 march in Washington, a march for voting rights from Selma to Montgomery, AL sparked intense, violent backlash in which three marchers were murdered, dozens beaten, and hundreds jailed. Through these demonstrations and media coverage, the injustice of segregation became apparent to all the world. As a leader of the movement, King knew he was exposing himself and his family to violent backlash. King was routinely harassed and repeatedly arrested. On January 30, 1956, King's home was bombed. King was stabbed in 1958, saved only by open-chest surgery. J. Edgar Hoover's F.B.I. tapped King's phones. Finally, King was murdered by a rogue individual in 1968. "To believe in nonviolence does not mean that violence will not be inflicted upon you," King said. King accepted these risks; his Christian faith that love can conquer hate impelled him throughout the movement. Because of the Civil Rights Movement's pressure over the years, lawmakers slowly dismantled Jim Crow laws and elevated blacks to full, legal equality. Victories came in the form of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights act of 1965, both federal laws signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Non-violent resistance spearheaded by Martin Luther King, Jr. had worked to secure equal rights for African-Americans. For young people today, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s world of segregation, racism, and social upheaval may seem to be ancient history, but there are millions walking among us today who were profoundly affected by King's leadership during their own lifetime. There are those among us today who, to paraphrase King, struggled together, prayed together, went to jail together, so that all Americans could be free. By doing so, they set the standard for the rest of the world to follow. The opening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is a recognition of his importance for the Civil Rights Movement and his philosophy of non-violence. But his memorial is also a memorial to all who participated in the Civil Rights Movement, and an inspiration to those who continue to fight today. The memorial will serve as a beacon for people from around the world to come and reflect on the nation's long trajectory toward freedom, and carry on Dr. King's legacy of standing strongly for freedom, justice, and equality for all. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, 2011

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Usually people self-harm because they have yet to discover other ways of expressing or coping with painful feelings. Self-harm is a way of coping with these difficult emotions. Lots of people do not know why they selfharm, so it would be useful to record your thoughts in a journal so you can look back on them. You may also wish to share your thoughts with a counsellor. As you ask yourself the following questions think about the last time you self-harmed: –What was happening in your life when you first began to self-harm? –What happened just before you felt the need to self-harm? –Would it be useful to keep a mood diary (maybe as part of your journal) that shows how what is happening influences your mood? –Where are you when you need to selfharm? –Who is with you when you want to selfharm? –What thoughts are going on in your mind that lead to you feeling so overwhelmed? Cycle of Self-Harms shame at the What Steps can I take to stop Self-harming? One of the best ways to get help is to find someone you can talk to and trust. Plan for times you feel you are going to self-harm as when that time comes you cannot always think clearly. Make a list of things you enjoy doing and that relax you. These may include: –Phoning / visiting a friend you can trust –Playing or listening to music –Writing your feelings down in a journal –Counting down slowly from 10 to 0 –Drawing your emotions – they can be as abstract if you like –Physical exercise – dancing, walking etc –Listening to relaxing tapes or doing deep breathing exercises –Pamper yourself – have a relaxing bath, wash your hair, buy yourself something –Focus on objects around you, think about what they look, sound, smell, taste, feel like Remember initially the aim is to delay when you are going to self-harm; at first maybe 5 minutes and building up from there as you begin new strategies. SAFA support includes: Offer some immediacy in supporting people who are in distress Fill a gap in local health services Offer people choices about the type of support they receive Do not have the stigma often associated with local mental health services What if I still want to hurt myself? These are other distraction exercises you could try. These do not work for everyone but some find them useful: –Using a punch bag or punching pillows –Put your hands into a bowl of ice-cubes or rubbing them on the part of the body you want to self-injure (only do this for a short time, you don’t want to end up with frost bite!) –Use non-toxic pens to draw feelings on your skin –Put plasters on the part you want to self-harm It is all about little steps. Take time out to acknowledge every one of those little steps you take towards healing yourself Talking it out Talking it out helps to prevent the build up of tensions by regularly venting feelings and thoughts, e.g. regular counselling. Being listened to by someone who is NOT trying to change you but simply their to support you can help. Who do I talk to? –Face-to-face with someone else (e.g. a counsellor) –On the phone to a trusted friend –On the phone to another organisation who listens e.g. MIND, The Samaritans

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When I was director of the Congressional Budget Office, I was testifying so frequently to the Senate Finance Committee that the chairman granted me a special exception to the committee rules: He allowed me to drink diet soda rather than just water during hearings. At my peak, I was downing up to eight diet sodas a day. My family did not think this was such a great idea, and at their urging I have largely eliminated my diet soda drinking. Recent data from Beverage Digest suggest others are cutting back also; consumption of diet sodas fell more than that of sugary sodas in 2013. "While the health risks of sugary sodas have been publicized for some time, the growing public aversion to diet drinks — with many believing artificial sweeteners are also unhealthy — has caught the industry somewhat off guard," the Wall Street Journal noted. This raises two questions: Why is total consumption declining, and is drinking diet soda harmful to health? Although the data do suggest a change in attitudes toward diet sodas, one potentially underappreciated factor in the consumption data is the role of demographics. Consumption of diet soda is twice as high among non-Hispanic whites as among Hispanics, for example, as data from the National Center for Health Statistics show. As the share of non-Hispanic whites in the population declines and the share of Hispanics rises, one would expect diet soda consumption per person to fall. Demographic shifts don't entirely explain the shift in soda drinking, however. Concern about health effects appears to be rising, too — which is not surprising, given how much media attention has been trained on reports of harm. A recent example is an analysis of the extent to which the consumption of diet drinks influences cardiovascular events — a study that highlights both the insights and the shortcomings of research on diet soda. Ankur Vyas and colleagues at the University of Iowa examined the diet drink consumption of almost 60,000 older women and concluded that, "compared to women who never or only rarely consume diet drinks, those who consumed two or more a day were 30 percent more likely to suffer a cardiovascular event and 50 percent more likely to die from related disease."

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In this session we were asked to study the effects of colour around different coloured objects to see if we perceived them in different ways. I found that combining different colours reflected different moods and feelings. For example the brightly coloured red coke can on the orange, blue, yellow and green card lifted my mood and reminded me of a hot summer. This is obviously because of the heavily saturated colours. I found that the green peck that had been placed on the orange and black card very unappealing to the eye as the colours did not compliment each other in any way.

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Fracking is a nasty business. Among other problems, methane leaks from natural gas wells and pipelines. One recent study found leakage rates of up to 17 percent of production. For the climate, that's a big problem: As a greenhouse gas, methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Solution: an EPA crackdown on fugitive methane emissions. Obama is a big natural-gas booster and a quiet supporter of fracking, so this is likely to happen, but he may avoid harder problems like drinking-water pollution or wastewater disposal.

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Better Students Ask More Questions. What is reciprocal buying? 1 Answer | add yours Reciprocal buying is just two businesses entering into an agreement to buy each others' goods. Think of a large company with lots of business lines, like Johnson and Johnson. They have hundreds of suppliers and customers. Let's say the have a shampoo manufacturer who owns the factory where they make J&J's shampoo. The owner of the factory sells the shampoo to J&J who sells it to a retailer. But the factory own also has to stock the first aid kits on his factory floor with bandages. J&J sells him the bandages. Codifying this in a contract would create a reciprocal buying arrangement. J&J buys x amount of shampoo in exchange for the factory owner buying x bandages for his first aid kits. This is example is clearly contrived, but illustrates the points. A common, more abstract example would be banks executing credit swaps, agreeing to reciprocally buy fixed-rate credit for floating-rate credit. It's the same basic principle: an agreement for two counterparties to buy one anothers' goods. Posted by chaseguinn on June 12, 2013 at 8:11 PM (Answer #1) Join to answer this question Join a community of thousands of dedicated teachers and students.

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Social Return on Investment (SROI) is a systematic way of incorporating social, environmental, economic and other values into decision-making processes. By helping reveal the economic value of social and environmental outcomes it creates a holistic perspective on whether a development project or social business or enterprise is beneficial and profitable. This perspective opens up new opportunities and forms the basis for innovative initiatives that genuinely contribute to positive social change and poverty reduction for all. SROI balances proving and improving or addresses the paradox between accountability and learning by placing the perspectives of the different stakeholders at the center of the valuation process. SROI originated in the USA from social enterprises interested in new ways to value the contributions they were making to society. It later arrived in Europe, where there is an increasing interest in the methodology as noted by recent publications by Context international cooperation in the Netherlands, the New Economics Foundation in the UK and the SROI Network head-quartered in the UK. SROI is used for planning purposes in terms of designing a Theory of Change, or Business Plan, and for assessing to what extent impact is realised or changes need to occur in the Business Plan. Although the SROI approach supports the thinking along the lines of a result chain, it does not support the idea of the components being connected in a linear fashion. The SROI approach is embedded in the acceptance of development taking place in situations of complexities. Here is a simple, illustrative example: A project aims to uplift the standard of living of people in a certain area and a beekeeping initiative is set up. As a result a beekeeper now enjoys regular meals whereas before this was not the case. In traditional Cost Benefit analyses, the value of the lunch would be measured in market prices. However after interviewing the beneficiaries, and applying some valuation tools, it turns out that the ‘real’ value is much higher than the market price; social value has been created above the market / economic value which is now being accounted for. Like traditional cost-benefit analysis, SROI includes a ratio; in this case a Social Return on Investment ratio. Where in traditional cost benefit analyses the ratios would be used to compare different projects, the SROI ratio is much more seen as one element in explaining and communicating general progress of certain developments. The number itself is not seen as the end goal. It can be interpreted as aiding the narrative of this particular initiative. The aspect of stakeholder perspectives is essential in the SROI approach. It is precisely the value perspectives of the stakeholders (and most importantly the key beneficiaries), assessed, not by assuming these values, but by thoughtfully and intellectually engaging the stakeholders themselves, which is at the heart of this innovative (e)valuation approach. Linkages with other approaches and options - Cost Benefit Analysis - Participatory Rural Appraisal/Participatory Learning for Action - Other evaluation approaches which are rooted in accepting complexities , such as Developmental Evaluation, Outcome Mapping - Social Learning How is it done? There are different components that are followed (not necessarily in a linear or chronological order) which collectively constitute the SROI approach. A. Defining the boundaries (objective and scope). Depending on the nature of the project, programme or initiative, a specific geographic area will need to be chosen. For example it could be a value chain of a certain commodity, which would include a range of actors in a specific geographic area, over a time span of five years. B. Identification and selection of key stakeholders. With a selection of key actors and use of participatory tools such as an ‘influence-importance matrix’, all relevant actors are identified who either will be affected by the activities within the scope or who influence the project (either positively or negatively). C. Developing the Business Plan / Theory of Change. Representatives of all stakeholders (diversity is good) create the theory of change or business plan. This will enhance collective ownership and encourage learning from and about different perspectives and realities. It above all provides clarity regarding the key actors for whom the intention is to create value; reduce poverty, improve health, etc. This is one of the most important steps within the SROI framework: it tells the story of how stakeholders were (are) involved in the project and their perception and belief of how their lives have changed or will change. D. What goes in (identifying inputs for each outcome) and what comes out (identifying results). For each intended outcome there are different investments or ‘costs’ linked to the realisation of the specific outcome. There may be unintended outcomes (or investments), which can also be measured; these can be positive or negative. Semi-Structured Interviews are conducted to identify benefits (see) and investments. E. Valuation is the process of developing indicators to turn the articulated benefits and costs into a monetary value. Some benefits and costs are easy to valuate, for example when an intervention saves time, which can be used for productive work. Other benefits, like a higher status in the community are more difficult to attach a value to. Different tools can be used for this, including value ranking, use of opportunity cost, etc. F. Calculation of the SROI ratio. By calculating the SROI ratio a comparison is made of the investments (inputs) on the one hand and the financial, social and environmental returns (outcomes and impact of an intervention) on the other. To enhance rigour in the ratio and credibility, it is most important that good solid research data has been used, as well as the best possible estimates of deadweight and attribution. This is generally seen as difficult (also by all other evaluation approaches and methodologies). However, through semi-structured interviews compared with other research data, approximates can be arrived at. G. Narratives are increasingly understood as the stories that complement the numbers (ratio). They provide the context by which for example the ratio would be used. The narratives also reflect on what cannot be captured in the SROI ratio. H. Verification is done throughout the analyses, either using triangulation or through other means. Verifying the stories / narratives as well as the quantitative data from different stakeholder perspectives is an important aspect of the complete analyses, as it further builds and maintains the trust and collective ownership of the initiative and approach. By going through all these stages and collecting both qualitative and quantitative data, an SROI report can be created, which provides the opportunity to communicate to all stakeholders (actors) of the initiative, including managers, primary actors, funders, etc. Following the learning approach this report can be used for the next stages of development and for analysing and adjusting the business plan or elements thereof. - SROI can be integrated in existing M&E approaches and does not need be an add-on activity. In fact the approach could guide a participatory development model, with reflection and learning as consistent ingredients. - The approach has the capacity to create awareness of mutual interdependence and as such develops collective ownership and commitment. - It leads to mind-shifts, for example from a perception of cost (with consequently negative associations) to the realisations that they should be seen as investments with clear results benefitting the community, individuals and households. - Rather than positioning initiatives within imperatives such as profit maximisation and neoliberal economic growth, SROI, allows actors to create opportunities to more directly address the creation and measurement of social value. Critical success factors - The approach as described above requires knowledge of participatory options and tools and excellent facilitation skills in multi-stakeholder processes. A safe and conducive environment is required for dialogues and learning amongst a diversity of actors (with often conflicting interests). For SROI to be successful as an approach, good data needs to be available. Very specific data on production technology, market price fluctuations, environmental risks, etc. may be required. - Starting out on SROI: This guide, created by the SROI Network in collaboration with Hall Aitken, is aimed at providing guidance to those who have never used SROI on where to begin.

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BRUSHY CREEK (LEE COUNTY) BRUSHY CREEK (Lee County). Brushy Creek rises two miles northwest of Lexington in northern Lee County (at 30°26' N, 97°02' W) and runs northeast for ten miles to its mouth on East Yegua Creek, the Lee-Burleson county line, six miles southeast of Lexington (at 30°28' N, 96°54' W). Brushy Creek traverses generally flat terrain with local shallow depressions, surfaced by clay and sandy loam that supports water-tolerant hardwoods and grasses. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article."BRUSHY CREEK (LEE COUNTY)," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rbbpn), accessed May 06, 2015. Uploaded on June 12, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

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Integrating lighting and HVAC retrofits The renovation of lighting and the HVAC system in an existing building can greatly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. There is approximately 80 billion sq-ft of commercial floor space in the United States, and this number is expected to grow to more than 100 billion sq-ft by 2030, according to the Buildings Energy Data Book published by the Dept. of Energy. More than 80% of the commercial buildings in the United States were constructed prior to 1990. Unfortunately, there were no mandatory restrictions on energy consumption in commercial buildings until the Energy Policy Act of 1992 was passed, which made following ASHRAE 90.1-1989 mandatory. Consequently, many of these older buildings consume large amounts of electricity due to inefficient lighting and HVAC equipment. By 2030, more than 75% of the commercial buildings will have been in existence since 2010 and more than 60% from 1990 or earlier. Renovation of these inefficient buildings can help significantly reduce national energy consumption and lower the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from electricity generating. So while future energy goals like the 2030 Challenge are very important in new construction, it is also crucial to recognize that there is a significant amount of energy savings to be realized in existing construction. Lighting and HVAC equipment are major consumers of electricity in commercial buildings. While responsible design of new facilities is critical, renovation of existing facilities also can greatly reduce national consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the DOE’s Buildings Energy Data Book, more than $200 billion is annually reinvested in existing buildings for improvements and maintenance. It is critical for designers to maximize this reinvested money by applying energy-reduction techniques and selecting equipment that maximizes the investment for the future. HVAC energy-reduction techniques There are numerous innovative HVAC techniques that can help reduce a building’s overall energy consumption, but the ideal solutions for each building will vary depending on the building’s existing HVAC system. Among these solutions: the proper maintenance of the HVAC system (changing filters; replacing defective/missing insulation; cleaning heat exchangers and cooling and heating coils; and repairing leaks in equipment, ductwork, and piping); installing variable frequency drives (VFDs) where applicable; replacing old, inefficient equipment with higher energy-efficiency ratios (EERs); using either water- or air-side economizers; installing CO2 sensors to allow for reduction of outdoor air; replacing old motors with high-efficiency or premium motors; or using a BAS to ensure the system is operating properly. One simple solution would be to implement VFD where possible in a particular HVAC system. Over the past few years, the prices (and sizes) of VFDs have drastically been reduced, allowing them to be used much more frequently with a much better payback. They have become so cost-effective that installing them on motors as small as 1 or 2 hp can payback in a relatively short amount of time. Proper engineering judgment should be used, as certain motors are not meant to operate by a VFD and certain HVAC systems are meant to be constant volume. A second solution would be to install CO2 sensors in densely occupied spaces. These sensors can detect the concentration of CO2 in a space and relay this information to the BAS. The BAS can then send a signal to the damper controlling outdoor airflow to that space. The signal can modulate the damper to reduce the quantity of outdoor air supplied to that space below the code minimum requirement based on CO2 readings. As an example, assume a conference room requires 250 cfm of outdoor air when fully occupied. Most conference rooms are frequently either unoccupied or only partially occupied. By using a CO2 sensor to determine how many occupants are actually in the conference room, and reducing the amount of outside air supplied via the BAS, a significant amount of energy savings can be realized by not conditioning the code required amount of outdoor air during this unoccupied time. Another way to reduce the amount of energy consumed by HVAC equipment is simply to replace it. As HVAC equipment ages, it becomes less efficient because internal parts can wear down, creating more friction; it can become dirty or corroded; and it may even be susceptible to small refrigerant leaks. Another benefit to replacing old equipment with new is that ASHRAE 90.1 has increased minimum required efficiency on most types of HVAC equipment as of Jan. 1, 2010. A heat pump installed 10 years ago was not designed to meet to stricter standards set forth by ASHRAE 90.1-2007. Taking the previous solution a step further, even more energy savings can be realized by replacing an older HVAC design with a newer, more energy-efficient system. Provided the project budget will allow it, implementing a new HVAC system such as variable refrigerant flow, chilled beams, under-floor air distribution, or even geothermal heat pumps can significantly reduce the overall amount of energy consumed. When paired with a dedicated outdoor air unit (DOAU), these systems have typically proven to be much more energy-efficient than a traditional variable air volume (VAV) air handling unit system. This is due to the large amount of outdoor air needed in a VAV system versus the DOAU, and the large amount of energy required for reheat at terminal boxes. Implementing an entirely new HVAC system in an older building can prove to be very difficult, as complications with the existing structure, ceiling space, power requirements, and phasing require proper planning prior to designing a new system. Lighting energy-reduction techniques Energy reduction in existing facilities can easily be achieved by replacing existing inefficient lighting products. Most commercial buildings built prior to 1990 typically are illuminated with T12 fluorescent, incandescent, high-pressure sodium (HPS), or metal halide lamps. These luminaires typically operate on inefficient magnetic ballasts when required by the lamp type. T12 fluorescent lamps are the only one of the four lamps mentioned above that is no longer viable, as they have been replaced with more energy-efficient T8 and T5 lamps. As Figure 2 indicates, both T8 and T5 lamps produce substantially more lumens per W (approximately 100) than the T12 (approximately 60). One other advantage to the T5 and T8 lamps is their physical size. A T12 is 12/8ths of an inch, a T8 is 8/8ths, and a T5 is 5/8ths. There are advantages of this smaller lamp envelope; luminaires can be specifically designed around the lamp, allowing them to more easily control light distribution from the smaller source. This allows the luminaires to be more efficient at delivering the light to where it is intended. Simply replacing T12 fluorescent lamps with T8 or T5 can reduce the lighting load of a building by up to 40%. Incandescent lamp and halogen lamps are slowly being phased out by energy legislation, but they still have several applications and therefore cannot be considered an antiquated lamp source like the T12. (Editor’s note: Suitable incandescent applications are not discussed here as they are not typically applicable to the majority of commercial buildings.) One location where incandescent is not practical anymore is for general illumination of commercial buildings. Removing incandescent luminaires and replacing them with the energy efficiency of T8, T5, or compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) can reduce consumption and maintenance costs dramatically. A typical 60 W A-lamp screw-in incandescent will produce only about 15 lumens/W versus the 100 noted above for T8 and T5. In some cases, the incandescent lamps will need to be replaced by CFLs, which are not quite as efficient as linear T8 and T5 lamps but still produce about 60 lumens per W or four times that of an incandescent lamp. Use of LED luminaires also has gained significant steam over the past few years due to millions of dollars of federally funded research and advancement in the technology. LEDs can typically take the place of just about any incandescent lighting application and do it more effectively—and much more efficiently. While the future for LEDs is bright, how they are applied in retrofit applications should be carefully evaluated. Commercial buildings primarily have metal halide and HPS lamps for large spaces such as lobbies, atriums, warehouses, and parking garages. Currently, both are viable solutions in many settings and can compare favorably to fluorescent in certain applications. One important aspect to consider is that metal halide lamps as they were five years ago (probe-start) are no longer available. Pulse-start metal halide technology improved on the efficiency of metal halide sources dramatically, and legislation such as the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) has all but outlawed standard metal halide lamps as they cannot meet the more stringent requirements. Replacing old probe-start metal halide sources with newer pulse-start lamps can reduce energy consumption by up to 25%. To push these savings even further, electronic metal halide ballasts can be used to greatly reduce or eliminate energy loses in the ballast itself. HPS still has applications, but rarely inside commercial buildings due to its very poor color rendering (22 CRI) and warm color temperature (2100 K). Warehouses, garages, and high-bay areas still have HPS lights. HPS is an efficient light source similar to metal halide but often is not perceived that way due to its “orange” color. When measuring light levels, HPS will produce light levels (measured by a photometer) similar to those of fluorescent and/or metal halide; however, they will not seem as bright. This is due to how the human eye functions at different wavelengths. The light produced by a HPS source is a longer wavelength (approximately 640 nm), which typically will be perceived by the rods in the human eye, and not the cones (which allow us to see color). This is referred to as scotopic vision, or night vision. When cones are not fully functional, such as under HPS lamp sources, objects seem to have no color or appear orange. While photometric measurements will be similar, some suggest that HPS lamp sources should have a reduction factor of up to 25% of this light output due to the poor color rendering and orange color temperature. This issue should be considered when retrofitting HPS spaces. Beyond lamp and ballast combinations, lighting controls can be used to dramatically reduce energy consumption by lighting systems. In general there are three basic control systems: - Occupancy control - Time of day control - Daylight control. All three methods are effective means of reducing overall energy consumption and operating costs by automating the lighting systems. Automated controls allow building owners to avoid leaving lights on or having them on when natural daylight renders them ineffective. ASHRAE requires automated controls in all buildings larger than 5,000 sq-ft, so when retrofitting a building with a new lighting system, it is imperative that one or more of these techniques are used to be in compliances with the code. Occupancy sensors can produce the greatest energy savings of all control devices in many applications. It is often a misconception that occupancy sensors turn on lights automatically because this is what we see, but in reality their function is to turn lights off automatically. There are several different types of occupancy sensors, each with its own specific applications. Every space in a building should be evaluated for occupancy sensors, and they should be used when possible. In space where occupancy sensors may not function, time of day switching via relays would more than likely be the next control device to consider. It is estimated that occupancy sensors can reduce the lighting load in commercial building by 30% just by automatically turning off the lights when a space is vacated. In private offices, restrooms, and storage closets, occupancy sensors can have a dramatic effect in reducing this consumption. Time of day control allows building owners to operate their facility on set schedules. Typically time of day control is executed by a time clock and automated switching relay or contactor. Relays allow for much more flexibility than typical contactors and are recommended due to their longer life (more operations) and ease of control. Often relay-based switching (or dimming) systems will have an integral astronomical time clock that keeps accurate time for the building, adjusts for daylight savings, knows holidays, and can keep schedules. In buildings that are constantly occupied for set hours, such as office buildings, schools, and recreation centers, a relay-based time of day system makes perfect sense. While it is hard to quantify the energy savings using this type of system due to widely varying functions of commercial buildings, one thing is for sure: The lights will not be left on all weekend or all night in an unoccupied building. Daylight control or daylight harvesting is another control technique that can have a dramatic effect on the energy consumed in a commercial building. In spaces where significant amounts of natural light are available, a daylight system should be considered. Using the sun as a light source is the most efficient way to illuminate a space, as it requires no electricity. Sunlight is not always available, so it must be combined with a lighting system capable of balancing the two. Photocells often are used to measure light levels in a space; if the natural daylight in that space is significant enough, the photocell will communicate this to the daylighting system and either turn off or dim the luminaires in that space. The two ways to control light output from luminaires in a daylighting system are either by switching them on and off, or by dimming them. This is often a financial decision as dimming adds a premium to each luminaire in the system. There are payback advantages to using dimming; it will produce greater savings in energy usage over the typical switched system. While savings can greatly vary, correctly designed daylight switching systems will typically save about 20% of the lighting consumption and daylight dimming systems will be closer to 40%. Multidisciplinary energy reduction While HVAC and lighting system retrofits can have a dramatic savings in energy consumption individually, they also can have a synergistic effect on energy reduction. HVAC systems are designed to a cool a space based on exterior and internal heat load. One of the major components of internal heat load is generated by space lighting. When the lighting load is reduced via the use of automated lighting controls, HVAC equipment (i.e., fans, pumps, compressors) can be throttled back. So by reducing the lighting load in a building by 40% using occupancy sensors, the total amount of energy consumed by the HVAC equipment serving these spaces could be reduced by 10%. It should also be noted that when the overall lighting load for a building is reduced, so can the total capacity of HVAC equipment (i.e., a lighting load reduction of 20% can net an initial HVAC equipment cost savings of 5% to 7%). BAS that control both HVAC equipment and lighting equipment can provide building owners with information that is monitored, recorded, and analyzed to determine whole building energy consumption. Data can then be used to maximize HVAC equipment efficiency and allow for adjustments as necessary to keep the building operating at optimal conditions at all times. Such a level of control can have a significant impact on reducing energy consumption, particularly in large facilities such as hospitals or campuses. One of the benefits of new construction is that an MEP engineer is essentially working with a blank canvas and can design freely. In an existing building, however, typically numerous obstacles must be overcome when attempting to retrofit existing lighting or HVAC equipment. Many older buildings do not have the floor-to-floor heights needed to accommodate recessed luminaires, larger ductwork, and HVAC equipment. Because of this, alternative HVAC systems, such as a variable refrigerant volume system requiring much less ductwork, may prove to be a better solution. The existing structure may also limit the size of equipment that can be located within or on top of a building; it can also alter the routing of piping and electrical conduit throughout the building. In a building with concrete waffle slab, it may prove to be difficult to route ductwork, piping, and conduit vertically. Another obstacle to overcome is attempting to meet current building codes with existing HVAC systems that are not compliant. As building codes progress over time to promote building safety and occupant well-being, and to reduce energy consumption, older buildings fail to meet several areas of the current code. Frequently in older HVAC designs, corridors were used as return air paths, but this does not meet Section 601.2 of the International Mechanical Code. Also, when using the ceiling space as a return air plenum, all devices in that space including cabling must be plenum-rated. This could cause issues with existing systems that initially were not planned to be part of a HVAC renovation, such as fire alarms or telecommunications. A third noncompliant issue often recognized is the failure to properly ventilate the building per ASHRAE 62.1 standards. This applies to both the outdoor air requirements for spaces and the amount of exhaust air required from certain spaces. Another code issue worth mentioning is maintaining the fire-rating of the building. This can include adding fire, smoke, or combination fire-smoke dampers with smoke detectors in the areas that are renovated that may not meet current code requirements. Determining how to deal with these noncode compliance issues can present some challenging obstacles to the design engineer. Of course, many code requirements are “grandfathered” into existing buildings, but once a renovation of any type takes place, these issues should be addressed. Suppose an older building uses the ceiling space as a return air plenum, but plenum rated cable was originally not installed. Does it make sense to replace all the wiring with plenum-rated cable, or should the return air path now be ducted? The economical ramifications, building occupant safety, and one’s professional judgment should be used to determine the best way to comply with building code requirements. It is also important to have discussions with the local code inspector and with the building owner to ensure that all parties involved are aware of potential issues. When renovating existing buildings, especially those built prior to 1990, one must remember to factor asbestos abatement into the construction budget. Asbestos is a fibrous-like mineral that was used in many building materials (fireproofing, ductwork and piping insulation, and flooring), but was banned in 1989 because it has been proven to cause mesothelioma (a malignant form of cancer in the lining of the chest or abdominal cavities). It can be costly to perform thorough asbestos tests on building materials, and even more costly and time-consuming to properly abate it, but keeping the contractor’s staff and building occupants safe, avoiding work stoppages, and avoiding potential lawsuits make abetment a necessity. There are countless methods to reduce energy consumption when retrofitting an existing building with new HVAC and/or lighting systems. Some methods will demonstrate a dramatic reduction in energy consumption with a relatively quick payback, while others will provide the building occupants with a safer environment and higher levels of comfort and control. Retrofit options—for example, switching from incandescent lamps with a life of about 1000 hours to fluorescents with a life of about 20,000 hours—can also drastically reduce maintenance costs. Existing buildings vary drastically by user and building type, but by understanding the existing conditions and project goals up front and choosing the appropriate critical design path, engineers can ensure that the HVAC or lighting retrofit has a dramatic impact on not only the amount of energy consumed, but more importantly on an owner’s wallet and the environment. - Biada is project manager/mechanical engineer with Advanced Engineering Consultants, and Gray is a project manager/electrical engineer/lighting designer with Advanced Engineering Consultants.

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The burden of diseases (BoD), i.e. the impact of diseases in terms of mortality and disability, has gained unprecedented visibility as a health topic on such a prestigious scientific journal as Lancet. The entire December 2012 issue, a total of 7 articles and 8 editorials, was in fact dedicated to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010). At the beginning of March 2013, other data were subsequently published, in particular the results by countries that sparked a lot of interest and even some surprise. Massive, collaborative and challenging: these are the three adjectives used by Lancet to describe the GBD 2010. Indeed, it is the most extensive survey ever carried out on a global scale to describe the distribution and causes of diseases and their risk factors . It took 5 years of work, involving 486 researchers from 303 institutions in 50 countries. coordinated by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) of the University of Washington in collaboration with the University of Queensland, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Tokyo, the Imperial College London and the World Health Organization. IHME is headed by Chris Murray, who developed the QALY ( Quality Adjusted Life Year ) the metrics used to measure the life-years gained taking into account the quality of life, making it possible to combine mortality and morbidity estimates into a single "number". It is not hard to imagine that this new Murray's creation, the GBD 2010, will become a milestone in health and health care matters, as Murray himself declared: "For policy makers, researchers and informed citizens, the Global burden approach provides an opportunity to see the big picture, compare diseases and risk factors and understand, in a given context (place, time, age, gender) what are the main contributors to health loss." The GBD 2010 draws a world where infectious diseases, maternal and child illness and malnutrition are gradually decreasing. Fewer children are dying every year, but more young and middle-aged adults are dying and suffering from chronic degenerative diseases (non-communicable diseases) which have become the dominant cause of death and disability worldwide. The end result is that if since 1970 the world population has improved its life expectancy by about a decade, for most of these years people will not be in good health. The GBD 2010 is the "second installment" of the project commissioned in 1990 by the World Bank. Compared to the original study, the amount of analyzed variables and collected data vastly increased, by approximately 400 times: the number of examined diseases increased from 107 to 291, the risk factors from 10 to 67, the macro-regions on the globe from 8 to 21. It is also possible to analyze data by gender, for 20 age groups and, thanks to the availability of two series of information, to predict the trends of phenomena over the next twenty years. Obviously the impact of diseases has been described in terms of mortality, years of life lost due to premature mortality (Years of Life Lost due to premature mortality, YLLs), years of life lived in non optimal health conditions or disability (Years Lived with Disability, YLDs) and life expectancy adjusted for disability (Disability-Adjusted Life-Years, DALYs). of complex statistical models is accessible also to those who lack specific knowledge through straight-forward interactive graphic presentations (here the data visualization address, and the instructions for visualizing data). According to the GBD 2010 working group, these representations "offer the opportunity to explore data otherwise unusable, if presented in a traditional manner occupying millions of rows, and they represent a democratization of data." Italy's come back and the British ... If Italian cyclist Gino Bartali with his unpretentious style surprised the French as a climber, this time it's the British who have been taken aback by the Italian people traditionally suffering from chronic crisis. In fact, even if recently the Italian economy has not been very healthy, that of its its citizens is improving significantly, according to data from the GBD 2010. second in terms of life expectancy, the first among European nations and surpassed only by Japan. It is important to note that longevity (about 81.5 years) is characterized by good health or limited periods of The major risk factors are those related to eating habits, blood hypertension and tobacco smoke. The latter, as passive smoking, also weighs significantly on children's health. The main causes leading to premature mortality continue to be cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and tumors of the respiratory tract. There are good news regarding cirrhosis which decreased by 38% as a factor of morbidity from 1990 to 2010. The data for the UK, though showing better results compared to this country's figures in 1990, progressed more slowly compared to almost all other developed nations. In other words the British were overtaken and slipped down in the GBD 2010 rankings. If in the 1990 study they ranked above the average in 8 of the 30 disease groups, in the 2010 study their lead was maintained in only 3 groups. UK data are particularly unsatisfactory as regards premature mortality (between 20 and 54 years) probably burdened by alcohol abuse and drug use. figures were mentioned rather disapprovingly by both scientific magazines such as the British Medical Journal and the media, starting with the BBC. Precisely the BBC focused on the comparison with Italian data, wondering on the possible causes of the 18 month gap in life expectancy in favour of Italy, reflecting on the fact that Italians smoke more than the British (but only from 2006), and for years the Italian NHS has spent more than the UK National Health Service (only recently has this relation been reversed). The BBC has asked these questions to Stefania Salmaso, Director of the Italian National Centre of Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion (CNESPS) of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Italian Health Institute, who has justified the current results on the basis of not so recent changes, the so-called epidemiological transition that has improved the overall living conditions in Italy. In particular, with regard to the Italian diet: "Since the '60s, there has been a big improvement in the Italian diet, with much more fresh fruits, vegetables and fish and a wider variety of foods. Moreover, olive oil is part of the traditional Mediterranean diet, while in the British diet animal fats are prevalent." Even drinking habits are radically different as in Italy drinking wine with meals is the prevalent form of alcohol consumption, while in the UK, in addition to beer, spirits and binge drinking are a dramatic commonplace. On this issue, however, we should not delude ourselves: "These habits are rapidly changing especially among young people and are a threat to public health, with a potential impact in the future." "An important contribution to Italians' health also stems from public initiatives for the promotion of healthy lifestyles such as Gaining Health and with monitoring goals, aimed at planning health interventions, such as the PASSI Surveillance System." explained, Stefania Salmaso. And to the question of how one can reconcile the Italian economic crisis with these positive health results, she answered "maybe this means money isn't everything?".

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India's food-grains production has hovered around a fifth of a billion tonnes mark in recent years. More than self-sufficient, India frequently exports its surpluses. India in 55 years has emerged from famine ridden colonial times, as a famine free Republic. Its population has nearly tripled in that period. More significantly, India in 1947,lost some of its most fertile lands. But she has managed to stand up and falsify many prophesies of doom. India was the greatest success story of the Green Revolution. Although today her agriculture is at a cross-roads again, the Green Revolution of the sixties gained some crucial decades for India in which to rethink her way forward. The Revolution is also worth remembering for India's capacity for collective action. Pause a while therefore, before you decry India's administration for every ill in the land. If the shame of the German Reich was the Holocaust, the British Empire --the Reich's great adversary-- matched it with the Bengal Famine. Both occurred around the same time and the scores were about even: 3 million dead in each. As a consequence of heartlessness and inept governance, the Great Famine of 1943-44 has no equal. Heavily taxed and left to themselves and the monsoons, India's farmers began the forties with falling, failing crops. The 'war effort' meant seizure of farm produce, banning of grain trade and turning the gaze away from the countryside. Result was, destitute folk began to arrive in Kolkata looking for food. Fearing that declaring an official famine would mandate supplying food diverted from its armed forces, the Empire simply let people die in the streets. And then within three years, with the war won, the British upped and left a traumatised, dismembered India. The young nation was the object of much mockery world-wide. "Starving millions" was the phrase flung at it for an identity. Though the Indian farmer was back plying his heartache trade, shortages recurred. India was a massive importer, the tonnage peaking at 10 million in 1966. Humiliation was heaped upon it in a book : "Famine 1975" [Paddock and Paddock, 1965]. The authors predicted that by 1975 Indians would die in their millions. They suggested that the world turn its attention away from this hopeless land. Thomas Malthus probably concurred from his grave. Many nations of course helped, notably the USA with its massive PL-480 programme. The Indian government gamely coped with the times. It was a decade of much hardship and morale sapping pessimism. The tide turns: The story of how what came to be called the Green Revolution began is an exciting one. The story's moral is that hope is always buried within tragedy. Shortly after the Bengal Famine, MacArthur's victorious US army marched into Japan. In the huge occupation force was S. Cecil Salmon of the US Agricultural Research Service [ARS]. Many initiatives were being considered for rebuilding Japan. Salmon was focused on agriculture and that was how he chanced upon the legendary Norin strain of wheat that was to trigger the Revolution. Norin was a dwarf variety with little foliage and a heavy head of grain. Salmon sent this to the US for further study. In Washington State University at Pullman, a team under Orville Vogel researched the dwarf wheat. They bred many prototypes and finally created in 1959 the Gaines dwarf. It had been 13 long years of experimentation. Norman Borlaug --that icon of the Green Revolution-- picked up Gaines and crossed it with Mexico's best varieties at the International Maize and Wheat Research Centre there. He had the magic bullet -- he waited to unleash the Revolution. By the 1960's India was desperate for a breakthrough. The nation's self-confidence was at an ebb. The Chinese had delivered a military lesson. Nehru was aging. Political uncertainty loomed. Food crises were endemic. Total food production hung around about 50 million tonnes. Marginal increases were only through bringing more land area under cultivation and not through increases in productivity. Food reserves were nil. India was just about meeting its deficit with imports. Clearly a quantum leap was needed. It was then that India discovered Borlaug and the Norin dwarf. A small field at Pusa was seeded and the results were dramatic. It was what India had been waiting for. What then followed was a display of commitment and implementation that has stood to inspire India in many other fields. It is a milestone to cherish. Though the Green Revolution was a worldwide phenomenon its most successful revolutionaries were India's political leadership, bureaucrats, scientists and of course the farmers. What it took: Once Borlaug and India were convinced that they had a solution, the realisation of what needed to be done dawned. It was a formidable task. But India had its men in place. Of the ones that are easily named are C. Subramaniam, B. P. Pal and M.S.Swaminathan. In the end however, literally millions of Indians were active parts of the Revolution. C. Subramaniam was in 1965, the Union Minister for Agriculture. He had trudged a long road, as a Gandhi devotee, freedom fighter and as a member of India's Constituent Assembly. Most of all he was a modern mind and a man of action. Swaminathan was an entirely home-grown plant genetist of repute. He emerged as Subramaniam's able lieutenant. In 1996, Subramaniam took the politically bold decision of importing 18,000 tonnes of the dwarf wheat seeds of the Lerma Rojo 64A and Sonora 64 variety. The induction of an agricultural technology is not a mere question of buying seeds. Conducive policies and delivery systems have to exist. Subramaniam piloted the necessary reforms. To disseminate information Krishi Vigyan Kendras, model farms and district block development offices were put in place. Seed farms were developed. To augment research the Indian Council for Agricultural Research [ICAR] was reorganised. As the dwarf variety was chemicals and fertiliser intensive new industrial units were licenced. To encourage two crops a year and monsoon-independence, irrigation canals and deep water wells were created. Policy was changed to assure guaranteed prices and markets. Food stock storages were created. The results were not long to come. Land under active cultivation began to grow from 1.9 million hectares [mHa] in 1960 to 15.5mHa , 43mHa and 64mHa . As for the Paddocks' prophesied demise of India in 1975 well, it didn't happen: India weighed in that year with over 110 million tonnes of food grains. |Food grain production [mT]||50.8||82.0||108.4||129.6||176.4||201.8 | |Food grain import [mT]||4.8||10.4||7.5||0.8||0.3||- | |Buffer stock [mT]||-||2.0||-||15.5||20.8||40.0 | |Population [m]||361||439||548||683||846||1000 | It is also well to remember that India continued its own adaptive research on high yielding varieties [HYV]. The Revolution was not about just importing seeds. At the Indian Agricultural Research Institute [IARI], Benjamin Peary Pal developed the New Pusa 809, a hardy Indian wheat variety. A genial man who did his doctorate at Cambridge in 1933, B.P.Pal is easily the father of post-modern research in India's agriculture. He was a painter, a rose fancier and a patron of arts. He built a large team, groomed many scientists and extended the HYV research in crops other than wheat. Indian Council for Agricultural Research [ICAR] of which he was the first Director General, proceeded to synthesise and broadcast many HYV seeds like Pusa Sonara, Malavika, Kalyan Sona. Many of these are popular today in Pakistan, other SAARC countries, Afghanistan, Sudan and Syria. The success was not agriculture's alone. There were many spin-offs. Infrastructure improved. With increasing production India paid back all her loans on time; this increased its standing in the world. Vast employment opportunities opened up. Demand for consumer and industrial goods were triggered. Science-mindedness --and mechanics!-- sprouted everywhere. Amazed by the doughty farmers of Punjab and Haryana --the real real heroes of the Revolution-- Canada came wooing them to settle and farm its lands. Indians came to esteem themselves better. India had shaken off her colonial hang-over and defied the mould assigned for her. The next road: So let us say, "Long live the Revolution!" Why? Is it dying? No, but no Revolution is permanent. We began by observing that 'hope is always buried in tragedy'. Maybe strife in return arrives with success. The Green Revolution has thrown up its own set of problems. There has been a toll on soil fertility. The HYVs call for heavy dosages of chemicals -- fertilisers and pesticides. Prolonged use of these has depleted our soils and poisoned our environment. The once thrifty farmer has become a profligate user of power and water. Also because this form of agriculture is capital intensive, it is the farmer of means who most benefits from it. Therefore, while India's food problem may have been solved, not so the hunger problem of its poor. The profits of the Revolution have not spread evenly in society and the poor have little means to buy the huge stocks with the government. Worst of all yields are beginning to fall. We may have basked for too long in the glow of the Revolution. So, India is at a cross-roads again. Which road is it to take. A tempting sign points to transgenic crops, also known as genetically modified [GM] crops. These are promoted as being the spear-heads of the next Green Revolution. They are said to need fewer inputs, display greater immunity to pests and yield high. But there are many sober voices that dispute these claims. Their views too are justified because in the past, multi-national companies have hastily jumped in to reap their profits with dubious products leaving the farmer to harvest sorrow. Objective scientific assessment of the claims made for GM crops is not yet complete. So the time may not be ripe yet to induct these promising technologies. The more sensible road to take is the one to eco-sensitive farming. India needs to reevaluate proven, ancient ways of harmoniously maintaining soil fertility. Dependance on chemicals has to be minmised. Esteem for carefully selected native strains has to be encouraged if the small farmer is to be freed from malevolent seed companies. Conservation and optimal use of water is an important issue. Most of all, agricultural pricing and market policies need to be reviewed to favour the small farmer. There are signs of an emerging awareness all around. Many farmers in Kerala and Karnataka are turning to organic farming on a large scale. Most significantly Swaminathan, that star of the Green Revolution is today an advocate of 'sustainable agriculture'. So let's put the Green Revolution in context again. It is undoubtedly a great Indian success story. But its unspoken mission may have been to give us a fresh breath with which to codify Indian farmers' traditional wisdom. Today technologies and Indian technologists are available -- as was not the case in the sixties-- to compile 'best practices' and disseminate them widely. It is in the nature of revolutions that they are never 'final solutions' but place-holders till the next one comes along. One of the best summaries of Indian agriculture since the sixties is the one available from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, from which most of the statistics in this article are drawn.

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Art and Myth in Ancient Greece: A HandbookPaperback World of Art List price $19.62 You save $3.94 20% off Free delivery worldwide Dispatched in 2 business days When will my order arrive? - Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd - Format: Paperback | 256 pages - Dimensions: 150mm x 208mm x 20mm | 540g - Publication date: 1 March 1991 - Publication City/Country: London - ISBN 10: 0500202362 - ISBN 13: 9780500202364 - Edition statement: Pod ed. - Sales rank: 264,672 The Greek myths are so much a part of our visual and literary culture that we tend to forget how they entered it in the first place. The most familiar sources are the great works of Homer or the Greek dramatists but they were addressing an audience intimately familiar with the stories and so are often allusive and incomplete. There is no surviving account in ancient Greek literature of stories as important as the fall of Troy or Theseus, and the Minotaur, and it is to the visual sources that we have to turn to much of our knowledge of the myths. Other people who viewed this bought: USD$28.41 - Save $1.88 (6%) - RRP $30.29 USD$11.85 - Save $3.29 21% off - RRP $15.14 Other books in this category USD$18.73 - Save $7.01 27% off - RRP $25.74 USD$21.20 - Save $12.12 36% off - RRP $33.32 USD$12.68 - Save $0.94 (6%) - RRP $13.62 USD$7.14 - Save $1.86 20% off - RRP $9.00 USD$11.18 - Save $2.44 17% off - RRP $13.62 USD$10.74 - Save $2.88 21% off - RRP $13.62 Back cover copy Here is the first comprehensive survey of the treatment of myth by Greek artists. With its copious illustrations, it forms an indispensable and unrivaled reference work for everybody interested in the art, drama, poetry, anthropology or religion of ancient Greece.

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High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), the sweetener that’s ubiquitous in sodas, processed snacks, and junk foods, may tinker with the brain in ways that, unlike glucose, may actually encourage us to overeat. The problem is that after downing a soft drink containing fructose, the brain may not register that we’re full, according to a study published in the January 2, 2013 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. For the investigation, scientists used MRI scans to visualize and compare blood flow in the brain after their subjects - 20 young, normal-weight men and women – drank beverages containing HFCS and, a few weeks later, one containing glucose. Scans showed that drinking the glucose-sweetened beverages turns off brain areas that stimulate the desire for food, but this didn’t happen when the drinks contained HFCS. The study was small and didn’t prove that HFCS contributes to obesity, although increases in obesity have paralleled the use of HFCS. More studies will be necessary to confirm the negative effects HFCS has on the brain. My take? The U.S. Agriculture Department has calculated that the average American consumes more than 40 pounds of HFCS every year. I'm concerned that this highly processed substance has disruptive effects on metabolism, in part because the body doesn't utilize fructose well, and humans have never before consumed it in such quantity. Earlier studies have documented potential problems with thinking and memory, and HFCS has well-known adverse effects on other aspects of health. Clinical studies strongly suggest it promotes obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes; disturbs liver function, and elevates serum triglycerides in men. The latest study is further evidence that HFCS isn’t good for us. Robert Sherwin, et al, “Effects of Fructose vs Glucose on Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in Brain Regions Involved With Appetite and Reward Pathways”, JAMA. 2013; 309(1):63-70. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.116975 Weil Lifestyle. Does High Fructose Corn Syrup Harm the Brain? July 30¸2012. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401152/Does-High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup-Harm-the-Brain.html

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Members of the Department of Paleobiology have been leading vertebrate paleontology expeditions since before the museum was built. The first dinosaur expeditions were led by Othniel Marsh, then at Yale University , who collected most of the dinosaurs on display in the main exhibit hall. He was followed by Charles Gilmore, who served as Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians for more than 20 years. His expeditions added dinosaurs such as Brachyceratops tour collections. A long hiatus in dinosaur collecting followed Gilmore’s death in 1945, which would not end until Dr. Michael Brett-Surman began his field work in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming in 1992. Today the work of finding and collecting new dinosaurs continues, with the addition of a new Curator of Dinosaurs, Dr. Matthew Carrano. We invite you to take a tour of some of our recent

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Watch the video below. Rob Greenfield details many examples of how he lives a sustainable lifestyle. Record the examples that you could integrate in your home and lifestyle. Read about Randy Mandez's account of his approach toTrash on Your Back Challenge. The Trash onYour Back Challenge involves a person carrying around all the rubbish they generate with them for the duration of 5 days. At the end five days the rubbish is divided into three groups - landfill, recycling and compost. Complete the 5 day Trash on Your Back Challenge - blog your experience and share with the class. Before the Flood is a documentary produced by National Geographic, featured below. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio meets with scientists, activists and world leaders to discuss the dangers of climate change and possible solutions. Click on this link to explore the National Geographic website on the documentary. Follow links on the website to explore content on understanding carbon's impact and climate change. Q2 What does each of the four steps mean? Imagine you were explaining these steps to a six year old. Q3 What are some of the activities does each of the four steps propose? Q4 How do you understand these four steps can play in helping change climate change? Students explore deep decarbonisation projects by analysing case studies. Read one of the case studies below and answer these questions. Q1 How does the case study demonstrate a reduction in emissions? Q2 What technology is used in the case study? What alternative energy or fuels are used? Q3 What are the benefits of this example? Q4 What is most interesting or inspiring about the case study? Q5 What questions do you still have about the case study? Q6 How do you think example can be applied on a broader scale? This interactive developed by Ecocreative for the Mount Barker Regional Council helps others understand what living sustainably might mean. The Story of Stuff, originally released in December 2007, is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the Stuff in your life forever. Watch the video below on a case study about the ResourceSmart Schools Program in Victoria and check out the range of real life learning activities students are involved in. Watch the clip below 'Grow Lightly, South Gippsland' and find out about their community project to support their community to access locally grown fruits and vegetables. View 'Leonardo DiCaprio's moving speech on climate change' below. He discusses the massive changes he believes are needed for Earth. Talk about the importance of working together to create solutions.

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About 4-6 million years ago, “something big” happened at the center of the Milky Way and ’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) has brought back the latest pictures. The “something big” was bursts of energy that created the Quintuplet Cluster (QC), Central Cluster and other massive star clusters at the center of the galaxy, says Matt Hankins of the University of Central Arkansas, lead author of a paper presented this week to the American Astronomical Society’s meeting in Long Beach, Calif., on an unprecedented view of that event. Other galaxies have similar star bursts at their centers, whether associated with black holes or not, Hankins says. But the Milky Way’s is closer and easier to study. Last year, Sofia, a highly modifiedmounted with a 100-in.-dia. infrared (IR) telescope, carried an IR camera called Forecast from Cornell University to study these bursts of energy. Forecast is designed to detect very faint objects by flying on Sofia at heights of as much as 45,000 ft. to escape atmospheric dust and water vapor that obscures IR images taken from ground observatories. The instrument created a series of multiple exposures that revealed a ring of gas and dust — the galaxy’s circumnuclear ring (CNR) — and a neighboring Quintuplet Cluster, among other objects. CNR has a diameter of seven light years and rims a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Neither ground-based observatories nor the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes have seen CNR or QC with such clarity. The black hole at the nucleus of the Milky Way has 4 million times the mass of the Sun. “The focus of our study has been to determine the structure of the circumnuclear ring with the unprecedented precision possible with Sofia,” says Cornell’s Ryan Lau. “Using these data, we can learn about the processes that accelerate and heat the ring.”

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The four authors of this dense but fascinating work offer varying perspectives on the human mind, drawing from philosophy, psychology and psychiatry. Together, Learned Optimism author Martin E. P. Seligman and professors Peter Railton, Roy F. Baumeister and Chandra Sripada argue that “prospection” – how people look toward the future – defines what it means to be human. They make an extended case integrating philosophical arguments with psychological studies in a larger biological or evolutionary context, and they illustrate their points with ample, interesting references to pop culture. The result is a worthwhile reflection on what it means to be a person. getAbstract recommends it to anyone interested in reflection and self-knowledge. In this summary, you will learn - Why prospection – looking toward the future – plays such a large role in human existence, - How prospection works and - How it interacts with cognition. About the Authors Martin E. P. Seligman is director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center and author of more than two dozen books, including Learned Optimism. Peter Railton is a distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan. Roy F. Baumeister is an eminent scholar and professor of psychology at Florida State University, and Chandra Sripada is an associate professor of philosophy and psychiatry at the University of Michigan.

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How to Create and Interpret Dot Plots and Histograms in a Six Sigma Project Both dot plots and histograms give you lots of information about the variation of a critical characteristic in a process for a Six Sigma initiative. A dot plot shows the scatter and grouping of a data from a single characteristic using (no surprise here) dots. A histogram takes the data from the dot plot and replaces the dots with bars. After collecting measurements or data for a characteristic, create a dot plot for it by using the following steps: Create a horizontal line that represents the scale of measure for the characteristic. This scale should be in whatever measure best quantifies the aspect of the characteristic you’re interested in — for example, millimeters for length, pounds for weight, minutes for time, or number of defects found on an inspected part. Divide the horizontal scale of measure into equal chunks or buckets along its length. Select a bucket width that creates about 10 to 20 equal divisions between the largest and smallest observed values for the characteristic. For each observed measurement of the characteristic, locate its value along the horizontal scale and place a dot for it in its corresponding bucket. If another observed measurement falls into the same bucket, stack the second (or third, or fourth) dot above the previous one. Repeat Step 3 until you’ve placed all the observed measurements onto the plot. To create a histogram, replace each of the stacks of dots with a solid vertical bar of the same height as its corresponding stack of dots. Note: The vertical dimension on a dot plot or histogram is sometimes called frequency or count. A dot plot and its fancy cousin, the histogram, offer ready access to a wealth of information about the variation of a characteristic’s performance. The following points are a few aspects of a dot plot or histogram to note: Plot height: The frequency — the height of dots or the bar — in a dot plot or histogram indicates how often the corresponding value on the horizontal axis was observed. Variation shape: The shape of the variation on a histogram comes in three basic flavors: normal, uniform, and skewed. You can see a variation shape that is normally distributed, or bell-shaped. For a normal distribution, most of the observed values of the characteristic are close to a central point, with fewer and fewer values appearing as you get farther away from the central tendency. Below you will see a uniformly distributed variation for a characteristic. With uniform distribution, the variation is evenly spread out across a bounded range. That is, you’re just as likely to observe a value for a characteristic at one end of the interval as you are at the other, or anywhere in between. A skewed distribution is a variation shape that isn’t symmetrical; one side of the distribution extends out farther than the other side. Variation mode: The mode of a distribution is its most often repeated value, or in other words, its peak. Usually, the variation in a characteristic has a single peak. But sometimes, a characteristic displays two or more modes because two or more values dominate the variation. A histogram showing two or more distinct peaks is multi-modal. Multiple major peaks aren’t usual; this situation typically means that a factor affecting the characteristic’s performance is causing the entire system to behave schizophrenically. When you encounter a multi-modal distribution, always dig deeper to discover what factor or factors are causing the characteristic’s schizophrenic behavior. Variation average: A dot plot or histogram lets you visually estimate a characteristic’s mean, or average value, without your having to crunch any numbers. Variation range: The extent or width of variation present in a characteristic is immediately recognized in a dot plot or histogram. The difference between the greatest observed value xMAX and the smallest observed value xMIN creates the range of the distribution. The symbol R always represents the range, which you calculate with the following equation: R = xMAX – xMIN Outliers: Outliers are measured observations that don’t seem to fit the grouping of the rest of the observations. They’re either too far to the right or too far to the left of the rest of the data for you to conclude that they come from the same set of circumstances that created all the other points. When you see an outlier or outliers on a dot plot or histogram, you immediately know that something is probably different about the conditions that created those points, whether it’s the process’s setup or execution or the way you measured the process. If you want to get more quantitative with your dot plots and histograms, you can use them to calculate the proportion of observations you’ve measured within an interval of interest or to predict the likelihood of observing certain values in the future. Suppose you measure a characteristic 50 times. Counting and adding up what’s in each of the buckets of your dot plot or histogram, you observe 17 measurements that occur between the values of 5 and 6. You can conclude, then, that 17 out of 50, or 34 percent, of your measurements ended up between 5 and 6. Now, peering into the future, you can predict that if the characteristic continues to operate as it did during the time of your measurements, 34 percent of future observations will end up being between 5 and 6! The casinos of Las Vegas thrive in business because they use statistics this way to know what will happen when you sit down for, say, a game of craps.

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Johannes Wilcke invented and then Alessandro Volta perfected the electrophorus over two hundred years ago. This device was quickly adopted by scientists throughout the world because it filled the need for a reliable and easy-to-use source of charge and voltage for experimental researches in electrostatics [Dibner, 1957]. Many old natural philosophy texts contain lithographs of the electrophorus. A hand-held electrophorus can produce significant amounts of charge conveniently and repeatedly. It is operated by first frictionally charging a flat insulating plate called a "cake". In Volta's day, the cake was made of shellac/resin mixtures or a carnauba wax film deposited on glass. Nowadays, excellent substitutes are available. TeflonTM, though a bit expensive, is a good choice because it is an excellent insulator, charges readily, and is easy to clean and maintain. The electrophorus is ideal for generating energetic capacitive sparks required for vapor ignition demonstrations. The basic operational steps for the electrophorus are depicted in the sequence of diagrams below. Note that the electrode, though making intimate contact with the tribocharged plate, actually charges by induction. No charge is removed from the charged cake and, in principle, the electrode can be charged any number of time by repeating the steps depicted. Click here to view a neat animation of the electrophorus charging process. Ainslie describes interesting experiments with an electrophorus that was charged in the Springtime and then its charge monitored throughout the summer [Ainslie, 1982]. The apparent disappearance of the charge during humid weather and its reappearance in the Fall must be attributed to changes in the humidity. The energy for each capacitive spark drawn from the electrophorus is actually supplied by the action of lifting the electrode off the cake. This statement can be confirmed by investigating the strength of the sparks as a function of the height to which the electrode is lifted. Layton makes this point and further demonstrates with a small fluorescent tube the dependence of the electrostatic potential on the position of the electrode [Layton, 1991]. Lifting the electrode higher gives stronger sparks [Lapp, 1992]. CLICK HERE to view an interactive, animated version of this demonstration that reveals the movement of charge as the steps of the demonstration are followed. Please be patient while the Java script loads! The electrophorus works most reliably if the charged insulating plate rests atop a grounded plane, such as a metal sheet, foil, or conductive plastic. [See Bakken Museum booklet, pp. 78-80.] The ground plane limits the potential as the electrode is first lifted from the plate, thus preventing a premature brush discharge. In dry weather, powerful 3/4" (2 cm) sparks can be drawn easily from a 6" (15 cm) diameter, polished, nick-free aluminum electrode. Estimating the potential of the electrode at V = ~50 kV and the capacitance at C = ~20 pF, we get Q = CV = ~1 microCoulomb for the charge and Ue = CV2/2 = ~30 milliJoules for the capacitive energy. This energy value easily exceeds the minimum ignition energy (MIE) of most flammable vapors. Click here to learn about a new type of electrophorus invented by S. Kamachi. The web site of the world-famous Exploratorium in San Francisco describes a simple electrophorus made of aluminum pie plates and other inexpensive materials. Young scientists should check out this page. In addition, the library references below contain interesting information about the electrophorus and other electrostatics demonstrations. One example is the cylindrical electrophorus [Ainslie, 1980]. A simple leaf electroscope attachment, shown in the figure below, makes it very easy to reveal some of the important charging and charge redistribution phenomena of the electrophorus. This accessory is especially handy because it works even on warm, humid days when large, impressive sparks can not be coaxed out of the electrophorus. Refer to the electroscope page for details on how to make this convenient accessory. The electroscope is operated in the same way as before, but now the electroscope reveals information about the charge and its distribution on the electrode. In particular, it should be noted that, as the electrophorus is lifted up, its charge does not change. The leaves of the electroscope spread apart because the constant charge on the electrode redistributes itself, with about half of the charge moving to the top surface. Another thing to notice is that the leaves, which spread to a wide angle when the electrode is first lifted, slowly come back together with time, indicating the leakage of electric charge, presumably due to corona discharge from the edges of the leaves. Corona discharge accessory Another simple accessory is a corona discharge point that can be attached to the electrophorus. The attachment is a metal rod of diameter 1/16" or greater with one end sharpened to a point. When the charged electrode is lifted, the electric field at the sharpened tip exceeds the corona limit and a local discharge starts, dissipating the charge on the electrophorus. If one listens closely as the electrode is lifted, a soft, varied-pitch buzzing noise lasting just a few seconds may be heard. This is the corona, and it stops after the voltage has been reduced below the corona threshold. Passive corona discharge points are used widely in manufacturing to dissipate unwanted static charge. The corona discharge can be largely suppressed by covering the sharpened point with a small piece of antistatic plastic foam of the type used for packaging ESD-sensitive electronic components. The figure below shows how this scheme -- called resistive grading -- works to reduce or stop corona discharges. D.S. Ainslie, "Inversion of electrostatic charges in a cylindrical electrophorus", Physics Teacher, vol. 18, No. 7, October, 1980, p. 530. D.S. Ainslie, "Can an electrophorus lose its charge and then recharge itself?", Physics Teacher, vol. 20, No. 4, April, 1982, p. 254. Bakken Library and Museum, Sparks and Shocks, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, IA, 1996, pp. 53-55. B. Dibner, Early Electrical Machines, pub. #14, Burndy Library, Norwalk, CT, 1957, p. 50-53. R.A. Ford, Homemade Lightning: creative experiments in electricity (2nd ed.), TAB Books (McGraw-Hill), New York 1996, chapter 10. O.D. Jefimenko, "Long-lasting electrization and electrets," in Electrostatics and its Applications (A.D. Moore, ed.), Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1973, pp. 117-118. D.R. Lapp, "Letters," Physics Teacher, November, 1992, p. 454. W. Layton, "A different light on an old electrostatic demonstration," Physics Teacher, Vol. 29, No. 1, January, 1991, p. 50-51. K.L. Ostlund and M.A. Dispezio, "Static electricity dynamically explored," Science Scope, February, 1996, pp. 12-16.

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Also found in: Dictionary, Wikipedia. , city (1991 pop. 164,500), capital of Leninobod region, in Tajikistan, on the Syr Darya River at its exit from the Fergana Valley. ..... Click the link for more information. , Tajikistan. (up to 1936, Khodzhent), a city, the center of Leninabad Oblast, Tadzhik SSR, at the entrance to the Fergana Valley, between spurs of the Turkestan Range and the Mogoltau Mountains. It is situated on the banks of the Syr Darya River, 11 km from the Khavast-Kokand railroad line, to which it is connnected by a branch line. Population, 113,000 (1973; 30,000 in 1897, 37,000 in 1926, and 77,000 in 1959). Leninabad is one of the oldest cities of Middle Asia. The name Khodzhent is first encountered in written sources of the second half of the seventh century (a great silk route from China to Europe passed through it). The city was repeatedly attacked by foreigners and destroyed and flooded by the waters of the Syr Darya. In the 13th century it heroically resisted the hordes of Genghis Khan. On May 24, 1866, it was occupied by Russian troops and became part of Russia. The uprising against the colonial policies of tsarism which broke out in Khodzhent on July 4, 1916, spread throughout Middle Asia. Sericulture and handicraft silk-weaving trades have been at a high level of development in the city since antiquity. Soviet power was established in the city in early 1918. On Oct. 2, 1929, the city became part of the Tadzhik SSR. During the prewar five-year plans, the city became a major industrial center for the republic (second in importance to Dushanbe) as a result of socialist transformations. KH. G. ACHILOV Leninabad has one of the largest silk combines in the USSR, processing locally produced cocoons and cocoons from Uzbekistan, Turkmenia, and Kazakhstan. It has silkworm-egg and cotton ginning plants and footwear and garment factories. There is food industry (canning and dairy combines and a confectionery plant). The city has a glassware container plant, the Torgmash Plant (producing electric lamps, electric coffee-makers, and thermostats), and a furniture factory. There is a pedagogical institute, an evening textile technicum, construction and accounting-planning technicums, and schools of pedagogy, medicine, and music. There is a musical comedy theater and a museum of history and local lore. A botanical garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Tadzhik SSR is located in Leninabad.

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Ascites is an excess fluid retention or edema within the abdominal or peritoneal cavity, the membrane lining the abdominal organs and the abdomen itself. A combination of low levels of albumin and elevated pressure of hepatic portal vein is the main cause of abdominal fluid retention. These conditions are usually aggravated from certain underlying diseases especially: - Congestive heart failure - Maglinant diseases for example metastasis of stomach or ovary cancer - Liver disorder e.g. cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis, portal vein thrombosis, etc. It can also occur as a complication of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, abdominal surgery, pancreatitis, trauma and inflammation of the appendix, colon or peritoneum. There’re many types of abdominal fluid retention or ascites based on the causes include: - Cirrhosis ascites: an abdominal dropsy because of cirrhosis of the liver - Pancreatic ascites: a condition where the pancreatic juices move into the abdominal cavity. This ascites is usually a complication of pancreatitis and trauma - Chylous ascites: the accumulation of the lymph fluid in the abdominal cavity - Maglinant ascites: an ascites as a result of peritonitis carcinomatosa (stomach cancer) and other advanced maglinant diseases such as cancer of ovary, colon, cervic, etc. See Ascites in Advanced Gastric Cancer. - Endocrine ascites: a rare peritoneal fluid retention (edema) due to endocrine system disorder - Renal ascites: a built-up of fluid in the abdominal cavity because of low levels of albumin in the blood Symptoms of abdominal fluid retention - Increasing abdominal distention and discomfort - Shortness of breath because of the pressure from the abdominal cavity filled with fluid to the diaphragm - Pressing one side of the stomach result in a wave-like effect through the other side of the abdomen - Irregular swelling on the side of the body between ribs and hip - Rapid weight gain due to the water retention in the abdomen - Other symptoms might occur too because of the underlying disease such as swollen ankles and feet, chronic fatigue, etc. Treatment of ascites - Ascites is often treated by reducing the abdominal fluid retention symptom and at the same time remedying the underlying disease. Restriction of salt intake, prescription of diuretics, limitation of water intake are some of the instructions and treatments the doctor might give to the patients to reduce the excessive abdominal edema. - For more severe ascites, the doctor might perform paracentesis, a procedure to remove excess fluid from the abdominal cavity by sucking it using a needle inserted into the peritoneum. - When paracentesis does not effective to reduce the excessive abdominal fluid retention, a peritoneovenous shunt might be inserted into the internal jugular vein to drain the abdominal fluid from the peritoneum. Other symptoms might occur too because of the underlying disease such as

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It’s that time of year, when presidents and governors throw open the doors of the nation’s prisons and free some lucky inmates in the spirit of Christmas beneficence and holiday forgiveness. President Barack Obama reinforced that notion last week when he reduced the sentences of 95 people, mostly nonviolent drug offenders. But the idea of Christmas mercy, so lodged in popular culture, is a bit of a myth. For starters, most acts of holiday clemency are pardons, not commutations. A pardon is a restoration of someone’s rights and privileges — often to vote, get a business license, or buy a firearm — usually after someone has completed a prison sentence. An early release from prison is a commutation. To be sure, modern presidents grant more clemency — both pardons and commutations — in December than in any other month. At its most extreme, former President Richard Nixon granted clemency to 643 people over his five Decembers in office (then he needed his own pardon). Compare that to the 274 he made in all other months combined. Between Nixon and former President George W. Bush, one in every two acts of presidential clemency was made around the winter holidays. But most recent presidents have granted far more pardons than commutations. The last president to top Obama’s total of 184 commutations was Lyndon B. Johnson. At the state level, commutations — and sending people home in time for Christmas — are rare, said former U.S. pardon attorney Margaret Colgate Love. Unlike the federal system, most states already have mechanisms to release people early — parole boards — and most people serving long sentences are in for violent crime. Some governors issue pardons in December, but practices vary considerably from state to state and the structures in place often stave off Christmas clemency. Love said pardoning is a fairly regular, year-round occurrence in about 15 states. About a dozen of those, including Delaware and Pennsylvania, have a mechanism in place that makes pardoning a regular feature of the justice system, not just something that happens at Christmas. One often effective structure is a board that oversees the application process, holds hearings, and forwards requests to the governor for final approval. While not handing out many Christmas commutations, a few current governors become merciful pardoners over the holidays. California Gov. Jerry Brown is known for it. He pardoned batches near Good Friday and Christmas last year and near Easter this year. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner issued pardons this year in time for Easter, Independence Day, and Thanksgiving. Even New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a particularly stingy pardoner, said his new clemency initiative announced on Sunday was inspired in part by the holiday season. If you’re in favor of pardoning, it’s hard at a glance to argue with a Christmas pardon. But some of the most ardent supporters of clemency are at best lukewarm about them. “The more they are concentrated on a holiday time and seen as a holiday occurrence, the less they play the justice-designed role that our founding fathers intended,” says Love, the former pardon attorney. “Whatever it takes to get governors and presidents to pardon, but holidays are not my favorite reason.” Former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich, who granted pardons regularly, says he instructs new governors not to pardon at Christmas. “If you think somebody is not enjoying their full rights for no good reason, why wait ‘til a holiday?” he said. So why pardon around the holidays at all? In his article on presidential clemency, P.S. Ruckman Jr., a political scientist and author of the Pardon Power blog, suggests a few reasons: Executives may not get around to reviewing clemency applications until the end of the year. They may be influenced by the spirit of the Bible. Most cynically, December may just be a convenient moment to slip an unpopular act under the rug, especially for politicians ending their final term in office. But Ehrlich says it’s pretty simple. Asked why presidents and governors tend to be merciful at this time of year, he laughs, “Well, it’s Christmas!”

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When Curiosity, the NASA Mars rover, took core samples during its historic 2012 mission, its robotic arm relied on two sensors developed by two Lawrence Technological University engineering graduates, brothers Javad Mokhbery and Mohammed Mokhberi, the founders of FUTEK Advanced Sensor Technology, Inc. of Irvine, CA. FUTEK designed two unique sensors to operate in the frigid temperatures on Mars. A multi-axial load and torsion sensor monitors the Rover’s drilling arm and its robotic maneuvers as it retrieves sediments for analysis. A secondary load cell supervises the precision and force used to drill directly into the Martian surface. FUTEK makes sensors for the aerospace, medical, robotic/automation, and automotive industries. The company develops load cells, torque sensors, pressure sensors, multi-axial sensors, and related software for low-temperature and vacuum environments. Raytheon, MIT, Lockheed Martin, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have all partnered with FUTEK.

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The U.S. Forest Service and Colorado State Forest Service today released the results of the annual aerial forest health survey in Colorado, which indicates that the spread of the mountain pine beetle epidemic has slowed dramatically, while the spruce beetle outbreak is expanding. The mountain pine beetle epidemic expanded by 31,000 acres, down from last year's reported increase of 140,000 acres. This brings the total infestation to nearly 3.4 million acres in Colorado since the first signs of the outbreak in 1996. Most mature lodgepole pine trees have now been depleted within the initial mountain pine beetle epidemic area. However, the infestation remains active from Estes Park to Leadville. In contrast, the spruce beetle outbreak is expanding, with 183,000 new acres detected in 2012, bringing the total acreage affected since 1996 to nearly 1 million acres. The areas experiencing the most significant activity are on the San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests in southern Colorado. Spruce beetles typically attack spruce trees downed by high winds. Once the populations of spruce beetles build up in the fallen trees, the stressed trees surrounding them offer little resistance to attack. Similar to mountain pine beetle, the increase in spruce beetle activity is due to factors that increase tree stress, including densely stocked stands, ongoing drought conditions and warmer winters. "Now more than ever it is important that we work across the entire landscape to ensure forests are more resilient for generations to come," Dan Jiron, regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, said in a written statement. "A vibrant forest products industry, aggressive community actions, strong collaborative efforts and targeted high-priority projects will allow us to make progress to promote forests more suitable for an uncertain future climate." In late 2012, two 10-year stewardship contracts were awarded by the U.S. Forest Service to improve forest resiliency on 20,000 acres affected by the mountain pine beetle on the Medicine Bow-Routt and White River National Forests. These contracts are in addition to the Front Range and Pagosa Springs Long-Term Stewardship Contracts awarded previously. The contracts reduce forest health treatment costs and foster new uses of beetle-killed forest products to benefit forest resiliency and jobs. Through the passage of legislation in recent years, the Colorado General Assembly has supported forest management actions that demonstrate community-based approaches to forest restoration and watershed health. The Colorado Forest Restoration Pilot Grant Program is a cost-share program that provides funding for up to 60 percent of the total cost for projects. To date, more than $4.7 million in state funds and another $1 million in leveraged federal funds have been awarded to 86 projects. Those funds additionally leveraged more than $8 million in matching funds to restore more than 12,000 acres of forest. In addition, the 17 projects currently in progress will result in treatments on another 1,200 acres.

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Chapter 19: Build-up THE great expansion of the AAF in the European theater from the late spring of 1943 forward stemmed from the strategic decisions taken at the Casablanca and TRIDENT conferences of January and May 1943. At Casablanca the way had been cleared for the AAF's participation on a full scale in the strategic bombardment of Germany. At the Washington conference in May the Combined Chiefs of Staff had indorsed the plan for the Combined Bomber Offensive (subsequently designated Operation POINTBLANK) as a preliminary to the invasion of western Europe in the spring of 1944 (OVERLORD) and had resolved that "the expansion of logistical facilities in the United Kingdom will be undertaken immediately."1 The decision in favor of OVERLORD was made firm at the QUADRANT conference meeting at Quebec in August 1943 when the Combined Chiefs tentatively scheduled the invasion for 1 May 1944, decreed that POINTBLANK meanwhile must "continue to have highest strategic priority," and accorded to OVERLORD an overriding priority with reference to further Mediterranean operations against the Axis.2 As a result of these closely related decisions the AAF faced the task of establishing in the European theater not one but two air forces, each with a well-defined mission of its own. In addition to a rapid build-up of the forces required for the strategic bombardment of Germany, it would be necessary to place in the United Kingdom forces equipped, trained, and organized for the close support of an amphibious invasion and of the large-scale ground operations that would follow it. The priority naturally belonging to the bomber offensive would ease the huge task of scheduling the movement from the United States of men, supplies, and equipment, but it was hardly less inescapable that the two forces must be built up simultaneously. The Eighth Air Force, whatever the imperfections still existing in its organization, enjoyed the benefit of more than a year of hard-won experience in the theater and required chiefly the necessary men and planes to prove itself an efficient instrument of strategic bombardment. Its organization still reflected an original mission combining strategic bombardment with operations in direct support of ground forces which tended increasingly to be described, for reasons of convenience, as tactical operations. But after the summer of 1942 the Eighth Air Force had been so geared tothe mission of strategic bombardment as to raise a serious question of whether it would not be better to establish a separate tactical air force specially equipped and organized for support of the invasion. That question required closer attention than otherwise would have been the case because OVERLORD was to be a combined operation of British and American forces. Plans for the AAF's participation had accordingly to be adjusted to the over-all structure of a combined command, the character of which would be determined only after extended debate. Origins of AEAF Although the Anglo-American chiefs in January 1943 had in effect decided topostpone the invasion of western Europe until 1944, they had also taken steps to assure the continuance of necessary planning for that operation. Itwas agreed that a supreme commander should be appointed when the operation appeared tobe "reasonably imminent," the commander to come from the nation providing the major part of the forces to be used, and that meanwhile an Anglo-American planning staff should be established under the direction of a British chief who would act in the place of the supreme commander until the latter's appointment. The "Roundup Planning Staff," a small group which after the North African invasion had continued to work at Norfolk House in London on plans for an invasion in 1943, offered a nucleus of the required staff. This organization being predominantly British in composition, it was recommended that the American personnel assigned to it should be increased.3 The Combined Chiefs, after discussing several proposed drafts, finally issued a directive on 23 April 1943for the establishment of the new headquarters. By its provisions, Lt. Gen. Frederick E. Morgan, an experienced British planning officer, became chief of staff to the supreme allied commander (designate), a title ordinarily rendered in the abbreviation COSSAC, which in common usage served to describe the office as well as the man who headed it. Morgan would report directly to the British chiefs of staff and to the commanding general of ETOUSA as the representative of the American Joint Chiefs of Staff. The new headquarters, actually established by General Morgan on 17 April in advance of his receipt of the formal directive, was charged with the preparation of (1) a camouflage and deception scheme for the summer of 1943 with at least one amphibious feint designed to draw the Germans into a large air battle; (2) plans to cover the eventuality of a German collapse in advance of the Allied invasion; and (3) plans for a full-scale assault on the continent in 1944.4 An American officer who had participated in the planning for ROUNDUP, Brig. Gen. Ray W. Barker, became deputy to Morgan, whose staff was organized into three main sections--operations, administration, and intelligence. A central secretariat rounded out the organization. Each of the three sections included British and American army, naval, and air force officers, although the intelligence section was almost exclusively British in composition.5 Beginning thus as a small Anglo-American planning staff, COSSAC would develop with time into the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force. Although the American representation at COSSAC was increased during 1943, the headquarters remained predominantly British in its makeup and for reasons that are readily apparent. General Eaker had appointed Brig. Gen. Robert C. Candee, commanding general of the VIII Air Support Command, as the chief AAF representative at COSSAC, but since Candee retained command of VIII Air Support Command, he could devote only part of his time, with the assistance of five junior officers, to the new assignment. The RAF, on the other hand, had appointed a "staff of twenty able officers, headed by an Air Vice Marshal," or so Eaker reported to Arnold in June with a warning that we "must build up our planning strength more nearly comparable to that of the RAF." He continued: "We always find ourselves overmatched in these conferences, and consequently the plans, as might be expected, are other people's plans and not ours."6 The plea from the European theater for a larger complement of qualified staff officers became a familiar one at AAF Headquarters in the months that followed, but the AAF could not meet the demands made on it from all over the world and it was evidently not inclined to favor the claims of a combined headquarters over those of an American headquarters. Even though Washington staff officers later remarked, as had Eaker, that the RAF always placed superior officers in generous numbers on combined staffs, they failed to follow the British example, thereby contributing to a disproportionate RAF influence which they tended to fear and to deplore.7 Candee directed his attention to the requirements of a tactical air force, urging upon Eaker in April immediate action to secure from the United States necessary bomber, fighter, reconnaissance, and service units in order that their training might begin at an early date.8 Any such action, however, necessarily awaited fulfilment of some of the prior claims of strategic operations, a closer study than yet had been made of over-all requirements, and settlement of certain larger questions of organizational control. As early as January, Air Chief Marshal Portal, at Casablanca, had pointed to the fact that the RAF in the United Kingdom, like the Eighth Air Force, operated from static bases and thus lacked in its current organization the mobility that would be required for support of crossChannel operations.9 In approving the CBO Plan in May the Combined Chiefs noted that "steps must be taken early to create and train a tactical force" in the European theater for the "close support required for the surface operations."10 Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, at the same time indicated that the RAF was taking action to provide the mobile type of organization necessary for use with the expeditionary force.11 In June the RAF set up within its fighter command a special force which was to develop under the direction of that command an organization for cross-Channel operations12 For over a year the Eighth Air Force had possessed in the VIII Air Support Command an organization especially designed for tactical air operations; to that command, in June, Eaker transferred the 3d Bombardment Wing of the VIII Bomber Command, which was equipped with medium bombers.13 Thus by summer both of the Allied air forces had taken the initial steps toward providing their respective components of the expeditionary air force. The Combined Chiefs having approved the principle of a single air commander for the invasion,14 Portal in June proposed that an air officer be given a responsibility for planning parallel with that held by General Morgan as COSSAC. Conferences among Portal, Devers, and Eaker subsequently resulted in an agreement that Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, air officer commanding in chief, RAF Fighter Command, should have the responsibility for drafting air plans for the invasion, an appointment to be made without prejudice to the eventual selection of the air commander in chief.15 By early July, Leigh-Mallory had set up an Allied air staff at Norfolk House, with Brig. Gen. Haywood S. Hansell, Jr., who had recently replaced Candee at COSSAC, as his deputy. In addition to work on the air phase of operational plans developed by COSSAC, the new staff gave its attentiontothe composition and organization of the tactical air forces to be employed. Itwas anticipated that the staff would itself evolve into a combined air headquarters for the invasion.16 As usual, the American representation on the staff was small, but in General Hansell the AAF had provided one of its more experienced planners. Plans for the Build-up Meanwhile, the AAF had directed its attention to the problem of drafting a comprehensive and Detailed program for the build-up of its forces in the United Kingdom. Moved partly by the demands of an approaching crisis in manpower that had led Lt. Gen. Joseph T. McNarney, deputy Chief of Staff, to request that the needs of all overseas commands be restudied,17 General Arnold in mid-April had asked General Eaker to undertake an immediate study of Eighth Air Force requirements. Eaker was also informed that Maj. Gen. Follett Bradley, air inspector of the AAF, would reach England in the near future as the head of a committee for drafting a final program.18 Bradley received hisdirective on IMay, with instructions to "explore completely the possibilities of operating, maintaining, and supplying our estimated ultimate aircraft strength from the United Kingdom, using as a guidea maximum of 500,000 Air Force personnel."19 Accompanied by Col. Hugh J.Knerr, deputy commander of the Air Service Command in the United States, General Bradley arrived in England on 5 May.20 He submitted his report to Arnold under date of 28 May. Eaker and Lt. Gen. Jacob L.Devers, who had succeeded to the command of the European theater following the tragic death of Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews in an airplane accident in Iceland on 3 May, gave their indorsement to the report, Devers with certain reservations.21 The Bradley Plan, as this report came to be known, rested upon the assumption that the initial task wastobuild up the VIII Bomber Command to maximum strength for its role in the strategic bombardment of Germany. Second to this requirement only in point of time was the build-up of those elements of the Eighth Air Force which would undertake the direct support of the invasion scheduled to follow completion of the Combined Bomber Offensive. The bombers of the VIII Bomber Command in their strategic operations, "usually unsupported by fighters because of their deficiency in range," would continue to operate from fixed airdromes in England. Forces to be established for cooperation with the invading ground forces would also operate initially from English bases but must be prepared for movement, with supporting service elements, to the continent after D-day.22 A distinction between the strategic air force and the tactical air force served to draw a useful line between forces whose mission had been outlined in the CBO Plan and forces to be charged primarily with support of the ground campaign. The report called for a total allocation to the United Kingdom of 485,843 officers and men to be divided thus: 254,996 for the strategic air force and 230,847 for the tactical force. As of 31 May, the actual strength of the Eighth Air Force compared with its planned strength as follows:23 |Strategic Air Force (VIII BC, VIII FC, and 8th AF Hq.)||45,569||156,410| |Tactical Air Force (VIII ASC)||4,884||139,593| |Air Service Command (VIII AFSC)||12,848||189,840| |Miscellaneous (VIII AFCC, Engineer Battalions)||11,247| The proposed build-up, designed to achieve maximum strength in June 1944, set up the following schedule of unit strength to be reached by the end of the months specified:24 As this table indicates, units intended for strategic operations received priority as to their movement over tactical air force units. The plan gave careful attention to the requirements of the service command, whose performance to date had been less than satisfactory to all concerned, and made for it a generous allowance of 189,840 out of the total air force personnel. But despite the committee's recommendation that "positive provision be made for arrival in UK of associated service units prior to the tactical units to be serviced, "the plan actually gave a lower priority to the movement of service units.25 Like all such papers, the Bradley plan served chiefly as a useful basis for further planning. AAF Headquarters announced on 7 July that it would follow the plan in shipping units to the theater,26 but not until 18 August did the War Department give its approval and then only with important exceptions. It insisted on standard tables of organization* for all units and denied the authority requested by Devers to increase some of the T/O's. The troop basis of 485,843 was accepted for planning purposes only, and as an immediate revision the War Department proposed elimination of several subordinate headquarters of VIII Air Force Service Command considered important by that organization.27 Eaker and Devers strongly protested, especially with reference to the changes affecting the service command.28 The War Department agreed to recognize the plan as a closely integrated statement of requirements, but it continued to urge a reduction in the proposed strength of the service command.29 It would be 21 September before Eaker could notify his commanders that the War Department had finally accepted the Bradley plan. And by that time not only had the document been more than once revised but planning at all levels had advanced to a point that made the decision not too important.30 Indeed, the Bradley plan had been concerned largely with questions of internal organization and allocation that in the nature of things had largely to be left to the determination of those commanders who carried the responsibility in the theater. In advance of the completion of that study, the Combined Chiefs of Staff at their Washington conference in May had agreed on a build-up of forces in the United Kingdom to provide by 1 May 1944 an American air strength of 112½ combat groups (to include 51 heavy bombardment and 25 fighter groups†) * These are tabulations prescribing the total strength in officers and men for given types of units, fixing the number assigned in each grade and, in many instances, the specific command, staff, or duty assignment. † Actually one fighter and five heavy bombardment groups more than were listed in the Bradley plan. and 7,302 unit equipment aircraft.* At the same time, RAF strength would be built up to 213½ squadrons with 4,075 unit equipment aircraft.31 By July 1943 the Combined BOLERO Committee† had been revived and in London was engaged in planning accommodations for American forces on the assumption that by 30 April 1944 American forces in the United Kingdom would total 1,340,000, broken down as follows: ground forces, 567,000; service forces, 325,000; air forces, 448,000.32 This last figure represented a reduction in comparison with the Bradley figures, and it was remarkably close to the actual strength at which the AAF in ETO leveled off in 1944. The Combined Chiefs at Quebec in August set the ultimate AAF goal at 115¼ groups and 6,779 unit equipment aircraft.‡ This represented a reduction in the number of American aircraft, but heavy bomber strength had been raisedto 54 groups and the fighter force to 35 groups.33 The same month the AAF raised its estimate to 56 heavy groups.34 Early in October, AAF Headquarters sent to England a group of officers headed by Col. Joseph W. Baylor, for the purpose of revising the Bradley plan, particularly with a viewto effecting economies in headquarters and service personnel. As a result, the troop basis of 502,000 recommended in the latest revision of the Bradley plan was reduced to 466,000.35 A decision that same month to establish the Fifteenth Air Force in the Mediterranean, with 15 heavy groups diverted for its use from those scheduled for the United Kingdom, brought the planned strength of the AAF in ETO down to 41 heavy groups and 415,000 officers and men.36 By the end of November the build-up planned for accomplishment by the following June forecast with surprising accuracy actual strength as of 1 July 1944.37 (30 Nov. 1943) (1 July 1944) * Unit equipment aircraft were the number assigned to tactical units in accordance with prescribed tables of equipment. At this time, unit equipment of AAF squadrons was as follows: HB, 12; MB, 16; LB, 16; Ftr., 25. † Volume I, See p. 564. ‡ The RAF objective was now 224½ squadrons and 4,014 unit equipment aircraft. The number of troop carrier groups had been raised to 14 in December by a decision to transfer the 52d Troop Carrier Wing with its four groups from the Mediterranean.38 The reduction in the number of fighter groups is explained by a decision of March 1944 to leave in the Mediterranean three P-38 groups scheduled for transfer to the United Kingdom.39 The actual build-up of forces in the United Kingdom had proceeded steadily since May 1943. At the close of that month the AAF had in the ETO 16 operational groups, of which 10 were heavy bombardment units. By December the total reached 37¾ groups--21¾ heavy bombardment, 4 medium bombardment, 9 fighter, 2 troop carrier, and photo reconnaissance-and this total would be raised by the addition of 8 groups before the end of the year.*40 From the end of May to the end of December total aircraft strength increased from 1,420 to 4,618; combat aircraft jumped from 1,260 to 4,242.41 The growth during 1943 had been in those categories of primary concern to strategic bombardment; in general, units destined for the tactical air force were not scheduled to move until early 1944--Nothing in war, of course, ever goes exactly according to plan. Training programs had fallen behind schedule on occasion and other difficulties had been experienced, but the flow of combat units from the summer of 1943 had carried increasing assurance of the AAF's ability to meet its heavy commitments for 1944. The picture is quite different, however, when one turns to consider the build-up of service units. Faulty planning, reflecting a general tendency in the AAFto emphasize its combat group program at the expense |Eighth Air Force Groups Becoming Operational| of service organizations, had produced a serious lack of balance between combat and service units by the summer of 1943. Toward the end of the summer the Eighth Air Force learned that there were not enough trained service units in the United States to meet the requirements scheduled in the Bradley plan. The shortage of standard units was further complicated by failure to make provision for certain special units called for in that plan.42 In August, General McNarney, after a personal investigation of the problem, directed the AAF to eliminate the existing deficit of service units by positive and immediate action. If necessary, the AAF should defer the activation of additional combat units until the desired balance had been achieved.43 But the remedy could not be provided so easily as this. Shipping commitments in advance of D-day were such that the bulk of service personnel for the AAF would have to be moved to the United Kingdom by the early days of 1944. Thereafter available shipping would be required largely for the transport of the ground assault forces and supporting elements. At the beginning of September, Arnold flew to England to discuss the problem with Eaker and his staff. The only answer seemed to be that of shipping immediately large numbers of available personnel as casuals for organization and training in the theater. Although this would impose an unforeseen burden on the Eighth Air Force, Eaker and Knerr, who had returned to the theater in July as deputy commander of the service command, urged it upon Arnold as the only possible way out of the impasse, and the latter promptly sent back the necessary order to Washington.44 By mid-September the AAF Air Service Command had begun to inactivate most of the units currently in its training program and to prepare their personnel for shipment overseas. Many of the men were trained specialists, but.others enjoyed the benefit of little more than basic training and many of the officers were inexperienced. From all over the United States troop trains poured into Camp Kilmer and Camp Shanks, bringing their quotas for the shipments to the United Kingdom. The first and largest of the shipments of casuals to the European theater, in October, comprised 17,000 enlisted men and 3,000 officers. Later shipments were smaller, but they continued through the remainder of 1943 and into the spring of 194445 At the end of September the strength of the Eighth Air Force stood just under 150,000. During the next six months the AAF in ETO would more than double in size, and by May 1944 it would have over 400,000 troops.46 The horde of casuals reaching the theater in October had caught the replacement depot system of the Eighth Air Force unprepared. With less than a month's advance notice, the depots at Stone and Chorley hastily increased their capacity to 7,200 by the end of October, but the arrival of 20,000 casuals in the October convoys overwhelmed the facilities prepared. To cope with this "Gold Rush, "as it became known, the service command acquired additional stations for the temporary accommodation of personnel. By December the capacity of the replacement depots had been increased to 32,000, although conditions on many of the bases which had been acquired for temporary use were poor. During 1944 the replacement depots, possessing trained personnel and adequate capacity, handled numbers as large as those encountered during the Gold Rush with much greater efficiency and dispatch.47 During the last three months of 1943 more than 45,000 casuals passed through the replacement depots, and by the end of March 1944 the total had topped 75,000. It became necessary to move men through the main depots at Stone and Chorley as rapidly as possible in order to make room for the next flood tide, with the result that the classification work centered there often fell behind, to the detriment of the individuals concerned. Many casual officers, particularly in arms and services other than Air Corps, found themselves "in storage" on nonoperational combat bases where they might wait for several months before receiving a permanent assignment.48 This situation, especially depressing to morale, was owing in part to the fact that the units for which the men were intended had not yet been activated. Over the course of the ensuing six months many casuals would be absorbed by hundreds of newly activated standard and special units, ranging in size from platoons to groups. Other casuals would be used for the rapid expansion of the base depots at Warton and Burtonwood.49 Deficiencies of training were remedied largely by on-the-job instruction, but certain technical skills could be acquired only through more fonnal methods of instruction. In addition to the RAF schools upon which the Eighth continued to depend chiefly for technical training, the service command provided special courses of its own. The total of AAF personnel who completed technical training courses between October 1943 and D-day in the following June numbered more than 25,000.50 The responsibility for handling these and other problems attending the AAF build-up in the United Kingdom during 1943 fell chiefly on the Eighth Air Force. It had been assumed as early as the dispatch of the Bradley committee to England in May that a distinct tactical force would be developed, but whether this would be through an expansion of the already existing organization of the VIII Air Support Command or through the creation of an entirely separate air force remained unsettled. Until late summer the new force usually appeared in planning papers as the Eighth Tactical Air Force. On 31 July, General Arnold offered the command of the embryonic force to Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton, then in the Middle East as commander of the Ninth Air Force. The plan for General Spaatz' Twelfth Air Force to absorb the units of the Ninth* had raised a question as to General Brereton's next assignment, and his wide experience in three different theaters of operations argued for the choice now made.51 Subsequent to the selection at Quebec in August of Leigh-Mallory for the command of the expeditionary air force, Arnold reached the decision that the tactical forces to be placed in the United Kingdom should be organized into a separate and numerically designated air force. Originally, it had been intended that the Ninth, upon the loss of its units, would be deactivated, but the force had built for itself a rich tradition and one moreover intimately associated with the commander-designate of the AAF tactical force planned for the European theater. Accordingly, on 25 August, Arnold directed that Detailed plans be prepared for the transfer of the Ninth Air Force to the United Kingdom. On that same day Eaker, on a visitto North Africa, conferred with Brereton at Bengasi. It was agreed that the latter would cometo England for about a week in September while en route to the United States and that he would probably be able to return early in October to assume his new command.52 In accordance with this agreement, General Brereton arrived inEngland from Egypt on 10 September. After conferring with Eaker on arrangements for the transfer of the Ninth Air Force, Brereton left for Washington on 14 September. He returned to England before 15 October. It had been agreed that only the headquarters and headquarters squadrons of the Ninth Air Force and of its bomber, fighter, and service commands, together with a few miscellaneous headquarters service units, would move from Egypt to the United Kingdom. The Eighth Air Force would provide the Ninth with its initial combat† and service * See above, pp. 495-96. † On 16 October the Ninth acquired the 322d, 323d, 386th, and 387th Bombardment Groups (M) and the 3l5th and 434th Troop Carrier Groups from the Eighth. The only other groups added before the end of 1943 were the 354th Fighter Group, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, and the 435th Troop Carrier Group. units, the VIII Air Support Command being absorbed in the process, but the air force would be built up in the main by shipments from the United States.53 The Details having been settled and the movements from Egypt partially completed, General Brereton on 16 October assumed command of the newly established Ninth Air Force with headquarters at Sunning hill Park in Berkshire.54 In anticipation of this development and to simplify a variety of administrative problems arising from the presence in the theater of two separate American air forces, General Devers on I ISeptember, in accordance with directions from Washington, had designated Eaker commanding general of all United States Army Air Forces in the United Kingdom.55 In the interim before Brereton's assumption of command, Eaker continued to exercise the necessary authority in his capacity as commander of the Eighth Air Force. But on 15 October he formally activated the United States Army Air Forces in the United Kingdom (USAAFUK), to which had been assigned administrative control of both the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces.56 This administrative control by USAAFUK greatly facilitated the adjustment of the Ninth Air Force to the established organization of air service agencies in the United Kingdom. Their organization for six months past had been shaped increasingly by an awareness of the fundamental difference between the mission of strategic and tactical air forces. The one would continue to operate from fixed bases in England, the other would require after D-day the utmost possible mobility. In its review of service facilities the Bradley committee had made several recommendations, growing largely out of the experience of the Eighth Air Force, for improvement of air service in its support of strategic bombardment. It recommended approval of tables of organization or manning tables for such specially tailored units as subdepots, intransit depot groups, mobile reclamation and repair squadrons, and special station complement squadrons. Itindorsed the principle of command that had led to control of service groups on combat bases by the base commander, but proposed that he have the assistance of two executives, one for air operations and the other for ground services. To free the service units from other duties for the performance of their primary mission, the committee recommended that each base be assigned a station complement and a guard unit. Finally, the committee proposed the reconstitution of service squadrons on combat bases as subdepots responsible for third-echelon maintenance and supply under the command of the base commander but assigned to and operating under the technical control of the air service command.57 This attempt to draw a distinction between command and technical control is attributable largely to the influence of Colonel Knerr, who in July became a brigadier general. His years of experience in the field of air service and his effective reorganization in late 1942 of the Air Service Command in the United States had given special weight to his opinions-hence his position as Bradley's chief assistant on the committee.58 In the committee repoft, Knerr had defined technical control as "control [of] the means and methods whereby the functions of supply and maintenance of air force equipment are accomplished, and whereby the employment and training of Air Service Command personnel are effected, "and further, as including "responsibility for the assignment, technical operation and inspection of Air Service Command personnel, units and facilities." Thus the service command could enforce uniformity and obtain integration of the supply and maintenance functions all the way from the base depot to the combat base.59 As an administrative adjustment to the distinctly different needs of the strategic and tactical air forces, the Bradley plan proposed an adaptation of the device of control areas then in use by the Air Service Command in the United States. There the control area, as the term itself suggests, represented a geographical division of command responsibilities. In England the proposed division between strategic and tactical control areas would be basically functional, at any rate until the tactical forces had been moved to the continent. Any attempt to define in Detail the organization to be followed in the development of the tacticaI control area was left until plans for the tactical air force had taken more concrete form, but its intended mission was made clear enough by the provision that the strategic control area would draw together under one administrative control the activities of all advanced depots and other organizations serving directly the strategic air force. A third control area would combine the base depots at Burtonwood, Wafton, and Langford Lodge under a base air depot area, serving both the strategic and tactical areas.60 Although War Department approval of the Bradley plan was still pending, General Knerr, as deputy commander of the service command, put the recommended control areas into operation onI August.61 The Base Air Depot Area, with headquarters at Burtonwood, included in addition both Warton and Langford Lodge--later the three would be redesignated, respectively, as the 1st, 2d, and 3d Base Air Depots. The intransit depots, including the air intransit depot at Prestwick, would also come under the control of the Base Air Depot Area.62 With a change in the designation suggested by the Bradley plan but no alteration of function, the Strategic Air Depot Area and the Tactical Air Depot Area were both activated as of 1 August. The former took over the staff as well as the functions of the well-established Advanced Air Service Headquarters, and in still another redesignation advanced air depots became now strategic air depots. The number of these increased to four with the activation of a strategic air depot at Watton in August to serve the 2d Bombardment Wing.63 Only slowly did the Tactical Air Depot Area acquire personnel and installations to meet the special needs of the VIII Air Support Command, but a beginning had been made when in October the area passed to the IX Air Force Service Command. War Department approval of manning tables for the several area headquarters came only in November.64 November brought also War Department approval for the reconstitution of service squadrons as sub depots. It was decided, in view of the somewhat different problem faced on fighter command stations, to undertake this change only on bomber bases. The subdepots were assigned to the service command, which exercised its technical control through the strategic air depots. Additional sub depots were organized as required, and when the Eighth Air Force reached its maximum bombardment group strength of forty-one it would have forty-one subdepots.65 The rapid expansion of the Eighth Air Force during the summer of 1943 also persuaded the War Department to place its official seal of approval on an organizational plan for the bomber command long advocated by Eaker and indorsed by the Bradley committee. In September, therefore, the 1st and 2d Bombardment Wings were redesignated 1st and 2d Bombardment Divisions (H) and the 4th Bombardment Wing was redesignated 3d Bombardment Division (H).66 The 3d Bombardment Wing, composed of medium bombers, had been transferred to the VIII Air Support Command in June and its designation remained unchanged until after its transfer to the Ninth Air Force in October. Directly responsible to the bombardment division headquarters, which exercised administrative as well as operational control, were the combat bombardment wings, each of which directed the operations, but not the administration, of two or three heavy bombardment groups. In the spring of 1944 the three heavy bombardment divisions, each the full-fledged equivalent of a command, were directing the operations of forty groups organized into fourteen combat bombardment wings. The expansion of facilities and installations to serve the growing forces of the AAF in the United Kingdom caused frequent concern during the latter part of 1943. Under agreements reached the preceding year the responsibility belonged principally to British agencies, but the limited force of labor available in Britain had been supplemented by American engineer troops. In June 1943 some 32,000 civilian workmen and 13,500 American troops were engaged in construction for AAF organizations. If the Americans found occasion to complain of slowness and inefficiency on the part of the civilian workmen or of the lack in quantity of the heavy construction equipment so familiar in the United States, the British for their part must often have wished that American plans could have been less subject to sudden change.67 As of 1 July 1943 the Eighth Air Force had fifty-eight airdromes, a number much in excess of its current requirements. Some of the sixtysix airdromes occupied by the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces at the close of the year were not yet operational, but all combat groups were adequately accommodated.68 Concern shown by General Eaker in September over delays in the preparation of heavy bomber airdromes had been relieved by the subsequent decision to divertto the Mediterranean fifteen of the fifty-six heavy groups previously scheduled for the United Kingdom. The completion of technical facilities, housing, and roads frequently lagged.69 A heavy expenditure of time and labor became necessary in the rebuilding or repair of runways and perimeter tracks which had been constructed of poor materials or of an inadequate thickness for the punishment given them by the American planes. It was often necessary to widen roads, built to the specifications of RAF equipment, for use by the generally larger and heavier vehicular equipment standard in the U. S. Army.70 The completion and expansion of facilities for the service commands occasioned special concern toward the close of the year.71 But by the end of 1943 the building program was within a few months of completion, and fortunately so, because the greater number of combat groups for both air forces was scheduled to arrive in the theater during the first four months of 1944. Although the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces occupied only sixty-six airdromes in December 1943. it was planned that they would eventually occupy 108 plus additional ones for depot installations. Plans called for the Eighth to have fiftynine airdromes for its combat and training units--forty-three for bombers and sixteen for fighters. The Ninth was to have forty-nine airdromes divided among its bombers, fighters, and troop carriers.72 The airdrome commitments for the Ninth would eventually be met only through the use of advanced landing grounds provided by the RAF. Extensive depot facilities for both air forces were in operation by the end of 1943. The four strategic depots planned for the Eighth Honington, Little Staughton, Watton, and Wattisham*--were all operating at the end of the year.73 In keeping with the expectation inherent in plans in 1943 that it would become increasingly independent of the Eighth Air Force for logistical support and eventually entirely free of any dependence, the Ninth Air Force planned to have a base air depot of its own and six tactical air depots. Before the turn of the year the Ninth had a base depot under way at Baverstock in Wiltshire, although it still relied heavily on the Eighth's base depots at Warton and Burtonwood. In addition, four of the six tactical air depots were at workStansted (Essex), Grove (Berkshire), Charmy Down (Somerset, near Bristol), and Membury (Berkshire).74 Storage facilities for the two air forces were greatly expanded, in accordance with plans to provide five million square feet of storage space by the spring of 1944.75 Aircraft, Bombs, and Fuel The entrance of a tactical air force into the European theater and the progressively greater demands of the strategic bomber offensive made necessary a vastly expanded and highly efficient supply system. General Knerr, to whom much of the responsibility fell, followed a policy resting on the principle of centralized control coupled with decentralization of operations. Many of the duties formerly performed by service command headquarters were transferred to the Base Air Depot Area, which thereafter controlled the requisition, reception, storage, and initial distribution of all Air Corps supplies in the United Kingdom. Indeed, BADA moved steadily toward complete technical control over all air service operations in the theater.76 The joint Anglo-American operation of Burtonwood came to an end * By June 1944 the four strategic air depots were Troston, Abbotts Ripton, Neaton, and Hitcham. P-47 Drive-away from an English Port Fourth Echelon Maintenance Fourth Echelon Maintenance in October, subsequent to which the depot was also completely militarized as American troops replaced both the British and American civilians on the production lines and in the warehouses.* Similarly, the rapidly expanding depot at Warton was manned by AAF personnel. Eventually, the two depots would employ a total of more than 25,000 men and WAC's.77 By the following February the combined capacity of Burtonwood and Warton promised that these two depots would soon be capable of carrying the whole burden for the theater. Accordingly, AAF Headquarters was notified that the contract with the Lockheed Overseas Corporation for the operation of Langford Lodge could be canceled as of 3 July 1944.78 General Miller having been transferred to the command of the IX Air Force Service Command in October, General Knerr succeeded him as head of the VIII Air Force Service Command which, being the senior organization, continued to function to a large extent as the theater air service command. The IX Air Force Service Command, like the Tactical Air Depot Area before it, requisitioned its Air Corps supplies directly from the Base Air Depot Area and placed through that organization requisitions for SOS items. The VIII Air Force Service Command also handled all procurement of supplies from the British. In order to avoid unnecessary delays, Eaker and Knerr agreed in December that the Ninth should be permitted to send direct to the United States cabled requisitions for items of supply for aircraft peculiar to the Ninth, but the VIII Air Force Service Command continued to requisition all items jointly used by the two air forces. It was anticipated, however, that an independent system of supply would have to be developed for the Ninth in advance of the invasion.79 General Knerr, convinced that experience argued for AAF independence in the field of logistics, undertook to win from the theater authority for control of all items of supply except food and clothing. Criticism of the Services of Supply came to be directed chiefly against its handling of ordnance and signal supplies. Early in the new year an effort would be made to secure authorization for establishment of completely independent channels of supply extending all the way from the ports of embarkation in the United States to the combat bases in England. But Army Service Forces refused to agree, basing its refusal on grounds of economy, and the end result was merely to bring closer * Most of the American civilians were returned to the United States inlate 1943 and early 1944. study in the theater of the problem of improved service to the air forces through established channels.80 Although rarely did it prove possible in 1943 to maintain the desired ann officially authorized levels of supply, the latter half of the year witnessed a great improvement in the situation. Especially gratifying was the increased flow of replacement aircraft, amounting for the last six months of the year to 2,277 planes, of which 1,257 were heavy bombers and 723 were fighters. These totals were small by comparison with those for 1944 (when in the one month of July the theater would receive 2,245 planes), but they provided a most encouraging contrast with the earlier record.81 The AAF delivered its bombing planes, both heavy and medium, by way of the North Atlantic air route. Newly arriving units flew their own planes, with navigation provided by ATC pilots in lead planes which were usually replacement aircraft. For the delivery of the increasing number of replacements, the North Atlantic Wing of ATC operated a ferrying service which depended upon its now welldeveloped transport service for return of the pilots to the United States. The delivery of fighter aircraft was speeded up after the spring of 1943 by deck-loading partially assembled craft on tankers and escort carriers. It had been necessary to enlarge and improve dock facilities in England to solve problems of unloading which British authorities had initially regarded as too difficult to undertake. At points, houses and other buildings had to be torn down in order to widen streets leading from the docks to assembly areas. Special techniques were developed for quick removal of the coating of grease which had protected the planes en route against the corrosive elements of the sea. But all of these difficulties were overcome, and by the end of 1943 most of the planes arriving by water came deck-Ioaded.82 By early 1944 the Base Air Depot Area controlled the movements of all replacement aircraft prior to their assignment, and from its aircraft replacement pools in Lancashire and Northern Ireland, the 27th Air Transport Group delivered the planes to the combat groups. As with combat operations, the weather often interfered with delivery, at times for several days in a row. In retrospect, one of the Eighth Air Force's divisions felt that it would have been desirable to maintain replacement aircraft pools in the immediate neighborhod of the using units rather than in Lancashire and in Northern Ireland.83 Aviation fuel requirements for the rapidly expanding Anglo-American air forces rose sharply in the second half of 1943. There were no instances of shortages, but there was difficulty in securing what the British and Americans in the theater regarded as a satisfactory forward stockage for their joint needs. The Anglo-American petroleum authorities in the theater requested that a six-month supply of aviation gasoline be maintained in the theater. U. S. agencies recommended a four-month level, but no official stock level was set, even though the question was considered by the Combined Chiefs of Staff. The actual amount on hand in the United Kingdom hovered about the 1,000,000-ton mark during the first five months of 1944. At the rate at which the Americans and British were consuming aviation gasoline by that time, this amounted only to a two-to three-month supply, not enough to provide the comfortable margin desired by the air forces. Actual operations far exceeded the estimates of operations on which fuel consumption and stock-level planning had originally been based.84 In order to ease the burden on the overworked tank cars and pipe lines which carried the fuel from the west-coast British ports of entry, the Admiralty in October 1943 agreed that the tankers might unload in the Thames estuary, near London. This meant that the fuel was delivered at a point much closer to its ultimate users in East Anglia but, even so, it was clear that demands from the RAF and AAF bases would outrun available transportation facilities. Accordingly, the British undertook to construct a pipe line from the Thames into East Anglia, with a number of branch lines running to airdromes within a few miles of the main line. In April 1944, the heavy bomber station at Bassingbourn, in Suffolk, became the first of the American stations to receive its fuel supplies direct via pipe line. Meantime, storage facilities on the airdromes, long considered inadequate by the bomber stations, were being doubled and trebled--from a 72,000-gallon capacity at each station to 144,000 or 216,000 gallons.85 Although the provision of unit equipment improved during the second half of 1943, there were still shortages of particular types of equipment and sometimes of equipment for a whole unit. In July the Eighth Air Force estimated that combat groups arriving since 15 May possessed only 55 per cent of their authorized unit equipment. Quantities of preshipped unit equipment began to arrive late in July, and by the end of the year the problem had been largely remedied, except for certain special units and the newly organized service and air depot groups of the Ninth Air Force. In November, Knerr feared that the special units would not be ready for D-day, and some Ninth Air Force units did continue to suffer from lack ofequipment into the spring of 194486 Perhaps the most chronic shortage experienced by the air forces during 1943-44 was that of motor vehicles, particularly of 2½-ton trucks, regarded as the best of general-purpose vehicles. During 1943 a lack of spare parts further aggravated the shortage by keeping a large numbet of trucks out of commission, and by January the need to equip the Ninth Air Force for its mobile operations on the continent had lent a new seriousness to the problem. The total number of truck companies which had been authorized for the AAF in ETO would never be reached in the theater, and it even proved to be impossible to equip fully those units which were organized. The Eighth Air Force by April 1944 required a greater number of trucks than had been anticipated in order to haul the necessary bombs for its increasingly heavy operations. In that month the Eighth's 1¼-ton trucks numbered 3,334, while 3,722 had been authorized; the Ninth had only 5,427 of its authorized strength of 7,376.87 The British continued to render assistance in overcoming critical shortages of specific items. After the Air Service Command in the United States had indicated its inability to provide replacement turrets for the B-26, the Eighth Air Force, acting in August 1943 through the Ministry of Aircraft Production, was able to secure production in Britain. The first turrets were received in October, and by December production equaled anticipated requirements.88 During the latter part of 1943 the British also supplied quantities of flying clothing and other flying equipment. Especially noteworthy was the aid given in the development and manufacture of electrically heated clothing. Incollaboration with the Eighth's air surgeon, Brig. Gen. Malcolm C.Grow, British firms developed greatly improved types of this equipment, together with electrically heated ear muffs and blankets.89By the end of the year the new clothing was in quantity production. In February 1943 the service command, inamove to conserve shipping space, had asked the Ministry of Aircraft Production to produce for it replacement aircraft tires and tubes; during 1943 deliveries to the Eighth totaled 3,955 tires and 2,811 tubes. Most of the requirements for tires and tubes by the AAF in ETO in 1944 would be met by British production.90 In 1943 it became increasingly clear that the future of Eighth Air Force operations depended greatly on the question of whether or not fighter cover for the bombers could be provided on their deep penetrations of the continent. This, of course, was a problem of range, and short of undertaking to develop an entirely new-type fighter plane the jettisonable fuel tank offered the only answer. Consequently, the provision of the necessary tanks became, of all supply shortages, the one most vital to operations. The need for jettisonable fuel tanks to extend the range of fighter escort had been foreseen by the AAF in 1942, and tanks had been produced during that year for some types of fighters--particularly the P-38 and the P-39.91 In January 1943 the Eighth Air Force, which in the preceding October had inquired whether jettisonable tanks could be made available for its use, gave some consideration to local manufacture of tanks for the P-47. When German fighter opposition had shown the vulnerability of the unescorted heavy bomber, and after some prodding by General Andrews, the Eighth in February ordered 60,000 tanks of 200-gallon capacity from the United States. Experimentation in search of the best-suited tank ledto a request in Marchto the Materiel Command at Dayton that a 125-gallon tank be substituted. Further work by fighter and service command engineers in England resulted in a design for a steel tank of that size, and with indications that progress by the Materiel Command had been slow, the Eighth Air Force in May requested that the British produce 43,200 tanks. The decision to have the tanks manufactured in England was also influenced by the consideration that much shipping space would be saved. The Ministry of Aircraft Production proposed the substitution of a 108-gallon paper tank which could be manufactured more quickly and easily. The Eighth successfully tested the tank before the end of June and approved its production.92 Anticipating that the British would be able to meet all requirements, in July the VIII Air Force Service Command canceled all requisitions for tanks from the United States. The first use of jettisonable tanks on a combat mission came on 28 July when the planes of two fighter groups carried older-type 105-gallon tanks, which the fighter command considered much less desirable than smaller ones. The paper tanks were not yet ready, but one was sent to the Materiel Command that same month for tests with a view to initiating production in the United States for all theaters.93 The British had fallen behind and would be unable to keep to schedule under a further agreement of August to manufacture steel tanks of 100- and 250-gallon capacity for the Americans. Heavy bomber losses to German fighters during that month and the failure of the YB-40 as an escort destroyer brought a renewal of the request for aid from the United States. In response to requests of late August and early September for production of several types, the AAF acted to multiply the production of 150-gallon tanks and sent on to England all of 75-gallon capacity which were available. About ten thousand 75-gallon tanks reached England in October; by 12 October the British had been abletosupply a total of 450 paper tanks.94 The serious losses sustained on the October missions into Germany gave still greater urgency to Eighth Air Force efforts to speed the production of tanks in both the United States and the United Kingdom.95 But not until.the middle of December did the supply begin to approach reqUlrements. The British had increased production of both paper and metal tanks greatly during November, and by year's end the Ministry of Aircraft Production had delivered over 7,500 paper tanks of 108-gallon capacity. On 10 December there were some 18,000 paper and metal tanks of 75-, 108-, and 150-gallon capacity on hand at fighter stations for the three types of fighters then operating with the Eighth Air Force.96 The paper tank having proved its worth in combat, requirements for Eighth and Ninth Air Force fighters through 1944 were set in January with good reason to believe that British production would equal the demand. At the same time, however, requisitions were sent for large quantities of 75-, 110-, and 150-gallon tanks from the United States. As D-day approached, all figures were raised, and production was hard put to keep pace.97 In March the American fighters flew over Berlin for the first time--thanks tothe jettisonable tank. There were problems of distribution as well as of supply, and among the difficulties claiming the attention of Eighth Air Force headquarters during the summer of 1943 were those of the truck transport agency established the preceding year. Especially troublesome were disciplinary difficulties arising in the Negro truck units, where many of the men had been poorly trained before being sent to the theater. Their officers were white, too often of inferior quality, and some for other reasons had proved unsuited for duty with the Negro troops, whose morale sank steadily as the result of the discriminatory treatment received at many of the bases. Often, after hauling bombs and ammunition from morning till night through fog and rain, they were denied billets and meals and forcedtosleep in their trucks after eating a meal of K rations. There were some disturbances, and General Eaker considered the white troops to be responsible for 90 per cent of the trouble.98 In August 1943, largely as the result of a serious disturbance among some of the Negro troops in June, Eaker and Knerr reorganized the truck units into the combat Support Wing, with a strong centralized headquarters organization, and placed all Negro units of the Eighth Air Force under it. The new headquarters served a dual purpose, although its major function remained that of operating a central trucking service for the air force. General Knerr also made a clean sweep of all officers above company grade previously assigned to the organization and ordered a wholeSale weeding of unfit officers below field grade. General Eaker insisted on steps to eliminate discrimination, and a distinct improvement in discipline and morale followed.99 Meanwhile, the burden on the truck companies grew as the Volume of supplies placed an increasing strain on the British rail system. From an average of 752,492 ton-miles per month for the period January-August 1943, the combat Suppbrt Wing reached a monthly average of 1,677,101 ton-miles for the period September-November 1943. In October an express truck service between the base depots and the advanced depots was begun; the advanced depots and the subclepots operated their own feeder services from this main line. Bombs and ammunition continued to make up the bulk of the loads carried by the wing. In January 1944, when the combat Support Wing had reached a strength of thirty-eight truck companies, it was placed under the Base Air Depot Area. Shortly after, sixteen of its fully equipped truck companies were transferred to the Ninth Air Force, which thus instituted its own truck service in preparation for its movement to the continent.100 The 27th Air Transport Group continued to be handicapped by lack of aircraft. Transport planes from the United States were going chiefly to troop carrier groups, and AAF Headquarters advised the service commandtoborrow planes from other agencies. The 27th over came the plane shortage only by borrowing planes from the British, the IX Troop Carrier Command, and the AAF Air Transport Command and by using planes less desirable than the C-47, best of the twin-engine transport aircraft. Meanwhile, for the period August-December 1943, the 27th carried 3,292,830 pounds of cargo and mail and 13,441 passengers and flew 656,000 miles. During 1943 it ferried more than 8,000 aircraft and in the first six months of 1944, almost 16,000 aircraft. The Ninth Air Force set up its own air transport service late in 1943 with the activation of the 31st Air Transport Group.101 Assembly, Modification, and Repair The poor state of maintenance from which the Eighth Air Force continued to suffer into the summer of 1943 had alarmed others than General Eaker and his staff. The Bradley committee had given the subject close attention. Maj. Gen. Virgil L. Peterson, inspector general of the U. S. Army, had shown concern during the course of an inspection of the Eighth during June and July.102 General Arnold took cognizance of the situation in a letter to General Eaker in June. "All reports I have received, "he wrote, "have admitted that your maintenance over there is not satisfactory. . . . If your maintenance is unsatisfactory now with only a small number of airplanes, what will it be when you have much larger numbers? "103 Only a thorough overhauling of the service command could make it into the efficient maintenance organization which Arnold and Eaker knew was indispensable for the scale of operations contemplated for 1944. General Knerr, upon taking over as deputy commander of the VIII Air Force Service Command in July, undertook to carry out the recommendations of the Bradley committee. Having established the depot areas in August, he then sought a firm if necessarily flexible assignment of responsibilities among them. The Base Air Depot Area was made responsible for the reception, assembly, maintenance, storage, and modification of replacement aircraft. The advanced depots, both strategic and tactical, were to assist with the modification work when other duties permitted, but their primary function was the repair of damaged aircraft. The better to perform this work, which must be given priority over all other claims, the strategic air depots were to activate additional mobile repair and reclamation units. The Base Air Depot Area was required to keep other depots notified of its weekly repair capacity in order that they might send as much battle-damage repair work as possible to the base depots, thereby holding themselves available for the emergency requirements of the combat groups.104 In September, Knerr secured Eaker's agreement to the proposed return of third-echelon maintenance to service command control. General Arnold had urged adoption of this proposal of the Bradley committee, and Eaker reported that he had "issued a definite directive that the Air Service Command is to have technical control and supervision of maintenance down to the airplane." Furthermore, he had "cautioned that every airplane which cannot be made ready for the next mission coming up must be transferred and tagged to the Air Service Command and the Air Service Command made responsible for its maintenance." He had instructed all, he concluded, that the combat squadrons would "do first and second echelon maintenance and the Air Service Command . . . all third and fourth echelon maintenance, wherever the airplane may be."105 The resulting centralization of responsibility for maintenance under the VIII Air Force Service Command permitted the establishment of standard procedures for all echelons of maintenance. In November, Eighth Air Force Memorandum No. 65-6 drew a firm line between the first two echelons of maintenance and the third by directing that combat units perform maintenance and repair work only on aircraft which could be repaired within thirty-six hours. The Strategic Air Depot Area had already anticipated this development in an earlier directive of its own. Aircraft which required more than thirty-six hours of work were to be turned over to the subdepot or service squadron which, if it could not make the repairs, would pass them on to the advanced depots. Sub depot repair capacity was to be augmented by the use of work parties from the advanced depots, which could be sent to the bases where groups had sustained especially heavy damage. Work beyond the capacities of the advanced depots was still to be sent to the base depots, which also retained all of the functions previously allotted to them. The responsibility for some of these functions was further delineated in December when the base depots were charged with thirdand fourth-echelon repair of aircraft accessories and parts except for some third-echelon items which were to be handled by the strategic depots.l06 By the end of 1943 the strategic depots performed a large share of the total maintenance work for the bomber and fighter commands. By spring of 1944 each of the strategic air depots, built around two air depot groups, had reached a strength of 3,500 to 4,000 men.107 The VIII Air Force Service Command controlled the newly established sub depots on combat bases and exercised technical control of the maintenance done by ground crews through the issuance of technical instructions prescribing the type and extent of work to be done at the various echelons. The fighter command retained control of its service squadrons. The nature of its repair work was different from that required for bombers, and the establishment of subdepots would have robbed the organization of a degree of mobility considered desirable in view of the possibility that all fighters might be moved later to the continent.108 The base and strategic depots, of course, abandoned all ideas of remaining mobile and became more than ever fixed installations. The VIII Air Force Service Command recognized the inevitability of this development and proceeded with the expansion of the depots, aware that they would be the chief answer to the efficient functioning of maintenance. The expansion of the base depots permitted an increasing specialization in their work. In December all radial engines were assigned to Burtonwood for overhaul, while all in-line engines were sent to Warton beginning in January.* Langford Lodge manufactured kits and repaired electrical propellers, and its engineering staff devoted much time to research and development. It was possible also to introduce assembly-line methods which permitted maximum utilization of the large numbers of unskilled soldiers who now helped man the depots.109 Specialization and the assembly lines explain in large part the great productivity of the base depots beginning late in 1943. Helpful too was internal reorganization of Burtonwood and Warton along the functional lines suggested by the Bradley plan. All of the personnel at Warton and Burtonwood, with the exception of some specialized units, were assigned to one of three divisions--military administration, supply, and maintenance--and the former units to which they had belonged were done away with completely. The maintenance division was by far the largest of the three, including more than 10,000 men at Burtonwood alone by the middle of 1944.110 During the latter part of 1943 and in early 1944 the Eighth Air Force surmounted the personnel and equipment difficulties which had so severely handicapped its aircraft maintenance down to the summer of 1943. Although the service command did not receive from the United States the trained technicians it desired for its depots, it did receive thousands of men during the Gold Rush period who subsequently were trained on the job or in technical schools. The subdepots were manned largely by personnel from the former service squadrons, but many new subdepots had to be formed with personnel fresh from the United * The P-51 and the P-38 had in-line engines; the P-47, B-26, C-47, B-17, and B-24 had radial engines. States. The strategic air depots were not expanded as greatly as were Burtonwood and Warton, which had to receive, organize, and train thousands of men while at the same time constantly expanding their services for the air forces. Furthermore, during the last few months of 1943 the base depots had to give up part of their trained fourth-echelon maintenance personnel to help man the IX Air Force Service Command's new base depot and tactical air depots. The VIII Air Force Service Command sent additional thousands of both trained and untrained men to the Ninth to form the service groups which provided third-echelon maintenance for the combat groups. By the spring of 1944 maintenance was well enough in hand for Spaatz and Knerr to accede to Arnold's request to send back to the United States experienced maintenance personnel for the new B-29 groups then being formed.111 The equipment and spares shortages of 1942-43 would also be overcome by D-day. The American industrial machine came into full play during 1943, more shipping for the United Kingdom became available, and distribution increased in efficiency. Preshipment of unit equipment also helped. Particular difficulty was encountered in equipping the depot repair squadrons of the IX Air Force Service Command for which preshipment of equipment had not been arranged far enough in advance. As late as March and April 1944 some of these squadrons had as little as10 per cent of their unit equipment, but the deficiencies were remedied in time for D-day.112 Warton was short of the heavy equipment needed for fourth-echelon repair and overhaul throughout the summer and fall of 1943, with a consequent limitation on operations. Burtonwood continued to carry the main load, but with 1944 Warton would pick up more and more of the burden,113 The assembly of aircraft* became an increasingly important function of the VIII Air Force Service Command during the fall of 1943 as the fighter group strength of the Eighth mounted steadily and the fighter groups of the Ninth began to arrive. The flow of replacement fighter aircraft increased sharply also, rising from 58 in September to 178 in December and 377 in January 1944. During 1943 the Britishcontrolled plants at Speke and Renfrew continued to perform most of the assembly work for the Eighth, assisted in some measure by the small assembly area at Sydenham, near Belfast, which was operated by * In the case of partially assembled planes, the work consisted chiefly of degreasing the aircraft and attaching the wings. Langford Lodge employees. By October the service command knew that increased facilities would be needed to handle the anticipated heavy flow of aircraft, which would also include A-20's for the Ninth Air Force. Although the capacity of the assembly plants in October was theoretically 800 aircraft per month, actual production was much less and fell short of requirements.114 The pressing need for long-range escort fighters in November and December focused attention on increasing the production of assembled aircraft at Speke and Renfrew. Knerr seriously considered using an expanded service group to militarize Renfrew in the belief that he could get greater production and cut down the backlog of unassembled planes. The urgent need for P-38's and P-51s induced the VIII Air Force Service Command to establish at Burtonwood in December a P-38 "production line" for simultaneous assembly and modification of planes. In the same month the service command ordered that all boxed aircraft, by this time only a small proportion of the total, be assembled at the base and strategic air depots instead of at Speke and Renfrew in order that the assembly plants might concentrate all of their efforts on the partially assembled planes which arrived on tankers and carriers.115 With the addition of new assembly capacity at Burtonwood, production mounted steadily as successively larger shipments of fighters arrived during the first part of 1944 In January, Burtonwood assembled 389 aircraft while Speke and Renfrew produced only 219. But the British plants increased their production as the year progressed until they were meeting Knerr's request that they handle two-thirds of the assembly work. In April alone they would assemble more than 600 aircraft.116 Modification of aircraft absorbed a larger and larger percentage of the total maintenance effort from the summer of 1943 forward. The arrival of large numbers of replacement fighter aircraft added to the load, which heretofore had come largely from requirements for modification of the big bombers. Since the Base Air Depot Area already supervised the assembly of fighters, combat groups felt that the base depots also should take responsibility for modification. Before the end of 1943 the base depots were modifying, in addition to heavy bombers and fighters, B-26's and C-47's.117 The service command in June 1943 had planned that Langford Lodge would perform all heavy modification work. But the enormous increase in initial equipment aircraft and in all types of replacement aircraft, plus the great increase in the number of modifications required, soon made it necessary to allocate some of the work to Burtonwood and Warton. In July the backlog of heavy bombers awaiting modification was so large that the bomber command requested a speed-up that would reduce the time spent at the base depots for modification on B-17's to not more than ten days. But the actual average during the second half of 1943 for heavy bombers was twelve days.118 Gradually, Burtonwood and Warton took over the main part of modification work, a task destined to become increasingly heavy. As the intensification of the air battle over Europe led to growing demands for modifications,* the service command expanded greatly the modification facilities of the base depots. In September 1943 the service command modified 575 aircraft, of which 480 were heavy bombers. Warton, the last of the base depots to get into full operation, began to make its weight felt in January 1944 when the base depots modified over 800 aircraft, more than half of them fighters. As in assembly and repair work, the depots specialized in the modification of particular types of aircraft, Burtonwood handling B-17's, P-38's, and P-47's, Langford Lodge B-17's and P-38's, and Warton B-24's, P-47's, and P-51's. In April 1944 the three depots modified almost 1,400 aircraft and delivered more than 1,700 to forward units.119 From late 1943 the Ninth Air Force modified many of its own planes, including B-26's, A-20's, C-47's, and fighter aircraft, at its advanced depots. Many modifications in the fall of 1943 continued to be performed on combat stations, chiefly on initial equipment planes of newly arrived units. The bomber command maintained that during November 1943 its own units had performed modifications on a larger number of heavy bombers than had the base depots. Though this work was done with the help of working parties from the base and strategic air depots, it was hoped that the depots would be ableto take over most of it in order to free the combat bases for maintenance and battle damage repair.120 Efforts were made to ease the modification burden on the theater by incorporating changes at the time of original manufacture or at modification centers in the United States. For reasons already noted, U. S. modification centers could not hope to keep up with the constantly expanding list of changes desired by the combat groups, but the time * The GAF, too, was subject to constant pressure from combat units for modification of aircraft. (See The Problem of German Air Defence in 1944, a study prepared by the German Air Historical Branch [8th Abteilung]), 5 November 1944, translated by Air Ministry, A.H.B. 6, 3 March 1947.) lag between requests from the theater and action in the United States was materially reduced. By March 1944 fighter planes incorporating many late modifications began to arrive in the theater. Some feeling existed at AAF Headquarters in 1944 that the extent of modifications performed in the theater impeded the flow of aircraft to combat units, but there seemed to be no escape from the necessity which imposed so much of the job on the theater.121 The base depots devoted a large portion of their capacity to the overhaul of engines and propellers. The strategic depots shared with them the repair of accessory equipment, such as parachutes. Engine repairs at a rate averaging well over 500 per month for the second half of 1943 were increased in the early months of 1944 to more than 1,600 engines for April alone. Propeller repairs remained at a steadier figure, ranging from 500 in December 1943 to 550 in April 1944.122 The flow of aircraft to the theater in the year preceding D-day kept pace with the flow of units and manpower and produced a many-fold increase in all types of maintenance. The following inventory of aircraft in the theater may serve as a graphic presentation of the growing burden of maintenance work:123 |1943||Total Aircraft||Combat Aircraft| Battle damage repair had become probably the greatest concern of the maintenance establishment during 1943. In this theater perhaps more than in any other [wrote General Eaker at the end of 1943], the maintenance establishment controls the scale of operation. This is due to the high casualty rate caused by the strength of the enemy fighter opposition and the heavy concentrations of defending anti-aircraft. . . . It is normal for from twenty-five to fifty per cent of aircraft on a deep penetration mission into Germany to suffer some form of battle damage. This places a burden on repair establishments which had certainly not been recognized in peacetime planning and for which there was not adequate organization,124 Battle damage was primarily a heavy bomber problem. During the second half of 1943 approximately 30 per cent of all bomber sorties resulted in battle damage. Of the 5,330 aircraft which were damaged, 722 received major damage requiring extensive repair work. More than half of the aircraft with major damage returned to combat within ten days, but as many as a quarter of them were still nonoperational after three weeks.125 In an effort to improve on this record the service command instituted a special training program to remedy deficiencies apparent among engineering officers and noncommissioned personnel assigned to this duty. In particular, it had been found necessary to train sheet-metal workers, for the need had far exceeded the numbers originally allotted. Between 300 and 400 sheet-metal workers were required at each of the strategic depots, whose mobile repair and reclamation squadrons had also to be increased.126 The revitalized repair system which was developed by early 1944 was a closely knit yet flexible organization. Battle-damaged planes were divided into four categories depending on the extent of damage, and after appropriate inspection were allocated to the proper echelon for maintenance. The combat units and the subdepots worked closely together on the stations and assisted each other with second-and thirdechelon maintenance. Mobile repair units and working parties from the depots assisted in repair work on the stations, especially where combat groups had suffered heavy damage. The strategic depots were responsible for damaged aircraft which landed away from their home bases. The Strategic Air Depot Area kept a close check on all battle-damaged planes and could dispose its facilities quickly to meet changing needs. It became almost unnecessaryto call for assistance from the base depots, whose chief contribution to repair work was to serve as supply sources for equipment and spare parts.127 A special study for the period 21 January--30 April 1944 demonstrated the degree of efficiency which had been attained. Of the 33,065 heavy bombers which made sorties during the period, 8,859 suffered battle damage. The sub depots, with the assistance of mobile repair units and working parties from the depots, repaired 83.44 per cent of the damaged bombers within five days and almost 50 per cent within twenty-four hours. From this time forward, battle damage repair in the Eighth Air Force became almost a routine maintenance operation, for, in the words of one qualified observer, there were "almost more than enough men, equipment, and accumulated experience."128 Notes to Chapter 19: 1. CCS 242/6, 25 May 1943, pp. 2, 4-5. 2. CCS 303/3, 17 Aug. 1943. 3. CCS 67th Mtg., 22 Jan. 1943; CCS 169, 23 Jan. 1943. 4. CCS 169/8/D, 23 Apr. 1943; COSSAC (43) 1st Mtg., 17 Apr. 1943. 5. History, COSSAC, pp. 1, 8. 6. Ltr., Eaker to Arnold, 5 June 1943. 7. Ibid.; ltr., Devers to C/S U. S. Army, 6 July 1943; ltr., Eaker to CG ETOUSA, 10 Sept. 1943; ltr., Maj. Gen. W. O. Butler, AEAF to Gen. Giles, Hq. AAF, 13 Nov. 1943. The AEAF made a number of requests for staff officers from the United States during 1943-44. (CM-IN-17262, Devers to Arnold, 27 June 1943; CM-OUT-I2114, Arnold to Devers, 29 June 1943.) 8. Memo for Eaker from Candee, 21 Apr. 1943; COSSAC (43) 5th Mtg., 18 May 1943. 9. CCS 65th Mtg., 21 Jan. 1943. 10. CCS 217, 14 May 1943. 11. CCS 83d Mtg., 13 May 1943. 12. Info. supplied by British Air Ministry, Air Hist. Br. (hereinafter cited as BAM [AHB]). 13. Ltr., Hq. 8th AF to CG VIII BC and CG VIII ASC, 17 June 1943. The VIII ASC directed its first operation on 16 July 1943. 14. AFSHO Special File 77 (1trs.). 15. Ibid.; COSSAC (43) 12th Mtg., 26 June 1943 16. COSSAC (43) 13th Mtg., 2 July 1943; Hist. Data, American Component, AEAF, p. 10; CM-IN-1884, Devers to Arnold, 3 July 1943. 17. Ltr., McNarney to Overseas Commanders, 1 Apr. 1943. 18. Msg. R7578, Arnold to Andrews, 1 May 1943. 19. Ltr., Arnold to Bradley, 1 May 1943. 20. Minutes, 8th AF Commanders' Mtg., 6 May 1943, p. 1. 21. Ltr., Bradley to CG AAF, 28 May 1943, with 1st and 2d inds. and 16 annexes. 22. Ibid., p. 1. 23. Ibid., p. 4, and Tactical Air Force Annex. 24. Hq. 8th AF A-1 Periodic Rpt., May 1943; ltr., Bradley to CG AAF, 28 May 1943, p. 4, and Service Command Annex. 25. Bradley ltr. cited in n. 24. 26. Minutes, 8th AF Commanders' Mtg., 14 June 1943; msg. R631, AGWAR to ETOUSA, 7 July 1943; ltr., Col. P. W. Edwards, OPD, WD to Maj. Gen. I. H. Edwards, C/S, ETOUSA, 28 Aug. 1943; Liaison Officer of VIII AFSC at Hq. AAF, Daily Diary, 30 Aug. 1943; draft ltr., Eaker to Arnold, n.d. but Sept. 1943. 27. 3d ind. (ltr., Bradley to CG AAF, 28 May 1943), WD to CG ETOUSA, 18 Aug. 1943. 28. Msg., ETOUSA to AGWAR, 20 Aug. 1943; ltr., Eaker to CG ETOUSA, 28 Aug. 1943. 29. Msg., AGWAR to ETOUSA, 4 Sept. 1943; R&R, AC/AS, OC&R, Theater Br. (Col. O. P. Weyland) to C/AS, Hq. AAF, 14 Sept. 1943. 30. Ltr., Hq. 8th AF to all commands, 8th AF, 21 Sept. 1943; msg. R3799, Marshall to Devers, 2 Oct. 1943. 31. CCS 244/1,25 May 1943, Annex IV, App.A. 32. Key Plan for the Reception, Accommodation and Maintenance of the U. S. Forces (4th ed.). 33. CCS 329/2, 26 Aug. 1943, Annex IV, App. A. 34. Hq. AAF, 12 August 1943 Deployment, Tab A, Hq. 8th AF. 35. Msg. R3799, AGWAR to ETOUSA, 20 Oct. 1943; msg., ETOUSA to AGWAR, 13 Oct. 1943; Hq. 8th AF, Eighth Air Force Troop Requirements, 30 Nov. 1943. 36. CCS 217/1, 19 Oct. 1943; msg. R4757, AGWAR to ETOUSA, 23 Oct. 1943; ltr., Hq. VIII AFSC to Hq. 8th SADA, 4 Dec. 1943. 37. See sources in n. 35; Office of Stat. Control, AAF Stat. Digest, Dec. 1945 (hereinafter cited as AAF Stat. Digest), p. 8; Hq. AAF, Stat. Sum. of 8th AF Opns., European Theater, 17 Aug. 1942-8 May 1945, 10 June 1945 (hereinafter cited as Stat. Sum., 8th AF), p. 12. 38. Msg. R7773/6562, Marshall to Eisenhower, 7 Jan. 1944; msg. R8127/7205, Marshall to Morgan and Spaatz, 18 Jan. 1944. 39. Ltr., Eaker to GIles, 29 Feb. 1944; CM-IN-22609, CCS to Gen. H. M. Wilson, 31 Mar. 1944. 40. AAF Stat. Digest, p. 8; Stat. Sum., 8th AF, pp. 9-11. 41. AAF Stat. Digest, pp. 157-58. 42. For a discussion of the Air Service Command training program in the UnIted States and its relationship to the Bradley Plan, see Organization and Training of Tactical Service Units for Overseas Air Forces, Pt. II, 1942 to 1945, pp. 84-85, 92-106. See also Air Service Command: An Administrative History, 1921-44, pp. 55-56. 43. Memo for CG AAF from McNarney, 13 Aug. 1943; Org. and Tng. of Tac. Service Units, pp. 92-94. 44. Msg. R2589, Marshall to Devers, 3 Sept. 1943; msg. W4110, Arnold to Giles, 6 Sept. 1943; msg. 4128, Arnold to Marshall, 6 Sept. 1943; interview with Maj. Gen. H. J. Knerr by A. Goldberg, 24 Nov. 1947. 45. Msg. R2994, Arnold to Devers, 12 Sept. 1943; memo for Brig. Gen. H. A. Craig, AC/AS, OC&R from Maj. Gen. B. M. Giles, C/AS, 8 Sept. 1943; memo for Brig. Gen. R. W. Harper, AC/AS, Tng. from Craig, 10 Sept. 1943. For a discussion, see Org. and Tng. of Tac. Service Units, pp. 105-6. 46. Stat. Sum., 8th AF, p. 7; AAF Stat. Digest, p.33. 47. History, 8th AF Replacement Depot, pp. 3, 34-35; Hq. 70th Replacement Depot, Review of Opcrati.ons (U. K. Stations Only), 3 Mar. 1945; mterview With Col. J. Riley, Dir. of Personnel, Hq. USSTAF, by Capt. A. Goldberg, 29 Mar. 1945; ltr., Col. T. A. Rader, CO 12th RCD to CG VIII AFSC, 18 Oct. 1943. 48. Review of Operations. According to a memo for A-3, Hq. 8th AF from Signal Officer, Hq. VIII AFSC, 25 Nov. 19.43, as of that date unassigned signal troops in the United Kingdom numbered 2,000 EM and 361 officers. The author, as a casual officer, spent several months in late 1943 and early 1944 at AAF Station 145 (Crackheath) in the 2d Bombardment Division. There were more than a hundred QM and Signal Corps officers at Rackheath, almost all of them in enforced idleness, some of whom awaited permanent assignments for almost six months. There were similar groups at other bases awaiting assignments to units. 49. By 22 January 1944, according to the Hq. VIII AFSC Weekly Activity Report, 22 January 1944, 75 per cent of all units established on the War Department troop basis for the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces had been formed. According to the Hq. ASC-USSTAF Weekly Activity Report, 27 May 1944, pp. 4-5, the Eighth Air Force had 98.9 per cent and the Ninth Air Force 102 per cent of authorized strength. 50. Dir. of Personnel, Hq. USSTAF, Number of AAF Personnel Completing Formal Courses of Instruction at Schools in United Kingdom, June 1944. 51. CM-OUT-12169, Arnold to Brereton, 31 July 1943; CM-IN-2430, Brereton to Arnold, 4 Aug. 1943. 52. Ltr., Arnold to Brereton, 11 Aug. 1943; memo for AC/AS, Plans from Brig. Gen. E. S. Perrin, DC/AS, 25 Aug. 1943; ltr., Eaker to Hansell, 25 Aug. 1943. 53. Lewis H. Brereton, The Brereton Diaries (New York, 1946), pp. 213-17; ltr., Devers to C/S U. S. Army, 10 Sept. 1943. 54. Hq. 9th AF GO 100, 16 Oct. 1943. 55. Hq. ETOUSA GO 62, 11 Sept. 1943. 56. Hq. USAAFUK GO 1, 15 Oct. 1943 (corrected copy). 57. Ltr., Bradley to CG AAF, 28 May 1943, pp. 1-4. 58. For a discussion of Knerr's work at the Air Service Command, see History of the Control Function, ASC, 1942-44, pp. 25-28. 59. Bradley ltr. cited in n. 57, pp. 2-3. 60. Ibid., p. 3. 61. Hq. VIII AFSC Memo 160-12, 31 July 1943. 62. Hq. VIII AFSC Memos 160-12 (31 June), 160-13 (8 Aug.), 160-14 (4 Sept. 1943). 63. Hq. VIII AFSC Memos 160-12 (31 July), 160-14 (4 Sept. 1943); Hq. SAD A GO 2, 9 Aug. 1943. 64. Msg. R5206, AGWAR to ETOUSA, 3 Nov. 1943; Hq. VIII AFSC GO 55, 9 Nov. 1943. 65. VIII AFSC Mtg. 38, 14 Sept. 1943; memo for Gen. Knerr from Lt. Col. J. Preston, Acting Plans and Statistics Officer, Hq. VIII AFSC, 25 Nov. 1943. No subdepots for the VIII Fighter Command were ever activated. (8th AF Commanders' Mtg., 25 Oct. 1943; VIII AFSC Mtg. 92, 2 Dec. 1943; 8th AF Station List and Strength Rpt., 6 May 1944, p. 64.) 66. Hq. VIII BC GO 149, 13 Sept. 1943. 67. ltr., Eaker to ACM Courtney, AMSO, Air Ministry, 29 Sept. 1943; memo for Brig. Gen. J. B. Newman, Jr., Engineer, USAAFUK from Lt. Col. S. Schroeder, 11 Dec. 1943. 68. Memo for A-4, 8th AF from Engineer, 8th AF, 7 Aug. 1943; Report of Lt. Gen. Ira C. Eaker on USAAF Activities in the U.K. Covering Period from Feb. 20, 1942, to Dec. 31, 1943 (hereinafter cited as Eaker Rpt.), App. D, p. 12. USSTAF occupied 126 airfields in the United Kingdom in June 1944. (Chief Engineer, ETO, Final Rpt., 1942-45, I, 250.) 69. Draft ltr., Eaker to ACM Sir C. L. Courtney, 29 Sept. 1943. 70. Ibid.; ltr., Maj. Gen. C. R. Moore, Chief Engineer, ETOUSA to E. Holloway, Air Ministry, D.G.W., 7 Mar., 22 June 1944; ltr., Col. J. R. Hardin, Deputy Base Sec., SOS, II Mar. 1944; Chief Engineer, ETO, Final Rpt., 1942-45, I, 258-59. 71. Hq. VIII AFSC Weekly Activity Rpt., 18 Dec. 1943. 72. Memo for CG USAAFUK from Engineer, USAAFUK, 14 Nov. 1943; ltr., CG VIII BC to CG's Bomb. Divs., 18 Nov. 1943; Construction Program, USAAFUK, 15 Nov. 1943. 73. 8th AF, Station List and Strength Rpt., 6 Jan. 1944, pp. 25-28, 34-35. 74. Plans and Stat. Office, Hq. IX AFSC, IX AFSC Monthly Progress Rpt., Nov. 1943, p. 2; ibid., Mar. 1944, p. 6. 75. Ibid., Nov. 1943, p. 37; Construction Program, USAAFUK, 15 Nov. 1943; memo for Exec., D/S, Hq. ASC-USSTAF from Chief, Control Sec., 14 June 1944. 76. Hq. VIII AFSC Memo 16o-13B, 10 Sept. 1943. For a discussion, see History, VIII AFSC, chap. ii, pp. 121-26. 77. 93d MRU, Hq. ASC-USSTAF, Station List and Strength Return, AAF in UK and Northwest Europe, 30 June 1944. 78. Ltr., Knerr to CG AAF, I Feb. 1944. The contract was subsequently canceled and the depot was militarized in July 1944. 79. VIII AFSC Mtg. 57, 21 Oct. 1943; USAAFUK Commanders' Mtg., 6 Dec. 1943. 80. Ltr., Knerr to CG ASC, 23 June 1943, p. 2; Report of Proceedings of Board of Officers, Hq. VIII AFSC, 17 Dec. 1943; ltr., CG 8th AF to CG ETOUSA, 30 Dec. 1943; ltr., Lee to Spaatz, 25 Jan. 1944; ltr., Spaatz to CG AAF, 18 Feb. 1944; Minutes, Special Staff Mtg., Hq. VIII AFSC, 10 Feb. 1944; memo for AC/AS, MM&D from Maj. Gen. L. Lutes, Dir., Plans and Opns., ASF, 18 Feb. 1944; Hq. ASC-USSTAF G-4 Periodic Rpt. for Quarter Ending 31 Mar. 1944; ltr., Lutesto Knerr, 23 Apr. 1944 and 1st ind., Knerr to Lutes, 10 May 1944; ltr., Knerr to Lee, 23 May 1944. 81. Stat. Control Office, Hq. AAF Rpt. SC-SS- 1989, pp. 1-2; ltr., Giles to AM Welsh, 6 Jan. 1944; Hq. ASC-USSTAF Weekly Activity Rpt., 11 Mar. 1944. 82. Maintenance Div., Hq. VIII AFSC, Notes on Assembly, n.d. but prob. early 1944. 83. Ltr., Hq. USSTAF to CG's 8th, 9[th] AF's and BADA, 4 Feb. 1944; 3d Air Div., Summary and Analysis of 3d Air DIV., 27 June 1945, p. 31. The notoriously bad English weather hampered ferrying operations as well as combat operations. (See, for instance, Consolidated 27th Air Transport Group Hist. Rpt., May 1944, p. 4.) Of the daily May 1944 average of fifty-nine replacement aircraft delayed in delivery for all reasons, more than a third were delayed because of weather. The winter months were, of course, worse. 84. Combined Administrative Committee 244/1, 29 Dec. 1943; History, VIII AFSC Supply Div., 1942-43, Petroleum Sec., pp. 14-15; draft historical study, AFSHO, Logistical Plans and Problems, 1941-43, with Special Reference to Build-up of the Eighth Air Force, pp. 67-68. 85. Hq. VIII AFSC Weekly Activity Rpts., 30 Oct. 1943, pp. 4-5, 19 Feb. 1944, p. 10; Hq. ASC-USSTAF Weekly Activity Rpts., 11 Mar., 29 Apr. 1944; 8th AF Commanders' Mtg., 26 July 1943, p. I; Summary and Analysis of 3d Air Div., p. 42. 86. 8th AF Commanders' Mtg., 14 June, p. 2, IS Nov. 1943, p. 4; Hq. VIII AFSC Weekly Activity Rpts., 3, 31 July 1943; ltr., Eaker to Frank, 22 July 1943; memo for Frank from Knerr, 17 Aug. 1943; ltr., CG IX AFSC to CG USSTAF, 8 Apr. 1944; ltr., Col. J. S. Griffith, Chief, Maintenance Div., Hq. VIII AFSC to CO SADA, 5 Oct. 1943; 2d ind. (ltr., CG VIII BC to CG VIII AFSC, 29 Oct. 1943), CO SADA to CG VIII AFSC, 24 Nov. 1943; Hq. ASC-USSTAF G-4 Periodic Rpt. for Quarter Ending 31 Mar. 1944, p. 3; ltr., Col. W. W. Dana, Chief, Overseas Supply Sec., Supply Div., Hq. ASC to CG VIII AFSC, 18 Nov. 1943. 87. Ltr., Knerr to CG 9th AF, I1 Jan. 1944; memo for Stat. Control Office, Hq. ASC-USSTAF from ordnance officer, 7 Apr. 1944; Hq. ASC-USSTAF Weekly Activity Rpt.. 8 Apr. 1944; memo for Knerr from CG IX AFSC, 17 Apr. 1944; memo for Brig. Gen. C. P. Kane, Hq. ASC-USSTAF from H. J. F. Miller, 29 May 1944. 88. History, VIII AFSC Supply Div., 1942-43, Misc. Problems, pp. 5-6. 89. Ltr., CG VIII AFSC to CG 8th AF, 9 Mar. 1943; memo for U.K. Procurement Sec., Hq. VIII AFSC from Supply Div., I Dec. 1943; memo for CG VIII AFSC from Col. W. W. Messmore, Acting Chief, Supply Div., 6 Dec. 1943; memo for Chief, Control Sec., Supply Div., Hq. ASC-USSTAF from Capt. A. A. Townsend, 5 Apr. 1944. 90. Ltr., Brig. Gen. L. W. Miller, C/S, VIII AFSC to MAP, 10 Feb. 1943; ltr., Knerr to CG AAF, attn. Brig. Gen. B. E. Meyers, 10 Dec. 1943; memo for Chief, Control Sec., Supply Div., Hq. ASCUSSTAF from Capt. A. A. Townsend, 7 Apr. 1944; ltrs., Col. J. H. Houghton, Dir. of Supply, ASC-USSTAF to CG AAF, attn. AC/AS, MM&D, 10 July, 16 Sept. 1944. 91. R&R, comment 5, Brig. Gen. M. A. Fairchild, AFDMR to AFRAD, 24 May 1942; ltr., Brig. Gen. B. E. Meyers, C/S, Materiel Comd. to CG ETOUSA, 11 Nov. 1942. 92. Msg. 3062, ETOUSA to AGWAR, 3 Oct. 1942; memo for Chief, Supply Div., Hq. VIII AFSC from Lt. Col. R. W. Chaffee, 18 Feb. 1943; memo for Supply Div. from C/S VIII AFSC, 29 Jan. 1943; memo for Chief, Supply Div., Hq. VIII AFSC from Lt. A. A. Townsend, 8 Apr. 1943; ltr., Col. Wood, Chief, Supply Div. to Air Corps Procurement Officer, VIII AFSC, 31 May 1943; ltr., Knerr to CG 8th AF, 12 Oct. 1943; memo for Chief, Supply Div., Hq. VIII AFSC from Lt. Col. K. Collins, 3 Aug. 1943; memo for Asst. Chief, Supply Div., Hq. VIII AFSC from Collins, 14 Aug. 1943; ltr., Brig. Gen. F. O'D. Hunter, CG VIII FC to CG 8th AF, 22 Mar. 1943. 93. Memo for CG 8th AF from Knerr, 10 Aug. 1943; memo for Asst. Chief, Supply Div., Hq. VIII AFSC from Col. Collins, 14 Aug. 1943; ltr., Knerr to CG 8th AF, 12 Oct. 1943; msg. 45088, Hq. VIII FC to Hq. 8th AF, 28 July 1943. 94. Memo for Chief, Supply Div., Hq. VIII AFSC from Col. Collins, 19 Aug. 1943; memo for D/C VIII AFSC from Col. A. W. Martenstein, Chief, Supply Div., 31 Aug. 1943; R&R, Req. Div., AC/AS, OC&R to AC/AS, OC&R, 15 Sept. 1943; ltr., Knerr to CG 8th AF, 12 Oct. 1943. 95. Ltr., Eaker to Portal, 14 Oct. 1943; ltr., Arnold to Portal, 31 Oct. 1943; R&R cited in n. 94; ltr., Eaker to ACM Sir Wilfred Freeman, MAP, 14 Oct. 1943; ltr., Eaker to Arnold, 22 Oct. 1943. 96. Memo for Chief, Supply Div., Hq. VIlI AFSC from Col. Collins, 3 Dec. 1943; memo for Gen. Eaker from Col. J. H. Wallace, A-3, 8th AF, 10 Dec. 1943; History, VIII AFSC Supply Div., 1942-43, Misc. Problems, p. 5. 97. Msg. H5103, Knerr to Frank, 17 Jan. 1944; memo for Arnold from Gen. Perrin, DC/AS, 30 Mar. 1944; memo for CG ASCUSSTAF from Col. J. H. Houghton, Dir. of Supply, 22 Apr. 1944. 98. Minutes, Staff Mtg., Hq. VIII AFSC, 16 Apr. 1943; 3d ind. (ltr., 1958th QM Truck Co. to CO 1515th QM Truck Bn., 23 June 1943), CG VIII AFSC to CO 15/5th QM Truck Bu., 12 July 1943; Minutes, 8th AF Commanders' Mtg., 10 July 1943; ltr., Hq. 8th AF to CGETODSA, 11 Aug. 1943; interview with Col. G. D. Grubb, CO CSW by Lt. A. Goldberg, 5 July 1944; History, AAF Station 473, 1943, pp. 8, 25. General Lee apparently agreed with Eaker's view. (See notes on Staff Conf., Hq. SOS, ETOUSA, 30 Aug. 1943, p. 19.) 99. Ltr., Hq. 8th AF to CG ETOUSA, I IAug. 1943; ltr., CG VIII AFSC to CG 8th AF, 26 June 1943; Hq. VIII AFSC GO 32,27 Aug. 1943; Minutes, Staff Mtg., Hq. VIII AFSC, 9 Nov. 1943; 1st ind. (ltr., Col. Grubb to CG VIII AFSC, 27 Nov. 1943), CG VIII AFSC to CG 8th AF, 6 Dec. 1943; History, Combat Support Wing, 1943, Feb., Mar. 1944; Grubb interview. 100. 1st ind. (ltr., Col. Grubb to CG VIII AFSC, 27 Nov. 1943), CG VIII AFSC to CG 8th AF, 6 Dec. 1943; History, Accomplishments of the Combat Support Wing during the Air War in Europe, 27 Aug. 1943-8 May 1945, June 1945, pp. 3-8. 101. Msg. R8927, AGWAR to ETOUSA, 28 May 1943; ltr., Col. L. P. Arnold, CO 27th A TG to Gen. Knerr, 17 Dec. 1943 memo for Knerr from Col. Arnold, 10 Jan. 1944; msg. A-3854, Gen. Arnold to Eaker, 8 Oct. 1943; History, USSTAF, III, chap. iii, 72-73; Hq. BADA Semi-Annual Stat. Sum., 1 Jan.-30 June 1944, p. 3; Hq. 9th AF GO 109, 28 Oct. 1943. 102. Ltr., Eaker to CG ETOUSA, 4 June 1943; ltr., Maj. Gen. Virgil L. Peterson, IG to DC/S WD, 5 Aug. 1943. 103. Ltr., Arnold to Eaker, 15 June 1943. 104. Ltr., Col. J. S. Griffith, Chief, Maintenance Div., Hq. VIII AFSC to CO's BADA, SADA, TADA, 10 Aug. 1943. 105. Ltr., Eaker to Arnold, 11 Sept. 1943. 106. Hq. SADA Memo 70-10, 17 Oct. 1943; Hq. 8th AF Memo 65-6, 12 Nov. 1943; ltr., Col. Griffith to CO's 8th BADA and 8th SADA, 7 Dec. 1943. 107. Hq. 8th AF, Station List and Strength Rpt., 6 Apr. 1944. 108. Ltr., Hq. 8th AF to commands, 21 Sept. 1943; Hq. 8th AF Memo 155-1, 12 Oct. 1943; ltr., CG VIII FC to CG 8th AF, 28 Nov. 1943. 109. VIII AFSC Mtg. 101, 15 Dec. 1943; memo for Spaatz from Knerr, 22 Jan. 1944; Knerr interview. 110. Hq. VIII AFSC GO's 42 (21 Oct.), 48 (26 Oct.), 52 (1 Nov. 1943); History, Burtonwood Repair Depot, 1943, chap. iv, pp. 1-4; History, Base Air Depot No. 2, 1943, pp. 3-4; 93d MRU, Hq. ASCUSSTAF, Station List and Strength Return, AAF in United Kingdom, 31 May 1944. 111. History, Base Air Depot No.2, 1943, Feb., Mar., Apr., 1944; History, Base Air Depot No. 1, Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr. 1944; Plans and Stat. Office, Hq. IX AFSC, IX AFSC Monthly Progress Rpt., Dec. 1943, p. 4, Feb. 1944, p. 39; memo for Spaatz from Knerr, 22 Jan. 1944. 112. 2d ind. (ltr., CG VIII BC to CG VIII AFSC, 29 Oct. 1943), CO SADA to CG VIII AFSC, 24 Nov. 1943; Itr.,CGIXAFSC to CG USST AF, 8 Apr. 1944. 113. Burtonwood and Warton were in full operation in April 1944. See depot histories for the month. See, also, Hq. VIII AFSC Weekly Activity Rpt., 11 Dec. 1943; memo for Spaatz from Knerr, 22 Jan. 1944; 31st SCU, Hq. BADA Quarterly Review of BADA Activities, Jan.-Mar. 1944; BADA Stat. Sum., Apr., p. 22, May 1944, p.2. 114. Stat. Control Office, Hq. AAF, Rpt. SC-SS-1989, 14 Aug. 1947, pp. 7-8, 10; ltr., H. J. F. Miller to Arnold, 9 Oct. 1943. 115. Memo for A-3, Hq. 8th AF from Knerr, 2 Dec. 1943; 1st ind. (memo for Knerr from Eaker, 29 Nov. 1943), Knerr to CG 8th AF, 3 Dec. 1943; USAAFUK Commanders' Mtg., 6 Dec. 1943, p. 2; ltr., Col. Griffith, Chief, Maintenance Div., Hq. VIII AFSC to CO 8th AF BADA, 18 Dec. 1943; Maintenance Div., Hq. VIII AFSC, Notes on Assembly, n.s., n.d. but prob. Jan. or Feb. 1944. 116. Ltr., Knerr to Sec., MAP, 21 Mar. 1944; Stat. Control Office, Hq. ASCUSSTAF, Aircraft Arrived and Estimated Future Arrivals of Aircraft Requiring Assembly 1944, 22 June 1944; Hq. BADA, Semi-Annual Stat. Sum., 1 Jan.-30 June 1944, p. 13. 117. Ltr., Eaker to CG ETOUSA, 4 June 1943; memo for Maj. M. L. Butzel, Maintenance Div., Hq. VIIIAFSC from Lt. T. C. Keys, 30 Dec. 1943; memo for A-3, Hq. 8th AF from A-4, 28 Dec. 1943. 118. Ltr., Maj. Gen. H. J. F. Miller to CO AAF Station 597, 18 June 1943; Hq. VIIIAFSC Weekly Activity Rpt., 31 July 1943, p. 2; chart, Stat. Control Office, Hq. ASC-USSTAF, Life Cycle of a Heavy Bomber in the ETO, 1944. 119. VIII AFSC Monthly Progress Rpt., Sept. 1943, p. 21; Hq. BADA, Semi-Annual Stat. Sum., 1 Jan.-30 June 1944, p. 5. 120. Ltr., Hq. VIIIBC to CG 8th AF, 22 Dec. 1943; ltr., Knerr to CG 8th AF, 25 Dec. 1943. 121. Memo for C/AS,Hq. AAF from Brig. Gen. E. S. Perrin, DC/AS, 16 Sept. 1943; memo for McNamey from Giles, 3 Apr. 1944; History, Maintenance Div., Hq. ASC-USSTAF, 1944, pp. 2-4. 122. VIII AFSC Monthly Progress Rpt., Aug. 1943, pp. 21-23, 30, Sept. 1943, pp. 28,29, Jan. 1944, p. 3; Hq. BADA, Semi Annual Stat. Sum., 1 Jan.-30 June 1944, pp. 16-17, 21-22. 123. AAF Stat. Digest, pp. 157-58. 124. Eaker Rpt., p. 10. In a memo for the CG AAF on 19 June 1943, the Assistant Secretary of War for Air, Robert A. Lovett, discussed the gravity of the repair problem in the ETO. 125. ORS, Hq. 8th AF, Reduction of Losses and Battle Damage, 12 Feb. 1944, pp. 6-7. 126. Dir. of Maintenance, Hq. ASCUSSTAF, Repair of Battle Damaged Bombers, June 1944, Pt. III. This report and the preceding one are thorough studies of the battle damage problem from the maintenance and combat viewpoints, respectively. (Memo for C/SHq. 8th AF from Knerr, 30 Sept. 1943.) 127. Repair of Battle Damaged Bombers. 128. Ibid.; History, Maintenance Div., Hq. ASC-USSTAF, Pt. IV.

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About the scene and clip: The solo performer, standing on a chair, delivers Peire Cardenal’s ringing denunciation of the madness and sinfulness of this world, which has forgotten God. About the work: This is an allegorical “sirventès”—a strongly moral song—by the famous Troubadour Peire Cardenal. It tells about a city onto which a rain fell that made men mad and violent. One man, on whom the rain happened not to fall, remains sane—but the other people say that it is he who is crazy, not they, and they beat and insult him. This song is clearly allegorical and Christian in inspiration—madness is identified with sin; this is the “mad sanity of the world.” But just what it refers to specifically remains somewhat unclear. About the genre: Songs of all kinds were extremely important to medieval culture; there were many types, or sub-genres, of songs. The songs of the Troubadours (from southern France) and of the Trouvères (northern France), dating mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries, were particularly admired, and were widely imitated throughout Europe. While many songs speak primarily of feelings and do not have a clear narrative line, some songs tell stories. Allegory is a way of composing and of interpreting texts: characters and the plot point beyond themselves to something “other”—something symbolic. Characters are often personifications of forces such as Love, Pride, Reason, or Friendship. The plot is also symbolic: characters’ struggles are between vices and virtues; their journey may refer to life’s pilgrimage or to the discovery of some great truth, such as the nature of love. Works may be entirely allegorical, or may just contain brief passages written in this mode. Allegorical works are often strongly religious, philosophical, or moral. About the edition/translation: Frederick Goldin, ed./trans, Lyrics of the Troubadours and Trouvères: An Anthology and a History, Gloucester, Mass, P. Smith, 1983 (reprint, original edition, 1973), pp. 302-9. About the performer/ensemble: José Pérez IV is a Drama student in the Experimental Theatre Wing at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2009). About the production: This performance was created for “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in spring 2009. It was videoed in the classroom by a fellow student. Much of the videography for this class in spring 2009 was done by José Pérez IV.

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|SELECT, COPY AND PASTE| If you have not read this page before continue reading it, from top to bottom, as normal. Otherwise you can click on a subject below to get near/on the subject you was reading before. In previous Folders And Files sections you have been taught how to Select, Copy, Cut and Past a folder, amongst other things. Now I am going to show you how to put the whole thing together, using Files as well, so that you know what is meant by the terms Copy & Paste and Cut & Paste. To make the learning even easier I am going to be using two windows. The first window will be the DOCUMENTS folder. This is where I am going to Copy from and Cut from. And the second window will be my Flash Drive (Memory Pen/Stick), which is empty. This is where I am going to put (Paste) the copied (and cut) sub-folders and files. So basically I am going to show you how to copy folders and files from one storage area to another by using Copy & Paste and Cut & Paste procedures. Before I continue I must point out that the Folder View, and more specifically the Toolbars, of each folder used in this section have been premodified for ease of viewing. Meaning. Instead of seeing the Name, Date Modified, Type, Size and so on toolbars (below) I have changed each folder's view to only show the Name toolbar. I thought the other toolbars might distract from the explanations. The changes, which are not documented (hence why I am informing you here), are made after I open a folder or after I paste something into a folder. If you want to change a folder's view see the next section which is called Folder Views. To get started the first thing you need to do is open your Source window (folder), which you use as the COPY From window or CUT From window. You then need to open your Destination window (folder), which you use as the PASTE Into window. See the How To Move A Window and How To Re-Size A Window sections for more information, if need be. In this example the DOCUMENTS folder is being used as the Source window (folder) and the Flash Drive (F:) folder is being used as the Destination window (folder). The DOCUMENTS folder has two sub-folders inside it, called Important Files and OneNote Notebooks, and nine assorted files inside it called Essay (Microsoft Word 2007 file), Paris1, Paris2 (Picture files), Music1, Music2 (Music files), Research Notes (Text file), Rome1, Rome2 (Picture files) and Weekly Shopping (Microsoft Excel 2007 file). The Flash Drive (F:) folder is empty. The Flash Drive has been assigned (given) the letter F in this example but could easily of been assigned another letter, by Windows 7, depending on what other hardware devices I have plugged into my computer. And FLASH DRIVE is the name I gave the flash-memory (hardware) drive. Although I could easily of called it John or Homework for example if I wanted to. FLASH DRIVE (which is empty at the moment) is known as the Destination, because it is here where I will end up putting (Pasting) the example sub-folders and/or files. The source and destination folders can be any folders/sub-folders of your choosing (i.e. Floppy Disk to a Website, DOCUMENTS to a Flash-Memory Drive, DOCUMENTS to a CD and so on). Here I have chosen DOCUMENTS because it is on your computer and the Flash-Memory Drive (FLASH DRIVE) because it is portable (it can be removed from your computer and then inserted into another computer), therefore any folders and/or files pasted (put) into it will be portable as well. After opening the two windows the next thing to do is to decide which folders and/or files I want to COPY (or CUT). And then where I want to put (PASTE) them. For example. If I COPY the Essay file do I then PASTE it straight into the Flash Drive folder or do I want to create a sub-folder for Essay to go into first? It is this kind of thing you must decide before doing any copying/pasting or cutting/pasting. In other words. Map out where you would like each sub-folder and/or file to be pasted (put), create any needed sub-folders inside your destination folder, and then COPY & PASTE your sub-folder(s) and/or file(s). The first thing I am going to do is create a sub-folder called Holiday Photos inside the FLASH DRIVE folder. This can be done by clicking on the NEW FOLDER button. If you are using a Folder View with the standard menu on it you can create a folder in the normal way. See the How To Create A Folder and How To Rename A Folder sections if you need help. The next thing I am going to do is double click on the Holiday Photos sub-folder (Fig 1.4 below) to get inside it (Fig 1.5). From there I will create two sub-sub-folders, France and Italy, in the normal way. So the hierarchy is then FLASH DRIVE (the main folder), Holiday Photos (a sub-folder inside FLASH DRIVE and also a main folder for France and Italy) and France and Italy (sub-folders inside Holiday Photos and also sub-sub-folders to FLASH DRIVE). Now that the two sub-sub-folders, France and Italy, have been created inside the Holiday Photos sub-folder I will double click on the France sub-sub-folder to get inside it. The reason being that I want to copy the Paris1 and Paris2 photograph files from the DOCUMENTS folder into the France sub-sub-folder. Before I do any copying I need to explain how you select more than one file (or sub-folder). The How To Copy A Folder and How To Cut A Folder sections explained how to select one sub-folder at a time, but in this section you will need to know how to select more than one sub-folder and/or file at a time. There are two basic methods for selecting multiple items (folders and/or files). The first method is to use the CTRL keyboard key, which allows you to select individual items. And the second method is to use the SHIFT keyboard key, which allows you to select a range of items. Select with CTRL With the CTRL keyboard key method you start by selecting your first item (folder or sub-folder) as normal, by clicking on it with the left mouse button (Fig 1.8). You then press the CTRL keyboard key and keep it held down as you select your second item, your third item and so on (Fig 1.9). When you are happy with your selection you let go of the CTRL keyboard key. If you make a mistake you can always deselect an item by clicking on it again, with the CTRL keyboard key held down. If you do not keep the CTRL keyboard key held down as you are selecting or deselecting an item you will cancel your selection and have to start all over again. Select with SHIFT With the SHIFT keyboard key method you start by selecting your first item (folder and/or file) as normal, by clicking on it with the left mouse button (Fig 1.10). You then press the SHIFT keyboard key and keep it held down as you select the last item in your range (Fig 1.11). When you are happy with your selected range you let go of the SHIFT keyboard key. If you make a mistake with the last item you can always select a different last item by clicking on it, with the SHIFT keyboard key held down. If you do not keep the SHIFT keyboard key held down as you are selecting a last item only the last item will be selected. The first item will be deselected, therefore no range will be created. The SHIFT and CTRL methods can also be used in combination. For example. You could select a range of files (and/or folders) with the SHIFT method and then select individual files (and/or folders) with the CTRL method (Fig 1.12). You cannot do the reverse though. You cannot select individual items with the CTRL method and then select a range of items with the SHIFT method because the SHIFT method will deselect any items selected with the CTRL method. Therefore, either use the SHIFT method first and then the CTRL method (as in Fig 1.12) or use the CTRL method first and then use the mouse pointer to select a range of items (Fig 1.13). In Fig 1.13 I first selected the Important Files sub-folder and then the Essay file using the CTRL method. With the CTRL keyboard key still held down I then used the Mouse Pointer to select the range of files Paris2 to Rome2 - The mouse pointer Drag method was shown in the How To Paste A Folder section (towards the end, after Fig 1.15), but I will refresh your memory Starting from the top right-hand-side of your selection, click the left mouse button. Keep it clicked (held down) and then drag (move) the mouse pointer towards the bottom left-hand-side of your selection. Then let go of the left mouse button. So in Fig 1.13 I started by moving the mouse pointer to the top right-hand-side of the Paris2 file. I then clicked the left mouse button and kept it clicked whilst I then dragged (moved) the mouse pointer towards the bottom left-hand-side of the Rome2 file. When I knew that was what I wanted selecting I let go of the left mouse button. You do not have to be perfect with your positioning of the mouse pointer, as Fig 1.13 shows, because Windows 7 automatically selects the folders and/or files that are within range of your selection box (elastic band) for you. Now that you know how to select items the next thing to do is the actual copying (or cutting) and pasting. The word COPY, when used in the context of COPY & PASTE, means to make an exact copy of the currently selected item(s) and put that exact copy of the currently selected item(s) into Memory. So that when the currently selected item(s) need pasting (moving to another place) it is the exact copy of the currently selected item(s), now in memory, that are pasted (moved to another place) and not the currently selected item(s). In other words. The currently selected item(s) stay where they are and are kept selected. It is the exact copy of the currently selected item(s), in memory, that is pasted. So the COPY & PASTE process is as follows. First select the item(s) you want a COPY of. Then click on the ORGANIZE menu and select (left click on) the COPY menu-item (Fig 1.14 above) - This will create an exact copy of your selected item(s) and put that exact copy into memory, therefore creating a memory copy of your selected item(s). You then go to the place (sub-folder) where you want the exact copy (memory copy) of your selected item(s) pasted to, click on the ORGANIZE menu and then select the PASTE menu-item (Fig 1.15 above) - This will put the exact copy (memory copy) of your selected item(s) into the place (sub-folder) you have chosen. So in my example I selected the Paris1 and Paris2 files from the DOCUMENTS folder, clicked on ORGANISE > COPY, went over to the France sub-folder and then clicked on ORGANISE > PASTE. Note: For this example I resized the navigation pane so that I could show you the two selected files (Paris1 and Paris2) as well as the COPY menu-item. You may find yourself, on the odd occasion, doing something similar with a folder's window pane(s).....which is quite normal! As you can see; When the exact copy (memory copy) of your selected items (Paris1 and Paris2 files) are pasted, from memory, into the France sub-folder (Fig 1.16 above) the selected items inside the DOCUMENTS folder remain intact (Fig 1.17 above). They are not deleted. This is because PASTE is working with a memory copy of your selected item(s), that COPY created, and not with your actual currently selected item(s). The word CUT, when used in the context of CUT & PASTE, means to cut out (delete) the currently selected item(s) once they have been pasted. In other words. CUT & PASTE works in exactly the same way as COPY & PASTE with the difference being that CUT deletes the currently (originally) selected item(s) once they have been pasted from memory. So CUT really does move items from one place to another, whereas COPY leaves the original items alone. So the CUT & PASTE process is as follows. First select the item(s) you want a COPY of. Then click on the ORGANIZE menu and select (left click on) the CUT menu-item (Fig 1.18 above) - This will create an exact copy of your selected item(s) and put that exact copy into memory, therefore creating a memory copy of your selected item(s). Your currently selected item(s) are then marked for deletion, denoted by their icons being faded out (Fig 1.19 above), which means they will be deleted once a PASTE has occurred. You then go to the place (sub-folder) where you want the exact copy (memory copy) of your selected item(s) pasted to, click on the ORGANIZE menu and then select the PASTE menu-item (Fig 1.20 below) - This will put the exact copy (memory copy) of your selected item(s) into the place (sub-folder) you have chosen (Fig 1.21 below). So in my example I selected the Paris1 and Paris2 files from the DOCUMENTS folder, clicked on ORGANISE > CUT, went over to the France sub-folder and then clicked on ORGANISE > PASTE. Once the PASTE has been done your selected item(s) inside the DOCUMENTS folder are then deleted (Fig 1.22 below). DRAG & DROP is a variant of COPY & PASTE. It allows you to DRAG (move) one, or more, items (sub-folders and/or files) from one place to another using just the mouse pointer and left mouse button. Below is an example using the Paris1 file. Start by selecting a file, but do not release the left mouse button - keep it held down over the selected file. Now move the mouse pointer towards the main folder (or sub-folder) you want your selected file to go into (Fig 1.23 below). Remember. The left mouse button is still held down as you are moving the mouse pointer - This is known as Dragging. As you drag the mouse pointer your selected file follows the mouse pointer. As soon as the mouse pointer is away from the source folder (i.e. away from the DOCUMENTS folder) and over the desktop a message appears underneath the mouse pointer - Move To Desktop (Fig 1.24 below). This means if you now let go of the left mouse button a copy of your selected file will be placed on the desktop. Your original selected file will still be intact inside its source folder as DRAG & DROP works with a memory copy, just the same as COPY & PASTE. In this example though you are not DROPping your selected file onto the desktop, so keep the left mouse button pressed. With the left mouse button still pressed carry on moving (dragging) the mouse pointer towards your destination folder (i.e. towards the France sub-folder). When the mouse pointer is just coming over your destination folder (main folder or sub-folder) a message will appear - Copy To Destination folder (i.e. Copy To France). It is now that you could let go of the left mouse button in order to place a copy of your selected file inside the destination folder (Fig 1.25 below). However, being a beginner, you are better off waiting until you have dragged the mouse pointer into the center (white display area) of your destination folder before letting go of the left mouse button. A good use for dropping a file when it has just approached a destination folder's title bar (a destination window's title bar) is when you have multiple folders (windows) stacked on top of one another (Fig 1.27 below), whereby you cannot see the display area of the destination folder (destination window). After dropping the selected file the destination folder is brought to the front of the other folders (Fig 1.28 below) - This may hide one or more of the other folder's title bar, depending on how much of that folder is viewable. To drag more than one item simply select more than one item and then follow the Drag & Drop steps above - You are doing exactly the same as above except you are starting with more than one item selected, so you will be dragging and then dropping more than one item (as shown below). So to clarify. Select your items as normal, making sure the mouse button has been released after the last selection, and then start dragging the now highlighted items to their destination folder. Over the Folders & Files sections I have shown you how to paste your item(s) inside a sub-folder, so that (1) you know your item(s) were definitely pasted inside that sub-folder and (2) you could see what else was inside that sub-folder, but what if you do not care about what is already inside a sub-folder and you trust Windows 7 to paste your item(s) into a sub-folder? Is there a way of pasting into a sub-folder without actually opening that sub-folder?....Yes there is. This next example shows how to paste already selected and copied items into the France sub-folder (from the above examples) without actually opening the France sub-folder. Once the Paris1 and Paris2 files have been selected and then copied (ORGANIZE > COPY) into memory, the next thing to do is make sure you are inside the Holiday Photos sub-folder. Either open the Holiday Photos sub-folder from scratch or with the above examples just click on the blue BACK (left-arrow) button to get back into the Holiday Photos sub-folder. When you are inside the Holiday Photos sub-folder, where you can see the France and Italy sub-folders, right click on the France sub-folder to bring up its Options menu. From there, left click on the PASTE menu-item. This will then paste the Paris1 and Paris2 files into the France sub-folder, without you having to open the France sub-folder. If you want to paste directly into the main folder of a hardware device, such as a Floppy Disk (A:) or a Flash Drive (F:), you can use the SEND TO menu-item. Simply select your item(s), without COPYing them with ORGANIZE > COPY, and then right-click on one of the selected items. This will bring up the Options menu where you must then navigate towards the SEND TO sub-menu - There is no need to click on this sub-menu though as it will open its own menu after a second or so. When the SEND TO sub-menu opens left click on its Hardware Device menu-item (i.e. Flash Drive (F:)). A copy of your selected items will then be sent to that hardware device's main folder - In my example, to the F: main folder (Fig 1.32 below). In the two examples above the original files were left in their original folders after their pasting operation - none of them did a CUT. Each example did a COPY only, which if you remember means a copy of their files are put into memory - Example one pasted its memory files into the France sub-folder, whereas example two (SEND TO) pasted its memory files into the F: main folder. In both examples I did not have to open the destination folder (i.e. the France sub-folder and the F: main folder). What I have explained so far is one COPY and one PASTE. In other words. The copying of a selection of files from one place to another, which is okay if that is all you need but what happens if you need to paste the same copied items into more than one place? Do the same files need a COPY & PASTE to the France sub-folder for example and then another COPY & PASTE to the F: main folder for example? Answer.....No. When you use ORGANIZE > COPY a copy of your selected files are put into memory, ready for the PASTE operation, as explained throughout this section. And when you ORGANIZE > PASTE those memory files are then taken out of memory and pasted (moved) into your destination folder. To have more than one PASTE with the same files you simply go inside your second destination folder and do ORGANIZE > PASTE again. So for every destination folder you do an ORGANIZE > PASTE. What PASTE actually does is go back the second time, and thereafter, and copies your originally selected files into memory again (by re-calling COPY).....and then moves (pastes) them from memory into your Note. If you remove the source folder (i.e. your Flash Drive), even after doing an ORGANIZE > COPY of your selected Flash Drive files, you will get an error.....because the memory was cleared. For example. If you select all the files on your Flash Drive, do ORGANIZE > COPY, and then unplug your Flash Drive you will not be able to ORGANIZE > PASTE to the DOCUMENTS folder for example. This is because COPY quickly makes a copy of your selected files and stores them briefly in memory, as it knows a PASTE will follow shortly. After all, you are transferring data. So no permanent storage should be required. It is the way COPY & PASTE operates. For example. Imagine you did many ORGANIZE > COPYs without doing any ORGANIZE > PASTEs. Your memory would be filling up with data and probably be denying a program the memory it desperately needs. Hence why a second PASTE goes back and informs COPY to copy your selected files into memory again. COPY & PASTE work as a team to quickly transfer files from A to B using quick memory copying procedures. The hierarchy (order) of folders, like COPY & PASTE, has also been explained over the Folders & Files sections. However. Most of the examples in those explanations have shown how to go down the hierarchy, to get inside a sub-folder. So in this next example I will show you how to go up and down the Flash Drive's hierarchy so that you are clear what the hierarchy is. With any hierarchy start from the top, and also look at the folders like a family tree as in Fig 1.34 above. For example. The hierarchy, if you had folders to do with your family, could be Mother, Daughter (left branch), Son (right branch), Granddaughter (daughter's branch) and so on. In other words, when you go into a sub-folder you are going down the hierarchy (i.e Mother into Daughter or Flash Drive F: into Holiday Photos). And when you come out of a sub-folder you are going up the hierarchy (i.e out of Daughter an into Mother again or out of Holiday Photos and into Flash Drive F: again). Here an example. Figures 1.35 to 1.37 were straight forward. I just went straight down the hierarchy to one of the last sub-folders - France. I could of gone for the other last sub-folder, on the other branch, which would of been Italy of course. Remember. From Holiday Photos the hierarchy branches into France and Italy. To go back up one level of the folder order (hierarchy) simply click on the previous folder's name which should be located inside the current folder's Address Bar edit box (Fig 1.38 below). In Fig 1.38 I want to get out of the France sub-folder and back into the Holiday Photos sub-folder. Once this is done (Fig 1.39) I can then see both the France and Italy sub-folders again because I am now back inside the Holiday Photos sub-folder. Clicking on the previous folder's name again (Fig 1.39 above), Flash Drive (F:) this time, from inside the Holiday Photos sub-folder takes me back into the Flash Drive (F:) main folder. For more explanation of the Address Bar edit box, and more importantly examples and explanations of Path Names, see the path names section (Fig 1.3 onwards). Remember. At anytime you are in a main folder (or sub-folder) you can create a sub-folder inside that main folder (or sub-folder), delete a sub-folder, COPY & PASTE or CUT & PASTE (if there are items inside the folder) and so on. Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. As stated here by the Microsoft Corporation.

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Digital Design and Manufacturing: CAD/CAM Applications in Architecture and Design Positioned to be the leading book of its kind in the field, Digital Design and Manufacturing explains the ins and outs of CAD/CAM technologies and how these tools can be used to model and manufacture building components and industrial design products. It offers a comprehensive overview of the field and expertly addresses a broad range of recent initiatives and other issues related to the design of parts and assemblies for automated manufacturing and assembly. Digital Design and Manufacturing presents the latest technical coverage of how to implement CAD/CAM technologies into the design process, including the broad range of software, computer numerical control (CNC) machines, manufacturing processes, and prototyping necessary. Insightful case studies are integrated throughout from the works of Frank Gehry, Bernard Franken, Raphael Vinoly, and many other leading architects. Product design case studies are also presented. Students and professional architects will find techniques for going from representation to production, while avoiding the pitfalls of traditional manufacturing and allowing for the design and production of complex, free-form components that have been too expensive to use practically-until now. Companion Web site: www.wiley.com/go/schodek PART I: CHARACTERISTICS AND ORIGINS. Chapter 1. Characteristics of Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) Systems. 1.1 The Nature of CAD/CAM Technologies. 1.2 Digital Design and Analysis Environments. 1.3 The Manufacturing Environment. Chapter 2. An Evolutionary Perspective. 2.1 Parallel Streams. 2.2 The Rise of Industrialization and Automation. 2.3 The Computational Environment. 2.4 The Development of Numerical Control Technology. PART II: THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CONTEXT. Chapter 3. Transitions: Digital Design for Fabrication. 3.1 Sydney Opera House. 3.2 The Menil Collection. 3.3 Kansai Airport. 3.4 Schlumberger Cambridge Research Center. 3.5 Saga Group Headquarters. 3.6 The Billa Olimpica - The Great Fish of Barcelona. 3.7 Fred and Ginger, Raisin Building. Chapter 4. Complex Architectural Forms. 4.1 A Long History. 4.2 Notes on Defining Surface Shapes. 4.3 Digital Form Finding Techniques. 4.4 Structure and Enclosure. 4.5 Case Studies in Complex Geometry. Chapter 5. Architectural Elements and Components. 5.1 Conde Nast Employee Cafeteria. 5.2 The Kimmel Performing Arts Center. 5.3 BMW Plant in South Carolina. 5.4 Kimo, Inc.. Chapter 6. Building Systems. 6.1 Structural Systems. 6.2 Enclosure and Interior Systems. 6.3 Mechanical Systems. Chapter 7. Project Implementation. 7.1 3d Models in Project Implementation. 7.2 Applications in Design Development and Project Planning. 7.3 Issues in Model Development and Using Shared Models. 7.4 On-Site Applications. 7.5 Practice and Relationship Issues. PART III: THE PRODUCT AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGN CONTEXT. Chapter 8. Introduction to Product Design and Development. 8.1 Industrial and Product Design. 8.2 The Product Designer: A Historical Overview. 8.4 Product Development. 8.5 The Pingtel Business Phone. Chapter 9. Industrial Design in Architecture. 9.1 General Context. 9.2 A Brief Profession Context. 9.3 Issues in Product Variation and Strategy. 9.4 Issues in Furniture Design. 9.5 The Vecta Kart. 9.6 The Permobil Wheelchair. PART IV: THE DIGITAL DESIGN ENVIRONMENT. Chapter 10. Fundamentals of Digital Modeling. 10.1 Digital Design Environments: General Characteristics. 10.2 Geometric Modelers: Basic Categories. 10.3 Digital Representations of Three Dimensional Shapes. 10.4 General Model Building. Chapter 11. Design Development Environments. 11.1 Curved Surfaces: Advanced Modeling and Analysis. 11.2 Feature-Based Model Building. 11.3 Application-Oriented Model Building. 11.4 Assembly Models. 11.5 Analysis Tools. Chapter 12. Digital Design in Practice. 12.1 Parametric Models in Design. 12.2 Information Exchange Between Standalone Applications. 12.3 Integrated Digital Design Systems: Process Management and Collaboration. PART V: THE PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT. Chapter 13. Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Technologies. 13.1 The Machine Environment. 13.2 General Characteristics of Computer Numerical Control. 13.3 General Machine Types. 13.4 CNC Machine Control and Operation. 13.5 Specifics of Machine Control within the CAM Environment. 13.6 Manufacturing Application Environments: CAM & CAD/CAM Software. Chapter 14. Fundamental Manufacturing Processes. Chapter 15. Prototyping and Production Strategies. 15.3 Making Digital Prototypes. 15.4 Making Physical Form Prototypes. 15.5 Low Volume Production Techniques for Solid Forms. Chapter 16. Design for Production. 16.2 Design and Assembly. PART VI: STRATEGIES. Chapter 17. Manufacturing Systems. 17.2 General Characterizations of Manufacturing Systems. 17.3 Common Components of Manufacturing Systems. 17.4 Approaches and Strategies. Chapter 18. Product Process Approaches. 18.1 Standard Products and Variations: Traditional Processes. 18.2 Architectural Construction and One-Off Production. Chapter 19. Directions. 19.1 Evolving Contexts and Roles. 19.2 Topical Discussion of Technology, Architecture and Product Design. MARTIN BECHTHOLD is an architect who has practiced in Hamburg, London, and Paris, and is Associate Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Design School. KIMO GRIGGS is President of Kimo Griggs Architects and Kimo Inc. (a design and fabrication company), and an instructor on building technologies at the Harvard Design School. KENNETH MARTIN KAO is a founding partner of Kao Design Group. He lectures on building construction and technology at the Harvard Design School and has also taught at MIT and ETH-Zurich. MARCO STEINBERG is an architect with a Helsinki-based practice. He is Associate Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Design School and has taught architecture and industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design. - Provides students with complete coverage of the CAD/CAM field and an introduction to fundamental technologies and tools. - Introduces techniques for the architect to go from representation to production, avoiding the pitfalls of traditional manufacturing and enabling design and production of complex free form components that were previously too expensive to use realistically until now. - Integrates many case studies from the works of Frank O. Gehry, Bernard Franken, Raphael Vinoly, and many other architects. - Includes companion web site featuring supplemental case studies and additional instructional elements. Digital Design and Manufacturing: CAD/CAM Applications in Architecture and Design (US $95.00) -and- Water in Buildings: An Architect's Guide to Moisture and Mold (US $115.00) Total List Price: US $210.00 Discounted Price: US $157.50 (Save: US $52.50)

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VIEWS: 2 PAGES: 67 POSTED ON: 7/8/2011 Other Animation Skills Graphics Lab. Korea Univ. Change the View Port Configuration • Click right on “Perspective” in the low er right viewport. • Select “Configure” and “Layout”. • Choose the fourth layout from the top left. • Open “Track View” and adjust the new window to expose most of the lower viewport. Create a Box • Use the “Create” button on the Command Menu to make a box of L=50, W=100, H=50. • Click left then right on “Select and Move” on the main toolbar, to bring up the “Move Transform Type In” Dialog box. • Enter zeros for the absolute world coordinates of x, y and z in the dialog box so that the box will be centered on the origin. • Open the “Objects”, “BOX01” and “Transform” nodes in track view. Make Controllers Visible • Click left on “Filters” on the left side of the track view toolbar. • Check the box labeled “Controller Types”. • Now Max shows you the controllers for position, rotation and scale in track view. The controller for each track is indicated next to the track name. Creation of Keys in Track View • Click on “Edit Keys” and “Add Keys”. • Put keys at frames 0, 25, 50 and 100. • As you place each key, you may adjust the frame number by typing in the slot at the bottom of the track view window Edit Keys Create Keys Frame Type In Editing a Key Value • Click right on the key at frame 50. • Enter a value of 100 for X in the dialog box. • Put the dialog box away. Function Curves • Click on “Function Curves” on the top of tr ack view. • Click on “Zoom Value Extents” at the lower right of track view, to center the curves. • Red is X, Green is Y and Blue is Z. • Notice that the X curve rises to meet the ke y value at frame 50. • Notice that the X curve undershoots at first and overshoots later on. Overshoot Undershoot What went wrong? • Max is using a cubic Bezier spline to interpolate our four position keys. • Max assumes we want the curve to be smooth, i.e., continuous first derivative. • The box’s motion in the X direction cannot start and stop instantly. • Click on “Play Animation” at the lower right of the Max window to see the effect. Fixing the Problem • Click right on the key at frame 25 to open a dialog box. • Click on the “In” button and select the last choice. • Adjust the tangent handle to flatten out the curve. • Use the dialog box left arrow to go back to the key at frame 0, and do the same thing using the “Out” button. • Now play the animation. The curve has been flattened out from frames 0 to 25 by adjusting the tangent handles at those two frames. Unlocking Tangent Handles • Select the key at frame 25 and open the key’s dialog box. • Click left on “Advanced” set the X derivative values at this key to zero, if they are not quite exactly zero. • Try unlocking the “In” and “Out” tangent handles for the X curve. • Move the “Out” handle and observe that the “In” handle remains fixed. • Use the “Undo” button on the top left of the main toolbar to relock the tangent handles and flatten the curve. “In” Derivative Tangent Handle Locks Type In “Out” Derivative Type In Making the Box Rest • Create a new key at frame 75 and use the key dialog box to set its X value to 100, the same as the key at frame 50. • Notice that the box does not remain at rest between frames 50 and 75. • Use the “In” button on the key at frame 75 to select the “Piecewise Constant” option. • Notice that the box now stays fixed from frame 50 to frame 75. • Notice that Max adjusted the slope into frame 50 and out of frame 75 to make the motion smooth. • Try changing this using tangent handles, and them use “Undo” to make the motion smooth again. The “Piecewise Constant” option on the “In” button has made the curve flat from frames 50 to 75, and smooth at these two points. Ease In and Ease Out • Play the animation. • Notice that the box stops suddenly at the end. • This occurs because the slope of the X function curve is not zero at frame 100. • Open the key dialog box for the key at frame 100, and choose the “Ease In” (second to last) option on the “In” button. • This forces the slope to be zero at frame 100. The “Ease In” option on the “In” button has made the curve flatten out at frame 100. The “Animate” Button • Move the “Time Slider” bar to frame 35. • Click right on the big “Animate” button. • Click left on “Select and Move” on the Main Toolbar. • Restrict to move along the X axis. • Move the box a little to the right. Notice that a new key was created at frame 35. • Move the Time Slider to frame 100. • Move the box a little to the right once again. Notice that the old key at frame 100 has moved. • Turn off the Animate button. Move the box once again. Notice that the whole graph moves. • Undo (only) the last move operation. Track view after adding a key at frame 35 and changing the key at frame 100. Active Time Segment and Out of Range Function Curves • Click right on the “Play Animation” button to open the “Time Configuration” dialog box. • Set the length of the “Active Time Segment” to 400. • Play the animation and notice that the box does nothing after frame 100. • Click on “Parameter Curve Out of Range Types” on the Track View menu bar. • Select “Relative Repeat” (out of range above). • Play the animation and notice that the box repeats its motion, offset a bit to the right on each cycle. Relative Repeat Above Click left on “Zoom Horizontal Extents” to see the function curves over the entire Active Time Segment. TCB Position Controller • Reinitialize Max using the “File” and “Reset” menu items. • Select the “Top” viewport in the upper left corner • Use the “Min/Max Toggle” button at the lower right corner of the screen to expand the size of the Top viewport. • Use the “Time Configuration” button to set the active time segment to (0…120). TCB Position Controller • Create a sphere at (x,y)=(-100,100), using the “Move Transform Type In” dialog box. • Open track view and select the sphere’s position track. • Make controllers visible using the “Filters” button. • Use the “Assign Controllers” button to assign the “TCB Position” controller to the sphere’s position track. • Use the “Animate” button to create position keys at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, at positions (-100,100), (100,100), (100,-100), (-100,-100), (-100,100), (100,100), (100,-100). • Use the “Time Configuration” button to set the active time segment to (20…100). Tension, Continuity and Bias • Tension determines whether the sphere makes a sharp turn (at slow speed) or a wide turn (at high speed). • Continuity determines whether the tangent to the sphere’s path is continuous or makes sudden jumps (clockwise or counter clockwise). • Bias determines whether the sphere swings outside the square before of after the turn. Tension, Continuity and Bias • Select any sphere position key and click right to bring up the position key dialog box. • Use the dialog box to systematically vary tension (T), continuity (C) and bias (B) of all seven keys in unison. • Play the animation. • Select the sphere and click on the “Motion” tab of the Command Panel to see the trajectory. • Use the “Snapshot” facility under “Tools” on the Max Main Menu. T = 25 C = 25 B = 25 T = 25 C = 25 B = 25 T = 25 C = 25 B = 25 T = 25 C = 25 B=5 T = 25 C = 25 B=5 T = 25 C = 25 B=5 T = 25 C = 25 B = 45 T = 25 C = 25 B = 45 T = 25 C = 25 B = 45 T=5 C = 25 B = 25 T=5 C = 25 B = 25 T=5 C = 25 B = 25 T = 45 C = 25 B = 25 T = 45 C = 25 B = 25 T = 45 C = 25 B = 25 T = 25 C=5 B = 25 T = 25 C=5 B = 25 T = 25 C=5 B = 25 T = 25 C = 45 B = 25 T = 25 C = 45 B = 25 T = 25 C = 45 B = 25 Spline Conversion • Reset Max and configure viewports to show Front and Top views (as done previously.) • Open track view and place it above the Top viewport. • Use the “Filters” menu item in track view to show “Controller Types”. • Create a sphere in the lower viewport and put it anywhere. • Select the sphere’s position track and use the “Assign Controllers” to assign the track a “Position X, Y, Z” controller. Spline Conversion (Cont’d) • Use the “Create” tab and “Shape” button on the Command Panel to make a horizontal line in the bottom part of the lower viewport. • Use the “Modify” tab and “SubObject” button on the Command Panel, along with the “Move Transform Type In” dialog box to make the two end vertices of the line have the same Z value. • Leave SubObject model and select the sphere. Converting the Line into a Trajectory • Click left on the “Motion” tab on the Command Panel and press the “Trajectories” button. • Click left on the “Convert From” button and then click left on the line object in the lower viewport. • You have converted the line into a trajectory for the sphere. • Go to track view, select the X position track, and turn on the “Function Curves” button. • Notice that X is a linear function of time. • Notice that the tick marks on the trajectory are equally spaced. • Play the animation. The sphere should move at a uniform velocity. Edit Keys on the Trajectory • In track view, select the sphere’s “Position” track. • Use the “Assign Controller” button to assign a “Bezier Position” controller to the track. • Notice that keys have appeared on the trajectory. • Press the “SubObject” button on the Motion Panel to get access to the trajectory keys. • Click “Select and Move” and “Restrict to X” on the Main Toolbar. • Select and move trajectory keys leftward in order to create an acceleration. • Play the animation and observe the acceleration. Path Animation • Reset Max and set up the same viewport configuration as before. • Create a small cone object in the upper (Top) viewport. • Draw an ellipse object in the lower (front) viewport. • Open track view, show controllers, and assign a “Path” controller to the position track of the cone. • Expand the position track to see three new tracks beneath. Path Animation • Select the cone and go to the Motion tab on the Command Panel. • Press the “Parameters” button and the “Pick Path” button. Then click left on the ellipse. • Move the Time Slider Bar to see that that cone moves along the ellipse. Editing the Path • Select the ellipse. • Go to the Modify tab on the Command Panel. • Click right on the Edit Stack icon and select “Convert to Editable Spline”. • Press the SubObject button. • Select and move ellipse vertices. • Observe that that the cone follows the modified ellipse. • Use the Undo button to restore the ellipse to its original shape. Making the Cone Rotate Around the Elliptical Path • Select the cone and go to the Motion tab on the Command Panel. • Check “Follow”, “Allow Upside Down” , and “Z” axis on “Path Options”. • Observe that the cone rotates as it moves around the ellipse. • The major axis of the cone is always tangent to the ellipse. Adjusting the Rate of Motion Along a Path • Play the animation and notice that the cone slows down near the apexes of the ellipse. • Check the “Constant Velocity” box plan the animation again. Now the cone moves at a constant speed. • Go to Track View and edit the “Percent” track under the cone’s Position track. • Add a key at frame 50, and adjust the tangent handles at frames 0, 50 and 100 so that the cone will slow down at the apexes of the ellipse. Pages to are hidden for "PowerPoint Presentation - Computer Graphics Homepage"Please download to view full document

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PGRG Blog #7, December 2017 An introduction to Population Geographies: lives across space by Holly Barcus and Keith Halfacree review – a much needed social perspective on population geography Review by Dr Laura Prazeres University of St Andrews Population Geography has become ever more relevant within our global society and this book provides a comprehensive introduction to Population Geographies. Barcus and Halfacree offer an insightful lens into how people’s lives are lived relationally across space. As a qualitative social geographer, the book not only makes demographic and quantitative aspects of population geography more accessible, but provides a much needed social perspective to textbooks within the sub-discipline. I have used it as the main textbook for an undergraduate introductory course on Population Geography, and what students initially expected to be a dryly statistical opening on fertility and a morose ending on mortality turned out to be informative and engaging. It takes the reader along a life course perspective: from births to different forms of migration to finally deaths, and couches these within a relational framework using topical examples from both the Global North and the Global South. The content is organised around eleven chapters. Following an introduction to Population Geography in Chapter 1 that chronicles the shifting approaches of the sub-discipline over the last century, Chapter 2 lays the foundation for subsequent chapters by underpinning and framing the book’s content with life course theory. The authors effectively explain the theory and highlight various arenas of the life course as well as key life transitions. Chapter 3 illustrates the spatial distribution of populations at local to global scales, as well as the distribution of age and gender cohorts using population pyramids from different countries. It also looks at population distribution in urban and rural spaces and discusses key issues for both. Chapter 4 on fertility and births starts off with a breakdown of how to measure fertility in a population. It then illustrates and explains each stage of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM) before discussing social, economic, and political influences on fertility within different parts of the world. Chapter 5 sets the theoretical and conceptual scene for subsequent chapters that focus on mobility and migration. It is a great introductory chapter to defining and theorising migration and mobility, and discusses migration as natural, societal, individual and life course ‘expressions’. Following on this topic, Chapter 6 examines everyday mobilities, from commuting, education, social relations and immobility due to fear, to residential mobility which looks at matters of family, neighbourhood, and housing. Chapter 7 turns its mobile focus to employment migrations, comparing and contrasting migration flows between and within the North and the South. It also discusses specialist employment migrations, industries, brain drain and circulation, families, remittances, and transnationalism. As a scholar of international student mobility, I was pleased to see a sub-section dedicated to student migrations. While I was unsure about the placement of student migrations within a section on employment migrations, the accompanying question mark in the subtitle signals this ambivalence and the authors do a good job of explaining and illustrating this relationship. Still on the move, Chapter 8 examines lifestyle migrations and mobilities between rural and urban locations, the Global North and the Global South, and lifestyle retirement migrations at national and international scales. Moving from privileged to coerced migrations, Chapter 9 sheds a light on forced migrations and the labelling and categorization of forced migrants. It examines the issues surrounding forced migrations and mobilities, not only with refugees, internally displaced people and asylum-seekers, but also for human trafficking and slavery. Shifting to the end of the life course perspective, Chapter 10 looks at ageing and mortality at different spatial scales. It examines the meaning and experiences of being ‘elderly’, the (im)mobilities of older people, as well as global patterns and statistics of mortality. The chapter also illustrates and discusses the different stages of the Epidemiological Transition Model (ETM) and considers the complex interaction of factors that cause death, with a particular focus on various infectious and degenerative diseases. Finally the book concludes with Chapter 11 on perspectives and projections for populations in the twenty-first century, including inequality, climate change, resource depletion and biotechnology. It aptly ends with considerations on overpopulation in the world and future opportunities for both global populations and the sub-discipline of Population Geography. Throughout the book, various vignettes and case studies offer interesting and helpful examples to illustrate the core text and theories. As a result, Barcus and Halfacree’s book is sure to appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in both quantitative and qualitative approaches to, and demographic and social perspectives on, Population Geography. University of St Andrews

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Every week, MomonDealz brings us a kids craft that is fun, educational, and frugal. Since St. Patrick’s Day is this weekend I used pictures with this holiday’s symbols; however, this craft can easily be altered to be for any holiday (check out the educational activities at the bottom for ideas)! If you’ve missed any previous crafts, check out Momondealz’s Kids Frugal Fun page. St. Patrick’s Day Learning Wheel Clip Art Pictures or Crayons/Markers 1. Draw and cut a circle from the cardboard box. 2. Cover the circle with white construction paper and glue it onto the cardboard. 3. Divide the circle into equal parts by drawing lines. 4. Find pictures or words and put one inside of each section of the learning wheel (I found my clipart here). 5. Label clothespin with the beginning letter of each word and have your child label them. - Language Arts: We used this board for beginning sounds but you can also alter it for synonyms, antonyms, matching lower and upper case letters, etc. - Math: Put different numbers of pictures inside each section and put the corresponding number on the clothespins and have your child match them. You can also put math equations and the answers and have your child match those. - Science: Label each section with different animals and label the clothespins with the habitat they can be found. - Social Studies/History: Label each section with contributions from famous people and label each clothespin with the famous names for your child to match.

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