Imagine billions of devices talking to one another in real time and adjusting their behavior to respond to economic signals. Imagine a planet interconnected not just by devices, but by the events taking place across it – an ecosystem aware of its oceans, land, and air, as well as its industrial inputs and outputs.
Access this post where it was originally posted here.
This so-called Internet of Things (IoT) requires a secure and efficient way to track all interactions, microtransactions, and activities of every “thing” in the network. It requires the awareness and sophistication of the network to identify its own vulnerabilities, threats, and attacks to mitigate them. It requires an architecture that is both scalable and interoperable enough to support a malleable evolution of the network itself. In the current IoT space, this does not exist.
Meanwhile, an emerging database technology called blockchain is demonstrating capabilities previously absent from the IoT’s development. Blockchain’s role as an enabler of the IoT lies in its ability to securely facilitate interactions and transactions between devices. Blockchain technologies could aid connected devices and infrastructure in compliance activities. Blockchain may also support certain processes related to architecture scalability, data sharing, and advancements in encryption and private key technology, enhanced security, and potentially even privacy.
While it is simply too early to predict its full impact, blockchain may offer device and infrastructure connectivity at least one path of acceleration. Consider the congruencies described below between the IoT and blockchain.
Overlapping Areas of Interest and Adoption
Like distributed ledger technologies, sensor capabilities and networked services applications cut across industries. While certain sectors are connecting products more rapidly than others, those actively adopting IoT technologies run the gamut and include:
- Manufacturing: Discrete, process, machinery, equipment
- Industrial: Utilities, energy, smart city infrastructure
- Agriculture: Machinery, monitoring, infrastructure
- Building Automation: Lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), energy management, etc.
- Aerospace: Aircraft, spacecraft, drones
- Automotive: Cars, trucks, public transportation
- Smart Home: Electronics, appliances, energy management
- Healthcare: Surgical equipment, wearables, medical data
- Logistics: Supply chain, distribution, packaging, scanning
- Robotics: Commercial, industrial, and consumer robots
In industries such as automotive, logistics, or construction, suppliers often have a longer-term objective for the complete autonomous functioning of connected devices. Regardless of application, companies applying IoT technologies find themselves considering essential questions, many of which are addressable with blockchain technologies. For example:
- If all devices share certain features, vulnerabilities, or use cases, how might we best mitigate risk, enhance security, and improve compliance adherence?
- How and where will we manage data flow, processing, and storage: via chip-level, fog, cloud, etc.?
- How might our autonomous devices (e.g., cars, trucks, solar panels) negotiate for themselves?
Blockchain providers like ConsenSys working with Innogy (a subsidiary of German utility RWE) are exploring how to enable an energy marketplace fed by distributed solar and other electricity-generating devices, which are run using a decentralized power grid. While much of the buzz around blockchain technology has been in the financial sector, companies like Filament, 21.co, IBM, Microsoft, Slock.it, and others are working directly with adopters in manufacturing, supply chain management, energy and utilities, agriculture, and construction; distributed ledgers may further automate, secure, and drive new services for these industries.
The Shared Technical Hurdles of Standardization, Interoperability, and Scale
While machine-to-machine (M2M) communications have been powering industrial automation applications for decades, the truth is that meaningful connectivity and interconnectivity between objects, people, and infrastructure, not to mention at scale across industries, are far from reality. Today, there is no shared platform that connects all devices. Limitations of network access, computing power, security, usability, standards, and how to make sense of all this data leave us in the proverbial dark ages of “ubiquitous connectivity.”
Hindrances are the result of both economic and engineering challenges associated with scale. Even current IoT solutions are expensive to adopt and maintain due to high infrastructure and maintenance costs associated with centralized clouds, adequate server support, and networking equipment. In addition, the fragmented vendor ecosystem and diversity of ownership render sharing of data, devices, cloud infrastructure, etc. limited in scope and in interoperability. Each of these technical challenges, in addition to an array of operational, regulatory, and social challenges, blurs the IoT’s immediate return on investment (ROI) and prospect of scale.
Blockchain should not be viewed as the solution to all of these issues. In fact, today’s blockchain space is even more nascent than the IoT in areas like standardization, power consumption, and data storage. But the fact that both the IoT and blockchain focus on the same existential challenges is sure to accelerate solution development. Worldwide, engineering talent, startups, large companies, and governments are increasingly investing tremendous time, energy, and money to innovate solutions to address the IoT’s and blockchain’s shared problems.
In the long term, shared solutions culminating in a fully decentralized approach to IoT networking and M2M interaction could provide a standardized communication model to process microtransactions between devices, and significantly reduce costs associated with scale (e.g., installation, integration, maintenance of large centralized data centers, etc.) It could also distribute computational and storage needs across devices in the network, instead of relying on central servers.
Blockchain Addresses Trust, One of the Internet of Things’ Greatest Challenges
A future of billions or trillions of devices communicating with each other efficiently requires that their interactions and transactions exist on an immutable database of shared, secure, and highly permissioned access. From a technical standpoint, these requirements constitute a tall order. What the IoT requires more than any technological or architectural advancement is trust: trust between stakeholders and the devices interacting with them, their customers, or on their behalf.
The IoT currently suffers from a variety of trust issues that hinder its adoption among enterprises and consumers alike, including:
- Reliability and continuity
- Ubiquitous advertising
- Unclear business models (ownership, access, subscription, etc.)
Blockchain may serve as a key enabler for the IoT because it has the potential to facilitate commerce between connected devices in scalable architectures and ensure repeatable outcomes/expectations. This is required to: 1) establish value and 2) define trust between stakeholders and machines, both of which are essential for long-term value creation and sustainability.


Checking Out Currency Categories
Money is a medium of exchange. It’s just a tool that people use to exchange their labor for the things they want and need. If you have only euros and you want to buy something priced in rubles, you have to trade your euros for rubles. As long as you can trade your money, you’re happy. Whether — or how easily — you can make an exchange depends on the category into which a currency falls:
Hard currency: A hard currency is one that can be exchanged easily for other world currencies. The prices of hard currency are readily available, so both parties know whether they’re getting a good deal. Because hard currency can be spent outside of a country and converted to other currencies, it’s the most valuable type of money.
The hardest of the hard currencies are associated with the world’s most developed economies: the U.S. dollar, the Canadian dollar, the Australian dollar, the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen, and the European Union’s euro. Some emerging-market currencies are nearly as strong as these.
Soft currency: Currency that can’t be exchanged is known as a soft currency. A true soft currency can’t be exchanged on the open market (but quite possibly can be exchanged on the black market for either hard currency or contraband goods). When a currency is soft, international trade takes place in a hard currency, probably the U.S. dollar or the euro. This adds to the cost of doing business in a country. And a soft currency means that investors in a country may have a difficult time getting their cash out.
Some countries have two currencies — a soft currency for domestic use and a hard currency for foreign exchange. In this situation, the hard currency is much more valuable than the soft currency. If you’re exchanging money, make sure that you know which is which.
Dollarized currencies: The U.S. dollar is the world’s numeraire, or primary currency for trade, investing, and national reserves. Many international transactions take place in dollars, no matter what currency is used by the countries involved.
Many nations have tied their currency to the dollar in some form or another. Some use a fixed exchange rate of their currency to the dollar. Others simply choose to use the dollar rather than their own currency; the technical term for that is dollarization, and it mostly happens in very small countries or in countries that have experienced tremendous upheaval in their national economy. Countries that use the U.S. dollar include East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Panama. They don’t need any permission or approval from the United States to use the U.S. dollar, either.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars are also used in Pacific islands near those countries, and the British pound is still the primary currency in a handful of former British colonies.


Intercultural Competence (ICC) &
Promoting Interculturally Competent Global Citizens for Peace and Sustainable Development
Global citizens identify with being a part of an interdependent world community, respect cultural diversity and human rights, and understand their perspectives and actions impact the values and practices of the world as well as the local communities. Enriching conventional notions of identity which include nationality, religion, and ethnicity, global citizenship recognizes local cultures, practices, and knowledge systems and embraces intercultural dialogue in a manner that compliments the dignity of all human beings and preserves biodiversity.
People possessing intercultural competence are capable of understanding and reconciling cultural differences, so that they can interact appropriately and collaborate effectively in international working environments with others who are linguistically and culturally different from themselves. Ultimately, interculturally competent global citizens will be able to contribute to making the world a better place to live together in harmony.


The staff of the Nashville Diocesan Tribunal offers this information to the faithful of the Diocese whose marriages have ended, and who feel that those marriages were never true and valid unions in the eyes of God. It is our hope that this information will dispel many of the common misconceptions about annulments and the nullity process.
What is marriage?
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is, by God's plan, a covenant between a man and a woman, which establishes an exclusive and lifelong partnership for the giving and receiving of love and the procreation and nurturing of children.
A marriage comes into being when the bride and the groom exchange their consent to marriage through the wedding vows.
For those who have been baptized, a valid marriage is also considered to be a sacrament. Although not every marriage is a sacrament, every marriage, including a marriage between two non-Catholics, whether baptized or not, is presumed to be a valid and binding union.
What is a declaration of nullity?
A declaration of nullity (also referred to as an “annulment” or a “declaration of invalidity”) is a statement of the Catholic Church that despite the good intentions of both parties, on the day of the wedding, when the couple exchanged their vows, one or more of the elements which the Church considers essential for a valid marriage was lacking.
The Catholic Church considers a marriage to be valid when:
If sufficient proof is brought forward to show that one or more of these requirements was lacking from the beginning of the marriage, there is a possibility that the Church will declare the marriage invalid.
What a declaration of nullity is not?
A declaration of nullity is not a moral judgment of the parties themselves. It is not a continuation of the divorce proceedings, nor should it be seen as an approval or condemnation of the marital behavior of one or both parties. The tribunal seeks to determine whether or not the elements necessary for a valid marriage were present on the day of the wedding. A declaration of nullity is a factual statement that according to Catholic Church law, one or more of the elements which the Church considers to be essential for a valid marriage was lacking at the time the couple exchanged their wedding vows. Through-out the nullity process, it is the bond of marriage that is being judged, not the parties to the marriage.
A declaration of nullity is not a statement of the Catholic Church that the previous relationship between the spouses never existed. They were married according to the laws of the state, they shared a life with each other, and perhaps had children together. A declaration of nullity cannot change these facts.
A declaration of nullity has absolutely no effect upon the legitimacy of any children born of the marriage. It does not change the legal stipulations of the divorce, such as child support and visitation. A declaration of nullity does not relieve one of his or her moral obligations as a parent. Both civil law and Church law recognize the important responsibility that one assumes in becoming a parent and expects that parental obligations be fulfilled.
Who might need a declaration of nullity?
Anyone (Catholic, non-Catholic, baptized, or non-baptized) who is divorced, and whose former spouse is still living, may require a declaration of nullity before he or she will be permitted to marry in the Catholic Church.
Those who are currently participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and are divorced and re-married, may also require a declaration of nullity in order that their current marriage may be recognized by the Catholic Church.
It is a fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church that any marriage which contains those elements that the Church considers to be essential for a valid union cannot be ended by anything other than death. When those necessary elements are present, not even divorce can end the unbreakable promise that the spouses have made to each other through their wedding vows.
Because no person can have more than one valid marriage at a time, before anyone is permitted to marry in the Catholic Church, his or her freedom to marry must be established. Church law requires that any prior marriage(s) be investigated to determine whether or not the essential elements required for a valid marriage were present at the time that the previous marriage occurred.
How does one begin the nullity process?
Either spouse may initiate the nullity process by first contacting a local Catholic priest, deacon, or designated lay person, who will provide a petition for a declaration of nullity and a brief questionnaire regarding the former marriage. A separate petition and questionnaire must be completed for each prior marriage.
A copy of the marriage certificate, final divorce decree, and a baptismal certificate for any Catholic party will also be required.
Within thirty days of receiving the request for a declaration of nullity, it will be reviewed by members of the tribunal staff. If there is no indication of the possibility of invalidity, the petitioner will be so advised. If the petition for a declaration of nullity indicates the possibility that the marriage may have been invalid, the petitioner will be advised that the case has been accepted for investigation.
Why must the former spouse be contacted?
Catholic Church law requires that both parties to the marriage be afforded the same rights throughout the process. The former spouse has the right to know that the tribunal has received a petition for a declaration of nullity, the grounds upon which the petition is based, and the names of the witnesses that have been proposed. Church law requires that the former spouse be given the opportunity to fully participate in the nullity process. He or she has the right to provide testimony in the case and to name other witnesses that may be knowledgeable about
When the petitioner is notified that the petition has been accepted for investigation, the former spouse must also be notified that the process has been initiated. Thus, the tribunal must have an accurate and current address for both parties before it can begin to process a petition for a declaration of nullity.
While the tribunal is obligated to inform the former spouse of his or her rights in the nullity process, whether or not the former spouse wishes to exercise those rights is a personal choice. If the former spouse has not responded within thirty days of being notified by the tribunal, the case will proceed.
Please note that it is not necessary for the petitioner to contact the former spouse. The tribunal will make the formal contact with both parties throughout the nullity process.
Why are witnesses required?
Church law requires that the facts upon which the petition for a declaration of nullity is based be corroborated by knowledgeable witnesses. Witness testimony, as well as the testimony of both spouses, provides the tribunal with a more complete under-standing of the spouses, the marriage, and the problems in the relationship.
Knowledgeable witnesses are people who knew the spouses well. They are knowledgeable about the backgrounds of the couple and how the relationship began and developed. Good witnesses are people who knew the couple during the courtship and the early years of the marriage.
Is the information submitted to the tribunal confidential?
The information gathered during the marriage nullity process is never made available or released to any person except as required by Catholic Church law. The tribunal staff will not discuss a marriage nullity case with any persons other than the spouses and the appropriate tribunal representatives.
Is a declaration of nullity granted to everyone who petitions?
Not everyone who petitions for a declaration of nullity receives one. The acceptance of a petition should not be interpreted or understood as a guarantee that a declaration of nullity will be granted.
A declaration of nullity is only granted when the evidence provided to the tribunal clearly shows
that despite the good intentions of both parties, on the day of the wedding, when the two parties exchanged their vows, one or more of the elements which the Church considers essential for a valid marriage was lacking.
A negative decision is possible if there is not sufficient evidence to prove that on the day of the wedding, an essential element of marriage was lacking.
Is the decision of the tribunal final?
The decision of the tribunal is not final. Either spouse has the right to appeal the decision of the tribunal.
Church law requires that every affirmative decision, that is a decision in favor of the nullity of the marriage, must be reviewed by an Appellate Court. The affirmative decision becomes final when the Appellate Court issues a second affirmative decision.
The Appellate Court is not obligated to issue a second affirmative decision in any case. It is possible that the Appellate Court will not agree with the first decision.
How long does the nullity process take?
The tribunal is dedicated to processing cases as quickly as possible. However, it is impossible to accurately predict the exact length of time required to process a particular case.
Church law requires that cases be processed according to the order in which they are received. Current experience indicates that when the required information is readily available, ten to twelve months from the time the case is accepted is the average length of time required to process a case. This is simply an average, it is not a guarantee. Some cases require more or less time to be processed.
Is there a charge for the tribunal services?
There is no charge for the services rendered by the tribunal. Together, the Bishop of Knoxville and the Bishop of Nashville, have agreed to provide tribunal services to the faithful of both dioceses completely free of charge.
When is one permitted to remarry in the Catholic Church?
Arrangements for a future marriage in the Catholic Church may not be made until the nullity process has been completed. If a declaration of nullity is granted, and there are no restrictions attached, preparation for marriage in the Catholic Church may begin at the local parish.
Please note that the tribunal will not advance or expedite any case due to wedding plans being made before a final decision of the tribunal has been reached.
Is a divorced Catholic excommunicated from the Church?
The Church does not teach that divorce is cause for excommunication. Being divorced does not affect one's status in the Church. Catholics who happen to be divorced remain full members of the Church with the same rights and obligations as any other Catholic. The Church encourages those who are divorced to continue the practice of their Faith.
Can divorced Catholics receive the sacraments ?
Catholics who are divorced may continue to receive the Sacraments of the Church so long as they have not entered another marriage before receiving a declaration of nullity for the previous marriage(s).
Catholics who are divorced and have remarried without a declaration of nullity are not free to receive the Sacraments until the current marriage can be validated in the Church. However, Catholics in this situation are not excommunicated, and are encouraged to attend Mass and practice the other aspects of their Faith.
If a Catholic marries a divorced non-Catholic, may the Catholic party continue to receive the Sacraments?
Should a Catholic choose to marry one who is not free to marry according to Church law, the Catholic may not continue to receive the Sacraments. In order for the Catholic to return to the Sacraments, it will be necessary for the non-Catholic party to receive a declaration of nullity regarding his or her previous marriage(s).
A Catholic in this situation is not excommunicated, and is encouraged to attend Mass and practice other aspects of the Catholic Faith.
For more informantion, contact:
Diocesan Tribunal of Nashville/Knoxville
Catholic Pastoral Center
2800 McGavock Pike
Nashville, TN 37214-1402


Starting in 1918, Port Huron Engine & Thresher Co. of Port
Huron, Mich., began manufacturing Port Huron 12-25 tractors,
weighing 5,700 pounds and using an Erd 4-by-6-inch bore and stroke,
vertical 4-cylinder engine. The tractor was rated to pull three
14-inch plows. It had four wheels, with the pair of rear drive
wheels 56 inches in diameter with a 10-inch face. The tractor’s
weight was listed at 6,200 pounds in 1920, when it sold for $1,700.
It used a variable speed friction drive, which provided variable
speeds from 1-7/8 to 4 MPH.
Advertisements stated, “The Port Huron Farm Tractor has been
designed for use all the year round. By this we mean it has been
designed for belt power as well as drawbar service. All gears are
enclosed and run in a bath of oil.” It was specially designed to
burn kerosene, the advertisement added. Tractor production ended in


John Howland, a psychology professor at the University of Saskatchewan, is researching the effects of stress on memory and cognitive functions by placing rats in boxes with touch screens.
My memory is failing me. It happens on a near-daily basis: a name, a face, an address. I just can’t seem to recall anything anymore, and I blame the Internet. Or perhaps my memory isn’t failing so much as it is adapting. Rather than remembering specific facts, I find myself remembering the paths I took
Memory, among other things, is impaired when you are sleep-deprived, and having a full night of sleep maximizes the potential for accurate memory retrieval. It's not yet clear as to why this happens, but there is no denying the immense research behind these findings.


The Catholic Church celebrates Christmas as an “octave.” What does this mean? It refers to extending the feast from a single day into an eight day celebration because there is just too much to fit into twenty-four hours! Octaves have a long tradition, and in the past many other feasts received this treatment (Easter is the only other Octave in the Church right now). The practice flows from a number of Old Testament feasts that celebrated the “eighth day,” as well as the eight-day dedication of the Temple. Here are some highlights from the Christmas Octave – these days help to extend the grace of the 25th, and draw out more aspects of its meaning!
December 26th commemorates St Stephen, the first martyr (see Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6). This is referenced in one of my favorite Christmas carols, Good King Wenceslas, which is set “on the feast of Stephen!” Stephen shows the strength of the Gospel being put into practice, as well as a powerful symbol of forgiveness. St Paul (before he was St Paul) was present at the stoning of Stephen, and the Office of Readings on this day reflects on this in light of Paul’s later conversion. It quotes a sermon by St Fulgentius, who wrote, “Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen. This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death, and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy. It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul’s love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.” (You can find the full text here towards the end of the page: http://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/christmas/stephen/officeofreadings.htm).
December 27th marks the feast St John, the Apostle and Gospel-writer. His books of scripture give a special insight into the heart of Christ, and emphasize that Jesus is the Word made flesh (born to save us and offer us the opportunity for encounter with Him). He alone among the Apostles stood faithful at the Cross, and was entrusted with/to the care of Mary, the mother of Jesus. As Stephen represents those who give their life by martyrdom, John represents those who give their life by fidelity to the end of natural life.
December 28th remembers the “Holy Innocents,” the children killed by Herod in his attempt to kill the Christ-child. In a way they represent all of those that gave their life before the arrival of the Messiah, as well as all those that suffer unjustly. This event required Mary and Joseph to flee to Egypt with Jesus for a time. So, although Christmas is a joyful time, this day invites us to remember those who suffer and wait for the full peace of the Kingdom (As an interesting cultural note, in Mexico this is the equivalent of April Fools’ Day. The idea is that everyone wants to be seen as a “holy innocent” even while pulling the pranks!)
The Sunday after Christmas (or, December 30th if Christmas is a Sunday) is the feast of the Holy Family. We focus on the dynamics of the relationship of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. In their home at Nazareth they began to embody and live the Gospel. I always appreciate this feast as a day of gratitude for my family, and to pray for all those that are in particular need at this time. It is also a time to reflect on what I can do to support my family and those around me.
Finally, I want to say a little about the “octave day” (January 1st). It is celebrated as the feast of Mary, the Mother of God (this day has a history of many names, which may be its own blog post at some point!). The title “Mother of God” was strongly promoted after the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) in contrast to the preaching of Nestorius (who denied the unity of Jesus as one Person, true God and true Man). We believe Mary gave birth to a Person, Jesus – who was the Son of God from all eternity, and took to himself a human nature in his birth in time from Mary. This is a key point because the whole work of redemption was to reunite fallen human nature with the abundance of the divine nature. Jesus realizes this in His person. Therefore, this feast brings us back to the beginning by reinforcing the full impact of what happened on Christmas Day; not just the birth of a good human child, but the birth of Salvation itself!


Publisher : Samantha Rodríguez
Course Language : English
This course is designed for people who want to learn the Spanish language starting from scratch, as well as for those who want to initiate and review the pronunciation, vocabulary, phrases and simple expressions.
The goal of Canta Español is to learn the language in a more organic and less academic way, we usually spend much time studying structures, vocabulary and so on. The only thing that we must do is just talk, talk and talk; while making more errors more will learn.
The course contains dictations, audio vocabulary and conversations to practice and train the ear, all in a simple and enjoyable way.
Our first objective will be the pronunciation of particles, after that the pronunciation of words and in the practice of reading, there will have sentences with an image that represent its meaning, before you know the grammar, you can intuit the meaning.
Currently there are thousands of applications for learning vocabulary. The intention of this course is not to teach you much vocabulary, but the words that we will learn, we are going to use them for create several sentences and when the possibilities of create more sentences exhausted, and more grammar appear, we will add more vocabulary.
On the other hand, we will be getting into the Latin American culture knowing landscapes, which in this block will be in Mexico. In addition to this, there will be talks where the characters will teach us about the art and culture as you go through the course.
We want you to learn how to study by yourself, and the opportunity to have good bases to develop you in the language Spanish.


This course is an introduction to writing code within the context of the visual arts. It asks two primary questions: What is the potential of software within the visual arts? As a designer or artist, why would I want (or need) to write software? Software influences all aspects of contemporary visual culture. Many established artists have integrated software into their process. Prominent architects and designers not only use software, they commission custom software to help them realize their unique ideas. The creators of every innovative video game and Hollywood animated film write custom software to enhance their work.


The Waste Land
by T.S. Eliot
The Polluted Thames River
For Eliot, the Thames River is a place that's been immortalized by English poetry for centuries. But in the modern world, the Thames is just a filthy, polluted waterway whose banks are filled with litter and slimy rats (175-188). Lovely. Pollution is an image that comes up in other places in this poem, too, like with the "brown fog" that covers London in physical and spiritual dirt (208). Overall, the pollution represents the destruction of things that were once great. All of the objects that pollute the banks of the Thames are also disposable things that were brought in by modern culture, like sandwich papers, bottles, or cigarette butts. These items all leave traces of people who are drinking and smoking—rather than frolicking and marrying and poeting, like in ye olden times.
- Lines 173-186: Eliot opens "The Fire Sermon" by painting a pretty dismal picture of London's Thames River. In line 176, he quotes the great English poet Edmund Spenser, a man who once wrote love songs about how beautiful and inspiring the "Sweet Thames" was. In modern days, though, Eliot only finds "empty bottles, sandwich papers, / Silk handkerchiefs, cardboard boxes, cigarette ends." The polluting of a once-inspiring river is connected to the moral pollution that has affected a once-inspiring civilization. Maybe the most depressing image of this lost magic comes in Eliot's line, "The nymphs are departed." This line suggests not only that the Thames has lost its former beauty, but that the river has lost a sense of mythological awesomeness that it can never get back.
- Lines 266-269: When these lines talk about how "The river sweats / Oil and tar," the description comes right on the heels of a beautiful images of "Ionian white and gold" (265). So basically Eliot's giving you a sense of how beautiful the world could be, then slapping you in the face with an image of how ugly it actually is. He also talks about the pollution of the river by slipping into the form of a popular song, drawing even more of a comparison between environmental filth and the moral pollution of pop culture.


Wolves in western America were once hunted to near-extinction but have now been reintroduced into certain territories with notable success. More wolves often means more attacks on ranchers' livestock, however, so cowboys are working to track wolf packs by computer to reduce conflicts.Read More
Clean water and healthy ecosystems are becoming increasingly difficult to come by. With floating islands and other inventions, eco-entrepreneur Bruce Kania thinks that biomimicry - such as reconstructing wetlands and growing biofilms - can tackle the toughest of water problems.Read More
Concerned with colony collapse syndrome in honey bees worldwide, scientists, farmers and tech companies teamed up in Australia to create a micro-sensor that collects data on the bee's environment.Read More
In prison, most inmates are alienated from social practices and can be a tax burden for the states. The Colorado Correctional Industries is a program that positions inmates in different forms of labor such as making stuffed toys, farming fish, picking fruit, tending livestock, and creating crafts to be sold at grocery stores. The program makes inmates into taxpayers instead of tax burdens and offers skills that are useful for future employment once they leave prison.Read More
In Colombia, traditional cattle pastures have caused soil degradation, deforestation, and desertification. To reconcile this, several thousand acres of land in Latin America have been transformed into a silvo-pastoral system of grazing and raising cattle with agro-forestry. The Colombia-based Center for Research in Sustainable Systems of Agriculture seeks to reduce pasture land by 26 million acres while increasing cattle numbers by 2019.Read More
The World Conservation Union estimates that 40 percent of the more than 40,000 species it tracks on its Red List are close to extinction and this problem requires humans to change their behavior to fix it. Rare’s the Pride Campaign uses social marketing to attract attention and communicate the conservation message between local communities and government entities. The Pride Campaign has been replicated around the world for different conservation efforts to protect biodiversity.Read More
A robust population of grizzly bears can be an indicator of healthy land; however, the bears also can destroy grain bins, consume vegetation, and kill livestock. Ranchers work with the Canadian government and local conservation groups to protect their resources with bear-proof grain bins and electric fences.Read More
Colombia’s National Development Plan for cattle ranching seeks to reduce pasture land from 94 million acres to 70 million acres while increasing cattle numbers from 23 million head to 40 million. The program focuses on planting trees on grazing land and the "cut and carry method," whereby farmers grow fields of shrubs and distribute the fresh cuttings to cows in pastures. The result is greater cattle productivity and a more eco-friendly farming system.Read More
When cattle die on ranches in Montana, they can attract grizzly bears that can come dangerously close landowners, ranches, and living livestock. Blackfoot Challenge, a coalition of ranchers and landowners who work with the government, collects and composts dead cattle into odorless woodchips. These woodchips are effective at repurposing carcasses into high-way side revegetation projects.Read More
Despite significant increases in funding and advances in biomedical research, the rates of new treatments and drugs for illnesses that reach the market every year have plummeted. A group called the Myelin Repair Foundation, along with several other foundations, uses an intensely goal-directed and collaborative method to tackle the bottleneck.Read More
Collections are versatile, powerful and simple to create. From a customized course reader to an action-guide for an upcoming service-learning trip, collections illuminate themes, guide inquiry, and provide context for how people around the worls are responding to social challenges.
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What are the Causes of Fracture?
A fracture occurs when a bone cannot withstand an outside force.
The most common causes of fracture include -
Fall from a height (more common among children and elderly)
Road traffic accidents
Direct blow on the bone
Repetitive force such as that caused by running can cause stress fracture in the specific area involved such as the foot, ankle, tibia or hip
Risk factors for fracture are -


When students have analyzed their assigned documents, assemble each group (of three pairs) together. Arrange for each pair of students to share its document analyses with the other group members using a placemat strategy. Provide each group with a large sheet of paper. Ask students to draw a circle in the centre with one wedge-shaped space for each pair of students.
Invite students to use their allotted space on the chart to record the key pieces of evidence from their documents for each of the causes. Once all students have summarized their ideas, direct each group to write the four main causes in the centre of the circle. Invite the groups to discuss the most significant evidence from each pair of students related to each of these causes. Explain that students will shortly be asked to reach their own conclusions about the relative importance of the causes, but for the time being they are simply to record in the centre of the circle key evidence that the group can agree on for each cause.


Classics in Irish Schools
Junior Cycle Classics
There are 3 Classics subjects in Irish Schools: Ancient Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies. The new Junior Cycle includes a specification is divided into three Strands: Strand 1 a core strand that examines Ancient Greek Myth and Daily Life; Strand 2 the Classical Studies option which studies the World of Achilles and the City of Rome; and Strand 3 the Ancient Languages option where students study either Ancient Greek or Latin. All students study Strand 1, the core strand, and choose between either Strand 2 or Strand 3.
More info can be found on JCT Classics.
Leaving Cert Ancient Greek and Latin
New Leaving Cert Classical Languages specifications are currently under development. A background document has been developed and a survey on the Classical Languages in schools is currently open: Click Here.
The Classical Association of Ireland - Teachers is the subject association for Classics Teachers in Ireland. Our aim is to promote the teaching of Ancient Greek, Latin and Classical Studies in the Irish Education system, to support the teachers teaching the Classical subjects, and to provide as much resources, information, and guidance we can to teachers, principals, students, schools and parents who either are learning, providing, or teaching Classics or who are interested.
Classics in Ireland
The Romans never came to Ireland - or so we're told! But this simply isn't true. The Romans came here through trade; Patricus - likely a Roman citizen - came here a brought us a symbol of Ireland, the shamrock, and generations of scholars and saints who would write in the Roman language and retain the traditions and writing of one of the most influential civilizations in Europe.
Since, then the Romans - the Greeks who so influenced the Romans - have been a central part of Irish culture and identity! Whether it is through the language of Latin and Ancient Greek which was taught in the Hedge Schools of the 18th century, Bernard Shaws Pygmalion, James Joyce's Ulysses, the Neo-Classical buildings of Dublin, Castletown house, or Cork - and many other Public buildings scattered across Ireland. The Classical Myths and art have become as much a part of the Irish identity and culture as Cú Chulainn, Fionn Mac Cumhail, or Queen Meabh.


How does DS1's electrical system work?
There are two major sources of power on DS1: the solar panels and the battery. Power is routed from either of those two sources to the devices that use electricity on DS1, which are the science, navigation, communications equipment, and the ion thruster.
The wires and other equipment that carry the electricity from one place to another on the spacecraft are collectively called the bus. On DS1 the bus contains a new multifunctional structure that houses several systems at once. Power switching will be helped by the new experimental Power Activation and Switching Module (PAMS).
Since the ion thruster uses so much more power than the rest of the equipment, it is on a different part of the bus which has a very high voltage. The rest of the equipment (science, navigation, and communication) uses a much lower voltage.
When the solar panels are oriented towards the Sun, power flows from the panels to a power distribution center. The power can either be sent to the battery (to recharge it), to the low-voltage equipment, or the ion thruster, or all three at once. When solar power is unavailable, the battery takes over running the low-voltage equipment.
Where does DS1 get its electricity?
What are batteries?
What are solar panels?
What DS1's battery life?
What are tradeoffs between different kinds of power sources for spacecraft?
What is the multifunctional structure?
What components are where on DS1?
How much power does DS1 produce and use?
What are the new low power electronics on DS1?
What is the power activation and switching module?


183/EECS 183. Elementary Programming Concepts. (4). (NS). (BS).
This is an introductory course for students who desire a good working knowledge of basic programming techniques using a high-level language. The course is suitable for both non-concentrators and pre-concentrators in Computer Science and Computer Engineering. Suggested as a prerequisite for CS 280 for students whose programming background is not strong. Introduction to a high-level programming language, top-down design, and structured programming. Basic searching and sorting techniques. Basic data structures; arrays and records; introduction to pointers and dynamic data structures. No previous experience in computing or programming is assumed. Students will write and debug several computer programs. Computer Usage: five or six assignments are given, each requiring the student to write and debug programs using THINK Pascal on the Macintosh microcomputer. Cost:2 WL:1 (Ford)
216/EECS 216. Circuit Analysis. Prior or concurrent enrollment in Math. 215. (4). (Excl). (BS).
Resistive circuit elements; mesh and node analysis, network theorems; network graphs and independence; energy storage elements; one- and two-time-constant circuits; phasors and a.c. steady-state analysis; complex frequency and network functions; frequency response and resonance. Lecture and laboratory.
270/EECS 270. Introduction to Logic Design. (4). (Excl). (BS).
Binary and non-binary systems, Boolean algebra digital design techniques, logic gates, logic minimization, standard combinational circuits, sequential circuits, flip-flops, synthesis of synchronous sequential circuits, PLA's, ROM's, RAM's, arithmetic circuits, computer-aided design. Laboratory includes hardware design and CAD experiments.
280/EECS 280. Programming and Introductory Data Structures. Math. 115 and (CS 183 or 284 or Engineering 104, or EECS 100). Two credits granted to those who have completed CS 283. (4). (NS). (BS).
Techniques and algorithm development and effective programming, top-down analysis, structured programming, testing, and program correctness. Program language syntax and static runtime semantics. Scope, procedure instantiation, recursion, abstract data types, and parameter passing methods. Structured data types, pointers, linked data structures, stacks, queues, arrays, records, and trees.
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Kepler-42 and Jupiter comparison
- A high resolution vector conversion of the size comparison between Kepler-42 and Jupiter.
This artist's concept compares the Kepler-42 (formerly known as KOI-961) planet to Jupiter.
The Kepler-42 planetary system hosts the three smallest planets known to orbit a star beyond our sun (called Kepler-42b, Kepler-42c, Kepler-43d; formerly called KOI-961.01, KOI-961.02 and KOI-961.03). The smallest of these planets, Kepler-42d, is about the same size as Mars. All three planets take less than two days to whip around their star.
The planets were discovered using data from NASA's Kepler mission and ground-based telescopes. The Kepler-42 star is a tiny "red dwarf," just one-sixth the size of our sun. This planetary system is the most compact detected to date, with a scale closer to Jupiter and its moons than another star system.
Original PD raster file: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kepler-42_System_%E2%80%93_Jupiter_System_Comparison.jpg
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Air over industrial belts in China is polluted. No big surprise. But how much more or less polluted is it compared to industrial belts in Europe, the Americas, Australia, Africa and Japan?
China is now the largest emitter of CO2 in the world (although you are correct that the US is much higher per capita). India generates 71% of its electricity from coal.
A plausible estimate may be made from the vantage-point of a satellite by measuring how much light is blocked by particles, and estimating from those particles’ chemical composition the likely distribution of their sizes, drawing on data from American satellites to map out PM2.5 pollution across the entire world. “PM2.5” refers to the smallest solid particles in the atmosphere—those less than 2.5 microns across. Such dust can get deep into people’s lungs; far deeper than that rated as PM10.
World Health Organisation guidelines suggest that PM2.5 levels above ten micrograms per cubic metre are unsafe. Shandong and Henan provinces are topping 50. Yet there are sharp spikes in pollution that are seen on particularly dirty days, when spot readings go much higher. Bejing, the capital’s pollution measures 35. Citizens from Beijing rarely see the sun during some months.
As grandparents who have the authority to solve the pollution problem, what do you say to your grandchildren?
China has opposing government policies:
1) Pollution Control
2) Subsidizing Green Energy and Technology
3) Subsidizing green transport.
But on the other hand
It seems like there are two governments going in the opposite direction. It is similar to China’s smoking policy. China subsidies the treatment of hundreds of people dying every year of smoking related illness, but China state owned companies are the largest suppliers of cigarettes (cancer sticks) in the world.
A Full Scale Aquaponic Tree Nursery in Africa supported by:
- A Micro Hydro Electric System: no dams: HugENERGY.us
- An Irrigation System: NORTHydro.com
- A Rabbit and Fish Farm: AfriCAPITALISM.us
- An Agroforestry Intercrop System: LivingWaterIs.com
- The Charitable Arm: SunnyUp.net
- God’s Loveletters: Godloveletters.com
- Thunder of Justice: ThunderofJustice.com
Stage 1 Agricultural Mechanization of Africa
Stage 2 Today’s Tall Trees Nursery: Carbon Tax Fund
Stage 3 Micro Finance & Landlord Cooperatives
Stage 4 Irrigation in Remote Areas using kinetic energy from moving water.
Stage 5 Electricity Created in Remote Areas using moving water without the use of a dam.


Fasciola hepatica (= Distomum hepaticum), the common liver fluke (also called the sheep liver fluke) is a flatworm belonging to the Trematodes. Its final hosts are sheep, goats, cattle and other domestic and wild mammals, including horses, dogs, cats and humans.
The common liver fluke occurs worldwide but is particularly abundant in humid regions with temperate climate where it can be endemic.
It is one of the most abundant and damaging helminth parasites of grazing ruminants (sheep, goats, cattle). In endemic regions 100% of the animals can be infected. It is particularly harmful, even fatal for sheep. Prevalence and incidence in a particular region depends strongly on ecologic and climatic conditions (e.g. habitats for intermediate hosts and wild mammals, overwintering of the parasites in the environment, etc.) and on livestock management practices (stock density, grazing patterns, etc.).
Horses and pigs kept outdoors can also be affected, but liver flukes are usually not a problem in housed pigs.
Horses, dogs and cats can be occasionally infected, especially in rural environments, but liver fluke is usually not an issue for these animals.
The disease caused by liver flukes is called fasciolosis, fasciolasis, distomatosis or liver rot.
Are animals infected with Fasciola hepatica contagious for humans?
Usually NOT. If livestock is infected with liver flukes, it is not directly contagious for humans, neither through contact, nor when consuming meat, milk or blood of contaminated animals, nor through the feces. BUT experimental studies suggest that humans may be infected when consuming raw livers contaminated with juvenile liver flukes. The same applies to pets infected with liver flukes. Normally humans become infected through ingestion of water contaminated with infective cercariae (see below under life cycle), not by ingesting adult flukes or their eggs.
Final location of Fasciola hepatica
Predilection sites of Fasciola hepatica are the biliary ducts in the liver and the gall bladder.
Anatomy of Fasciola hepatica
Adult liver flukes have a flat body, an oval shape, and are rather large: up to 30 mm long and 15 mm wide. The have a pink-grayish to dark red color. Liver flukes have two suckers, both in the ventral side. The body surface is covered with numerous spines. Liver flukes have no external signs of segmentation. The mouth ends in the pharynx, a muscular tube that allows sucking. The digestive system is blind (i.e. without anus: the only opening is the mouth) and not linear, as in most animals, but branched, ending in several blind ducts (called coeca). Liver flukes are simultaneous hermaphrodites, i.e. they have both male and female reproductive organs.
The eggs of liver flukes are about 80x140 micrometers, with an oval form, operculated (i.e. with a cap-like cover) and of a yellowish to greenish color derived from the host's bile.
Fasciola hepatica has an indirect life cycle with amphibious snails as intermediate hosts, typically from the genus Lymnaea.
Adult flukes produce eggs in the biliary ducts of their hosts. These eggs reach the gall bladder and are passed to the host's gut when the gall bladder is emptied. They are passively transported to the anus and are expelled with the feces. A single liver fluke can produce up to 25'000 eggs a day!
Once outside the host, the larvae called miracidia hatch out of the eggs in 7 to 15 days. These larvae can survive for weeks off a host provided there is enough humidity. They die quickly in a dry environment. Miracidia can swim and penetrate actively into the snails where they remain for 4 to 8 weeks and develop successively to sporocysts, rediae and cercariae, the usual larval stages of most fluke species. A single miracidium can asexually produce up to 600 cercariae.
Mature cercariae leave the snail, attach to the vegetation, lose their tail and produce cysts of about 0.2 mm, the so-called metacercariae, which are infective for the final host. Such cysts can survive for months in the vegetation, even under dry conditions, even in hay! Livestock becomes infected by grazing contaminated pastures or hay, i.e. animals kept indoors can also become infected if they are fed contaminated hay.
Inside the final host young immature flukes hatch out of the cysts and within a few hours they cross the intestinal wall and get into the peritoneal cavity where they migrate towards the liver, which they reach in about 3 weeks. To reach the biliary ducts they have to cross the hepatic tissue, a particularly harmful process for the host that lasts 6 to 8 weeks. Once in the biliary ducts they complete their development to adult flukes and start producing eggs.
The prepatent period of Fasciola hepatica is 9 to 15 weeks, depending on the host and other factors. The entire life cycle can be completed in a minimum of 16 weeks. Left untreated liver flukes can live up to 20 years on sheep, usually not more than one year in cattle.
Livestock grazing in regions with a high water table or frequently flooded are at high risk of becoming infected with liver fluke. The reason is that the snails acting as intermediate hosts are amphibious and need humid habitats that are periodically submerged or flooded. Relatively small humid habitats (e.g. irrigation channels, ditches, ponds, watering holes, etc.) offer suitable conditions for the development of such snails and keep the surrounding pastures infected. Permanently stabled livestock can also become infected through contaminated hay.
Humans and carnivores such as dogs and cats are infected mainly ingesting aquatic plants or drinking water contaminated with cercariae. There is also evidence that consumption of raw liver contaminated with juvenile flukes can be contagious for humans.
Harm caused by Fasciola hepatica
Liver flukes are very harmful for their hosts, particularly for sheep. Young immature flukes migrating through the liver tissues and crossing the wall of the bile ducts cause the major harm. This process destroys the tissues and causes bleeding. The spines in the surface of the flukes irritate the tissues that become inflamed. All this leads to cell death and fibrosis, i.e. the formation of excessive connective tissue that replaces the dead liver cells, which impairs the normal functioning of the liver. Affected livers increase in size and become fragile. Some flukes can become encapsulated in the liver tissues and build cysts as large as walnuts. The bile ducts are also damaged: they become thickened and can be calcified and even obstructed. Infections with secondary bacteria can also happen, mainly due to the general weakness of the host that debilitates its own immune system. In addition, flukes produce own toxins that impair the normal function of the liver.
The bottom line is that the numerous vital physiological processes that run in the liver are disturbed and the affected animals become sick in a degree that depends on the number of flukes that infect them. Infections with liver flukes are usually more harming for sheep (fatalities are not rare) than for cattle and other livestock. Besides fatalities the major economic damage is the consequence of reduced weight gains of young animals (up to 30% less, even after slight infections) and the condemnation of livers at slaughter. Light infection can already reduce milk production in dairy cattle.
Worlwide annual economic loss due to fasciolosis has been estimated to be over US$ 3 billion!
Symptoms and diagnosis of Fasciola hepatica infections
There are no really typical and easily recognizable symptoms of a liver fluke infection in livestock or other animals. The major symptoms are related with the inflammation of the liver (hepatitis) and of the bile ducts (cholangitis) that can be also due to other disorders. Other vital organs are usually not affected. Infections with a few dozen adult flukes may not cause clinical signs other than general weakness and reduced productivity.
Chronic fasciolosis is the more common form in sheep, goats and cattle. It develops along the gradual establishment of adult flukes in the bile ducts. It is characterized by the progressive development of such symptoms as anemia (reduced number of red blood cells), edema (local swellings due to excess fluid) often as "bottle jaw", digestive disturbances (diarrhea, constipation etc.), and cachexia (wasting, i.e. weight loss, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, etc.).
Acute fasciolosis is seldom in cattle but can occur in sheep. It is caused by the sudden migration of many immature flukes through the liver, which leads to complete organ failure. It can develop in healthy animals that may be killed in a few days.
Detection of eggs in the feces confirms the diagnosis. However, since the eggs are passed to the intestine only when the gall bladder is emptied, a negative fecal egg count is not conclusive, i.e. there can be false negatives. It is also important to distinguish Fasciola eggs from Paramphistomum eggs that have a similar aspect.
Prevention and non-chemical control of Fasciola hepatica infections
Fasciola hepatica can infect virtually all mammal species, wild and domestic. Consequently it is almost impossible to eradicate it from a given property in endemic regions with favorable conditions. Therefore, where it is known to occur, preventive measures are a must to reduce the snail populations, the infection of pastures with infective stages, or the access to livestock to highly infested pastures.
Vector snails are amphibious and live both in water (e.g. streams, lakes, pools, swamps, marshes, irrigation channels, ditches, ponds, watering holes, etc.) as well in the humid vegetation around such places. These snails are enormously prolific: a single snail can produce more than 100'000 snails within one year.
Whatever measures help keeping the pastures dry have to be encouraged, e.g.:
- Ensuring an adequate drainage.
- Building watering points on solid ground, without puddles.
- Make unavoidable ditches or channels less attractive to the snails: make the borders steeper and/or cover them with concrete, eliminate the surrounding vegetation, drying them completely out periodically, etc.
- Avoid even very small water points that support the snails, e.g. hardened footprints (of shoes or car tires).
If permanent humid environments cannot be eliminated, they have to be fenced to prevent livestock from grazing there.
Rotational grazing is highly recommended to diminish fluke infestations. Simultaneous grazing of sheep and cattle is not advisable. Alternate grazing (e.g. sheep and cattle, sheep and horses, etc.) won't help, because liver flukes can infest all livestock.
Livestock infected with liver flukes can develop a certain level of natural immunity and become resistant, especially cattle. Animals with chronic fasciolosis may recover spontaneously. However, such natural resistance is usually associated with hepatic fibrosis, i.e. a partial impairment of the liver function that will certainly result in a reduced productivity.
Keeping livestock healthy and well fed diminishes the harm caused by liver flukes and favors the development of the previously mentioned natural immunity.
There are so far no vaccines against the common liver fluke. To learn more about vaccines against parasites of livestock and pets click here.
Biological control of liver flukes (i.e. using their natural enemies) is so far not feasible.
You may be interested in an article in this site on medicinal plants against external and internal parasites.
Chemical control of Fasciola hepatica infections
- Albendazole (benzimidazole), broad-spectrum anthelmintic. Effective also against most roundworms and tapeworms.
- Clorsulon (benzenesulphonamide), narrow-spectrum flukicide.
- Closantel (salicylanilide), medium-spectrum anthelmintic. Effective also against some gastrointestinal roundworms.
- Nitroxinil (halogenated phenol), medium-spectrum anthelmintic. Effective also against some gastrointestinal roundworms.
- Oxyclozanide (salicylanilide), narrow-spectrum flukicide.
- Rafoxanide (salicylanilide), medium-spectrum anthelmintic. Effective also against some gastrointestinal roundworms.
- Triclabendazole (benzimidazole), narrow-spectrum flukicide.
As previously mentioned migrating immature flukes are the most harmful, therefore efficacy against these stages is essential. Products without efficacy against immature flukes will not protect livestock from migrating flukes and need to be administered more frequently. The tables below summarize the efficacy of these flukicidal active ingredients (at their usual therapeutic doses) against the various stages of Fasciola hepatica in sheep and cattle.
|Age in weeks|
|Age in weeks|
Several flukicides (e.g. bithionol, brotianide, diamfenetide, disophenol, hexachloroethane, carbon tetrachloride) used in the last century have been abandoned and replaced by more effective and less toxic flukicides.
In many situations livestock needs to be protected not only against flukes but also against roundworms, less frequently against tapeworms as well. From all the flukicides previously mentioned only albendazole is a broad-spectrum wormer effective also against most roundworms and tapeworms, but its flukicidal efficacy is limited. For this reason mixtures are often used, typically ivermectin + clorsulon, ivermectin + nitroxinil, triclabendazole + levamisole, etc.
For use on livestock these active ingredients (alone or in mixtures), are mostly available as drenches for oral delivery, as injectables or as slow-release boluses. Solid formulations (e.g. tablets, pills, etc, feed additives, etc.) are rather seldom for livestock.
There are very few commercial flukicides approved for use on pig, poultry, dogs and cats, simply because flukes are seldom a problem for them.
In endemic regions strategic use (i.e. preventative or prophylactic use) of flukicides combined with the previously mentioned preventive measures is highly recommended. Delaying the treatments until the first symptoms become evident (i.e. therapeutic or curative use) is often too late: most harm has been already done and probably the pastures have been already contaminated with fluke eggs. Best timing for such preventative treatments depend strongly on local climatic and ecologic conditions that drive the snail population.
Chemical control of the snails with molluscicides (i.e. snail killers) such as copper sulphate, sodium pentachlorophenate, niclosamide, etc. can make sense for very specific purposes, e.g. for treating places where livestock congregates (water holes, feeding areas, salt licks, shade trees, etc) to keep them free of snails. However, trying to eradicate snails from a property is hopeless and useless. It is virtually impossible to treat every place where they can survive and they reproduce extremely quickly. Cleaned pastures would become re-infested very fast. In addition, it would be too expensive and very harmful for the environment. In fact, such molluscicides (mainly niclosamide) are approved only in a few countries as an aid in the prevention of human schistosomiasis (also called bilharziosis or human snail fever).
Ask your veterinary doctor! If available, follow more specific national or regional recommendations or regulations for liver fluke control.
Resistance of Fasciola hepatica to flukicides
There are numerous reports on liver fluke populations resistant to triclabendazole and albendazole (both benzimidazoles) in numerous countries. The first cases were reported in 1995 in Australia, later on it has been also reported for many other countries on sheep (e.g. Argentina, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, UK) and on cattle (e.g. Argentina, Netherlands). Since than it seems to be quite widespread in these countries and most likely already present in other regions, even if no specific cases have been reported so far.
There are also reports on liver fluke populations on sheep resistant to rafoxanide and closantel (both salicylanilides), probably with cross-resistance to nitroxinil, and also to clorsulon. However resistance to these compounds seems not to be as widespread as resistance to benzimidazoles.
A practical consequence of this is that if a particular product does not achieve the expected control of Fasciola hepatica, it is reasonable to consider a resistance problem, especially if that product has been used for several consecutive years. However, experience shows that many cases of product failure are due to incorrect use and not to resistance.
To prevent or at least delay the development of resistance it is highly recommended to periodically change the chemical class of the product used, before resistance is suspected, e.g. every one or two years. This is usually called rotation.


The same familiar problems. Pick a step motor that’s too big and you’ll end up with vibration. Too small, and it’ll likely stall out. Then there’s rotor inertia. If inertia is too small, you’ll never be able to get the load moving. Truth be told, proper selection and sizing of step motors is not difficult: Just follow a few basic steps.
The first order of business is to determine the acceleration rate. All load motion, whether rotary or linear, must be converted into motor motion — the number of revolutions or degrees the motor must rotate. Since you already know how much time is available to achieve the desired motion, you can determine the acceleration rate and peak motor speed.
Be sure to consider rotor inertia as well. As a general rule, load inertia should be no more than 10 times the rotor inertia. For short, quick, high-performance moves, the ratio of load inertia to rotor inertia should be closer to 1:1.
Two-pronged torque value
When determining torque, remember that it’s actually made up of two components — constant torque and acceleration torque. Constant torque Tc usually results from friction and gravity and fights against the motor. In other words, the motor must always overcome this torque. Fortunately, it is easy to measure (applying a torque wrench to the load) or calculate (friction force is μW, where μ = coefficient of friction and W = weight of the load). Once you know the force, it is a simple matter to factor in the radius of action to convert it to torque.
Acceleration force is harder to measure because it is difficult — not to mention dangerous — to simulate an acceleration profile while holding a torque wrench on the load. If the load needs to be up to speed quickly, say 50 msec, the torque wrench is likely to fly off.
Calculating acceleration torque isn’t that complicated, however. Acceleration torque Ta is the product of acceleration a and load inertia Ja. Since the inertia and acceleration rate have already been determined, acceleration torque can easily be calculated.
Once the acceleration torque is calculated, add it to the constant torque, and multiply by a safety factor of about 1.5. You now have a torque value and a peak speed value. At this point, check the torque/speed curve to see if the selected motor can perform the move.
Two kinds of motion profiles
Moves usually take the form “move x distance in y time.” The two types of motion profiles include trapezoidal and triangular. Typically, triangular profiles are used for moves of less than a second and trapezoidal profiles are used for moves greater than a second. Regardless of which type of motion profile is used, it is easy to determine the acceleration a and the peak speed Vp from the following equations where x = total movement and t = total move time.
For triangular profiles:
For trapezoidal profiles:
All load motion must be converted back to motor motion. Working in radians (rad) makes the math easier. There are 2π rad and 360° in one revolution. So, if you want to move 2.5 revolutions in 0.75 sec, that converts to 15.7 rad in 0.75 sec. Similarly, if you have a screw with four threads/in., and you want to move 3.2 in., that would be (3.2)(4)(2π) = 80.4 rad.
Once a is calculated, it is multiplied by the quantity of reflected inertia plus rotor inertia to get the acceleration torque, or TA = a(JRef + JR). All step motor rotor inertias are provided in the motor specifications. Once TA is known, add TC, multiply by a safety factor, and since the peak speed has already been calculated, the torque/speed curves can be referred to in order to see if the motor will work.
Suppose you have a horizontal screw 30 in. long, 0.5 in. diameter, with five threads/in. Suppose also that the load is 75 lb, and you want to move 2 in. during 1.3 sec. For the following equations, c is the efficiency of the screw, (about 0.95 for ballscrews and 0.7 for others); p is pitch; and the equation for the inertia in a long cylinder (i.e., the screw) is:
where L = length, ρ = material density (4.5 oz/in.3 for steel), and r = radius.
To convert from mass inertia to weight inertia, multiply Jscrew by g.
Screw and load yield a total inertia of 2.03 oz-in.2
Suppose you choose a motor with a rotor inertia of 1.5 oz-in.2 Using a trapezoidal profile, and since 2 in. equals 62.8 rad of motor movement,
Total inertia = 2.03 + 1.5 = 3.53 ozin. 2 = 9.14 x 103 oz-in.-sec2.
So, TTot = 1.5 + 6 = 7.5 oz.-in. and TReq = (7.5)(1.5) = 12 oz-in.
With regard to the torque/speed curve, the motor selected (based on its inertia ratio) is found to have more than adequate torque to do the job. In fact, it has a lot more torque than required. Because excessive torque can cause vibration problems, the current should be lowered, thereby lowering torque.
Craig Ludwick is an application engineering manager for Oriental Motor U.S.A. Corp., Torrance, Calif.


The Do’s and Don’ts of Understanding Nursing Theories
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Understanding Nursing Theories – Overview
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Through collaboration with the NLA, our nurse leaders have the opportunity to share in courses offered throughout the nation via the web and in person. Nurse Anesthetists administer every type of anesthesia, work in every type of practice setting and supply care for all kinds of operation or procedure. She should be an independent practitioner able to make independent judgement.
The Hidden Treasure of Understanding Nursing Theories
Thus, the perfect purpose of education is reaching to the former limit of the person growth potential. Thus, the very best aim of education is reaching to the previous limit of the individual growth potential. Therefore, the perfect goal of education is reaching to the preceding limit of the individual growth potential.
Certainly everything in our organizations and our company is a synthesis of current technology or current ideas. Many factors influence a person’s preferred style. 1 area where investors have to rethink their investment is really the original aim of art to check at.
The conventional definition of utility is the best happiness of the best number. There are quite a lot of examples of optical illusions, but they don’t manage the true character of space. It’s generalizable in such a manner that the concepts presented are at a degree of abstraction which permits them to be applied in many distinct circumstances.
Whispered Understanding Nursing Theories Secrets
Health can be completely individualized. Time is frequently an excellent issue. Pregnancy is among the miracles of life.
There are several sorts of research theories. The critical concepts of a particular theory are its constructs. The vital concepts of a particular theory are its constructs.


The Olympics and Growth Mindsets
Following our 'Road to Rio' theme last term, many teachers kickstarted the new school year by discussing the Olympic Games that took place over the summer holidays!
Many of the children watched the various events that took place and were able to discuss the skills and qualities shown by every athlete who attended the Games.
As the children may face different challenges in their new year groups, it was important to be able to link the Olympic Games with the idea of having a 'growth mindset' and the understanding that success comes from hard work and a positive attitude. Classes listened to interviews with different athletes and watched clips from the Olympics that demonstrated different kinds of success.
Attached below is a PowerPoint used to guide some of the Circle Times that took place, with each photo linking to a video or news article.
Hopefully, the children will now be starting the new school year feeling inpsired!


Schisms and Sects
Written by: Moojan Momen
Since the Baha'is claim to be trying to bring unity to the world, it would obviously not make a great deal of sense for the religion itself to be divided into sects. Therefore the founder of the Baha'i Faith and its successive leaders took steps to prevent the formation of schisms and sects. The successive stages in the leadership of the Baha'i Faith have been guaranteed by written documents conferring this succession. This has made it difficult for anyone else to set up an alternative leadership.
During his lifetime, Baha'u'llah faced opposition from some Babi followers of his half-brother Mirza Yahya Azal (1832-1912), who claimed leadership of the Babi movement. Some individual followers of Azal played important political roles in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and after, but this group never really formed a religious community although there is a scattering of individuals who still adhere to it.
'Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'u'llah's successor, was opposed by his half-brother, Mirza Muhammad 'Ali (1853-1937), who claimed that 'Abdu'l-Baha had exceeded his authority and station and who tried to set up an independent center of leadership in the Baha'i community. Although at first he attracted a number of prominent Baha'is to his side, this group within a few years went into sharp decline and was never able to establish an independent religious community. When Shoghi Effendi took on the leadership of the Baha'i Faith, he faced only a minor challenge from Mirza Muhammad 'Ali.
During Shoghi Effendi's period of leadership, there were a number of Baha'is who objected to the administrative order that he was establishing in the Baha'i community. Some of these set up the New History Society in the United States and were successful in hosting a number of meetings and forming an international pen-pal club based on Baha'i teachings. These initiatives lapsed with the deaths of the founders.
Since the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the most significant attempt to create a schism in the Baha'i community was by Charles Mason Remey (1874-1974) who claimed to be the second guardian in succession to Shoghi Effendi. Although a number of Baha'is in the United States, France, and Pakistan followed him, Remey was never able to gain significant support and after his death, the movement split several times into a number of very small factions, some of which still survive. There have also been some smaller groups who have come out in opposition to the Baha'i administration, mainly in Germany and the United States. In summary, the small dissident groups formed over the last century have not been successful in establishing themselves as independent religious communities and most have not survived long after the death of their founders.
The internet has allowed some of these dissident groups to achieve a level of presence and interaction that would have been impossible before because of their small numbers and geographical spread. Despite this newfound ability to contact each other, however, none of these groups has ever grown to any appreciable extent and none has gone beyond attacking the main Baha'i community. None of them, for example, have forged a separate identity, developed a body of literature, created a viable community, or produced a distinctive way of being a Baha'i. It would not, therefore, be correct to call any of these existing dissident groups sects of the Baha'i Faith. Today more than 99.9 percent of those calling themselves Baha'is belong to the main group.


A RETROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF THE FREQUENCY OF DISTOMOLAR TEETH IN A POPULATION OF 14.250 PATIENTS
The supernumerary teeth that occur distally to a molar tooth described as “distomolar” teeth. Supernumerary teeth were found more often in the maxilla than in the mandible. They may erupt normally or remain impacted and appear inverted. Distomolar teeth are generally seen smaller than second or third molars and most of them are impacted The aim of this study is to determine the frequency, location, and shape of distomolar teeth in a population of urban Turkish adults.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A retrospective observational study was conducted on 14.250 patients’ panoramic images, with the documentation of demographic data, the presence of distomolar teeth, their number and morphology.
The presence of distomolars in this population was found to be 0.32%. In total, 55 distomolar teeth were detected in 45 patients. All distomolars were found in maxilla and majority of them were impacted (n=51, 92.7% of the distomolars). 19 distomolars were found bilaterally in nine cases (0.06%). In one patient, two distomolars were detected in the maxilla in which one in left and the other in the right side.
Distomolars, which described as a supernumerary tooth distal to the third molar, are rare occurring dental anomalies. Because of that clinicians should make a careful investigation of panoramic radiographs.
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The 90th anniversary of some of the most fateful days in human history is passing almost unnoticed and unremarked:
FIRST WORLD WAR ERUPTS:
August 1, 1914
Four days after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Germany and Russia declare war against each other, France orders a general mobilization, and the first German army units cross into Luxembourg in preparation for the German invasion of France. During the next three days, Russia, France, Belgium, and Great Britain all lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and the German army invaded Belgium. The ‘Great War’ that ensued was one of unprecedented destruction and loss of life, resulting in the deaths of some 20 million soldiers and civilians.
(via The History Channel’s “This Day in History“)
And millions more in Russia via the Russian Revolution, millions more again in the Second World War, finishing what the First did not, and doubtless millions in named and unnamed consequences of both. The conflagration began burning 90 years ago.
There are doubtless many superb literary evocations of World War I; one I know and can recommend is Pat Barker’s trilogy: Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, and The Ghost Road. The first book that brought home World War I to me is the classic work by John Keegan, The Face of Battle: Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme — as beautifully written, eye-opening, and richly researched a work of history as I’ve ever come across. From Keegan’s description of the Somme, (July 1, 1916):
In some battalions, the men were able to walk upright, with arms sloped or ported, as they had been expecting. In others they were soon bent forward, like men walking into a strong wind and rain, their bayonets fixed and their rifles horizontal. ‘Troops always, in my experience’, wrote Lord Chandos, whose observation this is, ‘unconsciously assume this crouching position when advancing against heavy fire.’ [...]
[T]he last brigade [had] a mile of open ground to cover before it reached its own front line, a safe enough passage if the enemy’s machine-guns had been extinguished, otherwise a funeral march. A sergeant of the 3rd Tyneside Irish (26th Northumberland Fusiliers), describes how it was: ‘I could see, away to my left and right, long lines of men. Then I heard the “patter, patter” of machine-guns in the distance. By the time I’d gone another ten yards there seemed to be only a few men left around me; by the time I had gone twenty yards, I seemed to be on my own. Then I was hit myself.’
(pp. 244-245 of my paperback copy)
If you’re interested, other books you might consider are The Guns of August, by Barbara Tuchman, John Mosier’s The Myth of the Great War, and Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory. Like Trotsky once said: “You may not be interested in war. But war is interested in you.”


Whether this definition is accurate or not, this is what the terms “race” and “ethnicity” mean to me: Race is a term that describes a group of people with similar descent. I believe race is determined physical specifications such as color, language, eye shape, or even things such as blood types. Human beings as a whole are described as the “human race;” I believe this to be an accurate definition as human beings (despite color, language, or any other physical characteristics) are all the same. Genetically speaking, we are all made up of the same “parts. The term “race” is an all-encompassing statement used to define a large group, overall. Ethnicity defines the background of a particular person or thing. This term encompasses many backgrounds and associations. Foods can be “ethnic” if they originate or are commonly consumed in a specific country or region. The same applies to human beings. One’s ethnicity may be determined by his or her birthplace, religion, of beliefs. Ethnicity does not define physical characteristics, but rather backgrounds and traits. The United States is a melting pot.
This country is made up of thousands and thousands of different people from different places. The USA is home to many ethnic backgrounds; however, the population (in my opinion) is a single “race. ” We are all humans, as I have previously stated. Although our ethnic backgrounds may differ in many different ways, all in all, we are one race. This is important to bear in mind. Heritage should always be recognized, as it typically is in the United States. But acknowledging the vast backgrounds that exist in this country is the most important concept of all.
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Definition of dustbath in English:
A bird’s rolling in dust to clean its feathers.
- Birds need grit and places they can take a dust bath, which helps them rid their feathers of mites and other parasites.
- Too many critics seem to treat their own writings more as a dust bath for something bothering them than as a means of slaking the thirst for knowledge of the professional or amateur student.
- Now that most of the old undergrowth has been removed the birds are swooping to get all the insects and worms I've disturbed as well as enjoying the occasional dust bath.
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
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In 1930 J.R.R. Tolkien, a veteran of the trenches in World War I and by then a professor at Oxford University, was marking student papers when he noticed that one of the exam books had a blank page at the end.
On that page he wrote: “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.”
That began a remarkable literary adventure that seven years later produced The Hobbit. It took another 17 years for the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy to appear.
What those works and others by Tolkien showed was a vast imagination that created a world into which millions of readers would get lost.
Where did all that was involved in the Middle-earth realm come from? What were the roots and routes of his imagination? Serious readers have pondered those questions for many years.
Some of the answers may be found at an exhibit of Tolkien-related artifacts — maps, drawings, manuscripts, and personal items — that will give readers a clue as to how the mind of this literary magician worked. The exhibit has opened at the Weston Library in Oxford, England. It is the first such exhibit in more than 25 years and will be open until October. After that, it’s coming to New York and then to Paris.
The exhibit has been reviewed by The Guardian, which you can read here: How Tolkien created Middle-earth | Books | The Guardian
It is all too easy to believe in the myth of the professor as the one true god of a world he knew in its entirety. The truth, however, is more complex. Tolkien was not always sure of himself. A notebook page reveals that Gandalf once had the Elvish name Bladorthin, meaning grey wanderer. Gandalf, it turns out, was the original name of Thorin Oakenshield. Tolkien flickers between names in the text, as if torn. “He spoke about sub-creation,” McIlwaine says, “and I think this tied into his religious beliefs that all talents and gifts come from God. God is the one creator, and what we do is in imitation of that. Tolkien was a very humble man.”
So, if you are a citizen of Middle-earth, you might want to check out these links or even try to see the exhibit yourself. You’ll probably understand a bit more about where you came from.
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