Douglas County Businessman Reaps Harvest From Solar Energy
From their small farming operation in west-central Nevada at the foot of the silvery white Sierra Nevada, Ed and Linda Kleiner can see a long way.
Ed can see a future where his grapes finally grow into sturdy vines that produce. Linda can see a time when the 1851 barn they are rebuilding really DOES become their home.
But another thing the Kleiners already can see is about $3700 a year in energy savings, from their 9 kilowatt photo voltaic solar system. The 25-foot long solar panel was funded in part through a USDA Rural Development energy grant. With a total monthly energy bill of $9 a month, Ed credits the low cost of solar power with helping him to survive the recent economic downturn.
“The recession has hit us, but not as bad as it would have, if we were paying a normal energy bill,” Kleiner said. His bill, which had averaged $230 a month prior to solar, now averages $8 a month, using the sun-thirsty system, which produces 50-60 kWh per day.
The Kleiners own and operate Comstock Seed on SR 88 just north of the California state line. Their business operations involve collecting native seed from desert plants like sagebrush, arrowleaf, bitterbrush and penstemon.
They have seed collectors scattered around the western U.S. who collect the seed, and send the raw material back to Douglas County for processing. Traditionally, native seed has been used for reclamation efforts after mining operations, but increasingly the Kleiners are seeing demand for drought resistant landscaping, reseeding ski areas, and for metropolitan uses where a more native look is needed. The highest energy consumer for the business is the high powered seed cleaning machine Kleiner uses to turn 100 pound bags of sage brush into 15 pound bags of pure gold seed. At $80 a pound, that’s a worthwhile endeavor.
The total cost of the solar project was $82,000. USDA RD provided a $19,995 grant, and was the guarantor for Wells Fargo’s $20,250 loan on the project. Kleiner says the NV Energy tax incentives that were then available to offset the costs for solar powered systems continue to help his bottom line. Currently NV Energy continues to supply incentives to offset the installation costs of hydropower and solar thermal systems, but the solar photovoltaic program is now fully subscribed and has closed. For information, visit the RenewableGenerations website at https://www.nvenergy.com/renewablesenvironment/renewablegenerations/
Kleiner’s farming operations currently puts more energy back to the grid than he uses, accruing credits in the summer and using them during the winter when the cloudy skies reduce solar production.
“Our maximum production is in the spring, when the air and the panels are clean,” Kleiner said. Washing the panels to reduce dust maintenance is the biggest maintenance issue for the solar panels, though a bit of weed-eating now and then is necessary to clear out any tall brush that might shade the panels.
Kleiner shows the box that houses the inverters for the system, which show that the solar panel has kept 132,877 pounds of Co2 from entering the atmosphere over the past three years. That is the amount of Co2 that would have entered the atmosphere from a traditional electric generating system.
USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program notice of funding will soon be published. To learn more about REAP funding for alternative energy systems, visit the USDA RD Energy page at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/nvreapprogram.html or contact Energy Coordinator Mark Williams at (775) 887-1222, Ext. 116.
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and manages housing, business and community infrastructure programs through a national network of state and local offices. Rural Development has an active portfolio of more than $181 billion in loans and loan guarantees. These programs are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural areas.


Nothing beats a home-grown carrot for taste; if you’ve never tried one we promise it will be a revelation. Crunchy, sweet and full of flavour; quite different from the watery bite of an average supermarket carrot!
Carrots are one of those crops that can be sown early in spring, and later from mid summer. This ‘successional’ sowing will extend the season right the way through until September and beyond. Sowing now when the soil is warm, but still moist, means that the seed germinates very quickly, and those unmistakeable ferny leaves will soon be showing through.
How to sow carrots
Weed and fork over the area where you are going to sow. Carrots need fertile soil but don’t add fertilisers such as manure which could cause the roots to fork. Deep, light stone-free soil suits this root crop best but if you have stony soil you can still grow carrots; just choose a round or stump rooted variety. The same applies if you are growing carrots in a container.
Rake the soil to a fine crumbly texture, often referred to as a fine tilth. Sow the carrots very thinly. You can sow in two ways.
Sow in rows in a shallow depression known as a drill, you can mark this on the soil with the edge off a hoe or the tip of a bamboo cane. Make it just deep enough to take the seed.
You can also scatter the seed thinly across a defined area where you want them to grow; this is known as broadcast sowing.
When the seed is sown, cover it lightly with soil by raking over the area very lightly, or you can scuff earth back across the row with your hand; either method works well. The aim is to just cover the seeds with a fine sprinkling of earth.
Once the seeds are covered water the soil to settle the seeds and to help start germination.
Thin the rows very carefully. Carrot root fly is a major pest and the females are attracted to your crop by the delicious carroty smell! They lay their eggs on the soil where the grubs hatch and burrow into your carrots, causing holes and wrecking the crop. Try to thin late in the evening if possible when the flies are less likely to be about.
Covering with fleece or raising a metre high barrier around the carrots are other ways of protecting your crop from this pest.


Ecosystem service benefits of contrasting conservation strategies in a human-dominated region.
Proc Biol Sci. 2009 Aug 22;276(1669):2903-11. Epub 2009 May 27.
Biodiversity and Macroecology Group, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
The hope among policy-makers and scientists alike is that conservation strategies designed to protect biodiversity also provide direct benefits to people by protecting other vital ecosystem services. The few studies that have examined the delivery of ecosystem services by existing conservation efforts have concentrated on large, 'wilderness'-style biodiversity reserves. However, such reserves are not realistic options for densely populated regions. Here, we provide the first analyses that compare representation of biodiversity and three other ecosystem services across several contrasting conservation strategies in a human-dominated landscape (England). We show that small protected areas and protected landscapes (restrictive zoning) deliver high carbon storage and biodiversity, while existing incentive payment (agri-environment) schemes target areas that offer little advantage over other parts of England in terms of biodiversity, carbon storage and agricultural production. A fourth ecosystem service-recreation-is under-represented by all three strategies. Our findings are encouraging as they illustrate that restrictive zoning can play a major role in protecting natural capital assets in densely populated regions. However, trade-offs exist even among the four ecosystem services we considered, suggesting that a portfolio of conservation and sustainability investments will be needed to deliver both biodiversity and the other ecosystem services demanded by society.
PMID: 19474040 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


Honey bees, like all living things, vary in their traits across the species. Genetic differences across these breeds can lead to differences in attributes like temperament, disease resistance, productivity, color and much more. The environment has a huge impact on differences among bee colonies due to stimuli and response, but the genetic makeup of a colony is the basis for many of the characteristics that define a particular subspecies of honey bee. For as long as honey bees have been domesticated, beekeepers have known that different genetic stocks have distinctive differences that can be used to their advantage or ignored to their disadvantage. Whether it be pollination, a honey crop, bee reproduction, resiliency or otherwise, it is important to have a general grasp on what this means for you and your Beekeeping Goals.
“Stock,” as defined by David Tarpy at North Carolina State University, is a term to define a loose combination of traits that characterize a particular group of bees. Such groups can be divided by the species, race, region, population, or breeding line in a commercial operation. In many ways, the easiest way to understand Bee Stock is to compare it to the way we have followed and tracked the pedigree of racing horses throughout the ages. Often there are lines of heredity that go back hundreds of years in quality stock.
It is important to understand that although most of the honey bees for purchase come from these so-called races of honey bees, from what we know about honey bee reproduction and queen mating, the “purity” of the stock is not always easy to control. Beyond that, these races are still defined from the Old World. Dr. Al Dietz defined the terms “bee stock” and “races” as “The geographic races of bees are the results of natural selection in their homeland. That is, the bees became adjusted to their original environment, but not always to the economic requirements of beekeepers. Therefore, they are not the result, but the raw material for breeding.” His statement (1992. Honey bees of the world. The Hive and the Honey Bee) helps us to understand that although these genetic strains are rooted in history, they are still just a way to help us classify basic differences and are not impervious to flaws.
There are 5 main points to consider when searching for and choosing a bee stock according to the American Bee Journal. Others take it to a a level of detail that may be beyond a new beekeeper or even a practiced beekeeper of 5 years. These types of selection criteria include:
More importantly, there are different criteria for different styles and types of beekeepers. It all goes back to why you are a beekeeper and your goals behind keeping bees.
In the United States there are 6 main stocks of honey bees. Each strain has been studied and observed to have a variety of attributes that may be helpful to know in making your choice. Beyond that, there are local strains coming from different regions of the US and the world every year. It is always good practice to do research beyond these main strains to see if there is something that might be better suited for your area. This information comes from a variety of research institutions who have focused on making this a useful tool.
Italian Honey Bees are some of the most widely used races of honey bee stock. They originated in Italy, hence the name, and were brought to the United States in 1859. They are known for their prolific brood cycles and production, gentle nature and reluctance to swarm. As excellent producers, most commercial beekeepers will use Italians as their main source of production. They are very light colored, almost completely yellow in some colonies, making them aesthetically pleasing to the eye and fairly easy to identify.
Despite the well-rounded advantages of the Italian Bee, there are some drawbacks.
Italian Honey Bees are great for almost any beekeeper due to their well-rounded nature and availability in packages and nucs.
Russian bees were brought to the United States in 1997 by the USDA in response to the increase in colony collapse due to parasites. They have been noted to have natural capabilities and colony tolerance to handle varroa and tracheal mites. In fact, the US Department of Agriculture’s Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has shown results that many stocks of this breed contain half the mite load of standard commercial stocks.
Russian bees tend to rear brood only during times of nectar and pollen flows, making this subspecies heavily reliant on the surrounding environment. Also, less availability due to constraints on breeding make this bee significantly more difficult to obtain for hobbyists or “newbees.”
Beyond these traits, Russian bees exhibit some unusual behaviors in comparison to other strains. For example, Russian honey bee colonies tend to contain a queen cell almost all the time, in comparison to most stocks, where a queen cell is only present during times of swarming or queen-replacement. Another interesting trait is that although Russian colonies tend to be more aggressive, research shows that when in the presence of other strains, there is significant cross-contamination of stock and an increased susceptibility to natural pests.
Overall, this strain of bees is still being understood and is most likely not available to most beekeepers.
The Carniolan Bee is one of the top 2 most popular bee stocks in the United States. This strain is favored for a variety of reasons including:
Beyond these basic traits, due to the origin of this stock from central and Eastern Europe, these bees have been bred to be more tolerant of colder climates and rank among the best stocks for overwintering. These bees spend their winters in a tight cluster with a modest food supply and have proven to be a favorite for beekeepers in Slovenia, where beekeeping is of cultural significance.
Yet, there are some drawbacks with this strain, most notably, this bee stock tends to swarm more often than most other subspecies of bee. Some researchers attribute this to their explosive growth and comb production early in the year and even into times of dearth, as they do not require much food to survive in comparison to other bee strains.
Overall, this strain of honey bee is a great option for beekeepers who are concerned about shifting weather from warm to cold and damp or rougher winter seasons.
The Buckfast Bee stock is named for the location of its hybridization and origin, Buckfast Abbey, in Devon in the United Kingdom. During the early 20th century, populations were being decimated by tracheal mites. Brother Adam (Karl Kehrle) who was in charge of beekeeping at the abbey, started to cross the strongest colonies who had survived in the area. The new stock of bees have become a favorite for those in similar environments as that of the British Isles.
The Buckfast bee shows strong resistance to some natural parasites. It has a strong knack for foraging and is not a strain that tends to swarm, making it more difficult to find these bees in the United States. Beyond this, there is often inbreeding with this strain over time. This decreases the characteristics such as resilient behavior against pests and other elements that make this a quality strain of honey bee.
Yet, if a beekeeper can tolerate the increased aggressive behavior and monitor the colony, this bee stock can last years without replacement.
This bee stock was once very popular in the United States, but its lack of honey production overall has lessened its use among honey producers in the United States. Yet, there are still some commercial pollinators who use this strain due to its very long tongue; longer than Carniolan bee stock most of the time. Similar to the Carniolan bee, the Caucasian bee shares similar traits in temperament.
The lessened use of this strain in the US has increased its value among traditionalists because most stock is imported from Europe and then cross-bred with Carniolans. Even though the gradual build-up rate of the colony is slower than many largely used stocks, it allows for honey to be stored more efficiently near the brood. In other words, it doesn’t proceed to a new comb until the previous one is completely filled.
For beekeepers who understand the importance of winter stores and the “heating blanket” in colder climates, this single trait could help your bees increase the chance of overwintering this year.
The European Dark Bee, or German Dark Bee, was brought from Northern Eurasia in the colonial era. This subspecies has since then been segmented further into sub races of German Bees due to its hardiness. It is able to survive long, cold winters more often than other strains of honey bees. However, due to their defensive nature and susceptibility to brood diseases like American and European foulbrood, this stock has lost significant favor with beekeepers all over the world.
Although this strain of bee stock has lost significant value in the commercial sector, there are still researchers and hobbyists working hard to isolate the hardiness of this subspecies through tracking breeding values and data religiously.
For beekeepers in the US, this strain is most likely not available, and would not be a good choice unless you are familiar with natural diseases and parasites in the hive. The current state of things makes this a difficult race to maintain a healthy colony.
The Africanized, or Killer Bee as most know it, is not even from Africa – it originated in Brazil. This honey bee strain was a hybrid designed in a lab with the goal of increasing pest and parasite resistance, while at the same time increasing production. This bee stock showed great promise until 26 experimental swarms escaped quarantine and took over South America.
This highly aggressive strain of honey bee has some advantages, if one learns to work with them. They begin foraging at a younger age, typically produce more honey, and have a significantly smaller colony size, even though they reproduce at a faster pace. There are many stories of beekeepers working well with these bees for these positive traits.
Overall, these bees are misunderstood and the threat of being stung to death is not worth the risk for most beekeepers, especially new beekeepers who are learning. As further research arises about feral colonies of hybridized bees with these traits arise, this stock plays a relatively insignificant role in the beekeeping world, unless you have encountered them in person. This is why we have not added them to our table of honey bee stock, but we think it is important for beekeepers to know about them.
It really doesn’t matter what type of subspecies or race of honey bee you choose. It is up to you, the beekeeper, to be the best steward of your colony or colonies. In many cases, you will not even get a choice as to the type of bees you get, especially if you are in the early stages of your beekeeping journey. I recommend, though, to never follow blindly. Ask questions of the mentor you are following. If your philosophy does not align with his or hers, choose something different and test. Find the best group of people to discuss beekeeping with. At Beepods, we have set up a variety of groups for top bar beekeepers and our Beepods Beekeepers.


The London & Greenwich Railway (L&GR)
may have been the capital’s first passenger railway, but the present day
Greenwich station is by no means London’s oldest, both in terms of structural
composition and location. The background of the L&GR is looked at in depth
within the London Bridge pages, but it is worth repeating a few key points here
to give this section flavour. Led by Colonel George Landmann and George Walter,
the organisation came into being in 1831 and two years later, had received
Parliamentary approval for a line between its namesake locations. Sixty million
bricks were used to construct an 878-arch viaduct spanning the dense suburbs of
South London – a ground-level line would have posed far too many level crossings
and have been susceptible to flooding. On 8th February 1836, the capital’s first
two stations opened: Spa Road and Deptford, with an hourly service in either
direction from the outset. In the westward direction, the end of the line was
finally reached when an extension to a then new terminus at London Bridge was
opened on 14th December 1836, the Lord Mayor of London and crowds of spectators
witnessing the occasion. Meanwhile, there was difficulty at the other end of the
line: for merely ¾ mile did the route require further lengthening to reach the
proposed Greenwich terminal site, but the presence of Deptford Creek was
hindering this. The ingenuity which helped build the huge viaduct was required
once again, this time to erect a unique style of bridge to carry the tracks over
the water. This undertaking took another two years to complete, but the line
could correctly be referred to as the ‘’London & Greenwich Railway’’ from 24th
December 1838 onwards. However, it would be until 12th April 1840 that a
permanent-looking station was eventually opened, but the travelling public were
not to be disappointed.
The terminus established at Greenwich was worthy of the home borough of the Royal Observatory. In light of the railway company’s original ambitions to lengthen the line all the way to Dover, the layout selected here was somewhat unusual. The main building was positioned end-on to the running lines, thus an extension eastwards would require its total demolition or a new set of platforms on a bypass line. The architecture employed was imposing and the original station building could accurately be described as simply being five-sevenths in length of today’s structure. Its style replicated the latter, although the original structure did not have the pitched roof which its SER replacement had. Black metal railings surrounded the building’s forecourt, complementing the complex. Two platform faces were separated by four lines, these of which converged at the station building end on a moveable sector: this could switch locomotives between tracks, but naturally, could not rotate them as per the more familiar turntable. No canopies or shelters were provided on the platforms, all waiting accommodation instead being incorporated within the main building.
It would soon be dire straits for the L&GR. By May 1842 it had three separate concerns operating over its metals into London Bridge: the South Eastern, London & Croydon, and London & Brighton Railways. To cope with this additional traffic, the L&GR laid an additional pair of tracks on the London Bridge approaches and then took the audacious step of demanding from each company just over ½ a penny more per passenger toll in access charges. Despite protests, the L&GR refused to budge, which forced the L&CR to stop operating and subcontract its passenger-carrying duties to the L&BR due to crippling costs. The SER and L&CR subsequently opened their own joint terminus at Bricklayers Arms to avoid the L&GR metals, which would starve it of the very rents it had relied on from the outset. In desperation, the L&GR offered the SER their line on a lease, but the latter was in no hurry to react, instead more intrigued with what events would unfold next. However, agreement was finally reached between the two in August 1844, and the L&GR was to be leased for 999 years at a sum of £45,000 per annum, this coming into effect at midnight on New Year's Eve of the same year.
The SER now had the Greenwich line within its grasp and went from strength to strength, subsequently receiving Parliamentary approval for the North Kent Line in 1847, after a year long campaign. Unfortunately for the company, the Greenwich line was a lame duck at this point, for the Royal Observatory would not allow an eastward extension of it, deeming it would interfere with studies of the skies. Using this line as the starting point would have been ideal, but the SER was instead compelled to follow the circuitous route via Lewisham and Blackheath, then back up to Charlton. Greenwich station did not become a through affair until 1878, when a westward single-track extension from Maze Hill came into operation on 1st February of that year. It was ‘’all change’’ for Greenwich, but despite these alterations occurring during the SER’s cheap clapboard era, the station received quite the opposite treatment – and rightly so. The original station building was demolished, there being no other practical alternative as a result of it backing onto the buffer stops. The SER would most likely have taken more care with this demolition as would usually be expected; much of the original brickwork was to be reused within the replacement building, and the architectural style was also to be perpetuated – economical, but still grand! Even the same style of railings were used around the station forecourt, which again suggests that these too were recycled from the original station. The viaduct also had to be partially demolished at this point, to allow a gradual descent of the tracks into the tunnel bored under Greenwich Park. Interestingly, the four tracks between the platforms were also retained and the selected site for the station building was on the ‘’up’’ side, but the track bed had been slightly re-aligned to the north of the original course. Platform canopies appeared on both sides, graced with an ornate valance (the SER’s trademark ‘’clover’’ pattern), and were copious, adding to the overall grandeur of the layout. A signal box was positioned to the west (‘’down’’ side) and east (‘’up’’ side) of the platforms, both two-storeys high and to the SER’s typical design with sash-style windows. These were both superseded in about 1910 by a single, much larger cabin, some three-storeys high, positioned at the western end of the ‘’up’’ platform. It was presumably built to this height to afford the signalman an unobstructed view of the whole layout, above the platform canopies, now that it was undertaking the work of two former cabins.
There were some significant changes under Southern Railway ownership. Rationalisation began in 1924 with the lifting of the two central tracks, their continued existence unable to be justified on the small amount of traffic which actually used them. The company followed a similar course at Hither Green in 1937, when the third centre track there was removed from the ‘’suburban’’ side. Also during the 1930s, Greenwich’s canopies were severely shortened to no longer than the retaining wall of the station building, and the valances were simplified. This coincided with the rebuilding of the platform supports into prefabricated concrete – before this they were wooden. Third rail had previously arrived in 1926, concurrent with the closure of Greenwich’s signal box, but steam services bound for beyond Dartford continued to serve the station. The station remained little changed until 1954, when the platforms were lengthened at their London ends with prefabricated concrete extensions in June of that year, ready for the commencement of ten-car services. British Rail’s last act at the station was the completion of a thorough refurbishment in 1988, which included the cosmetic cleaning of the station building’s brickwork and the restoring of the SER-style valance on the ‘’up’’ platform canopy. The ‘’down’’ canopy was demolished at this time.
More drastic change was on the horizon for the station. In November 1991, a Parliamentary Bill was deposited for the extension of the Docklands Light Railway from Canary Wharf to Lewisham via Greenwich. This was in response to the sudden boom in employment in Docklands and the Bill received formal approval in May 1993. The work included the boring of a tunnel underneath the Thames between the Isle of Dogs and Cutty Sark, and the provision of a cut-and-cover tunnel underneath the eastern end of Greenwich station. From there, the line then assumed a westward ascent underneath the main station building and emerged from darkness at the western end of the ‘’up’’ platform. The DLR line was double-track and was situated on the original course of the London & Greenwich Railway. Greenwich now had four platform faces; two for serving what was formerly British Rail, and two for the DLR. The original platforms received new all-metal ‘’V’’ shaped canopies, which returned to the station the majority of the weather protection provided by the original SER canopies, but these were decidedly more austere in their appearance. The DLR extension opened throughout to Lewisham in November 1999. Finally, in 2005, a new hotel was completed immediately adjacent to the station building’s western elevation and whilst constructed from yellow brick in sympathy with the SER structure, it sadly mars much of the latter’s elegance.
The façade of the station was an impressive sight to behold when viewed on 19th April 2006, it
still displaying the cleanliness acquired as a result of its refurbishment in the late 1980s. As part
of the same station rejuvenation scheme, the forecourt railings were reinstated, but these have
again been removed, seemingly as a result of the hotel complex. David Glasspool
A bit of editing here and there and we have the original London & Greenwich Railway station
building of 1840 depicted. It just proves how similar the two are: note the shorter length, the
lack of a pitched roof, but the same architecture. Of course, the original building was end-on
to the tracks. David Glasspool
An eastward view from the ''down'' platform on 19th April 2006 reveals the historic station
building, complete with restored SER canopy. The metal ''V'' shaped canopies date from the
advent of the DLR connection and whilst providing some much welcomed protection from
the elements, do somewhat obscure the fine station structure. The hotel of 2005 origin is also
in view, on the right. David Glasspool
The DLR platforms are indicated by the pair of ''V'' shaped canopies in this 19th April 2006
westward view. The ''up'' platform was rebuilt during the DLR works, receiving a new rear
wall built in sympathy with the station building, and the concrete platform extension was
replaced by a brick equivalent. David Glasspool
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Polio, also called poliomyelitis is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by one of three related viruses. Polio is a very serious disease, which can lead to paralysis or even death. Once a person is exposed to polio, it usually takes about three to five days for symptoms to appear.
In about 95 percent of polio cases, infection from the polio virus causes no symptoms or serious effects. In about 5 percent of cases, the polio virus manifests in a mild form (abortive polio) with flu-like symptoms, in a nonparalytic form (aseptic meningitis) or in a severe form called paralytic polio. People who have minor or nonparalytic forms recover completely.
Causes of Polio:
Polio is caused by infection with the poliovirus. This virus is highly contagious, and is passed on through food and water contaminated with the stool (feces) of infected people. It can take between four and 35 days before symptoms appear and an infected person can pass the virus on to other people even before symptoms appear.
Infection with polio happens when the virus enters the body through the mouth, multiplies in the throat and intestine, and spreads through the blood to the nervous system. There, the virus attacks nerve cells, which can lead to paralysis.
Symptoms of Polio:
Polio is a serious condition that causes paralysis in about 1% of those infected (paralytic polio). However, most people do not become sick at all. In a small number of cases, the disease causes flu-like symptoms but does not lead paralysis (nonparalytic polio).
Nonparalytic polio causes symptoms that mimic the flu. A person may experience a sore throat, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, a fever, or vomiting. Most cases of nonparalytic polio clear up in a number of days, but a some people go on to develop meningitis, a condition in which the lining of the brain is infected. Meningitis can be fatal if it is not treated quickly.
When a person develops paralytic polio, the symptoms are more serious. As the virus spreads through the nerves it destroys nerves that control muscles. The infection may be fatal if the brain and respiratory organs become affected.
Treating and Preventing Polio:
Because there is no cure for polio, supportive therapy is the main treatment. Improving a person's chance of recovery is the main goal of treatment. This type of treatment helps minimize discomfort and prevent complications while the person heals. Supportive treatment may include medications for polio symptoms, ventilators to help the person breathe, exercise, and a balanced diet.
Polio is not a treatable disease, yet it is almost completely preventable. Vaccination with the polio vaccine provides the most effective form of prevention. Childhood immunization programs protect Canadians from infection by the poliovirus.
Post Polio Syndrome:
Post polio syndrome is a condition that affects polio survivors anywhere from 10 to 40 years after recovery from an initial paralytic attack of the poliomyelitis virus. Post-polio syndrome is characterized by a further weakening of muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection.
Post polio syndrome is a very slowly progressing condition marked by long periods of stability. The severity of post-polio syndrome depends on the degree of the residual weakness and disability an individual has after the original polio attack. People who had only minimal symptoms from the original attack and subsequently develop post-polio syndrome will most likely experience only mild post-polio syndrome symptoms. People originally hit hard by the polio virus, who were left with severe residual weakness, may develop a more severe case of post-polio syndrome with a greater loss of muscle function, difficulty in swallowing, and more periods of fatigue
Post polio syndrome is rarely life-threatening. Post-polio syndrome is also called PPS.
Symptoms of Post Polio Syndrome
Some of the symptoms of post polio syndrome are:
new weakness in muscles
pain in muscles or joint
weakness and muscle atrophy
Treatment for Post polio syndrome:
Post polio syndrome can be treated . Treatments are focused on reducing the severity of the symptoms.
Massage applied to remedy polio in Ayurvedic:
As possibly befits the remedy for such a deadly serious disease like polio, Ayurvedic prescribes arguably its most important massage form in the treatment of the disease, namely the method known as Pindasvedka or Navarakizhi.
This treatment revitalizes mainly the skin and is also used with Ayurvedic anti ageing treatments. However in achieving this it also rejuvenates dead and wasted muscles which is why it is used as a remedy for paralysis, which is why it used on polio sufferers.
Herbs and spices in treating Polio:
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Your last family get-together was disheartening. Not because of any intra-family drama (though there’s always some of that). No, the source of the frustration was simple: it was loud, and you couldn’t hear anything. So you didn’t get the opportunity to ask about Dave’s new cat or Sally’s new career. And that was really irritating. You try to play it off as if the room’s acoustics are the problem. But you have to acknowledge that it may be a problem with your hearing.
It can be especially difficult to self-diagnose hearing loss (that’s why, typically, it’s not suggested). But you should keep your eye out for certain warnings. When enough red flags show up, it’s time to contact us for a hearing assessment.
Hearing loss’s early signs
Most of the symptoms of hearing loss are subtle. But you may be dealing with hearing loss if you can relate to any of the items on this list.
Some of the most common early signs of hearing impairment may include:
- A friend points out that your media devices are getting progressively louder. Perhaps the volume on your cell phone keeps getting louder and louder. Or maybe, your TV speakers are maxed out. Typically, it’s a family member or a friend that notices the loud volumes.
- Normal sounds seem unbearably loud. It’s one of the more unusual early warning signs linked to hearing loss, but hyperacusis is common enough that you may find yourself encountering its symptoms. If specific sounds become unbearably loud (especially if the issue doesn’t go away in short order), that could be an early hearing loss indicator.
- You keep requesting that people repeat themselves. This is particularly true if you’re asking numerous people to slow down, say something again, or speak louder. You may not even know you’re making such frequent requests, but it can definitely be an early sign of diminishing hearing.
- High-pitched sounds are hard to hear. Perhaps you find your tea kettle has been whistling for five minutes without your knowledge. Or maybe, you never even notice the doorbell ringing. Early hearing loss is typically most obvious in particular (and often high-pitched) frequencies of sound.
- You have a hard time following conversations in a crowded or noisy location. This is often an early indication of hearing loss.
- Your ears are ringing: This ringing (it can actually be other noises too) is called tinnitus. Tinnitus isn’t always linked to hearing issues, but it is frequently an early warning sign of hearing loss, so a hearing test is probably needed.
- You’re suddenly finding it difficult to hear when you’re talking on the phone: People do a lot of texting nowadays, so you might not talk on the phone as much as you used to. But if you’re having difficulty understanding the phone calls you do get (even with the volume turned all the way up), you might be confronting another red flag for your hearing.
- You discover it’s difficult to understand certain words. This symptom happens when consonants become hard to hear and differentiate. Normally, it’s the sh- and th- sounds that are garbled. Sometimes, it’s the s- and f-sounds or p- and t-sounds that get lost.
Get a hearing assessment
You might have one or more of these early warnings but the only real way to determine the health of your hearing is to get a hearing assessment.
Generally speaking, any single one of these early red flags could be evidence that you’re developing some kind of hearing impairment. A hearing assessment will be able to reveal what degree of impairment, if any, exists. And then you’ll be better equipped to determine the right treatment.
This means your next family gathering can be much more enjoyable.


We are currently finalising the programme for Digitizing Enlightenment IV, a day-long workshop that will take place on 15 July as part of the ISECS Congress in Edinburgh this summer. In order to expand our network of Digitizing Enlightenment projects and researchers, we encourage those working in any aspect of digital humanities across the interdisciplinary spectrum of eighteenth-century studies to attend the event, if in Edinburgh, or contact us for more information.
Meantime below is the second post in our series of follow-up discussions based on work presented at the Digitizing Enlightenment III workshop.
– Glenn Roe, Voltaire Lab
Eighteenth-century French salons have developed a mystical aura as sites of elite sociability and (more controversially) as potential workshops of Enlightenment philosophy. They were, however, ordinary face-to-face gatherings in many ways – not unlike unscheduled conferences and meetings with loose agendas today; the one consistent difference is that they were held in private homes instead of conference rooms and organized by individuals (normally women) rather than groups or committees. The nineteenth-century term “salon” grouped together a variety of meetings with certain characteristics: salons were held in private homes with relatively elite participants, conversation was the primary activity, and they occurred on set days and at times that were part of a larger social calendar. Aside from these very general characteristics, salons had a wide variety of purposes, publics, and activities.
The most celebrated among salons, notably Tencin’s, Graffigny’s, Geoffrin’s, and Lespinasse’s, have become associated with great writers, philosophes, and mathematicians, like Voltaire and D’Alembert. Antoine Lilti has challenged the view that salons were primarily counter-cultural venues for philosophical debate, showing that the aristocratic traditions influenced notions of politesse in the salons and emphasizing the aristocratic habitus of many salon hostesses even when they had philosophes as guests. Disagreements over the character of salons may amount to differences more of degree than of type, since historians generally agree that the salons were mixed environments, but these debates do demonstrate the importance, now more than ever, of working through who was in attendance, in order to identify the social characteristics of eighteenth-century French salons.
I am the co-director with Chloe Edmondson of The Salons Project, a database of primarily eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European salon participants. We completed our pilot project of French salons from 1700 to 1800 last year and have some preliminary results, which will appear in the volume Digitizing Enlightenment, edited by Glenn Roe and Simon Burrows, in 2019. As expected, we found a great deal of evidence for social mixité in eighteenth-century salons, including patterns of mixed gender, age, occupation, interests, and social status. We also found that both women and literary figures were present in all of the major salons, including salons like Deffand’s which were not known for their openness to the philosophes. We found that nobles were present in all salons, as were gens de lettres, and that these people were often one and the same.
Our list of more than 600 salon participants is far from a complete record of eighteenth-century French salon attendees, but it is the largest and most complete database that we are aware of. The purpose of our study was not only to create a database, but also to create a method and a format for sharing data about salons and other informal networks. This method uses the robust data model created by the Electronic Enlightenment project, such that our data are compatible with the many other Enlightenment-era projects that are inspired by that database. We also use the schema “Procope”, which we developed along with Maria Teodora Comsa, Dan Edelstein, and Claude Willan to classify Early Modern European individuals, and which is described in our article “The French Enlightenment network”.
Within our larger dataset (1650 to 1815), we found that the letters networks and salon networks remained well integrated, and that philosophes were a minority but well integrated into the core of the network (see diagram). The most central figures are the ones whose networks are most associated with each field of knowledge (for example, Lespinasse’s salon is strongly associated with the “Letters_Philosophical” network, whereas Praslin’s is not; Voltaire’s correspondence network is more strongly associated with the encyclopédistes than is Necker’s; the Letters networks and “Letters_Philosophical” network are themselves tightly connected and central to salon networks). Whereas the best known salons of the era were well integrated into the letters and philosophical networks, it is important to remember that many of the salon attendees were not otherwise part of the French Enlightenment network, especially women, lower-status individuals, family members of other salon participants, and foreigners. By adding these more marginal people to the records on eighteenth-century French sociability, we hope to open up new avenues for finding social relations that are not well known among these more marginal participants on the edges of the Enlightenment. Even where we were not able to learn much about some of these more minor figures, including them in this preliminary dataset increases the chances that we will learn more about them in the future.
– Melanie Conroy, University of Memphis
Melanie Conroy is assistant professor of French at the University of Memphis and the co-director with Chloe Summers Edmondson (PhD candidate, Stanford University) of The Salons Project, a database of European salon participants. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org or @MelanieConroy. The Salons Project is online at salonsproject.org. The Salons Project is collaborative and invites new researchers to adopt its methods and share their data.


The nuisance aroma associated with today’s home environment is complex, confusing, and almost always unhealthy. The issues that drive bad odor are often elusive, surprising, and difficult to address because it’s often the result of several seemingly insignificant causes.
Building materials absorb and re-release odors differently; soil gases come and go; ambient impacts (pets, occupants, lifestyles, etc) are ever-changing where we all just smell things differently. One thing is for sure; if that odor came from the leftovers in your refrigerator you probably wouldn’t eat it. So what makes it ok to breathe it.
We like to break the odor down into a base category: Chemical (paint / new car smell / VOC), Organic (insect / animal / rodent / sewer / essential oils) or Biological (bacteria / yeast / fungus / mildew / virus). This is how we start designing a testing protocol to pinpoint the odorous source.
Where’s That Smell Coming From?
Bad Odor can be hard to pinpoint an exact location. They can become hidden in dead air spaces, bound up in building materials, or saturating softer materials. They often come and go tied to the structures changing ventilation or due to environmental conditions tied to Temperature, Pressure, and Humidity. But the CDC can help with overall Environmental Odors to help narrow possible sources of the odor.
There’s Always a Pattern
The smell may come and go, be intermittent/constant, maybe location-specific, or revolve around outside issues like temperature, pressure & humidity. It might be associated with turning the Air Conditioner on or recent home improvements (new windows, siding, painting, roof). But there is always a pattern that once identified is crucial in designing an appropriate remedy.
What Can I Do Right Now?
If you can’t identify the cause or “Migration Pathway” it is important to bring in a professional to conduct an “assessment”. But there are some steps you can take yourself.
Fresh Air Movement
Open windows, cross ventilation, exhaust fan are good steps. Turning the furnace blower to “on” instead of “auto” will move air.
Work well on particulate based odors like mold, cigarette smoke, dust, pollen & allergens, and chemicals. Use in the furnace and monitor results.
Ozone producing filters can have serious health issues. Best to avoid them if at all possible.
Focus on One Room
If the odor is throughout the home, take the bedroom and make it a “clean room” environment so you can at least get a good night’s sleep.
Remove Items That Can Hold Odors
Papers, stuffed animals, stored clothes, etc. These items can hold allergens and bad odors like a sponge.
Try Sprays For Musty Odor Removal
There are chemicals that can neutralize odors but use sparingly on test areas as may create additional problems.
Getting Help – Identification & Correction
There are environmental professionals that specialize in odor identification. But they are hard to find. Typically these “Building Biologists” are familiar with both chemical, biological, organic, and particulate air contaminates. They generally have an understanding of building design, construction/trade practices, HVAC systems, hydrology, and a solid understanding of the surrounding natural environment (.
Finding someone for musty odor removal can be even tougher. Firms that do both are often the best bet as every odor problem is unique requiring expertise across the board. Like a good mechanic who diagnoses why your “check engine light” won’t go off. He’s often the best guy to then fix it. It all boils down to trust so don’t feel pressured.
What Does It Smell Like?
Some common odor descriptions as received from our Clients:
- Body Odor
- Dead Animal
- Damp Dirt
- Dirty Dog
- Fried Shit
- Natural gas (mercaptans)
- Old Carpet
- Offensive Smell
- Rotten Egg
- Rotten Flesh
- Rotting Wood
- Sewer Gas
- Stale Air
- Stinky Trash
- Sweaty Socks
- Sweet Nail Polish
- Wet Cardboard
- Wet Dog
Typical Causes of Bad Odor
- Bacteria / Mold / Yeast
- Chinese Drywall
- Gas Leaks & Pesticides
- Improper Heating Equip.
- Hidden Leaks
- Open Sewer Vents
- Spilled Chemicals
- Odorous Building Materials
- Moisture & Elevated Humidity
- Soil Gases
- Blocked Chimneys
- Dead Air Spaces
- Pet Odor
- Critter / Rodent Infiltration
- Crawl Spaces
- Interior Sump Pumps
- Breakdown of Materials
- Cleaning Chemicals
- Contaminated Groundwater
- Bad Soils
- Wetland Soils (Sulphur-Like)
Environmental Odor Health Symptoms
Symptoms vary depending on your sensitivity, type of substance, concentration, exposure (frequency & duration), age, and overall health. NYSDOH has great advice.
- Chest Tightness
- Heart Palpitations
- Irritation (eye,nose,throat)
- Mental Depression
- Nasal Congestion
- Sore Throat
- Shortness of Breath
How Do You Know I Will Do a Good?
With Odors, it’s really hard to determine which contractor is best. But if our on-line Google 5-Star testimonials are any indication of how we operate, you will be excited to read how we have helped dozens of folks with similar issues. Be wary of firms who can’t back up the quality of their work without at least a few referrals.
Turn-Around Time (TAT) & Pricing (Typical)
We typically require 10-15 business days (not including weekends and holidays) to complete a Limited odor Investigation (LOI) which ranges from $895 – $1,295 and usually includes 4 samples for odor identification. More complex Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) type odors may require specialized sampling. But standard air sampling methods aren’t designed to measure the wide variety of odorous compounds we come in contact with. So expect us to be relying on our best piece of equipment – our nose. The clock starts typically One (1) business day after the property has been investigated. Add a $295 fee to rush the service (5-10 days) where additional samples if needed are billed separately.


A genus of conifers composed of six or seven species. Four species are native to eastern Asia and two are native to North America, Torreya californica and Torreya taxifolia. The trees of the genus are evergreen, small to medium-sized, reaching 5–20 m, rarely 25 m, tall. The leaves are spirally arranged on the shoots, but twisted at the base to lie in two flat ranks; they are linear, 2–8 cm long and 3–4 mm broad, hard in texture, with a sharp spine tip. Torreya can be either monoecious or dioecious; when monoecious, the male and female cones are often on different branches.
Torreya: after John Torrey (1796-1873) American botanist


Circadian rhythm changes can affect lung function, introducing susceptibility to infection and other adverse effects on health and disease.
What does the Circadian Rhythm do?
The circadian rhythm regulates many physiological parameters including lung function, immune responses, and cardiopulmonary function. The master circadian pacemaker is located in the anterior of the hypothalamus, also called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). The SCN receives inputs from environmental cues, such as light and temperature and modulates downstream vital biological functions in an oscillatory fashion.
What are the effects of the circadian rhythm on lung function?
The lung contains its own autonomous peripheral circadian clock mechanisms and synchronizes with signals originating from the core oscillator. Disruption of the central and/or peripheral endogenous clocks can negatively effect health and exacerbate disease severity.
The central and peripheral clocks use a common set of cellular feedback loops to regulate 24-hour biological oscillations. Clara cells in the bronchioles play a major role in the diurnal variation of lung physiology1. These physiological oscillations are driven by the rhythmic activation and repression of transcriptional factors and genes such as CLOCK, BMAL1, PER, CRY and REV-ERBα.
In mammals, pulmonary function follow day-night patterns. Meaning, that the peak in respiratory function is at mid-day and a trough occurs at night. Additionally, it has been well documented that certain symptoms of respiratory disease become more severe at night. This diurnal variation in symptom severity seems to be the crosstalk between the peripheral lung clock and immune cells, in which REV-ERBα is heavily implicated2.
In addition, circadian rhythm disruption negatively impacts pulmonary function in a sexually dimorphic manner. Hadden et al.3 found that chronic jet lag (CJL) resulted in increased resistance in the large conducting airways (Newtonian Resistance; Rn), with male mice significantly more affected than females.
Techniques to measure the effects of the circadian rhythm on lung function.
Measuring the effects of the circadian rhythm on the lung requires the highest possible sensitivity to capture crucial details about the mechanical properties of airways. The flexiVent is able to measure mechanics of the lungs as a whole, and partition between central vs. peripheral airways. Moreover its automated dose-response feature permits an unparalleled level of insight into lung function throughout the progression of inflammation, infection, or disease development.
Circadian Rhythm effects lung function of different pulmonary diseases.
- Nocturnal Asthma shows symptoms such as air flow limitation, airway hyperresponsiveness and an increase in the infiltration of specialized immune cells such as eosinophils4.
- Recent studies show REV-ERBα plays a pivotal role in regulating Airway Hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in murine models of allergic asthma. For example, Durrington et al5 developed a House Dust Mite (HDM) model in a REV-ERBα knock out mouse to investigate the role of REV-ERBα in mediating allergic asthma. Overall findings showed that knocking out REV-ERBα resulted in significantly greater AHR, in terms of dynamic resistance as measured by the flexiVent, when compared to controls.
- Patients with COPD also display rhythmic variation in pulmonary function, including significantly reduced forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume (FEV) and peak expired flow (PEF) at night6.
- Animal models of cigarette smoke-induced COPD have shown disruption of circadian clock function and decrease in lung function parameters such as resistance, compliance and flow limitation (FEV/FVC)7.
Read more publications featuring the flexiVent and other SCIREQ research systems.
1 Gibbs, J.E., Beesley, S., Plumb, L., et al. (2009). Circadian Timing in the lung; a specific role of bronchiolar epithelial cells. Endo ;150:268–76
2 Gibbs, J.E., Blaikley, J., Beesley, S., et al. (2012) The nuclear receptor REV-ERBα mediates circadian regulation of innate immunity through selective regulation of inflammatory cytokines. PNAS;109:582–7.
3 Hadden, H., Soldin, S.J., and Massaro, D. (2012). Circadian disruption alters mouse lung clock gene expression and lung mechanics. J Appl Physiol., 113: 385-392
4 Kraft, M., Martin, R.J., Wilson, S., Djukanovic, R., & Holgate, S.T. Lymphocyte and Eosinophil Influx into Alveolar Tissue in Nocturnal Asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 159: 228-234
5 Durrington, H., et al. (2018). Airway Hyper-Responsiveness is Regulated by the Circadian Clock through REV-ERBα. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 197: A7272
6 Borsboom, G. J., et al. Diurnal variation in lung function in subgroups from two Dutch populations: consequences for longitudinal analysis. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 159, 1163–1171 (1999).
7 Hwang, J. W., Sundar, I. K., Yao, H., Sellix, M. T., Rahman, I. (2014). Circadian clock function is disrupted by environmental tobacco/cigarette smoke, leading to lung inflammation and injury via a SIRT1-BMAL1 pathway. FASEB. J 28, 176–194


Orchids are found in Foster Hill Road cemetery, near Bedford Park, and if you are lucky you can hear tawny owls at night.
In the burial area lie the graves of 33 brave Scottish soldiers of the Great War. The peaceful setting belies the astonishing story of the men’s regiment The Highland Division, forever known as the Bedfordshire Highlanders, and their relationship with the town hundreds of miles away from their home.
Within days of the outbreak of the First World War on August 4, 1914, thousands of part-time Scottish soldiers as part of a Great Britain defence force were to be based in our region. These lads were nicknamed the ‘Saturday Soldiers’ as most of their army training took place on weekends prior to the outbreak of war.
The Highland Division had chosen Bedford because it was a prime central location, which saw transport and billeting plans with Bedford Borough Corporation, railway companies and local police.
Once war commenced the project started immediately, explaining why, in so small a time frame, 22,000 Highlanders came to the town, staying at permanent, or tented accommodation.
Bedford’s population, which stood at 39,000 that summer, quickly rose to 61,000 over the winter of 1914/15 with the influx being soley attributed to the 22,000 Scotish soldiers, which saw an incredible 17,000 arriving in just two weeks to August 15.
A report of their arrival said: “During August, 1914, the all-kilted Highland Division streamed into Bedford in trainload after trainload, and the skirl of bagpipes was heard throughout the land. From the wild straths and glens we errupted overnight into a Cowperesque landscape where the sluggish Ouse lazed through flat meadows bounded by thick hedgerows. Age-old churches, with square Saxon towers or graceful spires, dotted the countryside, and around them nestled thatched cottages with white-washed walls.”
There was even an element of humour, when a rumour swept Bedford saying the ‘Russians were coming’. Thankfully it transpired when a local had asked where a Highlander was from, the man replied in a strong Scottish accent ‘Ross-shire’ - which was heard as Russia. Another soldier who was washing his socks in a strange water filled contraption saw his valued possessions disappear down the pan when he required more water by pulling the chain.
Richard Galley, who is a local expert on the Bedfordshire Highlanders told bedfordtoday: “We should be very proud of Bedford and the way the town took the soldiers to their hearts. Trades people welcomed the extra business and local women and landladies made sure the young lads - many of whom were away from home for the first time - had food and regular baths whilst they were billeted in the town.
“A number of Bedford lads even signed up to fight with the Bedford Highlanders instead of their local Bedfordshire regiments.
“For a small town in wartime to almost double in size between August 1914 and May 1915, and to welcome these new additions was a phenomenal effort by the people of Bedford that should be applauded.”
Local women fell in love with these dashing visitors leading to a number of wartime weddings - with a report from Aberdeen stating later: ”In the evenings we punted on the Ouse, or when feeling romantic – for the harvest moon was full – played the part of kilted Romeos to the Bedford Juliets”, with another account describing: “The short stretch of river by the Embankment Hotel was like a seaside esplanade, where every kilted visitor had seemingly found his local girl.”
The Bedford Times wrote in 1915: “The Officer Commanding publicly expressed to the people of Bedford his grateful acknowledgement of the many acts of kindness bestowed on the men. There was no trouble in billeting them. People who had never been known to take in lodgers gladly threw open their doors, and took the strangers in. Every empty house was commandeered and filled before householders were called upon.”
Richard said: “The Bedford Times even reported on their progress in France as well as on our local regiments - which was a relatively rare notion.”
However, as the expected quick victory failed to materialise, Bedford’s prime location and transport links saw the realisation large numbers of soldiers could be sent to ports on the south coast by train, ahead of sailing to fight in France. Many never made the journey because in the terrible winter of 1914/15 more than 1,000 Highlanders contracted measles, scarlet fever and diphtheria. An entire battalion was quarantined on the edge of Bedford. In total 135 men died, with 33 buried at the Foster Hill Road cemetery.
There was even one death involving a bayonet, as Richard explained: “Two pals who had too much to drink on pay day got into an argument, as the first man went to thrust his bayonet into the man, another friend jumped in front with tragic consequences. The man didn’t die immediately and loyally pleaded the case for his companion, saving him from execution by having his sentence cut to hard labour - before the man died of his injuries.
“It is sobering to reflect that many of the men who were in Bedford with the Highland Division would become casualties by the autumn of 1916. At the war’s end, the Division had earned a reputation for being one of the hardest fighting in the British Army, but in the process it sustained nearly 45,000 casualties – killed, wounded and missing.”
Thanks to the expertise of Richard Galley, Bedford Borough’s Virtual Library has a host of information on the topic of the ‘Bedford Highlanders’ to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I which focuses on the Highlanders’ stay in Bedford in 1914/1915. The content is now available to view and features incredible photographs which are beautifully described by Richard, from where they came from and the reasons why, to the residents of Bedford saying farewell to the troops as they were sent off to the front.
With the centenary of the Great War coming up, the next time you pass Foster Hill Road cemetery give a thought to the 33 men of the proud Bedfordshire Higlanders, their incredible tale and our town’s stirring reaction to them - it is the least they deserve.
As Richard says: “Many people in Bedford don’t know about this story, which at the time it was a huge thing. However over the last 50 years or so the story has been lost. It would be great if people knew about it again - people from Bedford should be very proud of what we did here for those brave Highlanders.”
With thanks to Bedfordshire Highlanders expert Richard Gallery. For more information on Richard’s superb research and the Highlander’s story featured in Bedford’s Virtual Library visit www.bedford.gov.uk/libraries - click on ‘Virtual Library’, and then click on the photo of ‘Wee Jock’


This early Cromerian glaciation may represent the first time that the Scottish ice sheet reached Orkney. Orkney was almost certainly covered by ice sheets during the Anglian or Elsterian glaciation, commencing around 440 ka, although no glacial sediments of this age are known from Orkney. Anglian ice sheets reached the edge of the continental shelf west of the Outer Hebrides and Shetland (Stoker, Hitchen et al. 1993). In the northern North Sea, the Scottish and Scandinavian ice sheets may have been confluent. Here there was extensive erosion of early Pleistocene sediments, with the cutting of deep channels by meltwater (Cameron, Stoker et al. 1987). In the outer Moray Firth, the Elsterian channels are filled by sediments of the Ling Bank Formation, which locally include a temperate marine fauna indicating the penetration of North Atlantic Drift water into the northern North Sea and the establishment of interglacial conditions (Andrews et al 1990). In the early Saalian, the apparent presence of a tidewater ice front north and east of the Witch Ground Basin (Bent, 1986) would imply, if correct, that Orkney was covered by ice at this time. The diamicts of the Fisher Formation, deposited beneath or close to the margin of ice sheets, occur well to the east of Orkney (Andrews et al 1990) and imply glaciation of the islands in the late Saalian. Sediments of the Coal Pit Formation occur beneath the bed of the North Sea some 75 km E of Orkney and correlate with the lower part of the Ferder Formation off the east coast of Scotland (Johnson et al., 1993). The Coal Pit Formation includes a temperate marine fauna and a reversed palaeo-magnetic section correlated with the Blake Event of 105-115 ka (Sejrup et al 1987). The Coal Pit Formation is therefore thought to represent the last, Eemian interglacial in the northern North Sea (Andrews et al .1990). The upper part of the Ferder Formation consists of structureless diamicts of probable subglacial or glaciomarine origin. An Early Weichselian ice cover on Shetland and in the inner Moray Firth can be inferred (Johnson et al., 1993) but it is uncertain how much of Orkney was ice-covered at this time. The overlying Cape Shore Formation comprises marine sands and muds and includes shells which have given radiocarbon dates of around 30 ka and which, together with other data, place the Cape Shore Formation in the mid-Weichselian (Johnson et al., 1993). The outer Moray Firth was therefore free of glacier ice for at least part of the mid-Weichselian prior to the advance of the Late Weichselian ice sheet after 30 ka. No organic interglacial or interstadial deposits have been discovered on Orkney. A raised cobble beach is exposed in the north of Hoy at 6-12 m above present sea level and rests on the inner margin of a marine abrasion ramp. The beach gravels lack erratic material and are overlain by head and till. The age of the beach is unknown.


BSAR Field Organiser and Retired Rear Admiral Peter Briggs lead a team of Australians on a different type of search – a mission to preserve the WW1 submarine AE2 as part of the Silent Anzac Project.
Peter previously led a dive survey in October 2007 that found the 99-year-old submarine to be in “remarkably good shape”.
HMAS AE2 in Sydney, circa 1914. Source: Australian War Memorial
The well-preserved submarine was sunk by Ottoman gunfire off the Turkish coast in 1915. HMAS AE2 was an E-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and was the first Allied submarine to penetrate the Dardanelles strait in a bid to secure the Gallipoli Peninsula.
The AE2 launched a torpedo attack on enemy warships and spent five days “running amok” before succumbing to Ottoman gunfire and sinking in the Sea of Marmara. Commander HG “Dacre” Stoker and his crew were captured and became prisoners of war.
The AE2 Commemorative Foundation and the Submarine Institute of Australia are now working with the Turkish government to preserve the “time capsule” wreck.
Divers visited the wreck in late June and obtained remarkable video footage inside the submarine using a specialised Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) equipped with HD cameras. Much of the AE2’s interior is in excellent condition and has been viewed for the first time in 99 years.


This bay has steep cliffs on both sides and becomes very shallow at its head. It is a good picnic spot but completely open to sea breezes and sea conditions. There is some shelter from N sector winds in the bay on the eastern side with about 10 m of water.
In Māori, otu means washboard. It is the part of the waka (canoe) that is connected to the prow and prevents the waves that hit the bow from washing into the boat.
It is likely this name was applied to the bay due to the long peninsula of land that runs out to Bottle Pont, on the south side. This peninsula provides a figurative washboard to the bay, protecting it from heavy winds and seas from the south and south-west, preventing large waves from breaking over the beach.
Evidence of early inhabitation by prehistoric iwi such as the Waitaha has been found in the bay in the form of argillite flakes and partly worked tools. Broken moa bones have also been discovered near Bottle Point.
Discarded mollusc shells in other locations indicate later inhabitation by iwi such as Ngāti Kuia.
In 1829, in revenge for the part the Ngāti Kuia took in the battle of Wai-o-rua, a relative of Te Rauparaha crossed to Otu and killed the chief Te Waihaere and took many of the iwi back to Kapiti Island as prisoners.1
I. W. Keys, “The Cultural Succession and Ethnographic Features of D'Urville Island”, The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 69 (1960), accessed April 24, 2018, http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/?wid=3081 .
- Only comfortable in light to moderate winds from NE to S.


In the past decade, the focus of the European Commission is solely on the convergence of policies for education systems throughout Europe. If all education systems in Europe work in the same way they can achieve their aims of the marketization of education in Europe in order to both improve the education system and also to solve other issues, particularly unemployment. In ‘Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes’ The European Commission wrote that “Work based learning should be a central pillar of vocational education and training across Europe, with the focus on reducing youth unemployment, easing the transition from education to employment with the skills needed by the current labour market” (2012:6-7). In this essay it will be argued that the future of European education is focused on marketization to improve the economic situation in Europe, to do that some countries such as Germany’s education system are being used as a model to base the education systems in other European countries on.
It has been recognised throughout Europe that investment in the education system and training for skills development is essential in order to boost growth and competitiveness. If education and training is invested in, the whole of Europe will witness the advantages, as an increased number of skilled workers will enter the labour market, therefore increasing levels of productivity. The quality of education has improved worldwide, therefore Europe needs to ‘up their game’ in order to be able to compete with trade around the world. The European Commission want schools to prepare children for employability and give them a taste of what the working life is like. To do this schools need to work closely with local employers and businesses in order to find what they want from their employees and then transfer this into teaching these skills in school.
There has been progress however Europe is still not meeting the target set. More people need to complete higher education in order to produce a highly skilled workforce in the future “sustained efforts will be needed to reach the headline target of 40% of young people completing higher education” (European Commission, 2012: 2). 73 million adults within Europe have only a low level of education therefore they are targeting adults into going back into some sort of education – currently the level of people participating in lifelong learning stands at 8.9%. Schools are needed to up children’s results before the labour market becomes impossible to enter with a low level of education. Education also needs to focus on the individual to ensure that all their needs are being met throughout their education. “The broad mission of education and training encompasses objectives such as active citizenship, personal development and well-being” (European Commission, 2012: 2). However, one can argue that these are also ways into ‘brainwashing’ pupils into taking higher education courses so that they can enter the workforce. Youth unemployment is increasing therefore the state needs to convince young adults to enter the workforce with a high level of skills in order to gain jobs as the expectations increase. Attention of the European Commission focuses highly on the current rate of youth unemployment rates and how to tackle this issue. However, there are concerns that this needs to improve at a rate which is near impossible for schools to implement; if schools are planning for this to be achieved by 2020 there are four more years or pupils passing through education without these newly taught employability skills, will this leave them at a disadvantage when pupils younger than them will have these skills.
Modern, knowledge based economies require people with higher and more relevant skills; the current prediction is that the amount of jobs requiring tertiary level qualifications will increase from 29% in 2010, to 34% in 2020, leaving just 18% of jobs for people with lower level skills. Transversal skills required include the abilities to think critically, use initiative, problem solve and work within groups. Entrepreneurial skills will also not only contribute to the employability of young people but will also allow the creation of new businesses. Schools should foster these skills through new and creative ways of teaching and learning from primary school onwards, secondary schools should also be focusing on encouraging the attendance of higher education and also promote the idea of creating new businesses and deciding on a career path earlier on. As previously stated, all young people should have experience in the workplace before leaving secondary education in order to allow them to gain an idea of what career path they wish to take. As well as this, research by the European Commission (2012) found that there is high demand for STEM skills. These stem skills being science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Greater efforts need to be made by schools to promote these subjects and make them a priority. With an increase in these stem skills, it can address the issues with the current main skill shortages, especially within sectors with a current huge growth potential such as ICT and personalised services. However, in order for these higher level skills to be achieved it needs to be ensured that the most basic skills are achieved by all students, such as basic level maths, English and science. The share of 15 year olds that have not acquired these basic skills still remains at around 20% while 5 countries are still over 25% in reading. One suggestion put forward by the state is that primary schools need to increase efforts in identifying pupils that are struggling at these subjects earlier on so that support can be implemented. Another one of the main focuses of the European Commission is technology; technology offers opportunities to improve the quality and ease of access within education and training. It can reduce barriers to education, particularly social barriers; it can allow individuals to learn anywhere, at any time. However, this requires good computer skills and some member states are still lagging behind with nine member states with over 50% of 16-74 year olds with no or very low knowledge of computer skills. Although the use of ICT within education and training is being encouraged there has yet to be any increase in support of teaching computer skills. It is recognised that it is “time to scale up the use of ICT in learning and teaching” (European Commission, 2012: 9) and that for flexible learning the use of technology should become imbedded in educational practice.
There has also been programs set up that have allowed a convergence of policies between different countries; one current program that has been a success is the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students, or Erasmus, which was launched in 1987. In ‘Student Mobility in the Framework of ERASMUS: Findings of an Evaluation Study’ Teichler states that “The purpose of the program was to further student mobility in Europe; it encourages students to study in another country between three months and a year”. Many pupils have used this program to travel abroad in order to widen their skills, however, it is understood that many pupils do not return to these countries to work. In an ideal world, it is hoped that pupils will be further encouraged to then take up jobs in different European countries. Also, the ongoing development of the Bologna Process has contributed to the recognition of higher education not only within Europe but also world-wide. In ‘Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes’ The European Commission wrote that its objective is to “place students on an equal footing, irrespective of the origin of their academic degree” (2012: 8). The European Higher Education Area (2014) explains that the Bologna process was launched in 1999 and is a voluntary process in which currently 48 countries participate, together with the European Commission. They meet every two or three years to discuss the progress of higher education within Europe.
A number of tools have also been implemented to improve transparency to enable students to easily transfer to other countries, such as making qualifications comparable across countries and also making credit points transferable. There is also room for a much closer coherence of different tools and services, this will help contribute to European mobility, where a person’s knowledge and skills can be clearly understood and recognised. The European Commission (2012) recognised that the creation of the proposed European Area of Skills and Qualifications will support the drive to achieve transparency and the recognition of academic qualifications across Europe. Academic recognition creates the pathway for ease of movement within Europe; the recognition of higher education qualifications has been on the European policy agenda for a long time.
However, if we are to achieve the goal of young adults travelling freely and working within different countries in Europe then the ability to speak foreign languages is a necessity, poor language skills are a major obstacle for the free movement of workers. As well as this, people higher up in the business world need to have the ability to communicate with other businesses globally to increase worldwide trade. Despite most secondary schools and an increasing number of primary schools teaching a foreign language in the UK just 9% of pupils can independently speak another language. One reason for this could be that due to this being a relatively new scheme in primary schools the teachers having to educate pupils in this language may not be fluent or familiar with the language themselves; the teacher can only teach a language to the ability that they themselves have.
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China figures strongly into the current North Korea crisis, but exactly how is a matter of dispute. President Trump seems to believe that China is the key to resolving the matter of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, but it is far from certain that China’s interests in the region align with our own.
Beyond the fact that Trump was overtly hostile and, at times, insulting to China during the presidential campaign, China is in the midst of a long campaign to expand its power in Asia and beyond. Chinese island-building in the South China Sea is common knowledge. Less known is how Chinese influence is growing in the Middle East, Africa and even the Americas.
As Chinese military and economic influence grows around the world, the inescapable conclusion is that China has dreams of replacing the US as the world’s dominant superpower. That being the case, it would be in China’s interest to make the US look bad in the confrontation with North Korea. If China can use North Korea to hasten the American decline in Asia, which began with the 1953 stalemate in Korea and continued with Vietnam and the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership, it would probably not hesitate to do so.
Aside from their aim of overtaking the United States, a secondary goal of the Chinese government could be to test President Trump. There is pattern of Chinese crises shortly after Republican presidents take office. In June 1989, five months after George H. W. Bush became president, violent repression of the Chinese democracy protests at Tiananmen Square led to soured relations between the two countries. In April 2001, three months into the presidency of George W. Bush, a Chinese fighter collided with a US Navy reconnaissance plane. The American plane made an emergency landing on Hainan Island and the crew was detained for 11 days by the Chinese government. Now, soon after President Trump took office, the North Koreans increased their missile testing. While these incidents were presumably not manufactured by China, they may well have used the events to test the mettle of the new occupants of the Oval Office.
What could be the Chinese endgame for the Korean crisis? After President Trump made trade concessions to China last spring for doing approximately nothing to help with the Korean situation, Beijing may believe that they can win additional concessions from the US if the crisis is allowed to get worse.
If President Trump backs down after having made resolving the North Korean issue a priority, the Chinese will win by default. The United States and President Trump will lose face and credibility around the world. With both President Trump and Kim Jong Un trying to outdo the other’s bellicose rhetoric, at the moment China is playing the role of the adult in the room.
If the US actually attacks North Korea, it would present a problem for China. China has a longstanding relationship with its patron government in Pyongyang. Animosity between the Chinese and the Koreans goes back centuries, but for the past 75 years, North Korea has been a loyal client of Communist China.
In 1950, when American and United Nations troops advanced too close to the Chinese border, China intervened with a massive attack that sent allied armies reeling. Those who doubt that China would do the same thing in 2017 need only consider the unofficial nickname of Korea, “a dagger aimed at the heart of China.” China cannot allow the US or its allies to occupy North Korea.
A US attack on North Korea would require a Chinese response and the Chinese have said as much in an editorial in the Chinese Global Times. The paper notes that “Beijing is not able to persuade Washington or Pyongyang to back down at this time,” but that “it needs to make clear… when their actions jeopardize China's interests, China will respond with a firm hand.”
The editorial says that if North Korea strikes first China will remain neutral. This may be a tacit assurance that the North will not attack without provocation. Then it issues a warning: “If the US and South Korea carry out strikes and try to overthrow the North Korean regime and change the political pattern of the Korean Peninsula, China will prevent them from doing so.”
Regardless of whether China is goading North Korea forward behind the scenes or Kim is acting on his own, the brinksmanship is a most dangerous game that could easily get out of hand and lead to a major conflict. Whatever President Trump does, on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere, the Chinese will undoubtedly be watching.
Originally published on The Resurgent


Human society has been wanting answers to some of our most viable questions who created us who are we what is our purpose what is the universe and how was it started who rules the skies who rules the oceans many stories and tales have been created to assist in answering and is anyway possible to the most fundamental questions we called those myths. Deriving from the Greek word Mythos, myth in its most basic form of definition is an "ancient narrative that attempts to answer our fundamental human questions"(Leonard & McClure, 2004)
When someone states, "it's a myth" the person is saying that the story being ...view middle of the document...
Some of the best knowledge, in my opinion, we have gained is that of our World Art. Through art we are able to really grasp the tale of each culture and myth of that time. To me, myth means not just a story told or an elaborate tale, but rather a look into the minds of our ancestors and how they viewed the World. We were given the gift of their tales, paintings, and knowledge to take and learn from. The many different minds that spoke of these myths; “sages, religious fundamentalists, agnostic theologians, idealists, and cynics, racists and fascists, philosophers and scholars.” (Leonard & McClure, 2004)
The Goddess or God of love is the same in each culture, just possesses a different name: Greek is Aphrodite, Hinduism is Karma, and Norse is Freyja for example. Each culture has similar ideas with mythology, because we all want the same thing in the end. We may have different values and views on our paths taken, but deep down we are all human who live and breathe the same air. Myths in the variety of cultures share similar stories with different names and places, similar aspects of life and death, right and wrong, good and evil.
Many cultures have faded into extinction, either because the lack of faith that followed or the tales were thrown out by the invaded religions. No matter the reason, our current cultures are still shaped by the ancient tales while creating new myths for our future to read about.


The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is the oldest art museum in Texas and one of the oldest museums in the western United States.
The Modern was chartered in 1892 as the Fort Worth Public Library and Art Gallery, but the name and mission have evolved over the years.
- The Carnegie Public Library Art Gallery, 1901
- The Fort Worth Museum of Art, 1910
- The Fort Worth Art Center, 1954
- The Fort Worth Art Museum-Center, 1971
- The Fort Worth Art Museum, 1974
- Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 1987
The 25 women who founded the Public Library and Art Gallery sought to bring a different sort of culture to the historically cattle-focused city. Approaching Storm, 1875, by George Inness, was purchased in 1904 as the Museum’s first acquisition and was then still a relatively young painting. Five years later, the Museum’s first exhibition included 45 paintings by contemporary American artists.
A new home for the Museum, designed by the world-renowned architect Tadao Ando, opened in Fort Worth’s Cultural District on December 14, 2002. The new Modern features 53,000 square feet of gallery space, a 5,600-square-foot education center, and a state-of-the-art auditorium.


When cancer is identified early and healthcare costs are reasonable, cancer is a chronic but treatable illness. While AI has made considerable progress in various sectors, it has recently made inroads into healthcare, particularly in the field of medical oncology.
Fremont, CA: AI is gaining traction in biomedical research and healthcare, notably in cancer research and oncology, where the possibilities are endless. As cancer advances, it expresses itself in several ways, necessitating extra care in administering treatment and measuring the patient's reaction, creating a particularly difficult environment for medical decision-making. In the drug development process, these include cancer detection and diagnosis, subtype categorization, therapy optimization, and the identification of novel therapeutic targets.
AI for early cancer detection
Cancer, unlike other illnesses, requires treatment at various stages, owing to identification gaps. Artificial intelligence has the potential to make a big contribution to this field. Artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect precancerous tumors in tissues, increasing the sensitivity of cancer screening procedures. Radiologists may be aided by AI-powered tools in visually assessing pictures and finding these concerning lesions. This technology saves radiologists time while also allowing them to spot small tumors that would otherwise go undetected.
AI to forecast cancer progression
Cancer prognosis can be aided by artificial intelligence. AI can detect pre-existing cancers and identify those who are at high risk of acquiring the disease before it starts. This allows professionals to keep a close eye on these patients and act promptly if the situation warrants it. Apart from cancer diagnosis, AI can also forecast how cancers spread and evolve, which could help doctors devise successful treatments for particular patients as well as influence the treatment process in the future. Furthermore, early intervention increases the chances of a patient's life since cancer is destroyed before it has a chance to develop a resistant immune response.
AI for the Development of Novel Oncology Drugs and Precision Therapy
Immunotherapy is one of today's most promising cancer treatments. Patients may be able to beat hard-to-remove tumors by fighting them with the body's own immune system. On the other hand, present immunotherapy options are only effective in a small number of patients, and oncologists have yet to create a clear and accurate method of determining which patients will benefit from this treatment. A new generation of machine learning algorithms, as well as their ability to synthesize extremely complex data, may be able to reveal new options for personalizing treatments to each person's unique genetic composition.


Clinging together in the face of lonliness and alienation, George and Lennie desperately seek to escape their poverty, and strive to transform their chimerical dream into a reality. This heartfelt dream is what sets George and Lennie aside from the other men, yet ironically it is so easily shattered. Throughout the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, copious comparisons to animals are stated, signifying that their antagonistic way of life was not suitable for humans; This animal imagery helps elucidate the somewhat abstract ideals and character traits present in the text. Lennies demeanor is compared to many animals, Lennies death is compared to the death of Curlys dog, and even the end of Georges and Lennies dream is represented by a heron and the snake.
To thoroughly describe Lennies bizarre disposition, Steinbeck compares him to a bear, horse, terrier, and a bull. Large and capable of violence, yet clueless and tender like a bear Lennie is totally unpredictable at times. Lennie is also similar to a bear in that his hands are huge like bear paws, and in the closing of the story he is said to Creep as silently as a bear would. Snorting into the water, Lennie reminds George of a horse. Similarly to how Lennie is compared to bear, he is said to be as strong as a bull; Lennie is also reluctant like a terrier who does not want to bring a ball to his master, but Lennie finally gives George his mouse. The brilliantly cryptic foreshadowing of Lennies death is told through the shooting of Candys dog. Candys dog is old and is not useful any more, so therefore the men in the bunk house want to dispose of him. Forcing the reluctant Candy to let them kill his dog was an arduous task, but the insistent nagging finally makes Candy capitulate his old dog to them. The dog is not only unsuspecting, but also helpless to the bullet that passes through the base of his skull killing him in an instant though without pain. Analogously Lennie is killed the same way, and even though George is reluctant, he knows that it is his obligation kill Lennie. Probably the most tragic point in the story is the realization that George and Lennies dream will not come true. A little snake slithering in the pool of water, totally unsuspecting his fate, is suddenly swallowed by a heron looking to satisfy his hunger. Curlys wife is searching to satisfy her hunger for someone to converse with, someone who will listen to her stories and to commiserate with her. She causes Lennie to break her neck, which ends Lennies life, and suddenly shatters his, Georges, Candys, and Crooks dream. These examples of animal imagery help illustrate John Steinbecks message, and define the present theme.
The characters in the book posses many eclectic characteristics which make correspond to certain animals. This tragic story possesses a certain clandestine message, and it can be interpreted in many different ways. The one point that is most obviously stated is that being different is not easy, and that some people are not meant to exist on this Earth. Another conspicuous notion is that dreams should be guarded strongly, because as hastily as you conceived them they could be snatched from you without clemency.


Variable frequency drives (VFD) have been used in supermarkets with increasing success for at least 15 years. The appeal of VFDs is based on two effects they can achieve for a storeowner: energy efficiency and condenser noise abatement, an important measure in maintaining good relations with the store's neighbors.
VFDs are used to continuously adjust the speed of AC motors that are used to drive refrigeration compressors, air handler fans, and condenser fans. When used with a refrigeration compressor, variable speed can serve to exactly match the refrigeration capacity with the load. When used with a fan motor — whether in an outside condenser or in an HVAC system — again the VFD works to supply just the amount of motor speed to meet demands. In both cases, energy usage is minimized. In the case of the condenser fans, there is considerable reduction in objectionable noise.
Refrigeration and HVAC systems are designed for full-load conditions. Most of the time, though, the load is not peak, and full motor capacity isn’t required. In these average conditions, motors in traditionally designed systems (without VFDs) are either constantly running at a higher speed than necessary, or they are cycling on and off frequently. Running at too high a speed wastes energy, and frequent cycling on and off accelerates wear and shortens the useful lifetime of the motors, contactors, and other components. It also eliminates many opportunities for reducing energy costs. VFDs can help in both of these areas, providing better product and personnel environments and cutting operating cost.
When used to vary the speed of a refrigeration compressor and networked to a Danfoss AKC 55 rack controller, an AKD drive offers a virtually infinite range of capacities from the refrigeration rack. This means that rack capacity can be controlled to exactly match the load on the refrigeration system. Without the use of a VFD, the only way to vary the rack's capacity is to turn compressors on in different combinations; but each time a compressor is started, considerable energy is expended to overcome inertia and bring the motor up to speed. With a VFD on one of the rack's compressors, and with the rack sized properly, the speed variation on that one compressor will provide all the capacity change necessary to meet 90% of the load variations of the rack.
VFDs applied to condenser fans also have the benefit of reducing noise. Before VFDs were available, local ordinances or neighborhood complaints often made necessary costly acoustical barriers to shield a store's surroundings from the noise of its condenser fans at full speed. Sometimes owners were even forced to relocate condenser units at great expense. By installing a VFD on the condenser, the fans can be run at a lower speed and both the high speed noise and the frequent starting noise are greatly reduced.
AKD variable frequency drives are also used in supermarkets to regulate the speed of the HVAC fan motors. With a variable frequency drive, the fan speed (and the energy consumption) can be reduced to a minimum whenever cooling or heating is not required. When there is no heating or cooling on, the fan runs just fast enough so that air is circulating.
Store owners can expect payback from energy savings in under two years when installing VFDs on condenser and HVAC fans. There are measurable energy savings from refrigeration compressor installations of VFDs, but the greatest effect in those applications is in added machinery life, reduced maintenance costs, and a better storage environment for refrigerated products. Because the refrigeration capacity supplied is always matched to the load in cases and boxes, variations in temperature are much reduced, lengthening healthful product life. d
Authors Max Robinson and David Hebel, work with Danfoss Refrigeration and can be reached at 410/931-8250.


By this tutorial we have learnt to create clean and stricter HTMl pages
In this tutorial we have learnt that all XHTML elements must be properly nested,
XHTML documents must be well-formed, all the tag names should be in written in lowercase, and that all
XHTML elements must be closed.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
We have also learnt that,As in HTML html,head,title,and body elements should be present in XHTML.And a DOCUMENT decleration must be made.
What is an XHTML File?
XHTML stands for EXtensible HyperText Markup Language
XHTML is similar to HTML,The only difference is XHTML is stricter and cleaner version of HTML
An XHTML file contains small mark up tags
The way how the page must be displayed in the browser is described by these markup tags
An XHTML file must have an .xhtml file extension
Using any simple text editor XHTML file can be created
The Most Important Differences:
Tag and attribute names must be written in lower-case
Elements must be nested properly, no overlapping
Non-empty elements must be closed
Empty elements must be terminated
All attribute values must be quoted
Attribute value cannot be shortened
<script> and <style> elements
At the opening of the element tag only the attribute must be specified.
closing tag of an element merely contains a back slash and tag name
All attribute names must be in lower case.
All attributes must have a value.
All attribute should hold a values and always be double quotes. Here double quote and two single quotes are not the same.
All attributes must be placed in a list seperated by blank space and no other characters must be included between them
XHTML tags are used to mark-up XHTML elements
Tags in XHTML are always surrounded by characters < and >
These characters are called angel brackets
All tags in XHTML come in pairs for example <b> and </b>
In these pair of tags,the first tag is the start tag,and the second tag is called end tag
The text that lies between the start tag and the end tag is called the element content